School of Movies

The Babadook

[School of Movies 2018]

In recent weeks CinemaSins turned their brand of completely misunderstanding the very nature of the medium upon this wonderful, dark little psychological horror from Australia.

Here, for everyone in the world, by way of antidote, is a deep dive into what's really going on in this story of ghosts and violence. It gets super heavy, but will hopefully open it up for everyone who has seen the film (which we suggest you do first).

Guest:

Hollywoo Actress  Maya Santandrea

Birdemic: Shock and Terror

[School of Movies 2018]

This one achieved notoriety as a so-bad-it's-great cult classic. However, while it's certainly applicable as nanar, this confused mess of a survival horror actually stands more as a reverse yardstick of how NOT to make a film.

Join us as we hurtle through bird-infested motels, beaches, woodlands and gas stations on one of the worst journeys a person could be forced to take. Coat-hangers at the ready, along with a small, and inexhaustible arsenal. 

Say goodbye to coherence, human performances or any possible hope of the ambient sound matching between shots. And by god, get used to the music because it is going to get stuck, horribly inside your head. 

Guests:

Kaoru Negisa and

Debbie Morse of Sequentially Yours  

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

[School of Everything Else 2018]

We're back on video games with a very intriguing commission. This one takes the form of a third-person action adventure with some protracted puzzling elements, but underneath the format there is a dark and upsetting, remarkably sensitive story about the nightmarish challenges that sometimes have to be faced when a person is suffering from psychosis. 

Made by Ninja Theory, the dev team behind Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DMC and Disney Infinity 3.0 this game does things with its soundscape that very few others do. If you've not played it this show might still be a good place to start because you might either find it frustrating or alarming to play or else miss quite a bit as you barge through the many horned enemies. 

WARNING: This one gets heavy and maybe even frightening. 

Guest:

Doctor Lorin Grieve from Year of Steam

Miami Connection

[School of Movies 2018]

We are firmly back in nanar country with this film that is so spectacularly, incompetently made, so tonally baffling, so confusingly arranged, yet so sweet-natured and weird that it flips right the way around to being a fantastic experience to watch.

We begin with a tale of ninjas busting drug deals in Miami (or mostly Orlando as it turns out), an intriguing plot that gets abandoned until the end to instead pursue the earnest misadventures of a Taekwondo-skilled synth rock band named Dragon Sound.

Many punks are kicked, tears flow horribly among these beach bum friends forever, and this missing gang from The Warriors find themselves in a deadly street war against the ninja. The whole show is scored with the soundtrack to Far Cry: Blood Dragon, which should tell you everything you need to know.

Guests:

Kaoru Negisa and

Debbie Morse of Sequentially Yours  

Raising a Geek Child: Vol. 2

[School of Everything Else 2018]

We're back for the second part of this series (we may do another in the future, it really depends which parents want to contribute their experiences). 

We have an even broader range of guests and questions, with geeky children ranging from toddlers to tweens. 

 

Guests

Jesse Ferguson father of Connor aged 10 & Erin aged 15 

James Batchelor father of Freddy aged 20 months (Bond & Beyond)

Matt Wardle father of Scott aged 12 (New Century)

Brittanie Boe mother of Hailey Boe aged 8 (BeBoldGames)

And Mike Hearn father of Lily aged 8 & Violet aged 3 (Walter the Wicked)

Raising a Geek Child: Vol. 1

[School of Everything Else 2018]

The first of our two recorded shows on this subject so far. This was commissioned back in 2017 and Sharon and I began preparing copious notes on how we'd raised Lyra. Those notes became the beginnings of a sprawling self-help book which we planned to turn into audio. Then eventually we accepted that the subject was too big and far too important to just rely on our take. 

So we pulled together two round table sessions with parents of geeky children. I go into detail on how that definition works at the beginning, but as it stands these interviews are packed with honest accounts and experiences that might help any number of parents out there. Whether you already have children or are thinking about having them or never want to have them at all but are interested in how the geekier parent might handle it, this show is essential listening.

Guests

Brendan Agenew, father of Marian, aged 1 (Cinapse)

Neil Taylor, father of Mikey, aged 3 (TheKidDogg)

Gary Blower, father of Imogen, aged 8 (GameBurst)

Sharon Shaw, mother of Lyra, aged 9 (New Century)

I'd also like to promote another geek Dad; Andy Robertson, who is running a project designed to help parents concerned about video games and technology: https://www.patreon.com/geekdadgamer

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

Overwatch

[School of Everything Else 2018]

One of the greatest character lineups in a multiplayer video game ever assembled, Overwatch presents us with a rich and colourful feast of carefully, lovingly prepared treats. 

We spent two and a half hours talking over the 26 current heroes, their backgrounds and design. That's our focus for the show, not playing the game itself or the mechanics.

This is a brand that's going to run and run and we suspect we'll be back here again at some point talking about a TV show or a movie or a different kind of game set in this world. We can't wait to see what Blizzard do.

Next Week: Black Panther

Guests

Jason "Chewie" Slate of The Mana Pool 

 Neil Taylor of TheKiddDogg 

Game Developer Glen Watts

We Need to Talk About Anakin

[School of Everything Else 2018]

A very special show where we go back to the Star Wars Prequels and ask ourselves one question; If these were in fact not poorly written films, if they were instead historical documents, then who is responsible, for the eventually tragic actions of Anakin Skywalker?

The easy answer is to say Anakin himself, and that we should all be ultimately held accountable for our behaviour, and that's absolutely valid, but there were others who misled him, ignored the danger signs and in fact encouraged some truly unhealthy ways of thinking. It was by no means only Palpatine doing so, he was simply the one to see an angry young man, willing to be used as a weapon. 

In this serious look at a truly broken system we re-examine Lucas' Galactic Republic and perform a deep and disturbing psychological autopsy. 

Mulan

[School of Movies 2018]

Dan Floyd joins us once again as the Disney Project continues.

The house of Mouse picked themselves up from the financial low for the 90s that was Hercules, and came back punching with this Chinese legend of a girl who steals her father's armour to take his place in the army.

Still to this day one of the most beautiful and moving of their animated classics, Mulan had its detractors, and all of them had solid reasons to admonish story decisions. However, it is also beloved and inspirational, and the kind of movie that could be made today (with a few tweaks). 

Jerry Goldsmith's soaring yet delicate score was fortunately in plentiful supply for this one.

Guests

Daniel Floyd of Extra Histories