Cinema in Context

Thrillers with an insidious carer at the centre. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Send Help (2026) and Misery (1990). We begin by discussing our shared experience of watching Send Help and praising the performances of Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle and Dylan O'Brien as Bradley Preston. Our conversation jumps between Send Help and Misery, equally praising the performances of Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes and James Caan as Paul Sheldon. The work of Rob Reiner and Sam Raimi as directors is a key part of our enthusiasm, and we compare the films to various other movies, including: Cast Away (2000), Triangle of Sadness (2022), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), The Shining (1980), Lord of the Flies (1963), The Straight Story (1999) and Elf (2003).

Rian Johnson films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Wake Up Dead Man (2025), the latest in the Knives Out series, and Rian Johnson's first film Brick (2005). We begin by discussing our experiences watching Brick back in 2005 and 2006. This moves into us discussing a number of Rian Johnson's films, ending with Wake Up Dead Man. We discuss the range of actors in Wake Up Dead Man, including the accuracy of their casting, the bravado of their performances and whether they had enough to do. Our discussion weaves between the two films and talk about the technical elements and how Johnson and his team have crafted the tension, plot contrivances and semiotics.

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.