School of Movies

The Big Mermaid

[School of Movies 2023]

For many years we have been planning a show or a series of shows on the Disney live action + CG remakes. The plan was to start with the 2015 Cinderella (or even the 1994 Jason Scott Lee version of The Jungle Book, thence to 101 Dalmatians with Glenn Close) and we would watch every single one of them, and talk about the good and the bad. 

But over time, having covered the details of all of the originals in our Disney animated series, the job itself grew insanely huge and exhausting, with so little to say that wasn't already being said by every film pundit on YouTube (because Disney gets you maximum clicks). Luckily this one came along, 8 years into the remake period that boasts both high points and low for the whole concept. 

By absolutely NO means anywhere near the level of the small original 1989 film with its $40m budget and its changing of the world of cinematic animation in a way that would not be matched and diverged from until Toy Story and then Shrek, there are still definitely things to like about Mermaid '23, including the earnest and talented Halle Bailey as Ariel. 

However, with its $250m budget and the remit of adherence to photorealism at the expense of abstraction that Disney seem to have slammed all of these with, it makes for an extensive focus point to talk about many of the elements which have been frying our fishes. Back as a special guest this week is Willow. 

F9: The Fast Saga / Fast X

[School of Movies 2023]

Another ton of fun for the summer as we go back to the most unkillable series of all time. You kill this thing and it will come right back, walking out of the explosion to cool music. If this franchise has any enemies they will be friends the next time we see them. Did I say friends? I meant FAMBLY!

What we have here to start with is an edited, supercharged version of my first impressions of F9 (one of the very first movies I got to see when cinemas reopened in summer 2021). 

After that is my brand new talk about 2023s Fast X which brings Jason Momoa to the barbecue. We look at the recurring issues as the series moves from era to era and zero in on how they may have shot themselves in the foot in terms of the drama that this Nos-Opera hit the big leagues with. 

Black Adam / Shazam: Fury of the Gods

[School of Movies 2023]

This is the second and third instalments of the Shazam Trilogy, we covered the first back in 2021. Now The Rock will assure you that Black Adam is nothing to do with Shazam, but we have comics that say otherwise.

We start with my 2022 first impressions of Black Adam having just returned from the cinema, originally put out as a Patreon Exclusive. Then we follow up with a brand new section where I tell Sharon about Shazam's last movie, at least with this cast and format. 

What we said back when we talked about the original still stands, kids grow up, but also grown actors do and say regrettable things that impact the metatext of otherwise simple sci-fantasy action films. 

Coming this weekend to the Patreon bonus feed, we talk about one of my favourite movies starring the Rock, one where he gets knocked all over the place and comes off better for it; The Rundown. 

Heckboy

[School of Movies 2023]

Most of you will probably already know how much I care about both the comic book character of Hellboy and the magnificent Guillermo del Toro movie adaptations from 2004 and 2008.

However, considering its dismal box office of $55m (on a budget of $50m) and its dismal critical reception (17% RT) statistically speaking most of you did not see the 2019 reboot, and even fewer of you enjoyed it. Directed by Neil Marshal (The Descent, Centurion, Dog Soldiers) and starring everyone's favourite big red violent uncle David Harbour, this as an alternative to the proposed third movie by Del Toro should have been a new beginning. Instead it was a wretched embarrassment and a blight upon the mythology. 

This episode starts with a condensed and abbreviated edit of my 2019 first impressions followed at the 44 minute mark by a very special guest. Not their first appearance on the show but definitely their most impassioned so far, Willow Shaw has entered the arena... and they have things to say about how their beloved Hellboy was treated here. 

O Brother, Where Art Thou? / Inside Llewyn Davis

[School of Movies 2023]

The Coen Brothers season continues with Part IV here, and we picked two of the most musically focused for a double-bill of hapless singers wandering America.

The first is arguably the most high-profile and broadly celebrated film, which comes at the end of their golden age. Their eighth movie, O Brother is an ambitious retelling of Homer's Odyssey, set in the 1930s dust bowl and concerning three escaped prisoners on a treasure hunt. It's a screwball comedy, closer in tone to Raising Arizona than something like Fargo. This mix of Americana was received with adulation by the Academy, and the bluegrass music at its core became a brief travelling sensation.

Inside Llewyn Davis however, is from 2013. Thirteen unlucky years after their peak, and by this time they were indie darlings again. It concerns Oscar Isaac's titular character based on the careers and music of certain Greenwich Village folk singers from 60s New York. Llewin is reeling from the death of his singing partner, and his travels take him from conflict to conflict as he tries to find his place. It's a fine example of a grower movie, since when we first meet him he is appallingly selfish and obnoxious and doesn't seem to change, to the point where he seems to circle back around to where he literally started. But as with Lebowski, the more you watch it, the more you listen, the more of an impression this restless, lonely ghost of a man will leave.

2000: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

2013: Inside Llewyn Davis 

The Studio Ghibli Series Part 3: Kiki’s Delivery Service

[School of Movies 2020] 

The first anime we have ever covered on a Main Event show (if you listen to our 2017 Scott Pilgrim episode you'll find it starts with a lengthy explanation as to why), but depending on how anime fans react to this one we might do more.

It's a simple tale of a little witch who moves to the big city to start her own business. Kiki is goodhearted and well-meaning but faces many challenges along the way. This charming basket of innocence is delivered to us by master director Hayao Miyazaki, and may seem twee and super-sweet on the surface, but there's something to be learned from what happens.

I also talk at length about how in 2010 the American language track was altered by Studio Ghibli themselves for release in HD, and what that did to the film.

This episode was commissioned by our two guests and Aaron Good

Brendan Agnew of Cinapse  @BLCAgnew  

Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse   

Legends of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[School of Everything Else 2023]

This is actually the fourth of an ongoing series of Zelda episodes begun all the way back in 2010 when we had a guest-filled clip show covering every title from the NES original to the then-latest instalment, Spirit Tracks on DS. After that came Skyward Sword in very early 2012 after its release on the Wii, then in 2017 when Breath of the Wild emerged, we did a third show covering the remakes and remasters up to Majora's Mask on 3DS. 

And now here, just as Tears of the Kingdom gushes forth, so too do we, about what may in fact be not only my favourite Zelda game of all time... but maybe my favourite game!

We and our guests talk at length and depth about this series high-point for many, only rivalled by one other across many rankings and polls. But absolutely warranting of detractors deeply frustrated by a system of weapons that seem to be made from crackers lightly glued together. We look at the pitfalls and soaring heights of this astonishing achievement in building a world that begs to be explored. My original intention, since the recording ran to over two and a half hours was to trim out 45 minutes or so. I couldn't. It's all simply too good. 

Guests

James Batchelor of the Bond and Beyond podcast @James_Batchelor 

Brenden Agnew of Cinapse  @BLCAgnew

Eric Jones of Waxing Cinematic, FilmCut and Photoflow Terror in the Stars

Nama Chibitty @namathenerd

Derrick Ritchie @thenewdelboy

The Final Fantasy Series / Final Fantasy IV

[School of Everything Else 2023]

This episode coincides with the Switch and PS4 release of the Pixel Remasters of the first six games in this legendary, long-running RPG dynasty.

Part 1: Where do you start with a series that has a game called Final Fantasy X and a game called Final Fantasy XII and a game called Final Fantasy X-2 and only one of those is an actual sequel to the other? Not only do we lay out which games to try first, but we divide them all into design eras and let you know what to expect from each. 

Part 2: We discuss the plot and characters of one of the most beloved in the series, Final Fantasy IV. This won't spoil the game, only make it more special to play. But if you really don't want to hear any details whatsoever and intend to play this 1991 game to completion right now, you can hold off at the 57 minute mark. 

Which mainline numbered (non MMORPG) games are playable on the current, running console generations?

PlayStation: 1-10 as well as 12 and 15. 

Switch: 1-10 as well as 12. Plus a chibi version of 15. 

Xbox: 7-10 as well as 12 and 15 and the only current machine you can play XIII on.

Other notable versions: 

PSP: 1,2,3,4 / Game Boy Advance: 1,2,4,5 and 6 / Steam, Vita, Windows, IOS and Android / As well as the originals on NES, SNES, PS1 and PS2

Also: Catch us on the Old Kids Movies podcast this week, talking all about Ella Enchanted with them @OldKidsMovies

Tarzan

[School of Movies 2018]

This time we go deep and we go long. Tarzan is for me one of the absolute greats of the Disney canon and so rarely talked about with the reverence of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, so this time that's what we did.

It's been hugely influential on my writing and stands as maybe the crowning spectacle of the marriage between 2D characters and luscious 3D backdrops utilising the "Deep Canvas" technique. 

Daniel Floyd joins us once again to explore the last of the 90s renaisance. After this it was Fantasia 2000 and Dinosaur and while they occasionally put out something amazing, Disney lost their way until Tangled established the new normal. 

Guest

Daniel Floyd of Extra Histories 

A Goofy Movie

[School of Movies 2023]

A long-planned return to a far-too-often overlooked Disney animated classic released quietly in 1995. A passion project of Jeffrey Katzenberg that wound up being helmed by Kevin Lima, director of Tarzan and later Enchanted.

From the outside it seems like a fun finale to the 78-episode syndicated wacky animated show 'Goof Troop', but as it turns out, this one hit way closer to home than most of Disney's more fantastical fare for a lot of kids who grew up watching it on VHS and DVD and love it intensely. 

I've promised Daniel Floyd of Extra Frames that if we ever covered it he would be there, and thanks to Ryan Estrada of Big Data (who adores it just as much) we have ourselves a fascinating, in-depth dive into a surprisingly emotionally complex road-trip. 

References 

The Enduring Legacy of Disney's Black Millennial Classic 'A Goofy Movie' by Austin Williams 

A Goofy Movie: A Staple of Black Culture | READUS 101 by La'Ron Readus 

The Little Things About A GOOFY MOVIE by ToonrificTariq (feat. AwkwardlyAnimated and Mann of a Thousand Thoughts) 

Guests

Daniel Floyd of New Frame Plus  @DanFloydPlus

Ryan Estrada of RyanEstrada.com  @RyanEstrada