Watch The Film With Us

Send us Fan Mail Spooky season is the perfect time to watch a Tim Burton film! And of course, we couldn’t resist spending one episode chatting about his unique style. How did his background in animation influence his later work? How could one describe his films? ALSO: is pumpkin pie actually a pie? In this special Halloween-themed episode, listen in on Cheryl and Lara’s chat about Tim Burton, whil...

Send us Fan Mail What do we picture when we think of the musical genre? Probably not demon barbers who murder people! For spooky season, Cheryl and Lara have hopped into Tim Burton’s dark and gloomy Sweeney Todd. We chat about how Sweeney Todd is completely different to what we expect when we think of musicals, and why it still satisfies audience expectations. Side note, do you think that Sweeney...

Send us Fan Mail What makes La La Land such a successful romcom? How does Damien Chazelle break the romcom formula and still meet and fulfil our romcom desires? Lara and Cheryl chat about the film’s double ending and why we think it helps to both satisfy our expectations and create more meaning within the film. Stick around until the end of the episode to find out which film we will be watching ne...

Send us Fan Mail Why did Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) 'sell out' in La La Land and why is selling out a bad thing? In this episode, we talk about how artists may sell out not because of the money, but also because the chance to perform might be more important to them than not performing at all. We also discuss how the main characters' passion for their respective crafts got in the way o...

Send us Fan Mail Why are there so many movies and TV shows about Hollywood and the concept of celebrity? What are the ways that filmmakers explore the positive and negative sides of the industry? This week, we’re talking about the film industry’s obsession with Hollywood (i.e... themselves), and we chat through why the artist’s struggle is such an appealing topic for both filmmakers to explore and...

Send us Fan Mail Why do movie musicals hire actors who aren’t singers or dancers to perform in the film? How did Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling fare in “La La Land”? This week, we talk about actors brought on for their star power rather than their singing ability; people who act but have another person sing for them (i.e. Zac Efron in the first High School Musical) and movies we’ve found successful d...

Send us Fan Mail What is the musical genre? Is this a genre in and of itself, or do musicals fall into other genres as well? Join us as we begin watching & discussing the super enjoyable La La Land, where we try our very best not to sing along and talk about why it took so long for Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) to meet in the first part of the film. Reference material: ‘‘La La...

Send us Fan Mail Why do critics love to hate on the romcom? Why aren’t “popular” films taken seriously by critics? In this episode, we talk about the reception of the romcom genre and why we think it’s important for writers and critics to take the genre and its audiences more seriously. We also announce the theme for our next season, and how it relates to When Harry Met Sally and the films we’ve w...

Send us Fan Mail What did we think of Christopher Nolan’s new film “TENET”? How does it differ from his other films? And what is it like returning to the theatre after a six-month hiatus? We discuss what makes Nolan's films more successful than other modern action blockbusters, and the importance of smart, complex action movies in 2020's film landscape. Some spoilers in this episode (sta...

Send us Fan Mail How are the most recent romcoms different from When Harry Met Sally? Why do most genres have remakes, except for the romcom genre? In this episode, we chat through some of our own hypotheses about why most romcom storylines aren’t timeless, and how, against all odds, some romcoms disrupt the genre and become classics.  Reference material: The Guardian: Love is (still) in the air:...

Send us Fan Mail “I’ll have what she’s having!” What makes people want to have what Nora Ephron’s having?  In this episode, we talk about the Queen of romantic comedy herself, Nora Ephron, and how she shaped the romcom genre, as well as how her work endures. While watching the second part of “When Harry Met Sally”, we discuss her background and writing style, and how her journalism background infl...

Send us Fan Mail Let’s turn back time and talk about the evolution of the romcom and what they looked like throughout history - from Shakespeare all the way up to the late 70’s. We also talk about how the passage of time is used to reflect realistic character growth in When Harry Met Sally, and how time is an important element in the film. Join us as we witness what happens when Harry meets Sally...

Send us Fan Mail Is there anything more quintessentially ‘romantic comedy’ than unrequited love? Join us as we watch the last part of The Half of It - did we get our classic romcom happily ever after? In this episode, we talk about how the trailer formed our expectations of this film and whether the ending met those expectations. We also reveal what film we’re going to watch next - so definitely l...

Send us Fan Mail What is a ‘cool girl’ character and what kind of movies do we see her in? In this episode, we talk about how Aster fits into this trope and why writers should stop writing their female characters this way. We chat about whose perspective we are seeing Aster through, and why that might make Aster both different and similar to other cool girls. Lastly, we answer why we think that th...

Send us Fan Mail Is The Half of It a romcom? What is the difference between a teen movie and a romcom? Is Ellie the protagonist actually a side character in her own movie? We discuss the cinematic choices director Alice Wu makes in framing Ellie, and if the witty banter - typically used to deepen the romantic interest - affects our expectations of who the main couple actually is. Plus, the use of...

Send us Fan Mail What different choices do writers and producers make when creating the modern day romcom? What diverse voices are we hearing from in The Half of It? How has The Half of It (in this part so far) followed (or not followed) the typical romcom formula from the early 2000s and 2010s? This week, we meet Ellie, Aster and Paul in Netflix’s The Half of It by Alice Wu, and explore her moder...

Send us Fan Mail Who does Sophie end up with, and are there any last minute obstacles that get in the way? Why do people still watch romcoms if they are not surprised by what happens in the film? What does the romcom formula promise us that other film genres don’t provide?  Movie Credit: All movie content belongs to the filmmaker, producers and creatives. Theme Music Credit: Ultra Lights by Stefan...

Send us Fan Mail In romcoms (with straight couples), does the guy fall for the girl first? Why do romcom trailers reveal everything that is going to happen? What makes us still want to watch the film after seeing the whole story in the trailer? Why can we never remember the characters’ names? And more importantly, will Claire succeed in her search for Lorenzo as we near the end of the film?  Movie...

Send us Fan Mail What is the romcom formula? And what do we expect to happen when we watch romcoms? In this episode, we talk about the romcom formula, trailer music, Amanda Seyfried’s hair and more, while joining Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) on her pre-wedding trip to Verona, Italy in Letters to Juliet. **Excuse the beeping in the background, it's only on this episode!** Trailer Music Mentioned:...

Send us Fan Mail Is the romcom genre complete without some character development? Do romcoms have to have a happily ever after to fit into the genre? This week, we meet Charlie (Christopher Egan), who may or may not be Sophie’s romantic interest in the film. We also meet Claire (Vanessa Redgrave), Charlie’s grandmother, who has come back to Italy to find a former love interest. Movie Credit: All m...