School of Movies

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 

The Big Lebowski

[School of Movies 2023]

Part III of the Coen Brothers series. In 1998 they pulled together what might in fact be their most beloved film for fans of their oeuvre. Definitely the most eminently quotable, by virtue of a script that is almost a musical in terms of how often phrases and lines are repeated and reprised, layering absurdity upon each scenario and impeccably delivered by an astonishing cast. It follows a California layabout named Jeffrey Lebowski who is mistaken for a local philanthropist of the same name. Chaos ensues.

Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, David Huddleston, Steve Buscemi, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Elliott, Peter Stormare, John Turturro and Tara Reid all play eccentric characters in this sly parody of a film noir kidnapping mystery. One where pretty much everyone is far less competent than they are pitching to the world. It's a real "No One Knows What They're Doing" scenario, as FilmJoy might say.

Some folks are baffled as to why it's so vociferously beloved, so we have attempted to convey that here. Sharon and I rambled like crazy over two delirious recording sessions, and I wound up trimming out 45+ minutes of utter crap that isn't worth saving for a Cutting Class. This is why mere synopsising and vaguely commenting on why a scenario is funny does not constitute critique for me. Luckily, what remained in place, and what I was able to editorialise after the fact, I am proud of.

Next time around, a double-bill of period musicals, both of which also contain John Goodman SCREAMING!

The Studio Ghibli Series Part 2: My Neighbor Totoro

[School of Movies 2023]

We've reached the point of  1985, where Studio Ghibli was officially founded. This episode covers the first three films released under this official new banner. 

1986: Laputa - Castle in the Sky (5m 20s)

1988: Grave of the Fireflies (18m 20s)

1988: My Neighbor Totoro (37m 05s)

The first of these, Castle in the Sky bears a striking, clearly-inspirational tonal and aesthetic similarity with my favourite game of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We have a main event show on that very game coming soon. Now the middle of these three gets very grim, as it is one of the harshest depictions of child suffering during wartime. By all means skip ahead when it becomes too heavy. 

And big thanks to Joshua Garrity of Cane and Rinse podcast, as I tracked down some never-used archival footage of him chatting with me about why he loves My Neighbor Totoro for very personal reasons. 

Fargo

[School of Movies 2023]

Part II of the Coen Brothers series. This 1996 film was the point where they hit the big leagues. Showered with awards and nominations, Joel and Ethan were placed alongside great and classic directors by the establishment.

The story itself is one of a bungled kidnap, a bag filled with cursed money and the needless murders that take place as a result of seeking it. It's a frosty noir, set on the snowbound roads between Fargo, North Dakota and the twin cities of Minneapolis-Saint Paul. A weasel of a car salesman arranges for the kidnapping of his own wife, and from that atrocious act, calamity radiates.  

The local sheriff on the case is Margie Gunderson, played by Frances McDormand, whose genial, mumsy attitude hides a sharp, observant detective brain. And it is from her perspective that we observe with bewilderment the cluttered mistakes of daft, greedy men. 

Next time around we go bowling with The Big Lebowski. More kidnaps, more bungling, more greed, less murder.