Cinema in Context

The best of the year. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss their film and television highlights of the year, including their biggest surprise, biggest disappointment, classic revisted, best television and best films of 2025.

Here are the films and television shows we discussed:

• Biggest surprise of the year: Ne Zha 2 (William); The Last Showgirl (Sarah); Final Destination: Bloodlines (Jeremy)

Biggest disappointment of the year: After the Hunt (Sarah); Sinners (William) - with disappointed shout outs to Den of Thieves: Pantera and The Accountant 2; The Brutalist (Jeremy)

• Classic revisited: Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) [Jeremy] - with a shout out to All That Jazz (1979); Tron (1982) and The Little Mermaid (1989) [William]; Scarface (1983) [Sarah] - with shout outs to Pretty Woman (1990) and Final Destination (2000)

• Best television: The Pitt, Season 1 (Sarah); Andor, Season 2 (William); The White Lotus, Season 3 (Jeremy) - with shout outs to The Celebrity Traitors, The Gilded Age, Severance, Squid Games, Stranger Things, Heated Rivalry, Boots and Pluribus

• Runner-ups to the film of the year: Frankenstein, The House Within and Conclave (Sarah); 28 Years Later, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Anora (William); Final Destination: Bloodlines and Anora (Jeremy)

• Best film of the year: 28 Years Later (Sarah); F1: The Movie (William); One Battle After Another (Jeremy)

1987 and 2025 versions of The Runninng Man. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss The Running Man (2025) and The Running Man (1987), adaptations of the Richard Bachman aka Stephen King novel of the same name. We begin with our initial reactions to the new film, recorded immediately after watching the preview screening together. The conversation moves to the original adaptation from 1987 - we generally praise the fun-factor in the film. We move between the two films and consider the strengths and weaknesses, linking back to the Stephen King novel throughout.

Paul Thomas Anderson films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss One Battle After Another (2025) and Punch Drunk Love (2002), both directed by PTA. Out conversation begins by comparing the villains in both films, played by Sean Penn and Philip Seymour Hoffman, respectively. We talk about the confident performances of Adam Sandler and Emily Watson in Punch Drunk Love. We praise the work of Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another and discuss our other highlights from the film. We also praise the performances of Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor. We make connections to the films Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Children of Men, Heat and The Dark Knight; the work of David Lynch, The Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino and Spike Jonze; and the Western genre.

Girl power demon slayers. Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss KPop Demon Hunters (2025) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). William and Jeremy also watched the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) television series episode "Hush" (Season 4, Episode 10), as well as reference "Doppelgangland" (Season 3, Episode 16) and the musical episode "Once More With Feeling" (Season 6, Episode 7). The conversation begins by discussing connections to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe, with William's first foray into the world in preparation for this episode and Jeremy's fandom being put to the test by watching the film for the first time. Both are critical in their experience of watching the Buffy the Vampire Slayer film. Discussion moves to KPop Demon Hunters and highlight how it is a film of its time, hitting a nerve with the public and confidently stepping into the combined cultural consciousness. The conversation moves into a comparison between the work that Sony is doing with animated films and Disney Animation Studios.

Zach Cregger films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Weapons (2025) and Barbarian (2022). Our conversation begins with our experiences watching Barbarian for the first time and it quickly weaves into our reactions to watching Zach Cregger's latest film Barbarian. We make connections between the films and with Heretic (2024), Longlegs (2024), The Shining (1980), Carnivàle (2003-2005), Magnolia (1999), Prisoners (2013), and No Country For Old Men (2007). We praise the work of Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård and Justin Long in Barbarian, and Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Benadict Wong, Alden Ehrenreich, Toby Huss and Amy Madigan in Weapons.

1978 and 2025. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Superman (1978) and Superman (2025). Our conversation begins with our reactions to 1978's Superman, directed by Richard Donner, with most of the podcast watching the film for the first time in preparation for the podcast recording. We talk about the score from John Williams and how it connects to his other great scores from the 1970s and 80s. We praise the merits of the original film, especially Christopher Reeve as Superman and Clark Kent. We discuss the merits of 2025's Superman, directed by Jason Gunn, beginning by praising the chemistry between David Corenswet's Superman and Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane. We talk about the connections between the film and the wider DC Universe films, as well as comparisons to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Zombie films, the first and latest. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss 28 Years Later (2025) and Night of the Living Dead (1968). Our conversation begins with confusion as we realise some podcast hosts were under the impression we were focusing on 28 Days Later (2002). We compare the cinematography of Anthony Dod Mantle in both 28 Years Later and 28 Days Later. We discuss the merits of 28 Years Later, including the performances, storytelling, pacing and narrative left turns. We get into a awkward and sinister inclusion of Jimmy Savile lookalikes in the film and the divisive ending. Our conversation moves to Night of the Living Dead and discussing our experiences watching the film, as well as Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985), Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007), and Survival of the Dead (2009). We praise the performance of Duane Jones and allude to the representation politics of Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, casting a man of colour in both lead roles. We discuss the breadth of the genre and how zombie films have developed over time.

The Final Destination saga. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) and the original Final Destination (2000), as well as the sequels in between: Final Destination 2 (2003), Final Destination 3 (2006), The Final Destination (2009) and Final Destination 5 (2011). We begin by discussing the Health and Safety elements of the films, especially the 'Public Service Announcement' lurking under the surface of the majority of the grisly deaths in the series. Jeremy, Sarah, and William each reminisce about their experiences watching the films. We talk about the process that recent series directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein went through to land the job of the latest film. We celebrate our positive reactions to various moments from across the series, especially the fifth film. We honour the work of Tony Todd and the connections to Candyman (1992) in the series. We talk about the nebulous role of Death as a villain and the logic of the premonitions in each film. Jeremy and William talk through their top kills from the series. We discuss Ali Larter's character, Clear Rivers, the genesis of the original film as a television episode, the range of quality in the acting and the development of the audience's expectations over time.

Pamela Anderson starring films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss The Last Showgirl (2024) and Barb Wire (1996). We begin by discussing Barb Wire and showering it with praise (excuse the pun). We celebrate the 90s-ness of the film. We talk about all the homages and connections we noticed in Barb Wire, including Casablanca (1942), Batman Forever (1995), Alien 3 (1992), Mad Max (1979), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Candyman (1992), Strange Days (1995), and Total Recall (1990). We praise the cast, including Xander Berkeley, Udo Kier and Temuera Morrison. We discuss the production values of Barb Wire, including the visual effects, action, cinematography and other production values. Our conversation explores the criticism of Barb Wire and how the tastes of audiences shifted over the 90s, making connections to Waterworld (1995), Cutthroat Island (1995), Hook (1991) and Charlie's Angels (2000). We move our discussion to The Last Showgirl, directed by Gia Coppola. We talk about the strength of the performances from Pamela Anderson, Brenda Song, Dave Bautista, Billie Lourd and Jamie Lee Curtis. We unpack the script, the tone, the direction and the ultimate aim of the film, with differing reactions from Sarah, William and Jeremy.

Artificially Intelligent girlfriends. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Companion (2025) and Her (2013). Both films have director-writers in Drew Hancock and Spike Jonze, respectively. We start by discussing the vision of the future Her presents and how much has come to pass - 'prescient' is the word we all describe the film as. We celebrate a number of elements of Her that we enjoy. The conversation then moves to a discussion of Companion and how we found the film not as complex as Her. We discuss the films in connection to Lost In Translation (2003), Barbarian (2022), Ex Machina (2014), M3GAN (2022), Hereditary (2018), Midsommar (2019), Beau Is Afraid (2023), Heretic (2024), The White Lotus (2021-) and Yellowjackets (2021-). We praise the performances of Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid. We end with a discussion about real-world AI today and how the films connect to matters at hand.