WandaVision

[School of Everything Else 2021]

This one gets HEAVY. But what did you expect from a podcast which has examined every one of the MCU movies and found the hurt and pain at the core of the characters, being presented with a show that is absolutely about that principle?

Now all the rampant speculation has passed, we can sweep aside our assumptions regarding what this *might* have been about and focus on the melancholy story of its lonely antagonist.

One of the core themes explored is that everyone's line for forgiveness falls in a different place. We hope that two hours of delving into how it handles grief, bringing along some deeply personal accounts of loss, might lend some perspective on the MTVU's first big show.

Guests:

Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch 

From Sequentially Yours  Kaoru Negisa  @Moonpanther22

and Debbie Morse  @bastet8300

Taylor Nova of GameBurst @TaylorNova6 

Mike Hearn @MikePHearn 

Spider-Man: Far from Home

[School of Movies 2019]

The seventh live-action Spider-Man movie, but the eleventh big-screen outing for the wall-crawler. Following on from the creative magnificence of Spider-Verse was going to be a tough gig, but this movie seemed to please a lot of people. 

This show is about how planet Earth is bouncing back from cataclysmic disaster, the key reasons Marvel villains differ from its heroes, how Peter Parker is not Iron Man, and how deception is a key enemy of our age.  

Guests:

Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse  

Maya Santandrea @mayasantandrea

Brenden Agnew of Cinapse 

Avengers: Endgame

[School of Movies 2019]

How could we possibly sum up this immensely important, densely packed three-hour odyssey that closes out eleven years and 22 movies worth of continuity?

The solution we came up with was a feat of organisation, collaboration and editing elegance that focuses on character arcs resolving and continuing with viewpoints from the biggest assembly of guests we have ever had in a single sitting.  Appropriate, wouldn't you say?

Plus a wildly speculative Patreon bonus show all about the plot mechanics and the future of the MCU. This is one of our very best. 

Guests

Brenden Agnew of Cinapse  @BLCAgnew 

Maya Santandrea of Hollywoo  @mayasantandrea 

Jesse Ferguson of Recorded Tomorrow @TheDapperDM 

Neil Taylor of TheKidDogg @KidDogg 

Jerome McIntosh of GameBurst @JeromeMci

Mackenzie Easton  @KenziePhoenix of Rainbow Connection @MuppetsPod  

From Sequentially Yours  Kaoru Negisa  @Moonpanther22 

and Debbie Morse  @bastet8300 

"The Men by the Lake" written and read by Alasdair Stuart of Escapeartists.net @AlasdairStuart  

And we are @SchoolOfMovies 

Find our Patreon here:  https://www.patreon.com/alexandershaw where you can support our weekly shows and get access to all sorts of bonus goodies including an hour-long bonus episode on Endgame wherein we talk about time travel and where Marvel go from here. 

The New Century Multiverse podcast can be found here: https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Captain Marvel

[School of Movies 2019]

Maybe our most eagerly-awaited, long-time-coming Marvel's of all finally arrives. And to distinguish this show from a LOT of the lukewarm dude-filled discussion about this movie we have four brilliant ladies talking and smiling as much or as little as they like. 

We begin with my own list of every male hero in sci-fi, fantasy and superhero movies since the late 70s and an accompanying MUCH SHORTER list of female leads in the same space. After that I shut up as much as I can and let the women explore the themes, details and subtleties. 

For everyone who just found it okay, we're hoping we can give you a fresh perspective on a really impactful film for a lot of women. 

Guests:

Sharon Shaw @cai_boxer

Maya Santandrea @mayasantandrea

Mackenzie Easton: @KenziePhoenix

Debbie Morse @bastet8300

And we are @SchoolOfMovies

Ant-Man and The Wasp

[School of Movies 2018]

After the operatic Infinity War we come to an entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that some people needed to see and some people really didn't. 

Honest Trailers really nailed this one when they called it Marvel Season 3, Episode 8. That is what it feels like. And we begin the show with why I left the cinema muttering to myself. "Huh." Not with a question mark, that's a crucial conjuncture. Followed by a chunk of discussion on the stronger points that those who found this welcome and appealing relished.

I kept the cut of the main show hyper-focused to a precise hour, though there is 40 minutes of additional (somewhat meandering) chat that will be available on Patreon for those who want more. 

Guests:

Kaoru Negisa @Moonpanther22 and

Debbie Morse @bastet8300 of Sequentially Yours  

 Collin Miller of The Cinema Cephalopod   

Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse 

Avengers: Infinity War

[School of Movies 2018]

"We come to it at last, the great battle of our time."

This show recording ran surprisingly long as we went off on wild tangents discussing where Marvel might go from here. Those are contained in a separate 80 minute podcast called Beyond Infinity which will be on the Patreon.

What you have here is a super-focused 70 minute discussion about the film, with heavy reflections on what it means and elements that stood out. You see, I divided it into two and oh my god, I'm Thanos!

Guests

Brenden Agnew of Cinapse

Lorin Grieve

Theo Leigh

The New Century Multiverse podcast can be found here: https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Black Panther

[School of Movies 2018]

Arguably Marvel’s most globally significant movies to date comes roaring into the School of Movies, and have we got a show for you tonight. 

We’re talking the stunningly beautiful and invigorating land of Wakanda, its fusion of African cultures, tradition and futurism, the royal family of heroes, the fascinating support cast, the transportive music, the detail and meaning packed into every onscreen element, and maybe the best Marvel villain yet, Eric Killmonger.

Guests

Brenden Agnew of Cinapse

Kaoru Negisa 

and Debbie Morse of Sequentially Yours

Jerome McIntosh of GameBurst

Spencer Leeb of The Death of Subtlety

Aquila Edwards @aquilaedwards

Eric Jones of Waxing Cinematic

Arlington can be found here: https://newcentury.bandcamp.com/album/new-century-arlington

Thor: Ragnarok

[School of Movies 2017]

We return to the Marvel Universe with a bang, and discuss in detail the themes of the third and (hopefully not) final Thor movie. We begin with a piece I wrote about why humour plays a key role in MCU films. 

Guests:

Joshua Garrity of Cane and Rinse

Brenden Agnew of Cinapse

Kaoru Negisa and

Debbie Morse, both of Sequentially Yours

Neil Taylor of TheKidDogg

Jerome McIntosh of GameBurst

Our $5 Patreon supporters can look forward to a bonus 75 minute Cutting Class podcast collecting the reams of deleted material from this episode, as well as a chat about the potential for Marvel-owned X-Men movies. 

Spider-Man: Homecoming

[School of Movies 2017]

After fifteen years on the big screen and five major movies the wall-crawler finally returns to the house of Marvel (whilst still being a Sony distributed venture this is clearly a Kevin Feige project).

And it's our favourite of the six. 

Delivering a boatload of elements we haven't seen Peter interact with before whilst wisely swinging clear of things we've seen him do too much, this is a refinement of the Spidey formula that manages to feel fresh, smart and above all things, child-friendly.

Guests

Neil Taylor of TheKidDogg

Jerome McIntosh of GameBurst

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2