School of Movies

[School of Movies 2025] A major milestone in British cinema, pairing up dramatic director Mike Newell with comedy mainstay Richard Curtis. This one is easy to handwave off as fluffy and light, but it is a favourite of one of our psychology-specialising friends Doctor Hunter Mulcare, who joined us for Love Actually and specifically requested that when we covered this film, we have him on as a guest. The principle is simple, based on Curtis' own experience of attending dozens of weddings for various friends and acquaintances in a very short space of time, being propositioned by a mysterious lady whom he turned down... the afterimage of that road not taken stuck in his head, forming the anxiety of Hugh Grant's lead character, Charlie. And when it comes to this chap and his gaggle of unmarried friends one thing is certain regarding funerals and weddings... we may not get one, but we'll definitely get the other. This film is frank, hilarious, often painful and an accurately acerbic portrait of the British people. Certainly it struck home enough to make its budget back fifty times over, back in 1995. It remains special and a favourite of our too. Next week: We begin Marvel Season Guest: Dr Hunter Mulcare @realhuntermmm [https://twitter.com/realhuntermmm]

[School of Movies 2025] This is a BIG one folks, the first major change in direction for silver screen DC comics adaptations since Nolan's Batman Begins in 2005 (though it has plenty of recent tonal forerunners to back it up, including Aquaman, Blue Beetle and the first Shazam! all of which we recommend seeing as well). This is what Warner Bros. were blushingly groping for in 2017 while trying to course-correct Zack Snyder's Justice League in the edit. But it isn't just a statement of intent for the future and a mission statement for potentially carving out a much more successful, crowd-pleasing cinematic universe, this is, first and foremost a GREAT superhero movie, bringing an even less-compromised version of Clark to the big screen than the classic Donner films. The red outerpants are back, bringing with them an unabashed joy at finally getting to be THIS version of itself, powered by phenomenally talented young stars and balancing humour with heart. The level of adulation and happiness we've seen exhibited over this one has been nourishing, and while there's plenty who have a bone to pick over decisions made within this flawed and messy movie I'd really like it to be the opposite of Snyder's take, and be a unifying rather than dividing force. So all are welcome, you don't have to agree with us, and maybe we can illuminate the qualities on show here in a way that helps some folks tentatively embrace Superman. Guests: From Sequentially Yours [https://www.youtube.com/user/sequentiallyyours]  Kaoru Negisa  @moonpanther22.bsky.social‬ [https://bsky.app/profile/moonpanther22.bsky.social] and Debbie Morse  @bastet8300.bsky.social‬ [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:mz56z73qjkzbuvxogwqozyza] Brendan Agnew from Cinapse [https://www.cinapse.io/] @blcagnew.bsky.social‬ [https://bsky.app/profile/blcagnew.bsky.social] And you should follow us at @schoolofmovies.bsky.social‬ [https://bsky.app/profile/schoolofmovies.bsky.social]

[School of Everything Else 2025] We return to the Forgotten Realms of Baldur's Gate III and do our best to remember what happened during our games. This time we get to talk about Shadowheart, a cleric who is deeply embroiled in an oppressive cult, in service to Dark Mommy (luckily, she just joined the club). On that note, we talk about character similarities as a strength and a weakness. We talk Karlach, a towering, flaming, somewhat terrifying Tiefling barbarian who spends most of her time on fire and is in fact sweet-natured, affable and excited to be doing quests with friends. We also discuss the limitations that rear their heads within a game where you can pretty much do anything. Then there's Wyll Ravengard, the Blade of Frontiers, who lost an eye and gained two horns, while in service of another Dark Mommy. And then there's the great big roly-poly bear, shapeshifting elf druid Halsin, who has proved... rather popular. We also talk about the most insidious villain in Act 1 of the game, as well as our smorgasbord of options when it comes to romancing. We will return with a third part in this series sometime soon, when at least I have finished the game (by which point, Will shall be on their third run!) and we will bring in some seasoned guests to talk about their further experiences. Once again, thank you to Sarah Montgomery, without whom these BG3 shows would not exist.

[School of Everything Else 2025] One of the most ambitious projects for our podcast to date, this commission required the purchase of a PlayStation 5 and presents myself, Sharon and our teenager Willow with a massive and exceptionally dense and rich 80-hour tabletop-style RPG to battle through... each on our own individual quests. To that end, this is the first of three shows covering the celebrated 2023 game by Larian Studios. The second is a session the three of us recorded the day after this one, covering more of our extensive notes and experiences, and the third is yet to be recorded at the time of release, but will entail bringing in many guests to talk about their personal adventures and the endgame. These initial two cover mostly the first act of three, as it makes sense to give us all a big chunky meal to chew over, but save dessert for last. It is relatively spoiler-free, as Sharon and I have no idea what's going to happen in the future and Willow, who has actually completed the game and raced up behind us in a second playthrough, is considerate enough to hold off on blabbing about big impending shifts in character arcs. To that end you can listen to these first two, having never played the game, and familiarise yourself with the often-daunting range of possibilities that this quite extraordinary game holds. Many thanks to backer Sarah Montgomery, without whom there is no way this trio of shows would have been made.

[School of Movies 2025] Maybe THE most American of children's properties from the 1980s, G.I. Joe began life as a big doll that boys could dress up for war, but as public sentiment turned against the conflict in Vietnam, Hasbro nudged their chunky action figure towards more of an adventure brand. Then in Reagan's 80s, Joe was relaunched as A Real American Hero, the first massively successful multimedia campaign designed to sell toys through cartoons and comics. But following that period of relative peacetime, Joe fared less well in the 90s, and most definitely struggled in the 2000s. In this show we discuss the cartoon and its characters, the 1987 animated film and the 2009 attempt to launch a live action movie franchise with The Rise of Cobra. Is it really as jingoistic and flag-waving as first impressions convey? Is it gross and macho or actually kind of sweet? We have further listening on this matter with two After School Clubs on the 2013 sequel, Retaliation (the one starring the Rock) and the solo Snake Eyes outing from 2021 starring Henry Golding (plus the best animated show so far, 2010's Renegades)