School of Movies

[School of Movies 2020] The man in the hat is back, and this time he's brought his father. What could have been a much goofier, hapless escapade, diffusing the focus of Raiders, turned out to be the most personal journey for Henry Jones, (Junior and Senior). There's a real thrill to be had from the idea of picking up a search that has spanned thousands of years and racing the Nazis to this immense...

[School of Movies 2020]  The Steven Spielberg season continues with this 1987, semi-autobiographical account from author J.G. Ballard of his time as a boy caught up in the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in World War II. Since we get this conflict from a child's eye view there's a strange energy to proceedings, as our pampered urchin Jamie cannot fully comprehend what's going on as he bounces from...

[School of Movies 2020] This one is so obscure that it didn't quite make $2m at the box office, so we are going to assume the vast majority of you haven't seen it and will shape our show around that. It's also heavy and alarming at times, despite its cosy art style as a stop-motion Australian animation with a quirky, twisted sense of humour. It tells the tale of a young girl named Mary who fights...

[School of Movies 2020]  One of our favourite movies of all time. And so dense and richly layered in the kind of fantasy mirroring reality themes that we thrive on. In fact it is so beloved and so twisty and turny, as well as being bittersweetly painful due to the passing of David Bowie that we've been putting it off for years! Fortunately commissions season often makes us finally push the button...

[School of Movies 2020]  A strange house, a family hiding all kinds of secrets, and an old and rich patriarch found dead. But things are never what they seem here, and if nothing else can be known for certain, this guy was a hugely successful writer of mysteries.  This is a modern masterpiece: A murder mystery that confounds so many of the established moves of the genre, that it hides another stor...

[School of Movies 2020]  A boy gets snatched out of 1978 Florida by an alien intelligence and dumped back there eight years later, having only lost a few hours. A quirk of lightspeed travel that screws up his entire existence and has wrecked his family. That's right it's a fun little sci-fi from Disney! Navigator was one of those also-rans. Not renowned for its cinema release but dearly beloved by...

[School of Movies 2020]  This little-seen gem from 2007 was adapted from an adult fairy tale written as prose over four years by Neil Gaiman, with gorgeous illustrations by Charles Vess. It has a warmth and charm about it that is instantly appealing. Stardust tells the tale of Tristan Thorn, a lad born from two worlds who works in a shop in a little Victorian English village which borders a portal...

[School of Movies 2020] This one is going to be a tough listen for some. We stand by our assertion that it remains the best Tim Burton film, and one that feels both like and unlike his body of work. Our main focus is on the relationship between disgruntled adult son Will and his dying father Edward, who has spent this young man's whole life telling him fantastical tales that can't possibly be true...

[School of Movies 2020] This time around, rather than those nasty little monsters attacking small-town Norman Rockwell America they have their sights set on the big city. The original was clearly a horror movie made with kids in mind. This one is a comedy with a ghoulish sensibility. A corporate lifestyle filled with technology that is supposed to make things easier but only serves as a hindrance?...

[School of Movies 2020] Small town Americana is laid siege to, by a hoard of violent little monsters. It's tough to say whether this is appropriately frightening or frighteningly appropriate, seeing as it's all about ignoring the very clear rules given by those who are aware of what damage can be done by an outbreak like this. "I don't care what the experts say. I'll feed my mogwai after midnight...

[School of Movies 2020] A tough and hard episode for a tough and hard year. We don't usually cover courtroom dramas, but this was both a commissioned episode and one of Sharon's favourites as a teen. A young Aaron Sorkin penned this play about what happens when a certain unauthorised military disciplinary practice goes horribly wrong. It was based on a real life account, and was used to juxtapose...

[School of Everything Else 2020] A completely spoilerific discussion on all five seasons of the modern, second version of She-Ra. I honestly don't know how much someone who has never seen the show will get out of this one, but if you've finished it you'll be in hog heaven. We have eight minds and voices gathered, and they are all going to talk about 25+ characters over a tightly focused two and a...

[School of Movies 2020] The year of Spielberg continues (though I have a feeling 2020 isn't going to be remembered for this, no matter how good we make the shows) with the second Indiana Jones movie, which is in fact a prequel. There's... reasons for that. Ditching the writer of The Empire Strikes Back, producer George Lucas brought in the duo who would pen Howard the Duck, and decided to really l...

[School of Movies 2020] Hot on the heels of The Princess Bride our unexpected Rob Reiner mini-season continues with one of the loudest mockumentaries of all time.  Fictional band Spinal Tap gear up for their big American comeback tour carrying them from New York to Japan. Along the way they experience inconsistent catering presentation, an album cover with zero visual information and a bust-up bet...

[School of Movies 2020] How does one discuss the worst Pixar film? When a studio accomplishes so much and changes the industry, should we not simply forgive them their mishaps and move on? We decided, not necessarily. Because delving into where things went wrong can in fact better illuminate when they get their pieces of art so very right.    So what we have here is an exploration of a downright b...

[School of Movies 2020] As we languish in the ellipses between Phases 3 and 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Batman goes on hold, Superman hangs in the balance, Wonder Woman waits for her delayed sequel release, and the X-Men are quietly reshaped by Disney's Fungineers, and the only big bit of news for this breakdown in the age of superheroes is the Snyder Cut finally getting a chance to be...

[School of Movies 2020] It is inconceivable that we've not covered this movie yet, but there is a shortage of perfect movies, and it would be a shame to waste one. We've danced around doing this abbreviated adaptation of a kissing book for years, and eventually a commission gave us no further excuses, we had to say 'as you wish'.  Both well-known and beloved with the fervour afforded cult classics...

[School of Movies 2020]   On the 19th anniversary of the release of this game-changing animated movie, we look back on the alchemy at work which made this such an abiding hit. Effectively one giant, green middle-finger to Disney, this caper resonated strongly with audiences who wanted to defy that wholesome, controlling and overbearing megacorporation with its twee fairy tales of slender, pretty p...

[School of Movies 2020] In comparison to the enjoyable, solid-enough campy, juvenile, playful original 1995 movie, THIS is a spectacular departure in the direction of chaotic, nonsense. this is what the Mortal Kombat movie would have been if quality was unimportant to the creators.  It's as dumb and cheesy as a sack of Trump chew-toys, and at the same time weirdly specific and accurate on costume...

[School of Movies 2020] Lunatic sorcerer holds a fighting contest to determine whether or not another dimension is allowed to invade ours. They have to win ten in a row. Also there may or may not be fatalities. This 1995 movie was one of the first video game adaptations for the big screen and somehow manages to remain one of the best. Mainly because it's colossal fun and doesn't seem to be so emba...

[School of Movies 2020] This Commission was for the 1973 movie, but this allowed us to contrast the events and philosophies of Michael Crichton's seminal techno-thriller with those of the 2016 HBO show. And we take you on a brisk tour through a land that poses more questions than it answers.  It was decided upon that the fortysomething men and women of an alternate 1983 would like nothing better t...

[School of Everything Else 2020] The long-running British sci-fi comedy series gets its first podcast with us. We picked the season that's easiest to get into and most immediately funny. If a lot of people like this one and especially if newcomers get into Red Dwarf (currently available on Netflix UK and Britbox) then we will record more shows. A ragtag crew of losers on their way back to Earth cr...

[School of Movies 2020]  The same year that Steven Spielberg was directing E.T. fifty miles down the road he was also producing this magnificent Californian domestic ghost story. Tobe Hooper, director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Lifeforce here helmed what ended up as by far my favourite of his films.  And there's many reasons why this one was so effective in 1982 and remains so today. Set a...

[School of Movies 2020]  The Spielberg Season continues with this seminal classic about a gardener, abandoned and far from home, forced to throw his lot in with a group of strange aliens. This is a means of Steve re-exploring the broken family of Close Encounters with a softer, child's perspective. And It's an intimate, playful, heart-aching tale that still absolutely stands up today. It is absolu...

[School of Movies 2020]  After 28 years of waiting and bad Terminator films they finally, FINALLY made a really good one... and nobody turned up. Unfortunately, if you comb YouTube the algorithm that prizes outrage over joy shunts to the top all of the angry boys who hated this box office failure. But right here you will find a deep dive into why this is a brilliant legacy sequel to the first two....