Film School

How decisions about Time affect our storytelling.

"Trees and people used to be good friends..."

This week, we're watching Miyazaki's first masterpiece.

What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? An instant of pain, perhaps? Something dead which still seems to be alive? An emotion suspended in time? Like a blurred photograph? Like an insect trapped in amber?

When we talk about "genre" as it relates to movies, books, comics, etc. what do we mean? What IS "genre?" Josh and Ira break down how we use that term on Film School.

Also, Josh recommends MasterChef (Hulu), and Ira recommends Sunderland Till I Die (Netflix).

The Genre Five Leaf Clover is available over at StoryGrid.com: https://storygrid.com/books/story-grid-genre-five-leaf-clover/

"The earth knows it's wrong for us to survive..."

We're diving into Miyazaki's second feature film! The world is a wasteland called the "sea of despair." But one intrepid young heroine might have the keys to save us all.

Josh and Ira take a trip outdoors to visit the Criterion Closet when it visited Los Angeles. It was a hoot!

Hayao Miyazaki's first film!

Josh announces our next project on Film School: we're diving deep into the Japanese anime master, Hayao Miyazaki!

I'm not drinking any f----ing merlot!

Discovering the object of the game is the object of the game...

It's hard to follow up a classic thriller like Seven, but that's exactly what David Fincher had to do with his next feature film, The Game. Michael Douglas, the man who has everything, is given "The Game" for his birthday. But what is 'the game?' Nobody will tell him. And very quickly, things turn up to 11 - murder, espionage, love, and unexpected trips to Mexico. At the time, this film seems to have been met with a bit of a shrug. But it turns out, decades later, its kinda turned into a cult favorite. Dare we say...another classic? Either way, Josh has never seen it. DON'T SPOIL IT FOR HIM. Buckle up. This one is a ride.

I know what came over you: High Anxiety. You've still got it!

Well, it turns out we couldn't quite get ol' Hitch out of our system, and neither could Mel Brooks. The king of satire does his signature send-up of the suspense film master, and it's starring Brooks himself! A first! This also, somehow, marks the first time we've watched a Books picture on this podcast, which reeks of high crime. Better late than never, we suppose. Enjoy!

53 films. 50 years. 6 decades. After watching every single movie Alfred Hitchcock ever made (minus one, lost in time), Josh and Ira reflect back on the past two years they spent with the legendary director. Beyond the topics of 'what did we learn about and from Hitch?', we attempt to answer a couple massive questions. First: is he the best director of all time? And second: what are the essential watches from his catalogue? We discuss!

Leave your crystal balls out of this, George...

It's Hitchcock's final film. After 6 decades, 53 films, and 50 years, Alfred Hitchcock finally reached the end. His last feature is remarkably light fare, comedy over suspense, jokes over violence, a cozy old-school sensibility over the edginess that exploded in the 70s. So, how does it stack up? Did old Hitch still have it? We watch and find out.

When you're entering into a new chapter of life--any kind; moving, finishing a big project, marriage, divorce, kids, a breakthrough in therapy, new job...--how do you handle that? Is there anything you do, either external or internal, to aid yourself in the process of accepting the change and moving on? We discuss!

Also, Josh recommends Cloverfield, and Ira recommends Severance Season 2, which is on AppleTV, and Alone: Australia which is on Netflix.

Don't forget: Bob's your uncle...

It's Hitchcock's penultimate film! Second-to-last! And first film in the wild 70s, an era where the R-rating became a thing, and a new frontier opened up in cinema that involved increasingly pushing the envelope of what was acceptable on film. To Hitch's credit, he understood that. He could see that movies were changing, and he pitched in with his own evenlope-pushing story of a serial rapist-murderer loose in the Covent Garden area of London. We watch and discuss!

Do you take naps? If you don't, why is that? And if you do, do you feel guilty about it? Or are they a regular part of your routine (at least when life allows it)? We discuss our stance on all the above (spoiler: we're pro nap), and how we fit such indulgences into our daily routine.

Also, Josh recommends Man of the Year which is currently on Tubi, and Ira recommends Mondovino, which is on Pluto TV.

Does the word "topaz" mean anything to you?

The Cold War rages on in the world, and Hitchcock delivers a political/spy thriller centered on the lead-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, apparently even based on real events. Is Hitch just replaying the old hits? Or does this one have any juice on its own? We watch to find out!

When making art like writing or telling a story, when do you compromise? Or DO you compromise? The word is so loaded with negative connotation, but its definition is so slippery, maybe even personal. So...what's an acceptable level of compromise? We discuss!

Also, Josh recommends re-watching Severance season 1 on Apple TV+, and Ira recommends SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, which is on Peacock.

How would you like to live behind what you call the Iron Curtain...?

It's the height of the cold war. Hitch swaps his nationless networks of mysterious criminals for a far more real-world one: East Germany and the Russians. It's also a different era of Hollywood that's starting to emerge, actors like Julie Andrews and Paul Newman who expect to have much more of a say on set than the contract actors of the past. So, will Al adapt with the times? We watch and find out!