School of Movies

Everything Everywhere All At Once

[School of Movies 2022]

A truly magnificent film about pondering the nature of existence and being trapped between nihilistic despair and existential motivation.

But also a touching and painful drama about a little, broken Asian family who no longer know what to say to each other any more.

But also a spectacular running battle of martial arts and clownery, nestled inside a high-concept sci-fi about jumping between dimensions and occupying the bodies of the alternate versions of yourself, and borrowing the abilities they honed leading different lives to you.

This was a commissioned show, because there was SO MUCH to talk about that we would have delayed it forever otherwise. But now it's one of our very best shows. And that is due mostly to our guests who had so much to say. Nothing but editorial was cut. We've given you Everything!

Guests:

Brenden Agnew @BLCAgnewof Cinapse

Maya Souris @TheStuntLady

Greg Downing of Through the Wind Door @MightyGregDoge

Alejandra Vargas @Plutoburns

Chris Finik @finmonster09

Speed Racer

[School of Movies 2022]

Our unexpected year of the Wachowskis continues with a 2008 movie that fans feel passionately about, and a strong sense of it never really having a chance, being released the same summer as Iron man and The Dark Knight.

A squeaky-clean blockbuster painted in a dizzying kaleidoscope of primary colours with intense greens, pinks and purples to deliver what was supposed to feel like an anime in live action, but due to its unique and striking editing style of talking heads describing past, present and future events as they transition in real-time it winds up being entirely singular in its cinematic field.

There really genuinely is no other film quite like Speed Racer. Allow us to elucidate why you need to see this on the biggest, brightest screen available.

Guests:

Alexa Vargas @Plutoburns

Nama Chibitty @namathenerd

They Live

[School of Movies 2022]

We venture back to John Carpenter for maybe his least marketable, most angry movies. You are probably aware of all those memes where a guy looks at a sign with sunglasses on and sees something direct and insidious usually masked with advertising. This is the film that's from.

In fact what surprised me after we finished recording was checking out those memes and finding that so goddamn many of them are from dudes who have decided that the liberal media, feminism, and the LGBTQIA+ community are the dominant overlords manipulating civilisation from a place of supreme power. It is tragicomic as a conclusion.

Anyway, this 1988 Matrix prototype starring a charismatic WWF wrestler is all about how alien lizard people control us through brainwashing. It can be a tough pill to swallow, you may have to spend an hour punching your best friend in the junk until he will accept this reality. 

Guest:
Maya Souris @TheStuntLady

Man on Wire & The Walk

[School of Movies 2022]

The Summer Commissions Season continues with an unexpected highlight.

Here we have a brace of films focusing on the same real life event: Man on Wire (2008) and The Walk (2015). The former is a documentary about Philippe Petit the man who walked on a wire between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The latter is the Robert Zemekis dramatization of that fairly astonishing heist. We recommend you see one or both of them, because they're fantastic in different ways.

The year was 1974, the towers were in the process of being built in Manhattan, and thousands of miles away a French street performer was cultivating a deep longing to traverse the tallest wire in the world. One tiny mistake, one miscalculation and he would plummet to a very public death. But first he had to get up there, and for that he and his cronies were going to need to pull off one of the most extraordinary real life heists of all time. 

The Incredibles 1 & 2

[School of Movies 2022]

Our summer commissions season continues. It's surprising that this show has been going as long as it has only covering a handful of Pixar movies. So this one will be welcome to many listeners.

Putting the original 2004 film in perspective, it was incredibly important as a touchstone for what became the age of superhero blockbusters. It has so many significant elements that Marvel applied to their works (appropriate since this is to date, the best Fantastic Four movie!)

So, fourteen years later the sequel takes place fourteen seconds after the first while we've all gotten a lot older. 

Next week two films focusing on the same real life event: Man on Wire (2008) and The Walk (2015). The former is a documentary about the man who walked on a wire between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the latter is the Robert Zemekis dramatization of that fairly astonishing heist. We recommend both.

Blade Runner 2049

[School of Movies 2022]

Five years after our show on the 1982 original (which you will now find next to this on the podcast feed) and coincidentally falling on the 40th anniversary of that film, we look at the follow-up, directed by Denis Villeneuve.

Astonishingly, considering its seminal position in film history the Ridley Scott original was treated dismissively by our parents and grandparents. It fell to Gen-Xers to rediscover it on video in the early 90s to really elevate its status. The wonders a Director’s Cut will do for those first impressions.

And 2049 followed suit, garnering a surprising level of disinterest despite being magnificently crafted, insanely scored, impeccably performed and beautifully photographed. But again, in home format, this one has been gaining traction. And if it is the last Blade Runner film, then the duet currently in existence work together supremely well, for reasons we delve into here.

This episode was a commission for Parker. We’ve been wanting to cover it for years, but it has just been so intimidating to attempt that we appreciate the hard nudge and we hope we and our excellent guest did this one justice.

Guest:

Brenden Agnew @BLCAgnewof Cinapse

Blade Runner

[School of Movies 2017]

[Note: This is a re-release of the original Blade Runner to coincide with our show on 2049 this week.]

Here's a short, and by no means exhaustive list of entertainment works influenced by this one movie... 

RoboCop, Akira, Back to the Future Part II, Ghost in the Shell, The Fifth Element, The Matrix, Futurama, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, I, Robot, Minority Report, Serenity, WALL-E, Battlestar Galactica, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Prometheus, District 9, Alex + Ada, Almost Human, Black Mirror, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Dredd, Chappie, Her, Ex-Machina, Valerian and Westworld.

This episode we discuss Ridley Scott's ponderous, flawed, but hugely impactful and striking vision of the future, and musing on the nature of humanity, accompanied by Vangelis, and one of the greatest scores ever put to film.

Guests

Taylor Nova of TheKidDogg

Collin Miller of The Cinema Cephalopod 

Harley Quinn (Seasons 1 & 2)

[School of Everything Else 2022]

The initial trailers for this one had me groaning. We were still pre-Birds of Prey movie so it was easy to assume the touchstone for this one was the first Suicide Squad movie, plus extreme cartoon violence and crudity. Well I was right about the second two!

Turns out this is one of the smartest, most psychologically explorative of DC's vast back catalogue of superhero TV. Primarily because it is framed first as a relationship drama, second as a comedy and third as a DC world. But even with that lowered priority and an emphasis on wild chaos there is still the flavour of authenticity about the vast majority of the characters. This writing and production team have paid attention.

And crucially, after teasing us with an early on meeting and lightning chemistry between Harley and Ivy in Batman: The Animated Series way back in 1993 we finally get to see them cultivate a close friendship onscreen... At least it *would* be ONLY a close friendship if this were Disney. So thank goodness it's not!

For this episode we steer clear of serious spoilers until a dedicated section at the end, so even if you haven't seen any episodes you can listen to this.

Ms. Marvel (MCU)

[School of Everything Else 2022]

This is our second show on Kamala Khan. The first was all the way back in 2017 when we talked about her first comic miniseries. I've re-released that show on the podcast feed so these two can be companion pieces. 

The Disney+ miniseries delivered almost exactly what we had been hoping for all these years. A bright, funny, courageous Pakistani-American girl hero. Instantly iconic and clearly in love with all things Marvel. 

We did not expect the drama to be quite so naturalistic and poignant, the family to be so much more interesting than the interdimensional shenanigans or the gut punch of the 1947 Partition of India which stands as the centrepiece. This real life event created millions of immigrant refugee stories and generational hurt across a cultural divide which exists to this day. 

Also the soundtrack is amazing!

Guests:

Brenden Agnew @BLCAgnew of Cinapse

Chris Finik @finmonster09 who assembles New Century's TV Tropes Pages and who writes fanfic (including a Dark Tower / Tiger's Eye crossover)

Nama Chibitty @namathenerd

Ms. Marvel (Comics)

[School of Everything Else 2017]

This is a reupload of our 2017 show discussing the first series of Ms. Marvel comics. It works as a great companion piece to our show on the 2022 MCU TV series. 

In 2013 a brand new Marvel character was introduced to the world, one who is very reminiscent of classic Peter Parker, a goofy, hapless, sweet-natured teenager who just wants to help people. She's also the world's premier, headlining Muslim superhero, and very much due a movie or TV series to bring her to mass popularity like those who came before her.

In tonight's episode we are joined by Alasdair Stuart, owner of Escape Artists and long-time comic-book expert, to enthusiastically discuss why the younger generations are already loving Kamala Khan, and why she's so important in the grand scheme.

You don't have to have read any of her comics, but by the end of this you will want to. 

Guest:

Alasdair Stuart of Escape Pod