Author: James Ruzicka

Episode 25: Nope, Brother

Watch the skies! Wait, no, DON’T watch the skies, look away!! Jordan Peele’s new scifi horror film Nope dives screaming onto the screen this episode, raining blood, coins and general dread on the audience. But what’s it really about? And is it as skilful in its exploration of the lives of people of colour in […]

Episode 24: School Daze

We’ve been let down by modern cinema’s conservative and risk averse distribution policies this week, meaning our scheduled film My Old School never turned up. So for the first time we’re recording a film podcast without actually having seen a film. Great. Instead we spend the time talking about some of our favourite school based […]

Episode 23: Popcorn Counter: Colonialism

Okay, no-one’s really sure how this happened, but bear with us. Somehow, somehow, in a logical, progressive fashion, we set out to discuss the legacy of colonialism and in the end managed to segue from an examination of Victorian museum design to the movie Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Yes, yes, it could have happened to […]

Episode 22: RRRiotous Fun with Gunga Din

This episode we’re PUNCHING TIGERS IN THE FACE with the incredible Indian breakout hit RRR.  And if that’s not overpowering enough, we’re also watching 1939 adventure movie classic Gunga Din.  Join us for a measured discussion of colonialism, nationalism, cinematic idioms, and LITERALLY THROWING A MOTORCYCLE OVERARM AS A WEAPON WHILE EVERYTHING ELSE ON SCREEN […]

Episode 19: Hammer Time

Ancient gods meet the Marvel Cinematic Universe in this episode, as Thor: Love and Thunder clashes with 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts. Join us for epic tales of the Quest for the Three S’s: swords, sandals and semi-naked men.  But it turns out there’s more than just escapism on screen, as the two films also […]

Episode 17: Elvis the Baz Singer

We’re All Shook Up this episode by the frenetic gyrations of Baz Luhrmann’s new biopic Elvis, another example of style trumping substance. But it’s hardly the first Hollywood film about white people making money out of black music – that might be The Jazz Singer, famously the first talkie (except it isn’t…) from 1927. Has […]

Gojira (1954)

I was sent to review Gojira when it was rereleased in the UK in 2005, by film site FilmExposed.com. I’m looking forward to seeing it again for the pod next week, but in the meantime I thought I’d dig out my old review, below: …. ‘What you see is not a movie. It is utterly […]