School of Movies

Gravity Falls (Show 3: Episodes 13-20)

[School of Everything Else 2020]

Part 3 of 6

The third of three shows on Season 1 of Gravity Falls. Season 2 will be covered in 2021.

We round off the first batch of episodes with a showcase of villainy, as a crazed piglet who holds small-town America in his thrall seeks unlimited power for himself. And on the other side of the reality curtain, a chaotic yellow triangle man hatches his schemes.

There's also a hilarious take on boy bands which was in fact creator Alex Hirsch apologising to his sister Ariel for being such a scornful bounder, admonishing her musical taste when they were tweens. 

Episodes Covered: Boss Mabel/Bottomless Pit/Carpet Diem/Boys Crazy/Land Before Swine/Dreamscapers/Gideon Rises

Guests:

Victoria Luna B. Grieve:  @VixenVVitch 

Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse

From Sequentially Yours  Kaoru Negisa  @Moonpanther22

and Debbie Morse  @bastet8300

Gravity Falls (Show 2: Episodes 7-12)

[School of Everything Else 2020]

Part 2 of 6

The second of three shows on Season 1 of Gravity Falls. Season 2 will be covered in 2021.

We return to one of the best animated series' to grace the TV screen. A rich, hilarious, fast-paced puzzle-box of twisty mysteries and subversive, genre-savvy capers. Tween twins Dipper and Mabel Pines are staying with their Grunkle Stan for the summer, at his combination gift-shop and rube-trap. But strange things are both out there in the woods, and inside the wooden walls of the Mystery Shack.

Both seasons are available on Disney+ And if you have already finished it and want something similar but haven't yet sunk your beak into The Owl House, that's what's for dessert. 

Episodes Covered: Double Dipper/Irrational Treasure/The Time-Traveller's Pig/Fight Fighters/Little Dipper/Summerween

Guests:

Victoria Luna B. Grieve:  @VixenVVitch 

Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse

From Sequentially Yours  Kaoru Negisa  @Moonpanther22

and Debbie Morse  @bastet8300

Gravity Falls (Show 1: Episodes 1-6)

[School of Everything Else 2020]

Part 1 of 6

Throughout the year we will be releasing episodes covering one of our very favourite animated shows, now available worldwide on Disney+ which is why we waited until now. Most people haven't seen this, so you can watch along with us. We won't spoil any later episodes and the podcasts won't release all at once. Next week the Spielberg Season continues with E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. 

The elevator pitch for this one is "The Simpsons meets Twin Peaks". A pair of twins, one of them fascinated by strange and mysterious things, the other determined to have fun at all times go to stay for the summer with their grotty con-man of a Great Uncle Stan. As it turns out; Gravity Falls, this sleepy Pacific Northwestern Town is filled with both strange and mysterious things and fun!

Episodes Covered: Tourist Trapped / The Legend of the Gobblewonker / Headhunters / The Hand that Rocks the Mabel / The Inconveniencing / Dipper vs. Manliness

Guests:

Victoria Luna B. Grieve:  @VixenVVitch   

Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse   

From Sequentially Yours  Kaoru Negisa  @Moonpanther22 

and Debbie Morse  @bastet8300 

Love Actually

[School of Movies 2023]

If you love Love Actually this show is for you.

If you hate Love Actually this show is for you.

If you consider Love Actually to be kind of a mixed bag and there's actors and/or scenarios in there that you really like and yet some of the characters behave in awful ways that the film doesn't judge as awful, but overall it seems to have its heart in the right place, this show is for you.

And if you've never seen Love Actually... then this show is for you.

What we have done is recruit Doctor Hunter Mulcare from the Two Shrinks Pod and asked him to help us with a challenge (that it turns out Cinema Therapy did last year - though their half-hour show and family audience doesn't allow for anywhere near as much detail or not-safe-for-work content). Join us as we rank the relationships in this 2003 film, written and directed by British institution Richard Curtis, ranging from most unhealthy to out and out life-goals. 

The winner may surprise you.

Guest:

Dr Hunter Mulcare @realhuntermmm 

Final Fantasy VII

[School of Everything Else 2023]

The first global blockbuster hit in this long-running series from Squaresoft. As we noted before, the excellent Final Fantasies IV, V and VI were not released in Europe (neither were I, II or III) until long after this one, and it was utilising the power of the PlayStation, so this really was the introduction to what a modern-day cinematic RPG video game could be, for an entire generation in 1997.

Playing it today, there are a number of drawbacks, some of which (annoying random battles, slow-progression) are mitigated by Quality of Life additions in  recent remastered versions (the Switch version that Sharon played all the way through this adventure for the first time). However, the blocky, awkward character models and static backgrounds do warrant the glossy Remake that we are still only halfway through, and will not be taking about until it's over... in 2028.

None of these drawbacks of the PS1 original can taint the fact that this really is beloved for plenty of great reasons. We talk at length here about the story and characters, meaning and the manner of how this tale is imparted to us. Powerful bitter-sweetness is a feature, not a bug.

Next Week: Wakanda Forever

The Studio Ghibli Series Part 6: Spirited Away

[School of Movies 2023]

Arguably director Hayao Miyazaki's finest hour, and by extension the peak of composer Joe Hisaishi and for Studio Ghibli in general. This one is almost too easy to either sing the praises of, or to dismiss because it was so popular. Disney distributed it in America, and it made $395 million, which might make it the most successful theatrical release for an anime movie. By contrast, My Neighbours the Yamadas two years prior in 1999 made $11 million on three quarters the budget. Spirited away was showered with critical praise and won many awards. It's the popular girl.

But this girl is also endlessly fascinating; stirring, whimsical, intelligent, exciting, funny, and unforgettable. She stays with us, and we return to her again and again for comfort and to feel that sense of quiet awe. It's also noteworthy that this has one of the best American language tracks for any Japanese film; Daveigh Chase (Lilo of Stitch fame, Donnie Darko's sister and the girl from The Ring), Jason Marsden (Max in The Goofy Movie), Susan Egan (Megara of Hercules fame and the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast) Suzanne Pleshette (The Birds) David Ogden Stiers (Lilo & Stitch and Beauty and the Beast) and Tara Strong (literally every cartoon ever made). On this one occasion you should definitely try Dub AND Sub.

This is the film we chose to close out our 2023 series on the studio (though we still have The Boy and the Heron, along with 'The Imaginary' from Studio Ponoc, and whatever the future brings. We will be there to curate their art.

Guests:

Brenden Agnew of Cinapse  @BLCAgnew

Alejandra Vargas @Plutoburns whose YouTube channel is here

Green Lantern: The Animated Series

[School of Everything Else 2023]

This is the good stuff. Look no further than the 2012-2013 one-season 3D animated show for the absolute best Green Lantern experience. Co-Created Giancarlo Volpe of Avatar and Bruce Timm, one of the key figures in the beloved and critically acclaimed classics of Batman: The Animated Series, along with the connected Superman, Batman Beyond, Justice League Unlimited, all of which constitute a true encapsulation of the DC comic heroes.

What we have here is the archival spoiler-free section from our 2013 Digital Gonzo episode talking about this fantastic cartoon. That is then followed by a 90-minute, spoilerific contemporary discussion about what happens to the various characters. This series is so unappreciated that we actively recommend you listening to this whole thing. It's the NOBODY watching it that's the real spoiler.

• Hal Jordan (Earth's GL lost in space with this tiny crew)
• Razer (A disgraced Red Lantern trying to make amends) 
• Aya (The prototype ship's computer, learning everything about the universe)
• Kilowog (A Bolovaxian GL, big, blunt and kind-hearted)

Many thanks to our guests, both old and new. 

Guests:

Toby Jungius @TJungius of Through the Wind Door

Matt Ramsey of GamerDork

Jerome McIntosh of GameBurst

Alex Eding of Plaid Hat Games

Green Lantern (Revisited)

[Digital Gonzo 2013]

This is a special, re-edited, re-release of a classic episode of Digital Gonzo. Back in 2013 we talked all about Green Lantern, under the impression that Warner Bros. & DC had big plans for superheroes over the next decade. And while they have genuinely given more heroes an airing, audiences seem to only be interested in The Bat and the Joker, (oh, and Aquaman, because he has laser-sharks).

So, what this is is a pared-down and pacier version of the first part of that show with more focus and music. This is then followed by a contemporary take as Sharon and I rewatch the film with the benefit of hindsight to see if it has perhaps improved with age. The second half of the 2013 podcast was all about the extremely good Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and that will be coming next week with an all-new 90-minute full-spoilers discussion to tie into our DC Animated Universe shows.

1. The History of Green Lantern (2013)

2. The Comics (2013)

3. The 2011 Movie (2013)

4. The Movie Revisited (2022)

-------------------

• Who You Callin’ Yellow? by Jamas Enright
• Going Green by Movie Bob, from the Big Picture show on The Escapist
• Weakness and Strength by Nama Chibitty
• Alex Eding a True Lantern Fan’s Rant on the Green Lantern Movie

Guests:

Sharon Shaw of School of Movies

Matt Ramsey of GamerDork

Jerome McIntosh of GameBurst

Alex Eding of Plaid Hat Games

The Studio Ghibli Series Part 9: When Marnie Was There

[School of Movies 2023]

A strange period for Ghibli brings us to the end of our current run, still with the closing triumph of Spirited Away (2000) to cap this body of work off, as well as this year's The Boy and the Heron paving the way for a future tenth instalment.

What we are looking at is the last film from Isao Takahata (who died only five years later) the visually resplendent as well as distinctive Princess Kaguya, which is my favourite of his works, but still has one glaring bad decision inherent to the edit.

Then there's the most astonishing surprise from this entire project, which is quite how I unexpectedly adored When Marnie was There (from Hiromasa Yonebayashi, the director of Arrietty). The most delicate, Gothic tale in their back catalogue.

After that, yet another film that deliberately defies the established Ghibli aesthetic, the first collaboration with a non-Japanese director Michael Dudok de Wit and the wordless caveman-accessible tale of a red turtle (who is secretly a woman, or vice versa).

And then for maximum shame, the definite WORST Ghibli film ever made, or that ever will be made; Earwig and the Witch, directed by Goro Miyazaki. A film so awful it dragged his father out of retirement yet again.

But to end on a pleasant note, we talk about both the RPG video game Ni no Kuni and the freshly established "Studio Ponoc" and their debut "Mary and the Witch's Flower". Truly the child of Ghibli, and a team we hope will continue making beautiful films far beyond our lifespans.

2013: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (0m 35s)

2014: When Marnie Was There (16m 50s)

2016: The Red Turtle (29m 30s)

2020: Earwig and the Witch (45m 35s)

2017: Mary and the Witch's Flower (1h 4m 20s)

Rings of Power (Season One)

[School of Everything Else 2023]

We all knew this would happen eventually. No Intellectual property that has been known to rake in a billion dollars for a single movie will ever be left alone to stand in glorious completion. Whomsoever holds the rights will use them. Some folks expected a (potentially very misguided) attempt at making the entire Silmarillion for television, or for Amazon to do what it seems likely Warner Bros. eventually will with Harry Potter and just re-tread the books we've already seen adapted exceptionally well to film in the 2000s - this time to a 2020s TV series (ostensibly so that they can use the additional time allowed by the format to be truer to the original text, but you KNOW there would be a ton of new stuff in there that would drive the long-time fanbase crazy!)

Instead, Amazon took the first eight minutes of The Fellowship of the Ring, the prologue describing the end of the Second Age, conveyed so memorably and elegantly at the opening of that 2001 film, and cracked that series of decades (and sometimes centuries) of events open to create an apparently ongoing TV show detailing exactly how Sauron the deceiver was able to deceive all the races of Middle-earth quite so skilfully, and get his jewellery side-business booming. 

Maybe the most EXPENSIVE experience ever put to the small screen, let's see if all of those hopes and dreams of cornering the streaming market paid off for Bezos. We've brought back Chris Eason, our running-mate from the original 2012 Lord of the Rings episodes (still some of our very best) and The Hobbit (an exercise in hopes being dashed over a number of years), along with the always-engaging, insightful and smart Brendan Agnew. There's definitely things we like here. But some of us are madder than others. 

Guests:

Chris Eason of GameBurst @Legoftime 

Brenden Agnew of Cinapse  @BLCAgnew