Cinema in Context

Week-long liaisons. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss two films about a young sex worker asked to be a date for a week: Anora (2024) and Pretty Woman (1990). We discuss our initial experiences watching the Gary Marshall's Pretty Woman. We praise the film's creation of tropes, archetypes and memorable movie moments. We celebrate the performances, especially Julia Roberts. We talk about the types of romantic comedies like Pretty Woman that made up a lot of our movies back in the 1990s and early 2000s. We shift our discussion to Anora and gush over the quality of the film. We talk about the comedy elements of the film, the improvisation, the production design, makeup, costume design and the prowess of director Sean Baker. We praise the performance of Mikey Madison as Anora and also Yura Borisov as Igor, both up for acting Oscars. We finish our conversation by looking at connections between the two films.

Minisode: Oscars 2025 by Cinema in Context

Three Paddington films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Paddington (2014), Paddington 2 (2017) and Paddington in Peru (2024) and our general reactions to the films, especially those of us who haven't seen a Paddington film before. We talk about the work of writer and director Paul King, including The Mighty Boosh and Wonka (2023), and praise the work of first-time director Dougal Wilson. We discuss the cast and performances in the films, including the work of Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Emily Mortimer, Ben Wishaw, Jessica Hynes, Matt Lucas, Peter Capaldi, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Julie Walters, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Brendan Gleeson and Noah Taylor. We praise the films' visuals, especially Paddington's animation. This extends into a discussion of live-action, special effects, visual effects and computer generation. We touch on Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024), the work of Ray Harryhausen - Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and Clash of the Titans (1981), the original Godzilla (1954), King Kong (1933), Jurassic Park (1993), Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Doctor Who (1963-) and The Thing (1982).

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, wildcard, best television and best films of 2024.

Here are the films and television shows we discussed:

• Biggest surprise of the year: Migration (William); Kneecap (Sarah); Wicked: Part 1 (Jeremy)

• Biggest disappointment of the year: Means Girls (Sarah and Jeremy); The Bear, Season 3 (William)

• Wildcard: Alien: Romulus (Jeremy); Grand Theft Hamlet (Sarah); Hundreds of Beavers (William)

• Best television: Delicious in Dungeon (William); Hacks, Season 3 (Jeremy); Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Sarah)

• Runner-ups to the film of the year: The Substance and Civil War (Jeremy); The Wild Robot and Robot Dreams (William); Origin and American Fiction (Sarah)

• Best film of the year: Dune: Part Two (Jeremy); Successor | Zhua wa wa (William); All of Us Strangers (Sarah)

Additional shout-outs to Gut Instinct, Rebel Ridge, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Inside Out 2.

1970s television films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Saturday Night (2024) and Network (1976), films about television in 1975. We begin by discussing our connection and experience watching the television sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live (1975-present). We discuss the actors' performances in the film, especially in their impersonations of the famous cast members of the original episode: Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Andy Kaufman. We shift our conversation to Network and how relevant the film still is today. We also praise the performances in Network, including Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Beatrice Straight and Ned Beatty. We compare the two films, especially the costume and production design of both films being similar while being almost 50 years apart.

Mega-city grand vision films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Megalopolis (2024) and Metropolis (1927), films by Francis Ford Coppola and Fritz Lang. We begin by sharing our experiences watching Metropolis, including the first time watching it and our experience watching it more recently. We talk about the music in Metropolis, how it's drawn from music before it and influenced music after the film. We start our conversation about Megalopolis by questioning the film's logic and figuring out what the film is trying to do. We praise and dissect the work of Aubrey Plaza, Talia Shire and Kathryn Hunter, as well as critique the work of the cast as a whole. We consider the film regarding other films and filmmakers' work, trying to figure out what could have made Megalopolis a better film. We discuss the performances from Metropolis, especially the work of Brigitte Helm. We finish by discussing the themes, ideas and politics of Metropolis and whether it is still relevant to us today.

Say their name multiple times. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Candyman (1992) and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024), as well as Beetlejuice (1988). We start by sharing our experiences and reactions to watching Candyman, including the key imagery and ideas that stand out. We praise the score from Phillip Glass, the writing work of Clive Barker, the direction and vision from Bernard Rose, and the commendable acting work and charisma of Virginia Madsen and Tony Todd. We then discuss Beetlejuice (1988), with Sarah watching it for the first time for this episode, which then moves into our reactions and experiences to watching Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). We talk about the connections between the two films and how we seem to connect films in more surprising ways than we initially realise. We discuss the wider state of "Legacy-quels" and the repeated trope of the grown-up lead as a sad parent. We talk about the urban and suburban exploration in both films and how it mines the fears of modern-day audiences.

The Alien franchise. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Alien (1979) and Alien: Romulus (2024), as well as Aliens (1986), Alien³ (1992), Alien: Resurrection (1997), Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017). Our conversation dips in and out of all these films, praising and critiquing the work of directors Ridley Scott, Fede Alvarez, James Cameron, David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. We praise the performances of Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Winona Ryder, Michael Fassbender, Cailee Spaeny, David Johnson and Spike Fearn. We consider the human-android-alien-company relationships throughout all the films, with Ripley, Ash, Bishop, Call, David, Walter, Andy and Rook. We celebrate the production design of the original and new film, and how the latest entry into the franchise harks back to its predecessors. We discuss the lore of the Alien franchise, considering the stages of the titular monster through the queen, egg, face-hugger, chest-burster, xenomorph, "The Newborn" alien hybrid, black goo and now cocoon and "The Offspring". We discuss our predictions of where the Alien franchise might go from here.

Looking back at 100 months. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss the last 100 months of Cinema in Context. We reminisce on the beginnings of the podcast, referencing the many people who have contributed along the way. We discuss our top films of the 'new' films we've focused on since 2016. The films we discuss include Thor: Ragnarok (2017) from Episode 20, Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) from Episode 29, Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) from Episode 74, The Salesman (2016) from Episode 13, Parasite (2019) from Episode 42, Turning Red (2022) from Episode 73, Upgrade (2018) from Episode 33, Cats (2019) from Episode 48 and 57, Encanto (2021) from Episode 70, A Quiet Place (2018) from Episode 25, A Star is Born (2018) from Episode 31 and Tenet (2020) from Episode 54. We wrap up our discussion by looking back at the discoveries we have made in our back catalogue selections over the past eight years, our favourite pairings for different episodes and reflecting on the overall positiveness of the experience we have making this podcast.

Originally from January 2023, Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss the films Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and Titanic (1997). This additional content covers three key questions: each person's favourite moment from the films, one thing they would change and a third film they would group with these movies.