samk

This week’s film is the 2007 re-boot of the anarchic ST. TRINIAN’S franchise. Post-reviews, we talk about different takes on the male gaze, on this film as a period piece, and on the way in which such films can be heightened versions of universal truths.

This week our high school season has reached the cultural zenith (no shade: it’s a culturally important film!) of MEAN GIRLS (2004). After some reviews, we talk about meta-commentaries on teenage slang, the refreshing absence of strong male characters, and why this might be a film about leaving the limitations of high school days behind.

Our focus this week is the now 21-year-old (gulp) film, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU. We follow some reviews with some discussion about the iconic status of this film, the multiple (and sometimes surprising!) similarities to Shakespeare, and the fact that it’s sometimes just good fun to put politics aside and — like Kat* […]

10 Years!

Our next film in the high school genre is the 1996 horror/comedy/supernatural drama THE CRAFT. After some largely positive reviews, we talk about how this is ultimately a film about knowing your place, while also being a feminist revenge fantasy, and also discuss the way in which this film exists at the confluence of supernatural […]

The next film in our ‘high school’ season is Richard Linklater’s DAZED AND CONFUSED, from 1993. After perhaps contrasting reviews, we go on to talk about fragmented teenaged memories, gender, and why rites of passage are important on screen.

Our film this week is the 1989 Peter Weir film (and Robin Williams vehicle) DEAD POETS SOCIETY. After our usual reviews, we talk about the aesthetics of this film and its evocative nature, how this film is not like either LOVE ACTUALLY or AVENGERS, and why high school films are often like dreams.

This week sees the start of our mini-season of high school movies, beginning with the seminal John Hughes film THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985). After some reviews, we talk about how character depth is important to a film about stereotypes, why detention really doesn’t work, and whether or not being a teenager is ever about having […]

Our focus on the vampire genre ends, suitably enough, with a movie that parodies many of the tropes that have formed this season: 2014’s WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. After a couple of short reviews of the film, we talk about everything from a focus on the humdrum nature of reality to the importance […]

This week we take on the cultural and cinematic behemoth that is 2008’s TWILIGHT. After some…contrasting reviews, we have a surprisingly enjoyable (and extended: strap in, listeners!) time talking about genre mash-ups, missed moments of poignancy, the traumas of High School, and how this isn’t really a film about vampires at all.