School of Movies

Super 8

[School of Movies 2021]

We round off the year of Spielberg by going back to his roots as a filmmaker. And while this is a 2011 movie, directed by J.J. Abrams which Steve produced, I mean far more than  it simply evoking Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial.

There's more cinematic alchemy at play here than even we realised, when we took on this project, and we are very happy to share our findings with you all. Suffice to say this is Abrams' most personal movie, and it feels odd that it was largely dismissed and overlooked at release, despite its qualities, while the similarly flavoured (and also fantastic) Stranger Things became a global phenomenon five years later. And I go into the fundamental differences in creator backgrounds there.

This movie is fairly simple, and moves in broad strokes, but there are many subtleties and elements that it's easy to miss. We hope we can encourage you to open your eyes for a second look. 

Super Mario Bros.

[School of Movies 2021]

I've never known such a bad movie to be so loved, either secretly and shamefully, or boldly and unapologetically. If you're in either camp, lean into the second one. Firstly because why should you have guilty pleasures? Especially now. Unless you're eating mushrooms, growing to twice your size and jumping on the heads of those who call it garbage, you're not hurting anyone. Own that love. 

And secondly, knowing that some people who grew up with the disastrous first big budget attempt at adapting a major video game to the big screen and still care about it would bring some joy to the hearts of those who had to make the thing.

For this episode, where we focus on what went wrong behind the scenes, we brought in the Franchise Killer podcast, who take that same angle on their show, examining the movies that went wrong from a more explorative angle. It was fantastic having these folks on and I urge you lot to check out their show.

https://franchisekillerpod.podbean.com/

Guests:

From the Franchise Killer Podcast: @FK_Podcast

David Schmitzer

Irena Schmitzer

Rhys Paine

Cannon's Ninja Trilogy

[School of Movies 2020]

This show covers three movies: Enter the Ninja (1980) Revenge of the Ninja (1983) and Ninja III: The Domination (1984). They are hard to get hold of and almost entirely unconnected with each other, and they are violent, shoddy and absolutely hilarious.

The connection is Cannon films and wildly talented actor and martial artist Sho Kosugi, who is the villain in the first, the hero in the second and support in the third. And of course none of these characters are the same man. 

What we have here is an absolute treat; An enormous buffet, containing many surprisingly effective moments hidden among the weird and dangerous decisions made while filming all of them. No expense was spent, and no actor got through with their dignity fully intact.  

Guests:

Hollywoo Actress  Maya Santandrea @Mayasantandrea

From Sequentially Yours  Kaoru Negisa  @Moonpanther22

and Debbie Morse  @bastet8300

Ready Player One

[School of Movies 2020]

Way back at the end of 2019 (Remember when we could get right up in each other's faces?) we recorded this show with Victoria Grieve, expecting it to be a riotous session of taking the book and film to task. Things got more complicated than that, as it turns out Victoria really liked certain elements of Spielberg's adaptation (as did many viewers). And then one of the worst migraines I've ever had hit me about twenty minutes into recording.

We decided around that time to do a full-on Spielberg season and didn't realise how it would become the focal point of our 2020, so the raw footage of this one waited to find a final form that would be entertaining and informative and not just footage of me groaning from where I lay under the desk. The edit took several passes, new material and some clips from when We Hate Movies spanked the pants off this one. I'm really proud of the final show as it stands.

And if you LOVE the Ready Player One movie and want to hear more of the positive angle, this week's Patreon bonus Cutting Class episode will be a treat. 

Guests:

Victoria Luna B. Grieve:  @VixenVVitch 

The Adventures of Tintin & The BFG

[School of Movies 2020]

Two Spielberg films that failed to capture the hearts and minds of the cinemagoing public.

The Adventures of Tintin (2011) was his only animated foray, and the only one so far shot on digital rather than film. Made around the time Disney closed down Image Movers Digital because attempting wholly performance-captured films plunges the viewer into the uncanny valley. This one has more in common with Indiana Jones than even the obvious comparisons.

And The BFG, one of the most beloved books from one of the most beloved children's authors. A film that feels several decades too late for contemporary tastes, remains remarkably faithful to the source material and adds to and improves upon it in almost every way that could be marketed to families (it's about giants eating children). Yet it was dismissed by everyone. 

We provide you here with some really solid reasons to track down both of these for a couple of Sunday afternoons worth of fantasy adventure. 

Brotherhood of the Wolf

[School of Movies 2020]

An obscure 2001 French period drama slash monster hunt, martial-arts mystery blockbuster, that only some of you will have seen. This is a show we've been looking forward to bringing you for many, many years. Also known as Le Pacte Des Loups in its homeland. 

You can listen to half of this episode without having seen the movie. We keep the secrets to a spoiler section at the end, but we do thoroughly recommend tracking down and watching this strange, sexy, frequently crazy blend of flavours. One thing it definitely isn't is mediocre.

Joining us is a man who seems to effortlessly elevate everything he's a part of, and our discussion was rich and tasty. Alasdair is closely connected with Escape Artists Inc. a place to find a smorgasbord of stirring audio fiction https://escapeartists.net/ 

Guests

Alasdair Stuart @AlasdairStuart

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

[School of Movies 2020]

I recall when Crystal Skull came out it was around the time angry dudes on the internet were starting to really pick apart the prequels and why they had been betrayed on the promises made to them by George Lucas (to my shame that's how my movie podcast got started, but at least we'd moved on by week four). So the reception to this massively successful film was conversely very ugly in the fan community. And while we don't usually strive for a balanced argument this one felt like it needed a real examination as to both its faults and qualities.

So we reunited all of the guests from the previous three Indy shows, some of whom love it, some of whom loathe it, and the results make for one of the more fascinating discussions in the Spielberg series. Is this film really all that bad? And if you take a few infamous elements of contention out, what are you left with?

Guests

Chris Chipman of The Chipman Bros Tangent @The Chippa

James Batchelor of Bond and Beyond  @James_Batchelor

Kevin Veighey @GoldenTalesGeek

Catch Me if You Can

[School of Movies 2020]

It's safe to say that right now we all need something relaxing and engaging. Luckily Spielberg is right here for us with this 1960s period piece about a charming teenage confidence trickster, and the straight-laced government agent trying to bring him in.

One of the greatest pleasures of this year-long exploration of Steve's work has been rediscovering just how fantastic this particular movie is, especially in HD. It's stylish and exciting, touching and bittersweet. And since it's based on a true story it's also fascinating to watch how far this kid will push his theatrics. 

Two of the best, most understated performances from both Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, at a very specific turning-point for cinema, accompanied by the coolest of jazzy John Williams scores. Next week we round off our Indiana Jones saga with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

10 Possible Futures

[School of Everything Else 2020]

This is a special episode deliberately timed to around the American Election and not far off the official Brexit from Europe. It's a time of great anxiety, so we wanted to give ourselves and our listeners a dose of perspective.

So I've collated ten different types of future seen in movies, and I've ranked them from the very worst to the very best. That way we can talk them all through in order, starting with horrendous scenarios that make what we're experiencing right now maybe not quite so utterly apocalyptic in our minds. And we finish on visions of unity, cooperation and progress that might give us something to hope for.

Guests:

Hollywoo Actress  Maya Santandrea @Mayasantandrea

Brendan Agnew of Cinapse  @BLCAgnew

Jesse Ferguson of Recorded Tomorrow @TheDapperDM

Neil Taylor of TheKidDogg

Deep Impact vs. Armageddon

[School of Movies 2020]

Duelling Comets!

In 1998, because of the way the movie industry works (or used to) we got not one but TWO films within months of each other, about the Earth facing an extinction-level event from the heavens. Both films largely concern themselves with the American response, both involve sending up a shuttle to blow the meteor apart, both feature lower-scale destruction as a fireworks show selling-point, and both are filled with bad performances from a cast that includes great actors. 

What we did here on their 22nd anniversary is tackle one and then the other, comparing and contrasting their differing approaches. By the time the credits roll you'll just be happy that it's not the end of the world.