Cinema in Context

Wizarding World sequels. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss the second Fantastic Beasts film, The Crimes of Grindelwald, and the third Harry Potter film, subtitles The Prisoner of Azkaban. Our discussion begins by discussing the Wizarding World logo and the franchise quality of these films, and then quickly develops into how the two stories are structured. We compare the casts in both films, and praise the commitment and calibre of the performances. The world-building is impressive in both films, with Prisoner of Azkaban changing the visual style of the films for the better and Fantastic Beasts potentially retreading ground. We spend a reasonable amount of time fanning out on the time travel in Prisoner of Azkaban. We then talk through the madness that is the final scenes and sequences of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and how the film needs an additional screenwriter. We celebrate the music in Prisoner of Azkaban and the brilliance of John Williams. We praise the Dementors in Azkaban, the Quidditch sequence and the film's sense of humour.

Diegetic musicals. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss A Star Is Born and Cabaret. We begin by discussing the prowess of both Lady Gaga and Liza Minelli in the opening of each film. We unpack the narrative structure of A Star Is Born, looking at the first and second half, and stylistic throw-backs to other directors, which include Richard Linklater and David O. Russell. We talk about the heightened nature of Cabaret, particularly the sharp cuts that add to the irony in the film, how ominous the film is, and how the film carefully develops character. Our discussion moves to talking about the music and performance in A Star Is Born, how they constructed the live scenes and its treatment of the different music styles. We talk about the artistic choices in Cabaret, with the Emcee being a personification of Berlin and capturing German Expressionism.

Culture clash wedding films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Crazy Rich Asians and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, two romantic comedies that have broken Box Office records. Our discussion begins with acknowledging that My Big Fat Greek Wedding has not aged very well, so we try and find redeemable qualities in the film. We burst out in outrage at the poor Health and Safety protocols of John Corbett's teacher character. As teachers, we were not amused. The film is not pretty to look at, with corny wipes, bland colour schemes and setups with limited depth. We compare My Big Fat Greek Wedding to another one-woman stage show adaptation, No. 2, and another stage to film adaptation, Mamma Mia! Our conversation then jumps into a discussion about Crazy Rich Asians, talking about the clear appeal the film has with audiences. We talk about the strength of the four main female actors, particularly Awkwafina and Michelle Yeoh. The film is beautiful to look at, particularly as an advertisement for holidays in Singapore. The consumerism on display in the film is unsettling and we talk about how we came to terms with it. We then talked about specific scenes of the film, like the opening prologue, the best friend's family and the wedding itself. When then investigate the strange music choices made in Crazy Rich Asians, particularly the 1950s post-war Chinese music. We then return to My Big Fat Greek Wedding and discuss the use of voice over.

Tom Cruise action films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Mission: Impossible - Fallout and Top Gun. We jump straight into a discussion about the Mission: Impossible films, highlighting the strength of the director talent for each of the films, comparing it to the James Bond and Harry Potter films. Our chat then moves to Top Gun and how out of date the film feels in retrospect. Gender representation, hard-body masculinity and homoerotica is talked about in regards to Top Gun. We all agree that Tom Cruise is an impressive performer, both in terms of charisma and commitment. We talk about the strength of the other actors in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, except for Henry Cavill, which sparks a debate. We talk about the strength of certain characters and action sequences in Mission: Impossible - Fallout.

Action films in a building. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Die Hard and Skyscraper. We begin by comparing Skyscraper to other films, like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Galaxy Quest, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, MacGyver, and even the musical Annie. Dwayne Johnson does a great job as the "every man" action hero and Neve Campbell does a great job as his calm and collected wife. We then discuss whether Skyscraper was taking itself seriously or self-aware silly. Discussion then moves onto Die Hard and how fantastic the film is, tightly woven together like a puzzle. We then talk about experiential cinema experiences, watching Die Hard with themed food, secret cinema viewings of Blade Runner and promotional beach screenings of Jaws. We talk about Die Hard as a Christmas film, along with Batman Returns, Lethal Weapon and Gremlins. Alan Rickman is brilliant and we talk about his strengths, and how apart from his character, Bruce Willis's character and Sgt. Al Powell, the film is populated with idiots. Our discussion then moves into a space where we consider the Chinese cinema market and how recent Hollywood films are appealing to China market, which includes Skyscraper being set in Hong Kong. We then talk about different cultures and how they produce different types of films.

Ocean's Eleven franchise films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Ocean's Eight and Ocean's Eleven, starting with acknowledging that the two films are very similar. We talk about the strength of the cast in Ocean's Eight, especially with the film's focus on character. We talk about the cinematography in both films, with the strength of cinematography in Ocean's Eleven and the straightforward, functional camerawork in Ocean's Eight. We talk about the possible "coming out" of the characters in Ocean's Eight and other films, like Captain America: The Winter Soldier. We then talk about certain characters in both films who don't fully work as well rounded individuals, then also praising key performances. Our discussion then moves into a discussion about pace in both films. Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen and the original Ocean's 11 then become the focus of our discussion, talking about how all three are not as good as these two other films. Our conversation wraps up by touching on the gender politics in both films and how both films add to the catalogue of predominantly female storytelling.

Social satire set in Japan. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Isle of Dogs and Battle Royale. Discussion starts by comparing Battle Royale to our teaching experience, to The Hunger Games and to the current popularity of Battle Royale genre computer games, like Fortnite. We shift discussion to Isle of Dogs and commend the beautiful imagery, the tonal darkness of the story and how that relates to our world, and the joy of some of the gags in the film. Both films introduce romance, with young people professing their love in Battle Royale and a handful of couplings in Isle of Dogs. Our discussion then moves into how America and American cinema intersects with these films, with an American character in Isle of Dogs, made by an American creative team, and then the commentary around American involvement in other countries in Battle Royale II. Our conversation wraps up by discussing youth and how they factor into both films.

Science Fiction thrillers. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss A Quiet Place and Signs, two films with a lot of similarities, with the most obvious connections being that they are about small families surviving in the midst of an invasion by hostile creatures. We start by discussing the merits of A Quiet Place and the dated qualities of Signs. We discuss the history of cinema around the release of Signs and where M. Night Shyamalan's career headed. Discussion then moves into the merits of A Quiet Place, particularly the strength of the acting without spoken dialogue. Our discussion then goes back to M. Night Shyamalan's films and the atrociousness of The Happening, Split and Lady In The Water. For fear of bagging on Signs the whole time, we then move our discussion back to A Quiet Place and talk about its strong world-building, its ability to build a threatening alien presence, and the metaphor of the silence present in the film. We talk about the strength of the sound design in the film, including the use of diegetic music, comparing it to a similar use in Lost and Baby Driver. But we can't help ourselves and return to pull apart Signs.

Super hero films. *SPOILER ALERT FOR MANY SUPERHERO FILMS* Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Black Panther and any of the superhero films made in cinema history. We jump right into the discussion around black representation in Black Panther and if it does enough for representation. We compare representation of race with similar representation in Wonder Woman and District 9. We then talk about the cast in Black Panther, the strength of the talent on screen and the complexity of their characters. Black Panther is not only strong in its representation of people of colour, but also its representation of women. We then move on to comparing it to other superhero films, like X-Men, Batman, Batman Returns, Superman, Spider-Man, X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Wolverine, Wonder Woman 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Flash Gordon, Chronicle, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Logan, Watchmen, The Incredibles, Man of Steel, Justice League, Suicide Squad, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Unbreakable, Split, Glass, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Deadpool, and Deadpool 2.

Oscar Special 2018. Sarah Watt, Max Tarrant, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss the films nominated for Academy Awards this year. Here are our picks:

- Best Picture: Dunkirk

- Actor in a Leading Role: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

- Actress in a Leading Role: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri

- Actor in a Supporting Role: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

- Actress in a Supporting Role: Allison Janney, I, Tonya

- Animated Feature Film: Coco (2 votes) / Loving Vincent (1 vote)

- Cinematography: Blade Runner (3 votes) / Dunkirk (1 vote)

- Directing: The Shape of Water (3 votes) / Dunkirk (1 vote)

- Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By Your Name

- Original Screenplay: Get Out (2 votes) / Lady Bird (2 vote) / (Though it will likely be…) Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

We ran out of time to talk about the following categories, but here are our picks:

- Costume Design: Phantom Thread

- Film Editing: Dunkirk (2 votes) / Baby Driver (1 vote) / I, Tonya (1 vote)

- Foreign Language Film: The Square

- Makeup and Hairdressing: Darkest Hour

- Original Score: Dunkirk (2 votes) / The Shape of Water (2 votes)

- Original Song: “This Is Me,” The Greatest Showman

- Production Design: Blade Runner 2049 (2 votes) / The Shape of Water (2 votes)

- Sound Editing: Dunkirk (3 votes) / Blade Runner 2049 (1 vote)

- Sound Mixing: Baby Driver (1 vote) / Blade Runner 2049 (1 vote) / Dunkirk (1 vote) / Star Wars: The Last Jedi (1 vote)

- Visual Effects: Blade Runner 2049 (2 votes) / War for the Planet of the Apes (2 votes)

And we didn’t discuss these categories, having not seen most of the films nominated:

- Documentary Feature

- Documentary Short Subject

- Animated Short Film

- Live Action Short Film