School of Movies

[School of Movies 2026]

A surprisingly personal and tender show, dealing with some difficult subject matter comes out of this criminally forgotten 1989 Ron Howard family comedy drama.

It was a staple of my childhood and looking back, it seems like I took on board a great deal of the life lessons experienced by the amazing ensemble cast of the Buckman Megafamily, which include Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Diane Wiest, Rick Moranis, Harleyy Kozak, Tom Hulce, Martha Plimpton, Jason Robards and stellar performances from both a young Keanu Reeves and Joaquin Phoenix.

Whether you're a parent yourself or not, you had someone appointed with the task of looking after you when you were a child, and whether they did a good, bad or mixed bag of a job, chances are you're going to find something in here to relate to. Definitely one to listen to when you can give it time to absorb, and my god, watch this movie!

[School of Everything Else 2026]

This is the best thing Marvel have ever made out of X-Men. That is not hyperbole. Stack up every comic, every animated series, every video game and every movie, and only a handful even come close to this level of both crafted quality and ferocious realisation of evolved central themes.

The original X-Men '92 show ran all the way up to September 1997 with the 76th episode "Graduation Day". The show had suddenly plummeted in quality after a really solid first four seasons when the budget was slashed and the animation switched to the lowest bidder studio possible. Marvel were broke and this was a sorry end to their flagship animated series which in the 90s was really only rivalled by Batman and Radioactive Spider-Man in terms of cultural footprint. That theme song lives in our head rent-free and the MCU have been teasing us with the jingle for years now.

However, this follow-up series that requires no prior knowledge to appreciate, hit the ground sprinting with a voice cast that were a mix of the familiar and powerful new performers, stunning hand-drawn animation and an uncompromising, fearless confrontation of the world that hates and fears mutants, holding up a black mirror to our own.

Guest:

Chris Finik @finmonster09

[School of Everything Else 2026]

This is a commissioned episode for Chris Finik, and Alejandra Vargas (both of whom guest on this show) as well as Sarah Montgomery and Self.

The remnants of the shattered team at Telltale, seminal adventure game developers of the 2000s and 2010s return as AdHoc Studio with one of the very best of its type. The premise is simple enough, almost rote by today's standards; In a world of superpowered criminals private security firm SDN send out problem-solving metahumans. The A-Team are all Avengers-Level heroes that America can be proud of, but we don't get to interact with them.

Instead, we as the weary Robert Robertson III, last in his family to wear the Mecha Man suit, have been tasked with coordinating the Z-Team, a bunch of grumpy, rude losers circling the drain and all on the cusp of being fired.

What we do and say as Robert, the people we grow closer with, and the jobs we send them out to do will be the difference between a complete disaster and perhaps a group of friends who do something right for once in their wretched lives.

It's fantastic!

Guests:

Alejandra Vargas

Chris Finik

[School of Movies 2026]

Finally, after twenty years of half-assed attempts (thirty if you count the Roger Corman production never intended to see the light of day) to bring Marvel's First Family to the big screen, they actually nailed it... mostly.

First Steps delivers not just the Silver Age superheroes, but the era itself, in a gorgeous, memorable, hopeful vision of the Kennedy-Era 1960s (one where racism has been dealt with, and women don't struggle to be taken seriously). This alternate Earth of 828 is put in jeopardy when a version of Galactus (who isn't just a big angry CG cloud) comes calling.

Setting aside a dedicated section to air our misgivings over two crucial factors, (wherein Sharon comes up with one subtle but significant story change that blows me away) this episode brings us closer to Doomsday, where these fantastic folks will play prominent roles.

[School of Everything Else 2026]

It's not often we talk about audiodramas on here, the last one I recall that wasn't made by me was the phenomenal World War Z in 2011. THESE three were what I needed in order to care about Star Wars again. Scholar Ian Doescher published the first three (of what would expand to nine and beyond) in lovely hardback book form between 2013 and 2014 envisioning how The Star Wars Original Trilogy would have sounded had it been written by William Shakespeare. But the audio versions we had not listened to until recently, and we absolutely love them.

On this show you will be transported to a galaxy far, far away, one dimension over from the version we're all familiar with, where Rebels and Imperials alike speak in iambic pentameter and soliloquise their innermost thoughts and motivations. It's funny as hell, often rather disarmingly touching and helps garner a fresh perspective on these immortal tales.