Learning British: A Film and TV Podcast

Sam and Natalia finish THE INBETWEENERS with the show's two film adaptations, THE INBETWEENERS MOVIE and THE INBETWEENERS 2 . THE INBETWEENERS MOVIE (2011) and THE INBETWEENERS 2 (2014) are coming-of-age teen comedy films based on the E4 sitcom, THE INBETWEENERS . Written by series creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, the INBETWEENERS movies act as the de facto finale of the classic British sit...

Sam and Natalia take a reprieve from their Nolan series to watch and review the British cult-comedy classic, THE INBETWEENERS . THE INBETWEENERS is a British coming-of-age sitcom that aired on E4 from 2008 to 2010. The series follows the cringe-inducing misadventures of four awkward Sixth Formers: Will McKenzie (Simon Bird), Simon Cooper (Joe Thomas), Jay Cartwright (James Buckley), and Neil Suthe...

Sam and Natalia sit down and watch Russell T Davies' new contemporary LGBTQ+ drama, TIP TOE . TIP TOE (2026) is a limited television series released on Channel 4. It follows Leo Struthers (Alan Cumming), a bar owner on Canal Street in Manchester's gay village, who becomes embroiled in a feud with his next-door neighbour, Clive Goss (David Morrissey). The show also stars Elizabeth Berrington as Ste...

Sam and Natalia watch the most famous and acclaimed Christopher Nolan film, THE DARK KNIGHT . THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) is the superhero-action sequel to BATMAN BEGINS. The film follows Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Harvey 'Two-Face' Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as they attempt to dismantle organised crime in Gotham, until their plans are derailed by Batman's most...

Sam and Natalia continue their Christopher Nolan series by watching and reviewing his fifth film, THE PRESTIGE . THE PRESTIGE (2006) is a mystery-thriller following two rival magicians, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), in turn-of-the-century London. The film also stars Michael Caine as John Cutter, Scarlett Johansson as Olivia Wenscombe, Rebecca Hall as Sarah Borden...

Prepare for back-to-back BATMAN BEGINS as Sam and Natalia continue their Christopher Nolan retrospective. BATMAN BEGINS (2005) is a superhero-action film which tells the origin story of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) becoming the titular icon. Following the death of his parents, Bruce Wayne fights to stop Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson) and the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) with the help of his butler, Alfr...

Sam and Natalia watch and review the E4 classic, MISFITS . MISFITS is a science fiction dramedy TV show which follows a group of young offenders sentenced to work at a community service centre. After the titular misfits -- Nathan (Robert Sheehan), Simon (Iwan Rheon), Kelly (Lauren Socha), Alisha (Antonia Thomas), and Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) -- acquire supernatural powers based on thei...

Sam and Natalia prepare for the release of THE ODYSSEY by watching Christopher Nolan's third film, INSOMNIA . INSOMNIA (2002) is a neo-noir thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Hillary Seitz. The film follows two Los Angeles detectives, Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan), who start investigating the murder of teenager Kay Connell (Crystal Lowe) in Nightm...

Sam and Natalia continue their preparation for THE ODYSSEY by watching Christopher Nolan's second film, MEMENTO . MEMENTO (2000) is a neo-noir thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Based on a short story by Nolan's brother, MEMENTO follows Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man with anterograde amnesia who cannot retain short-term memories. On a mission to catch and kill the man who...

Sam and Natalia prepare for the release of THE ODYSSEY by watching Christopher Nolan’s first ‘official’ film, FOLLOWING .  FOLLOWING (1998) is a British neo-noir crime film written and directed by Christopher Nolan in his feature-length debut, filmed on black-and-white 16mm and produced on a shoestring budget. It tells the story of a man (Jeremy Theobald) who follows strangers around London b...

In the lead-up to THE ODYSSEY, Sam and Natalia begin their Christopher Nolan watch-along series by immediately arguing about Christopher Nolan's films. Topics of conversation include whether Nolan is British, Steven Spielberg directing OPPENHEIMER, normies, "I'm in the Mood for Dancing", watching films in the cinema, why people who like THE DARK KNIGHT are annoying, BARBIE, Jordan Peele, getting t...

Sam and Natalia watch, review, and rank all four 28 DAYS LATER films. Intro: 00:00 - 01:09 28 DAYS LATER: 01:09 - 26:12 28 WEEKS LATER: 26:12 - 01:05:02 28 YEARS LATER: 01:05:02 - 01:51:48 THE BONE TEMPLE: 01:51:48 - 02:12:34 Final ranking: 02:12:34 - 02:19:25 Don’t forget to ⁠ follow and find us on Instagram⁠ (@learningbritishfilmtv) and follow us on Reddit (r/learningbritish). If you would like...

Sam and Natalia finish their 28 DAYS LATER retrospective by reviewing Nia DaCosta's 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE . 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE is the fourth (and, currently, final) entry in the 28 DAYS LATER film series, staring Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Chi Lewis-Parry. The film follows Spike as he is adopted into "Sir Lord" Jimmy Crystal's sata...

Sam and Natalia continue their watchalong of the 28 DAYS LATER films with the second sequel, 28 YEARS LATER .   28 YEARS LATER is a 2025 zombie horror film starring Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, and Ralph Fiennes. It follows Spike, a boy living in a post-apocalyptic Britain, who undertakes a hazardous journey with his ill mother.   After their cold re...

Sam and Natalia continue their listener-requested 28 DAYS LATER watchalong by reacting to its first sequel, 28 WEEKS LATER . 28 WEEKS LATER is a 2007 zombie horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, starring Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, and Idris Elba. Set six months after the events of the first film, 28 WEEKS LATER follows two young children (portrayed by M...

Is 28 DAYS LATER the best British horror film? Sam and Natalia sit down and watch Danny Boyle’s 2002 horror masterpiece. 28 DAYS LATER (2002) follows Jim (Cillian Murphy), a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to discover that the accidental release of a highly contagious, aggression-inducing virus has caused the collapse of the UK. Joining forces with Selena (Naomie Harris), Frank (Brend...

Sam and Natalia begin the 2026 season of the LEARNING BRITISH podcast by watching and reviewing series four of THE TRAITORS .   THE TRAITORS is a British reality TV show hosted by Claudia Winkleman. The show features a group of contestants participating in a social deduction game in which a small group of contestants become Traitors, who must work together to eliminate the Faithfuls. Series F...

Sam and Natalia finish their HARRY POTTER series by playing and reviewing HOGWARTS LEGACY . HOGWARTS LEGACY is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Avalanche Software and published by Portkey Games. Set in the 1890s at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the player takes on the role of a fifth-year wizarding student (voiced by Sebastian Croft or Amelia Gething) who must use ancient...

Sam and Natalia go to the 2025 London Film Festival in this bonus episode of the LEARNING BRITISH podcast . The 69th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) took place from 8th to the 19th of October, 2025. Sam and Natalia saw eight films total across the festival. Jump ahead to the timestamps below to hear our reviews of each:  (03:15) H IS FOR HAWK (05:50) ENZO (09:22) DIE, MY LOVE (11:14) &amp...

Sam and Natalia watch and review the new Cartoon Network animated show, THE WONDERFULLY WEIRD WORLD OF GUMBALL .  THE WONDERFULLY WEIRD WORLD OF GUMBALL is an animated children's show which follows Gumball Watterson (voiced by Alkaio Thiele), a blue 12-year-old cat, and his 10-year-old adopted brother, Darwin (voiced by Hero Hunter), a goldfish. Co-produced across the United States, Europe, a...

Sam and Natalia finish the FANTASTIC BEASTS trilogy with the third and (thank God) final film, THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE . Five years after the events of the first film, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) tasks Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) with a mission to help take down the dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp... wait, no, sorry, Mads Mikkelsen). Friendships will be tested. Love will be los...

Sam and Natalia sit down to watch James Corden and Mathew Baynton action-comedy TV show: THE WRONG MANS .  THE WRONG MANS follows council workers Sam Pinkett (Mathew Baynton) and Phil Bourne (James Corden), both of whom become entangled in a far-fetched web of crime, conspiracy, and corruption after Pinkett answers a ringing mobile phone at the site of a car crash. Topics of conversation incl...

Please, no, not another one! Sam and Natalia watch and review the next FANTASTIC BEASTS film: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD . Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) attempt to take down the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), reuniting with Newt's old friends: Generic Love Interest (Katherine Waterston), Why Are You Still Here (Dan Fogler), and Ezra Miller... for so...

Sam and Natalia visit London's West End to watch BORN WITH TEETH . BORN WITH TEETH is a play written by Liz Duffy Adams about the relationship between playwrights Christopher Marlowe (Ncuti Gatwa) and William Shakespeare (Edward Bluemel). Written in 2022, the play recently had its British premiere at the Wyndham's Theatre in London. Sam and Natalia sit down to watch Ncuti Gat- wait, no, sorry, han...

After reading that stupid play, Sam and Natalia watch and review the next instalment of the HARRY POTTER film series: FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM. Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a British wizard, arrives in 1920s New York City. After his magical suitcase is mistakenly picked up by Muggle ‘No-Maj’ Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), the two become wrapped up in an evil scheme perpetrated by...