Two Reel Cinema Club: Recent Episodes
Two Reel Cinema Club
It’s the final episode of the Two Reel Cinema Club this week, but what a show to go out on: Film of the Year. We’ve seen a wide range of movies of … variable quality this year, and we’ve compared them to a host of immortal classics. But which will walk away clutching one of our seven awards, including Script of the Year, Scene of the Year and Product Placement of the Year? Featuring no-budget true stories, movies we’d almost forgotten about, two appearances by deities, historical films that feel scarily up to date, some surprising disappointments, a dose of heartwarming joy and a special mention for Rob Reiner.
Thanks to all our listeners who’ve helped us get to 200 episodes. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to slide into your ears every week, and we’re both looking forward to seeing you again in different forms as we move onto new projects! All the best, J and A.
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We’re travelling back in time 400 hundred years this episode, to watch the new award-tipped historical drama Hamnet and compare it to an alternative take on Shakespeare, 1990’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Two sets of muddy streets, two sets of Elizabethan gowns, two sets of plays within plays. But which film left us dissolved in a puddle? Which film reminded us of Rousseau and Voltaire? Which film threatens to become grief porn? And which film made us of think of Monty Python and Peter Greenaway?
Plus: Keanu Reeves in New York, Christmas with Bukowski, Mr Bean fights Cassius Clay, a made-for-TV Agatha Christie movie on a mega budget, a consistently terrible series of short films, and a reappearance by the most flatulent man in showbusiness. Happy New Year!
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What a way to end 2025, with the potential sale of Warner Brothers to Netflix hammering another nail into the coffin of cinema. Who are the main players, how much money is involved, and what implications does it have for the wider world? What is the mountain in the Paramount logo? Who could have predicted that the makers of bird documentaries would buy Batman? And why do we reckon that in this battle, whoever wins, we lose?
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(Warning: discussion of suicide from the start.) Season’s Greetings from the Two Reel Cinema Club as we watch the new Scandinavian drama Sentimental Value with Stellan Skarsgård, and compare it to one of the longest films ever released, Ingmar Bergman’s evergreen and ever festive Fanny and Alexander. Two theatrical families, two beautiful houses, two sets of hidden drama. But which of the two movies is European Film Type C? Which invites us into the little world? Which gave us flatulence envy? And which reminded us of a weak cup of tea?
Plus a spelling lesson from Laurence Fishburne, a sci-fi action adventure with Elle Fanning, a quick trip to Ikea, a film so good we bought a new DVD player especially to watch it, an invitation to lick an envelope, and the debut of Wallace and Gromlet. Happy Christmas, one and all!
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We often talk about adaptations at the Popcorn Counter, but this episode we’re joined by Inês Braga to ask: is it ever a good idea to adapt a classic? Old books have the advantage of brand recognition, and if they’re out of copyright there are no royalties to pay, but do the benefits outweigh the risks of sullying a much loved property and making the entire audience angry that you’ve done it wrong? Which classic adaptations got it right and which ones missed the mark? Do young people like to read at all in 2025? And who will read scripts in the future?
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We welcome back screenwriter Inês Braga to this week’s episode, as we watch the new Guillermo del Toro take on Frankenstein, and compare it to maybe the finest Frankenstein in all of cinema, Mel Brooks’ 1974 Young Frankenstein. Two experiments gone wrong, two crazy scientists, two lightning bolts. But which film owes the greatest debt to James Whale? Which film features a barely disguised Peter Thiel? Which film has a beginning that never really pays off? Which film gave some welcome work to artisans and craftspeople? And which film’s producer drove Inês around Los Angeles for a week?
Plus: a documentary about a dark episode in history, a disappointing remake of a Schwarzenegger movie, a look at the new Luca Guadagnino picture, a cameo from The Hulk, a tour through some deleted scenes, and a delivery of 400 small buckets of petrol.
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Trust the Canadians to save cinema: Cineplex’s new Mystery Monday screenings are hoping to revive the flagging exhibition industry. But do we think it will work? And if it doesn’t, how would we save cinema? Featuring costumed actors, great food, locality, curation, communality, microcinemas, using Netflix’s biggest weapon against it, and finding a teenager who’ll agree to jiggle your seat around wildly while you watch The Empire Strikes Back.
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A surprising amount of lightning at the Two Reel Cinema Club this week, as we watch the new Yorgos Lanthimos picture Bugonia, and compare it to the Korean film it’s based on, 2003’s Save the Green Planet. Two kidnaps, two investigations, two conspiracy theories. But how do these two films differ? What is it they want to say? Which film is a prime example of ‘scrap of paper film making’? Why did the remake remind us of Tears for Fears? And who exactly is Jesse Plemons married to?
Plus some animated dinosaurs, a raucous one man band, a Spanish time travel thriller, some fetching knitwear, Neil Young playing a baby shoe, a host of new words including ‘metronomic’ and ‘both-sides-isms’, a VCR floating in space, and a definitive answer to the question: how much electricity can you send through a human body?
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We’re humming along at the popcorn counter this week as we pitch the musical biopics we’d like to see - ones which are a little less bland than some of the music movies we’ve watched recently. Join us as we travel from Canada’s greatest rock trio to the Chairman of the Board, from Jamaica’s tallest export to m-m-m-my Sharona. We get three biopics each, but which is the most obscure? Which is the weirdest? And which one writes itself?
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We’re dancing in the dark this week, as we watch the new movie Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere and then study the film that makes a cameo in that rock and roll biopic, 1955’s The Night of the Hunter. Two bad fathers, two rivers, two tales of growing up poor. But which of the two features the sweatiest man? Which of the two has the most riverside wildlife? Which of the two is wearing twenty undervests and a fake chin? And which movie do we consider a mediocre film that everyone should watch?
Plus a twentieth century ghost story, a short film about migration, a soccer semi-final, an almost silent music producer, a no-show for Courtney Cox and a forest’s worth of the King of England’s trees.
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We’re doing a bit of fantasy programming at the Popcorn Counter this episode, as we reflect on last week’s encounter with two of the major forces in 21st century Hollywood film making: the Coen brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson. They’ve both straddled the arthouse and the multiplex, and they both have an outstanding body of work behind them. But which do we personally rate? Whose films would we prefer to watch? And why does one appeal more than the other?
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At last, two good films in one podcast! This week we’ve watched One Battle After Another, the new Paul Thomas Anderson picture with Leonardo DiCaprio, and we’re comparing it to the film that it doffs its revolutionary cap to, 1998’s comedy classic The Big Lebowski. Two stoners, two missing women, two dirty bathrobes. But which film feels out of time? Which film made us reminisce over payphones? Which film is broadcasting the revolution on AM radio? And which film is a remake of The Big Sleep?
Plus ripping up a copy of the Yellow Pages, the early pregnancy of Obama, a Monty Python Beatles spoof, Seth Rogan exposing Hollywood, Tom Hanks in a FedEx ad, George Orwell and James Baldwin, another film about rocks, and we play a round of the hot new game ‘Six Degrees of Aimee Mann’.
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Welcome to Jeopardy at the Popcorn Counter this week, where we’re pretending to be Alex Trebek with twenty movie related answers, but can you guess the questions? Some of them are doable … and some of them are frankly not. Do you know your Mount Rushmores from your Nostromos? Play along and see if you can beat our score.
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Success is hard to measure in life, but easy to measure in comedy: does it make you laugh or not? After enduring Spinal Tap II last week we’re returning to some of our favourite comedies at the popcorn counter. But what is in our top five, and do we have any overlaps? How does Justin Trudeau fit in to all this? Are popstars funny? Where did we go for Andrew Curtis’ birthday party? And is there a connection between being funny and being objectionable?
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For those about to rock, we salute you this week, as we put on our poodle wigs and tune up our Gibsons to watch the new comedy feature Spinal Tap II: The End Continues and compare it to the film that started it all, 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap. Is the old film still funny? Does the new film live up to its predecessor? Which film sets up gags it never pays off? Which film has the cleverest cameos? And which film made us think of a martial arts movie?
Plus an early Halloween treat from 2017, a Hollywood spoof with Seth Rogan, an amusing brush with cryptocurrency, Stephen King’s best book, echoes of Bill and Ted, another look back at Don’t Look Back, and an Eric Idle film from the 1970s. Rock on!
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Join us as we sit in the darkness at the popcorn counter this week and muse on why Noir seems to be the second most enduring genre in all of cinema. After jiggling our brains a little, we think we can come up with a significant noir film from every decade of the last ninety years. But have we ever tried to write a noir project? And how do noir mysteries trace their origins to bible stories...?
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We don’t know why a detective for hire is called a private dick, but we’ve certainly seen plenty of sexy investigators this week. We have watched the new Ethan Coen 'lesbian B-movie' Honey Don’t, starring Margaret Qualley and Aubrey Plaza, and we’re comparing it to Howard Hawks’ 1946 film noir that it tips its hat to, The Big Sleep with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Two gumshoes, two sets of murders, two seductive mysteries and two steamy romances. But which of these do we consider the most sexually charged film of all time? Which film is fifteen minutes too long, and which is fifteen minutes too short? Which film is 70% of the way there? Which film is hoping to flip your expectations? What did The Big Sleep change when compared to Raymond Chandler’s original book? And who did we leave the cinema wishing we were?
Plus a video game made for four hands, some long scenes from Spielberg, a journey through the labyrinth of immigration, a trip to France with the Cliche Squad, and one of the greatest screen writing teams of all time. Just remember, we’re not enjoying watching these sex scenes. It’s our job.
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Are there are any nepo-babies in the mainstream film industry? Perhaps we should be asking if there are any successful people who aren’t? We started making a list sitting at the popcorn counter this week and soon ran out of ink. But out of all the nepo-babies that we’ve seen at the movies over the last few years, why is Michael Douglas our most admired? We look back at his career and ask how he managed to consistently choose zeitgeist projects for more than thirty years. And out of all these timely pictures, which is our favourite?
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We seem to be stuck in a loop reviewing films called ‘War of the Something’, because this week we’ve watched the new Olivia Coleman Benedict Cumberbatch comedy The Roses, and we’re comparing it to the Kathleen Turner Michael Douglas version of the same story, 1989’s The War of the Roses. Two divorces, two fighting couples, two ruined houses. But which one of these films wants to be Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and which one wants to be Home Alone? Which character has nothing to do? Why does Michael Douglas love the rain? And how do they both compare to the original source novel from 1981?
Plus a documentary about rocks, a return visit to a lost ark, some huge flowers, a Simpson’s tongue twister, a cardinal sin among comedians, a subtly optimistic lecture from Robert Reich, a box of ‘thank-you’ chocolates and a fridge full of deadly raspberries.
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We’re dressed as clowns at the Popcorn Counter this week, as we talk about the crossover between comedy and horror. Why did so many of the most successful contemporary horror directors, including Zach Cregger, Jordan Peele and John Krasinski, get their start in comedy? What are the differences between the two forms, and how are they more similar than you might think? And what’s the single most horrifying thing to a writer?
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Weapons is our new film this week, the sophomore feature from sometime sketch comedian Zack Cregger. It may have a great cast, a great premise and some great scares, but can it stick the landing? We’re comparing it to a film from 1995 that shares its premise and a lot more besides, The City of Lost Children. But which one is best described as Lynchian? Which one is stacked with zany action? Which one looks like a CD-ROM video game? And which one is about so many different themes that’s it’s almost about nothing?
Plus, we watch Selena Gomez and Steve Martin in a New York podcast caper, we singlong to a Netflix K-Pop hit, we ask what a roustabout is, we wonder what happened to the pictures of missing children on milk cartons, and we try to define what ‘brassy’ means.
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This week we dress up for concert night and dare to ask the question: how is it possible to not like John Williams? We scan through some of our favourite movie soundtracks and try to figure out what makes a good one. How broad is Hans Zimmer’s career? Why do we consider the gold standard to be Bernard Herrmann? What’s the best thing about Tron Legacy? What’s the right word to use to describe an Italian Western? What has Patrick Jonsson been doing in the Congo? And what soundtracks do we like to listen to while we write?
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‘Damn!’ That’s what Ice Cube says about two hundred times in tonight’s new film, the Amazon Original feature War of the Worlds. It’s not often that you see a film that confesses, ‘It’s worse than you think,’ in the actual publicity material. But is this new sci-fi non-action picture really as bad as the online chatter claims? And how does it compare to the 2005 version of the same story, Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, starring Tom Cruise and a ten year old Dakota Fanning? Which film makes it hard to tell the difference between the movie and the ads? Which film has something to say about the Attention Economy? Which film breaks the four rules of film making? Which film stars the senior gremlins? And which film features a man tripping over a chair? (Spoiler: it’s both of them.)
Plus a 1960s superhero caper from Marvel, a pop star misadventure with St Vincent, some overtime for the Cliche Squad, a list of constitutional amendments that we don’t need to pay attention to any more, a Sega CD game from 1997, the invention of Narrative Atheism, and a moment when we go just a little bit meta….
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For once we actually agree with Martin Scorsese: there has been an observable degradation in the experience of going to the cinema over the last few years. But is it, as Marty suggests, the fault of unruly audiences? Or is our theory correct, that exhibitors are making things worse? Join us at the popcorn counter this week as we discuss some of the patents we’ve seen recently that are actively trying to make watching movies worse for everyone. Which are real and which are made up? And what can audiences do to resist?
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(Warning: Spoilers for Superman from the start...) We’re seeing double at the Popcorn Counter this week, as we take note of the cultural trend in cinema of actors playing more than one role in a movie. Everyone’s doing it: Superman, Sinners, Mickey 17 and Saturday Night have all used this trick in the last few months. But it’s hardly a new phenomenon. Who did it first, who did it best, who did it the most, and who did it so well we didn’t even notice?
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We have been looking up this week, enjoying Superman new and old. This year’s Superman is James Gunn’s first film as head honcho for the DC Universe, and bears many of his technicolor trademarks. But how much does it owe to the OG, 1978’s Superman the Movie, starring Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman? And does the original still stand up 47 years later? Which film has the longest opening credits we’ve seen in forever? Which film did we watch twice in the space of six hours? Which film takes an hour and nine minutes before we see any superfeats? Which film has the best toupees? And why, why, why, why, WHY do we keep saying ‘Batman’ instead of ‘Superman’?
Plus: an alien invasion by CGI slugs from 2006, a hyper violent low budget superhero spoof from 2010, a happy week spent in a state park, two boxes of candy cigarettes, a concert with St Vincent, a very long single from Laurie Anderson, and some tantric advice for Sting as we join the Seven Minute Climax Club…
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The New York Times recently published their list of the top 100 films of the twenty first century, and hoo hah, that has certainly stirred up some strong reactions! Does the list just reinforce our suspicion that cinema is on its death bed? Or is the list full of joyful surprises and incredible revelations? Which films on the list do we agree with? Which left us scratching our heads? And what are the conspicuous omissions?
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We’re strapping on our helmets and climbing into our bucket seats this week, as we watch maybe the most heavily branded film we’ve ever seen, the new Apple feature F1: The Movie, and answer the question: how much phallic imagery can be crammed into a single two and half hour period? We’re comparing it to the film with probably the most famous car chase in cinematic history, 1968’s Bullitt. But which film has the most montages? Which film demonstrates the power of casting? Which film touched us with a surprising personal moment? Which film has a cameo from friend of the pod Mike Primmer? And which of us had a unique personal experience while watching Steve McQueen blow up a car?
Plus some geeky dinosaurs, some symbolic fountains, a low budget Hal Hartley tribute from Colin Trevorrow, a fine jazz soundtrack, and a surefire method to avoid police prosecution. Start your engines!
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There are good films with bad names, and there are bad films with good names. And sometimes, rarely, there are films that hit both targets dead centre. Join us at the Popcorn Counter where we’re discussing movie titles this week - ones we love, ones we hate, ones we’re proud of and ones we just don’t understand. Where did the name for Blade Runner really come from? Which is better, Snakes on a Plane, or just plain Plane? Which Kubrick film has two titles? And how did The Unbearable Lightness of Being re-emerge recently?
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Join us on the isle of Berk this week, as we go lizard taming with the vikings in the new live action remake How to Train Your Dragon. And then stay with us as we set sail for an unnamed 10th century Moorish city in the 1964 action epic The Long Ships. It’s a manly podcast about Gerard Butler and Richard Widmark, with more beards that you can shake an axe at. But is there a gentler message at the heart of either of these films? How does the new film quote from the old one? Which film takes us into a mirror world? And what’s the real reason why this new version of an animated classic was made at all?
Plus Tom Cruise goes all Jesus on us, we investigate dinosaurs’ mating habits, we discover what a Norse AmEx card looks like, we thrill at the mare of steel, we drink some sheep’s milk, we meet some Viking red shirts, we learn about the origins of Bluetooth, and finally we hide in a vestibule…
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We’re sick of these false teeth and black cloaks, but we’re going to wear them anyway, because we’re reflecting on vampire movies this week at the Popcorn Counter. (But obviously not in a mirror.) How do rules-based stories work and why do we love them? Which vampire movies did we enjoy and which did we avoid? Why don’t teenagers know the vampire rules any more? And what exactly is the difference between ‘undead’ and ‘alive’? Including Let the Right One In, What We Do in the Shadows, Gremlins, Cronos, Twilight, Nosferatu (both of them), Shadow of the Vampire, Alien, Interview with the Vampire, From Dusk Til Dawn, and a preview of our new script, ‘Don’t Tell Graham it’s Tuesday’.
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We’re sucking blood and playing the blues this week, after watching the new Ryan Coogler Mississippi vampire picture Sinners and 1992’s Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Is Sinners an early contender for film of the year? What do the two films have to say about racism, cultural appropriation and ‘the other’? Which film has a lot of sexy talk and which one has more boobs than a straight-to-video erotic thriller? Which character is living their best life? And which film features a cameo from Geddy Lee?
Plus a bipolar superhero picture, a new spoof of the billionaires’ club, a month spent with Monica Bellucci, some very polite monsters, and a visit from the Cliché Squad on horseback.
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We’re talking about housing at the popcorn counter this week. After watching the real estate adventures of Secret Mall Apartment last week, we got to thinking about cinema’s function as a feeder of fantasy. Out of all the places that we’ve visited through the screen over the years, which are the ones we really wish we lived in? Which are our top five movie homes, and why? Do we prefer mansions or hammocks, quiet islands or cities, black and white or colour? Including two sea monsters, a volcano, a Frank Lloyd Wright house and a beach getaway. Plus toads in the basement, the search for the real orgasmatron, an apology to Wes Anderson, a lesson on simultaneity, a night spent with Hemingway, and a secret tunnel that features free food and a long, long drop…
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We’re in real estate agent mode this week, as we watch two films with unique takes on the property market. Secret Mall Apartment is a new documentary about an art collective who moved into a disused corner of a Rhode Island mall in the early 2000s, while 1960’s The Apartment sees sparks fly between Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in Billy Wilder’s landmark Oscar winning comedy. Two films with some profound themes, including love, art, death, urban living and takeout food. But what do the two films have to say about capitalism? Which film short changes its female characters? Which film has more mirrors than The Lady of Shanghai? Which film was made with a camera small enough to fit in an Altoids can? And which film teaches a great lesson in how to grab an audience?
Plus an excessively mannered new feature film from Wes Anderson, an okay debut movie set in a boat, a debate about the meaning of the word ‘squat’, a very famous brother, a big set of keys, and one of us confesses to a serious crime.
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Popcorn seems to have got more expensive like everything else recently. And now we may be looking at tariffs on the film business. But how would these proposed tariffs work? And what might they mean for movie fans as well as moving picture professionals?
Join us at the popcorn counter as we discuss Jon Voight’s proposals for MAGA’s film industry master plan with special guest Mike Primmer, and try to figure out what it all means. Are we looking at a renaissance for domestic film production? Or are we facing purity tests and a flurry of conservative movies? And will the whole thing last more than a week before the news cycle moves on to the next big story?
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We’re joined by the film industry’s premier sound recordist this episode, as Mike Primmer sits down with us to talk about dog movies. We’ve seen The Friend, the new Bill Murray/Naomi Watts light drama, recorded by Mike, and we’re comparing it to the much loved Swedish 1985 coming of age picture My Life as a Dog. Two films about loss, grief, change, wagging tails and vinyl records. But which film reminded us of a Hallmark picture? Which film is based on the best book we’ve read this year? And what secrets will Mike reveal about the making of the film?
Plus a quick journey to a dystopian TV future, a trip to see a choral masterwork, a revisit of a 2005 modern classic about bats, a flashback to a marriage proposal, and we get Pavlov in to ring the spoiler bell.
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Okay, that’s it. We don’t understand anything anymore.
This week we went to see A Minecraft Movie. It’s not a masterpiece. But we spent more time watching the audience than watching the film. Join us at the Popcorn Counter as we talk about the meme-ification of cinema, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, TikTok and the end times, Tommy Wiseau and the best way to clear up popcorn from a carpet. Altogether now: 'Flint and Steel!'
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We’re going off-world this episode, joining Robert Pattinson on an ice planet in Bong Joon Ho’s new satirical clone adventure Mickey 17, before crashing back to a ruined, rainy Earth to compare it to Ridley Scott’s flawed 1982 masterpiece Blade Runner. Two films about artificial humans and the value of life, but which one deals eloquently with eternal themes and which one can’t make up its mind what it wants to say? Which one feels fresh and contemporary, and which one feels like a satire that’s been overtaken by the news? Which one was originally going to be a Scorsese film? And where exactly are the electric sheep?
Plus we ask if there is an Oscar curse, remember Mr Spock making love to a rock monster, reminisce over TDK tapes, enjoy a teenage lesbian romance with a surprising left turn, have a quick lesson on Fregoli syndrome, send Sandra Bullock into space and let Fellini float into the air.
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We’ve got to stop reading, it’s just making us mad. This week at the popcorn counter we’ve been looking at Namwali Serpell’s article in the recent New Yorker about ‘The New Literalism’, and boy do we have something to say. Serpell’s been to the multiplex a lot lately, and frankly if we’d just come out of Gladiator II and Megalopolis like she has, we’d probably be annoyed too. But is ‘on the nose’ story-telling really a new phenomenon? Or do some films still value showing instead of telling? And is there a difference between a film being too long and a film being too wide?
Here's the article if you want to check it out yourself: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/the-new-literalism-plaguing-todays-biggest-movies
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You may have read as we did recently in The Hollywood Reporter about ‘Netflix’s Old Movie Problem’. But is there really a problem? Does it matter if old movies aren’t available on Netflix? Join us at the popcorn counter where we’ll talk about discoverability, Quentin Tarantino, algorithms and the BBC Moviedrome. Which country has the biggest Netflix library? Is there anything to stop young people enjoying films from 1939? And what is our proposed solution to the whole 'problem'?
Here’s the article, if you want to read it for yourself: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/streaming-impact-classic-fillms-algorithm-1236146209/
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We’ve set the Popcorn Counter up at the beach this episode, to enjoy a coconut water and a chopp with last week’s guest Inês Braga. She tells us about the experience of writing Alice, the first HBO production made for South America, fills us in on life in Rio, gives us a watch-list of some of the greats of Brazilian cinema, reflects on changes in Brazilian society over the last twenty years, and recommends a little music by Ezra Collective. Please bring your own towel.
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We’re heading to the southern hemisphere this week and taking regular guest Inês Braga with us, as we catch up with the Best International Feature Film Oscar winner, I’m Still Here, and compare it to 1997’s Brazilian kidnap drama Four Days in September. Two adaptations, two films about the Military Dictatorship, two films starring Fernanda Torres, two films with similar timely themes. But which film has five endings? Which film stars the cutest dog? Which film is bookended with images of resistance? And which film was so tense it made us drop our avocado?
Plus Inês explains the real background of both films, discusses Brazilian acting dynasties and tells us about meeting Walter Salles. And in between all these revelations, we also squeeze in a penguin in a classroom, a trip to the North Sea, a Trumpian biopic, a new British version of AI, a very diffident lifeguard and a huge crowd of nepo-babies.
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We’ve set up the reel to reel, we’ve planted our hidden microphones and we’ve put on our headphones, so it’s time to pay tribute to the late Gene Hackman and his finest film, The Conversation, at the Popcorn Counter this week. But which of Hackman’s many other outstanding movies stick in our minds? What was his connection to Dustin Hoffman? Which was his most famous hat? When did he put in an epidural? How do we manage to get deflected into a discussion about Alan Parker? And are John Grisham and Michael Crichton the same guy?
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We’re sending our tuxedos back to the dry cleaners once again now that awards season is over. But did the Oscars thrill or disappoint this year? And more importantly, did we get it right? Which gong did we cheer at home, and which left us shrugging our shoulders? What do we think about the screenplay winners and who would have picked up the awards if we’d been in charge? Who would Letterbox’d have given the awards to? Who goes to the movies? And did we spot any trends that suggest what kind of films we’ll be seeing in the next few years?
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We’re taking a trip back to the 1970s this episode, as we watch the new Oscar-nominated, Munich Olympics-based reconstruction-drama September 5, and compare it to Steven Spielberg’s film about the aftermath of those same events, 2006’s Munich. Two tense movies about truthfulness, integrity and violence. But which one features accountants chasing accountants? Which one takes full advantage of Aristotle’s principles? Which one quotes directly from a 1976 TV movie? Which one appeals to the nerd in both of us? And which one features maybe the most misconceived scene we’ve watched in years?
Plus a message from a Cuban outfitter, a singalong with an R&B legend and friend of John Lennon, a trip to a surreal but disappointing office complex, a reflection on the importance of endings, and a content warning about Eric Bana’s face.
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After spending the week in Mexico last episode, we’re drinking a Corona at the Popcorn Counter and reflecting on Mexican cinema as a whole. Is there more to Mexican movies than Día de Muertos and narco-gangsters? Which Mexican director used to hang out with Andres at the coffee shop all the time? Which movie made its Mexican director so much money they could buy West London? Which Mexican director got their start at Maine Media Workshops? And who is the Mexican cinematographer who brought so many successful films to life?
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We’re heading to Tijuana this episode, as we watch two films set in Mexico made nearly seventy years apart. Emilia Pérez, the new Netflix transgender narco-gangster musical, has thirteen Oscar nominations and a whole lot of bad press. But does it deserve the controversy and the opprobrium, or were audiences just expecting something different? We’re comparing it to 1958’s Touch of Evil, Orson Welles’ last great noir picture which was also maligned on release but is now considered a classic, especially in its 1998 restored cut.
Two takes on racism, prejudice, drug gangs and cross border travel. But which film features a star who looks like they’ve been dipped in chicken fat? Which film is studded with little lights from start to finish? Which film has the longest uninterrupted take? Which lead actor is surprisingly flexible? Which film offers two Gabors for the price of one? And which film contains everything that conservative commentators hate?
Plus a lot of ceilings and mirrors and deep focus, an appearance from Madonna with a hand drier, an Australian stop frame Tim Burton-a-like, a refugee story from Senegal, a new way to decorate your car, a 1950s equivalent of pounding techno, and a really, really weak radio.
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We’re mourning one of the most unique voices in modern cinema at the Popcorn Counter this week, as we discuss the career of David Lynch and his impact both on the world in general and on our own lives in particular. What happens when you pitch a film as ‘Lynchian’? What does Ronald Reagan have to do with his emergence? Was he the true originator of Peak TV? Which version of Dune do we prefer? And which of his films drilled a hole straight into our heads?
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Hit the road with us this week, as we get stuck at temporary traffic lights in Surbiton on the way to the Popcorn Counter and use the time to recall some of our favourite road movies. But what IS a road movie? Can it be set on a boat? Or a plane? Or a sidewalk? Or in space? Plus we watch a very young Sting, stroll along the yellow brick road, drink some effing Merlot, take a cruise down the Nùng River, and drive off a cliff.
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Come with us on a couple of trips to Europe this week at the Two Reel Cinema Club, as we join Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin on a tour of Poland in the new Oscar nominated comedy drama A Real Pain, and then catch up with Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders in Roberto Rossellini’s 1954 masterpiece, Journey to Italy. These two films both explore deep themes, encompassing death, art, love, poetry and bickering, and the parallels between them are myriad. But which one features a villa where we would gladly spend a few years? Which one keeps frustrating us with missed opportunities? Which one is stunningly beautiful? And which one left us asking ‘what’s changed’?
Plus we place a call to Interpol on behalf of the Cliche Squad, wonder what is the best thing to do if driving while sleepy, try travelling without moving thanks to our chemically inspired sponsor, get stranded on an island with a reclusive Japanese soldier, learn something about one of the UK’s biggest exports, start an adaptation of the greatest book of all time, taste a DIY menthol cigarette, and contemplate taking off all our clothes the next time we watch a film completely alone in the theatre…
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Welcome to our quarterly celebration of dead air and reflective silence: it’s the TRCC Popcorn Counter Quiz! This time around, we have thirty films released between 1957 and 2024, all starring pop stars. Can you guess the title and the star from the clues? Who is mostly made of oil and lotion? Who was the inventor of off-white paint? And when did Jennifer Connolly star in an episode of Fraggle Rock?
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The mystique of Bob Dylan wafts through the Two Reel Cinema Club this week, as we watch the thoroughly enjoyable new biopic A Complete Unknown, and compare it to the actual Bob Dylan as he appears in the 1967 rock documentary Don’t Look Back. Two portraits of the Nobel Prize winning bard of the 20th century, but which reveals more of the real man? Which film features the most cigarettes? Which film reminds us of a teenage party? Which film really sings when the songs start? And which film stars the machine that kills fascists?
Plus Ralph Fiennes dressed as a priest, a Danish film about a girl with a needle, a new app that turns friends into money, a classic courtroom drama, a Guns N' Roses B side, and an appearance by the poster that inspired a ten year old. The times, they are a changin’….
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It’s that time again, our annual favourite episode, the Two Reel Cinema Club Film of the Year Show. Seven categories, including best film, best actor, best script, biggest clunker, and weirdest moment of the year. As usual, we’ve kept our nominations secret from each other, so expect some dramatic revelations, some laughter, some tears and some last minute negotiations. Who will win, who will lose, who will have a meltdown and who will climb onto the lighting gantry, spread their arms wide and shout out, ‘I’m the King of the World!’?
Featuring Jeffrey Wright, Mikey Madison, Joaquim Phoenix, Demi Moore, Lee Pace, Sebastian Stan, Martin Amis, Anya Taylor-Joy, an animated dog and an animated cat…
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It’s yet another episode about four legged mammals this week, as we watch the riotous black and white physical comedy indie hit Hundreds of Beavers and compare it with the clever, witty and mind bending 2014 Chilean documentary Beaverland. These films offer two very different views of the industrious, furry dam-builders, while at the same time telling very similar stories. But which one had us asking, ‘Is this real?’ Which one surprised us with a connection to sex work? Which one made us genuinely laugh out loud? And which one has the most to say about humanity’s stewardship of the natural world?
Plus we celebrate the word ‘cartoonery’, we ponder the difference between Leonardo da Vinci and Leonardo DiCaprio, we buy a piece of heavy duty gardening equipment, we attend a Christmas party with some long haired German guys, we watch Paul Schrader’s anthemic new Canadian misfire, we wonder if Christopher Nolan can write, and we ask: if he doesn’t have a surname, how does Homer’s agent know where to send the royalty cheques?
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There’s a shocking and perplexing development at the Popcorn Counter this week, as we tell the tale of how Google recently censored and deleted one of our podcasts. What was the objectionable material? Racism? Sexism? Incitement to violence? Or… a Sanskrit quotation from Oppenheimer? We discuss the history of censorship in the UK, the curious rules of film classification in the US, and the terrifying dangers to society presented by nipples. What does the future hold for film censorship? And what will Google have to say about our next podcast?
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It’s our annual Christmas episode at the Two Reel Cinema Club, and in keeping with the festive season, this year we’re watching two films about sex workers. Wait, what? Join us as we talk about the new, Sean Baker-directed, heavily award-tipped drama Anora, and compare it to the dream-like 1967 Luis Buñuel classic Belle de Jour. Two different takes on sex work, more than fifty years apart - but how much has really changed? Which film could be renamed Vapes and 808s? Which film reminded us of Where’s Waldo? And which film left us asking: what’s in the box?
Plus a revisit of a 20 year old Ryan Reynolds comedy, a genius idea for an ATM business, a serious question about the BBFC, a Christmas spent with Bruce Willis, a new subscription service from our subscription-mad sponsors, and even more butts than the Substance. Happy Holidays!
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Did we ever tell you about the time we met Al Gore? Join us at the Popcorn Counter to hear how we encountered the man who was almost the President of the United States, and what it had to do with the film industry. Plus, once we’re on the subject of An Inconvenient Truth, we ask why there aren’t more environmental films, given the size of the problem. Movies mentioned include Silent Running, The China Syndrome, Oppenheimer, The Cove, Darwin’s Nightmare, Virunga, My Octopus Teacher, Koyaanisqatsi and more. Should we eat creatures that can solve crosswords better than us? What happens when humans abandon land? And why do we want to go to Mars when we have a perfectly good planet to mess up right here?
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We’re watching new Latvian animated film Flow this episode, a beautiful and distinctive looking parable about cooperation and environmental collapse, and we’re comparing it to the 1997 Studio Ghibli classic Princess Mononoke. These two movies offer two very different perspectives on the effects of humans on the lives of animals: Flow seems simple and family friendly, while Mononoke is violent, complex and morally ambiguous. But which of these films offers hope? Which could do with more jokes? Which is surprisingly violent? Which left us with more questions than answers? And which one has just tooooo much going on?
Plus the return of an old sponsor in a new outfit, a screening of a Hitchcock silent picture with live music, a strange dream about Florence Pugh, a review of a philosophical essay from 1974 about bats, a watch of a 2019 film that could almost be a video game, and quite a lot of talk about mice.
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This year is the first time in the history of cinema that every film in the top ten is a sequel or a prequel. Join us at the popcorn counter to talk about what’s wrong with the industry, how we’ve ended up here and what we might do to get ourselves out of this particular creative ditch. Who has the star power to open a non-franchise film these days? How can we encourage more risks? What can we learn from the craft brewery business? And how might A.I., our favourite nemesis, possibly come to our rescue this time around?
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We have watched the new Sebastian Stan movie A Different Man this week, a low budget, independent, off kilter comedy drama about an actor with neurofibromatosis who transforms his appearance and alters his identity. But do things change for the better or the worse? We’re comparing it to the classic tale of stolen identity, 1982’s The Return of Martin Guerre. These movies offer two takes on similar phenomena, with some wildly varying conclusions. But which film contains the best surprise? Which film looks like a painting brought to life? And which film has a link to animated favourite Robot Dreams?
Plus we read a novella by Alexandre Dumas, we discover a personal connection to a beautifully scored Netflix documentary about lost children, no-one saves us from a fun and almost silent alien invasion movie, one of us gets lost in the Maine woods, and we enjoy a word from our sponsors and their nuclear powered mints.
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We’re in conversation with probably the world’s number one sound recordist this week, friend of the pod Mike Primmer, who was the man holding the boom in last week’s film A Prairie Home Companion. Join us for not only the best recorded Popcorn Counter ever, but also for some incredible insights into the making of this 2006 classic. How many takes does Robert Altman like to shoot? What’s Woody Harrelson’s guitar playing like? How pregnant was Maya Rudolf? And how was Paul Thomas Anderson involved? Plus some fresh news on the current state of the film industry in California and beyond, and some reflections on the tenth anniversary rerelease of Interstellar.
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Stop singing that Whigfield hit from 1994 and instead join us for a look at Saturday Night, the brand new feature film comedy from Jason Reitman about the first broadcast of US television institution Saturday Night Live. With its fairly soft plot, character based comedy, constantly moving camera and huge ensemble cast it looks a lot like a Robert Altman movie - which is a lucky coincidence, because we’re comparing it to Altman’s final picture, 2006’s A Prairie Home Companion, a gentle drama about life backstage at a long running radio show. It’s one of those weeks where the two films have so much in common that if feels like we’ve watched the same movie twice. But which film stars a character with a face for radio? Which film has more than one connection to I Used To Be Funny? Which film has some of the best sound we’ve heard in a long time? And which film obeys one of the great rules of screenwriting?
Plus a judging position on a Sri Lankan popstar lookalike contest, a look back at running a real comedy club, a brief requiem for John Belushi, a nod to BBC Radio Four’s Loose Ends, a visit to a midwestern lake of dinosaur poo, and a new real estate opportunity out at sea from our sponsor. It must be Saturday Night!
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It’s quiz night once again at the Popcorn Counter this week, in what we’re going to call ‘Pop Quiz’ from now on. This time: detective movies. Can you name forty detective movies given our cryptic, random and rambling clues? Score over 28 to earn our undying respect. In between the questions, we wonder about Orson Welles’ shooting style, recall some outstandingly well recorded dialogue, and summarise capitalism in a single word.
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Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman of the Hour is our new film at the Two Reel Cinema Club this week, a true life serial killer thriller that mixes perky humour and dreadful violence to powerful effect. We’re comparing it to one of the granddaddies of serial killer movies, 1971’s Dirty Harry. Which film is stacked to the rafters with Christian imagery? Which film takes no interest in the victims of crime whatsoever? Which film feels like four different films squished together? And which film is like a Rosetta Stone that can explain modern American politics?
Plus we have a Portland Maine special edition, with two local horror films, two locally born stars and one local real estate deal, as well as a cameo from Churchill, a surprisingly helpful doctor, a naked blues band, a sauce that goes with everything, a real life baddie from the seventeenth century, a complaint from the cliché squad about the colour orange, and a surprise guest appearance by Donald Trump’s ear.
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It’s not an episode for those with claustrophobia this week, as we get stuck in the elevator on the way to the Popcorn Counter for the second time. At least we have our microphones, so we take the opportunity to practice our best elevator pitches. With Joker: Folie à Deux fresh in our minds, are there any other well known properties that would benefit from a musical redo? Which three films from recent podcasts would we love to see in song? Which three outliers from cinematic history deserve a fresh lease of life with the benefit of a few show tunes? And will we finish our pitches before the fire service arrives to perform a daring rescue? (Spoiler: yes).
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When Joker made nearly $1.1bn at the box office, a sequel was more or less assured. But who expected a musical? Join us this week as we watch Joaquim Phoenix and Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux and ask: is it possible to turn a comic book movie into anything? What does the film say about the state of the world? Is society a civilising force or a tissue-thin cover for anarchy? And how does this new film compare to the movie to which it pays a twisted homage, 1964’s sweet and colourful The Umbrellas of Cherbourg?
Plus we enjoy a new Pixar home run, we watch a documentary about surfing, we wonder what it would be like to read the Bible at 40, we tell a true life story about being arrested, we flick through DSM 5, we try on a new brand of underwear, and we question the significance of cults centred around criminal television personalities.
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Join us at the Popcorn Counter this episode, where we ask: where now for the film industry? You, like us, may have read recently about the current contraction of Hollywood and the collapse of streaming. Is cinema’s obituary mere alarmism or an uncomfortable truth? What will happen to the small and mid sized movies? Where are the opportunities for new and established writers going to come from? Will there be any end to superhero sequels and IP movies? And most importantly, who’s going to make the popcorn?!
Articles referenced:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj6er83ene6o
https://harpers.org/archive/2024/05/the-life-and-death-of-hollywood-daniel-bessner/
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We’re not entirely sure which of us is which this episode, as we stagger out of the new queasy feminist body-swap horror epic The Substance, and into John Woo’s classic body-swap action adventure Face/Off. These two have plenty in common, with actors chewing the scenery and flesh and blood everywhere. But which film is the most joyful? Which film has the most convincing medical procedures? Which film has perfect casting? And which film is 15% gyrating butts?
Plus a look at Coralie Fergeat’s previous films Revenge and Reality+, a trip to a puppet theatre, a surprise appearance by John Lennon, a colourful burst of Fellini, a new, delicious and educational sponsor that one of us can barely pronounce, and Christian Slater retrieves a nuclear bomb.
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Everyone loves a ghost story … but gather around in the darkest, quietest corner of the popcorn counter this episode as we tell you a strange and chilling story about how EVERY film is really a ghost story. Well, kind of. We try our theory out on not just The Sixth Sense and Ghost, but The Shining, It Follows, Oculus, Ring, and even Vertigo and Citizen Kane… So what are ghost films really about? And when is it time to slough off this mortal coil and move on…?
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This episode we’re descending into hell and watching Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, confirming that ‘belated sequels to hits from the 80s’ looks like it’s going to be a thing… Most of the cast is back, as are a number of the same gags. But instead of comparing it to the 1988 original movie, Beetlejuice, we’ve spread our net a little wider to draw parallels with the masterful 2001 Nicole Kidman slow burn supernatural thriller The Others. Two haunted houses, two anxious mothers, two gothic confections. But which film features so many subplots that we forgot half of the characters completely? Which film plays with our expectations and pulls out the rug so often it threatens to destroy the whole carpet? And which film stars one of the greatest comedians of all time….?
Plus Vince Vaughn returns as a detective, a Clive Barker classic shows us how horror really works, the Cliche Squad has to establish a specialist ‘hell’ division, we briefly summarise 70s cult novel The Diceman, our sponsor clears the air for us, and one of us wakes up screaming in real life. This podcast is so random!
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You may think you’ve heard some nerdy podcasts in the past, but we’re going to ask you to buckle up your space suits and accelerate away from the Earth with us into the nerdiest possible sector of the whole galaxy this episode. We’ve seen a few films set in the deepest reaches of space recently - but out of the whole cinematic canon, which film is set FURTHEST from Earth? We’ve done some research, we’ve drawn some charts and we’ve made some calculations, and we think we have an answer. But is the winner a film from Stanley Kubrick, John Carpenter, Ridley Scott, or someone else entirely…?
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It’s all scary monsters and super creeps at the Popcorn Counter this episode. Join us as we shelter from a storm and count down our 13 favourite scary movies. (Please note, however, that ‘scary’ doesn’t always mean ‘good’.) Including a French film we wish we’d never seen, a Richard Burton film we probably didn’t see, or at least don’t remember very clearly, and a satanic film that should be avoided if you are pregnant… But which film will take the coveted number 13 spot?
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If there’s one thing we know about the xenomorphs in the Alien films, it’s that they’re very, very good at reproducing themselves…
Join us this episode as we watch the new sci-fi horror picture Alien: Romulus and its 1979 sci-fi horror granddaddy, Alien, and ask ourselves: is it possible we might have watched the same film twice? Romulus may be filled with callbacks and fan service and easter eggs and horror tropes, but is there a thoughtful and effective film hiding beneath them? And although the original Alien is now revered as a classic, have any cracks emerged in its pristine shell in the intervening 45 years? Which film has the more sophisticated take on racism, corporate exploitation and bodily autonomy? And which film features a cameo from Jacob Rees-Mogg?
Plus we rewatch a Kevin Costner classic that is very different to how we remember it, we get a new sponsorship deal with an AI phone, we take a quick trip to Hungary, we try to think of a polite way to talk about something R rated, and we issue a disclaimer from the TRCC legal team…
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Going to the cinema is like experiencing a shared dream. (Especially when the film is so bad we fall asleep in it - and that’s happened to us more than a few times.) But who is the finest auteur of films as dreams? Is it Federico Fellini, or David Lynch, or is it Arnold Schwarzenegger in a blockbuster from 1990? Join us at the Popcorn Counter this episode as we mooch about in the dreamscape, drifting in and out of a Steven Spielberg fantasy, a Fritz Lang disappointment and a beautiful afternoon nap with Jean Renoir. (We would advise you bring your own blanket and pillow.)
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We’re processing trauma and fighting a mighty wind at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we go to see the new weather-based action sequel Twisters, and compare it to the 1939 family classic The Wizard of Oz. Twisters can’t stop quoting from Oz, but the parallels don’t end there: both films centre around powerful women and both films are about trying to get back to the Midwest. But we still have questions. How many times can one man get struck by lightning before he gets the message? How small can a B plot be before it disappears in a stiff breeze? Which of the two films is a perfect socialist metaphor? And which features Elon Musk in disguise?
Plus we immerse ourselves in the Pink Floyd soundtracked version of Oz, dubbed Dark Side of the Rainbow, we question how widespread doping is among professional cyclists, we rewatch Metropolis and Night of the Living Dead while listening to Daft Punk and Arcade Fire to investigate apophenia, we enjoy a Henry Fonda classic and we promote a new range of lecterns aimed at supernatural users. Let's hope altogether it’ll be enough to entertain you while you cower in the storm shelter waiting for the tornado to pass…
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(Turns to camera) You may remember that back in the 1980s and 90s they used to name a lot of films after songs. Seriously. A LOT. It was like an actual thing. So come and join us at the Popcorn Counter this week, where we’ve turned those Song-Named-Movie-Tune-Films into a Song-Named-Movie-Tune-Film-QUIZ. (Cut to title card with music) Forty movies named after songs, with plenty of silence while we try to guess the answers, and a few added clues for the hard of thinking. Play along with us at home, in the car or during surgery. Can you beat our score? (Cut to graphic of an animated question mark with sparkles) And what’s so embarrassing about movie number forty? (Musical sting, probably a trombone?)
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With films like Capricorn One, Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View, the Watergate scandal meant the 1970s was the golden age of Hollywood conspiracy thrillers. OR WAS IT?! Join us at the Popcorn Counter this episode as we keep our heads down and ask in quiet voices if conspiracy cinema is not as simple as it first appears. Klute and The Manchurian Candidate predated Watergate. While Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the Jason Bourne films were popular with people who’d never heard of Nixon. Which hard boiled Disney animation is like ‘Chinatown for eleven year olds’? Is the Manchurian Candidate remake worth watching? And which conspiracy classic features a fourteen minute fist fight?
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We’re lost in the desert, deep in conspiracy country this episode, as we enjoy the new Scarlett Johansson / Channing Tatum ‘how they could have faked the moon landings’ rom com Fly Me To The Moon, and compare it to its direct antecedent, the 1977 Elliot Gould ‘how they might fake the Mars landings’ thriller Capricorn One. The parallels are obvious, the treatments are completely different. Or are they? Which film features ‘fluffy gravity’? Which reminds us of Doris Day and Rock Hudson? Which features a Charlie’s Angels cameo? Which stars the father of Thanos? And which film truly saves the cat?
Plus a modern classic from Steven Soderbergh, an environmental documentary with a convicted felon who’s served her time, a discussion of Elon Musk’s bitter foretaste, a flock of birds visits the studio, we tackle the world’s hardest word puzzle with our sponsor, and we discover exactly what NASA does when one of their engineers disappears...
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We’re wiping away the tears of a clown at the Popcorn Counter this episode, as we spend a happy twenty minutes asking: how come so many well known actors got their start as stand up comedians, and yet there seem to be so few films about comedians? We draw parallels between comedians and writers, wonder if the best comedy reveals too much about its writer, and ask: who told the joke ‘The Aristocrats’ the best? Who is the comedian’s comedian that every comic in London went to see for one night only? And why is so much that’s funny also painful?
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It’s comedy night at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we watch the new Canadian dramedy I Used To Be Funny and compare it to an early Tom Hanks picture, Punchline, from 1988. Both films are set in and around stand-up comedy venues, and it’s fascinating to see what’s changed and what’s not in 36 years. But does either film have much more to say than the usual ‘tears of a clown’ cliches about comedians being sad and troubled people off stage? Which film is the most authentic? Which film is the funniest? And which film features the most bacon?
Plus: we discuss a little about our own brief stand-up career, we weigh up the value of getting the audience hammered during the interval, we try to prove the existence of God and regret seeing a recent Disney clunker, we ask how far can you get in New York on $15, we welcome a furry new sponsor to the podcast, and we warn against typing ‘out-joking each other’ into your phone when you have autocorrect switched on…
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Everyone loves a quiz. Well, we do. Well, one of us does. This week at the Popcorn Counter, Maurice has inspired us to make a note of just how many eponymous films there are on the IMDb. So join us for an eponymous movie quiz, where we’ll give you a trickle of clues to help you guess forty movies each with a forename as their title. Play along at home and let us know if you can beat Andres’ score. (Unlikely, if you ask us...) Featuring Clint Eastwood, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mia Farrow, and of course Tom Hanks.
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Everyone’s coming out this week at the Two Reel Cinema Club, as we watch the new-ish Tig Notaro comedy Am I Ok? and compare it to 1987’s Merchant Ivory heritage picture Maurice. When stood next to each other these two films have a lot to say about the experience of coming out as LGBTQ a century apart. But what bit of 1980s UK legislation is Maurice really about? Which film features a job we would love to have? And exactly how many people live in LA? Is it five? It certainly looks like five.
Plus we stare at Dave Gilmour’s nipple, spend seven hours with a serial killer, question whether a Tom Hanks short story works as a play, buy a meal kit that’s a little light on ingredients, burst into tears as we make an IKEA wardrobe, and sigh enviously at Hugh Grant’s hair.
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After watching two robot pictures back to back last week, we’ve cleared some space at the Popcorn Counter this episode for a Robot Rumble: eight cinematic robots in a knockout contest with mystery challenges. We have electronic wrestlers from sci-fi classics, post-humans from TV that moved to the big screen, and children’s characters with depth and pathos. Who will win? Who will be assimilated? And who will graduate to a lucrative career DJing across Europe?
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(You may hear the sound of cats in the studio this episode, but just think of it as atmospheric background sound effects…) This week, we watch the new, Oscar-nominated animated feature Robot Dreams, which stars anthropomorphic animals living in a stylised 1980s New York and a beautiful, unconventional love story. We’re comparing it to the film that features possibly the first ever robot in cinema, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis from 1927. Two cities, two robots, two eras, and plenty in common. And as a bonus, we've read (most of) both of the books these films were based on. But which offers the most authentic portrait of day to day life in a MegaCity? Which presents a version of Elon Musk and a rabble rousing sexbot? And which is really three love stories woven into one?
Plus, we drink in an ad from a sponsor you may already have in your house, make a visit to an Italian archaeological dig, take a journey four light years into space with Netflix, extol the joys of 1.5x, and struggle to pronounce ‘recipe’. And to cap it all off, we have a possible chance to meet Tom Hanks for real…
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We have a theory… Do long series of films only hit their stride after their first three instalments? Join us at the Popcorn Counter this week after our Mad Max marathon as we try to prove or disprove our thesis, using a hefty list of examples. Surely if you rummage around in the IMDB for long enough it’s possible to ‘prove’ anything, isn’t it? We take a whistle stop tour of franchise cinema that includes James Bond, Star Trek, Mission Impossible, Star Wars, the ‘Before’ movies and more. Which of these movies is the best one? Has the power of Godzilla has been diluted over dozens of sequels? And what is the secret to making films with the same actors playing the same characters that improve as the years go by?
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Join us in the post apocalyptic wasteland for one of our longest episodes ever this week, as we watch the new ‘Mad Max Saga’ Furiosa, and compare it with its direct antecedent, 2015’s action masterpiece Mad Max Fury Road. These two high octane, gas guzzling thrillers are more or less anagrams of each other, but can Furiosa drive away with Fury Road’s crown? Which film makes us think of the post literate society, and which one leaves us quoting T S Eliot? Which film features a character who belongs in an M and Ms ad, and which film is aimed at fifty five year old teenagers? Why are these films a triumph for inclusion and progress, and how come it’s so easy to find a decent mechanic in the wasteland?
Plus we announce a new podcast for would-be neuroscientists, we reflect on whether the Bible is literature, we suggest how George Miller may have saved money on salaries and trailers, we call the Cliche Squad over some hairdressing controversies, we watch a surreal recent classic about San Francisco, and we sit through every other Mad Max film in a single week. And after all that, we could really do with a drink and a cool shower.
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We have a bit of a disaster this week as we get stuck in the elevator on the way to the popcorn counter, but at least it gives us a chance to practise our elevator pitches. And after watching The Fall Guy last week we’re basing all our pitches on pre-existing 1970s and 80s properties. Three pitches each, which one would we commission? Including a remix of an evergreen children’s classic, a potential seafaring mega-franchise, some nostalgic blue eyed soul, a gender swapped Robert Redford movie, a highly topical revisit of a Michael York film, and a do-over of a low budget British sci-fi serial. Can we get through all six before we get rescued or maintenance turns off the power…?
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We’re watching stunt performers smash up cars, leap from helicopters and ride horses across the desert in this week’s movies as we compare the new Ryan-Gosling-Emily-Blunt 80s throwback The Fall Guy to 2006’s surreal and sumptuous The Fall. They’re both films about stuntmen, but aside from sharing most of a title they could hardly be more different. Or could they? Which film features the Homoerotic Avengers? Which film reminds us of a Suzanne Vega video? Which film stars a Canis Ex Machina? And which film is ‘perfectly fine’?
Plus a quick look at the new Ken Loach feature, an anime movie about furniture, a brief but delicious message from our sponsor, a meditation on the general quality of 1980s television, a review of a book by the world’s greatest stuntman, and, if you listen carefully, you might just be able to hear someone doing donuts in the parking lot outside the studio while we record. Probably Ryan Gosling.
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Apparently there’s some kind of election in the US soon? We’re not sure of the details, but if we had the opportunity to write the name of a movie president on the ballot, who would get our cross? Join us as we hash out the possibilities at the Popcorn Counter this episode. And while we’re at it, we ask what’s the difference between Bill Pullman and Dubya? Which Terry Crews comedy becomes more prescient with every passing year? Was John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever or Saturday Night Live? And who is our favourite actor to play two different US presidents?
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Neighbours fight neighbours in this week’s pod, as we watch Alex Garland’s new, maybe-too-close-to-real-life, dystopian thriller Civil War and compare it with Ken Loach’s 1995 Spanish Civil War picture Land and Freedom. Both of these films are certainly thought-provoking, with action, bloodshed, tragedy and tension. But which one makes the best use of a rucksack? Which takes the most humane view of its characters? Which features a cameo from a well-known screenwriter? And which makes us think of Billy Bragg?
Plus a revisit to a dour and dull desert epic, a doc about a 60s TV icon, an ad from Netflix about their follow up to Three Body Problem, a suggestion for what Alex Garland should call his next book, a whole crowd of people in a room talking about politics, and one of us steps in ‘do’ while the other one forgets what they’re doing. (The joy of live radio!)
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You’re welcome to join us at the Popcorn Counter this episode, but speak up because we’ve got our noise cancelling headphones on. (You know, the ones for dogs, remember?) We’ve been listening to a few rival pods while we wait for the popcorn machine to warm up, but which would we sincerely recommend? What are the podcasts that make it into our subscriptions, and when do we find time to listen to them? And do we ever think about anything else besides movies? Featuring guest appearances from blazers, Malcolm Gladwell, the first half of the 1980s, soccer tournaments, heavyweights, dead people, John Lanchester and video games. Now THAT sounds like quite a party.
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Is it term time already? It must be, because we’re heading back to school again, this time comparing the new, Oscar-nominated German drama The Teachers’ Lounge with 1967’s scholastic classic, To Sir With Love. There are so many elements in common here that you have to ask if someone’s been copying their homework: outsider teachers, rebellious pupils, racism in the classroom, and scarily self confident teenagers. But which film has an actual ending? Which film offers some medical truths? And which film has the most thirty-year-old looking sixteen-year-olds?
Plus a transatlantic haunting from the BBC, a controversial solution to the problem of reading menus in dark restaurants from our sponsor, a musical guest from Manchester, and some stone cold, legitimate, real medical advice.
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Please be seated, the Court of the Popcorn Counter is now in session. We’re hosting a constitutional controversy of our own this episode, as we accuse Legal Dramas of the crime of being a bit boring and fundamentally uncinematic. And in true legal tradition, we flipped a coin beforehand to decide which one of us was going to prosecute and which defend. (Like so many movie lawyers, you can tell we’re only in it for the money.) Which film did we fall asleep in twice? Which film sees Julia Roberts settle before she makes it to the courtroom? And have we been to Peyton Place recently?
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It’s double anatomy at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we catch up on the last of the Oscar nominees with Anatomy of a Fall, the French courtroom drama that ended up with the Best Screenplay Academy Award this year. It’s a bloody and nuanced multilingual piece with a couple of dynamite performances, but is it possible that not quite enough happens? We’re comparing it to the 1959 Otto Preminger picture Anatomy of a Murder, starring the ever charming James Stewart and a young Lee Remick, and accompanied by a rollicking soundtrack from Duke Ellington. But which of these films features a barrister dressed as Santa Claus? Which film stars a dog that won an award at Cannes? And which film is based on a book that Stephen King would have been furious with?
Plus we watch a Marvel film that isn’t very good, though probably not for the reasons you may have heard, we argue over the pronunciation of ‘lieutenant’, we learn something about Senator McCarthy, we discover what makes modern business tick thanks to our sponsor, and during the break we clean up some vomit. (Screenwriting is a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it….)
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Join us at the Popcorn Counter this episode for some late-to-the-party Oscars chat. Which nominated film was hit with plagiarism claims? Which film was like getting struck by a steamroller? What exactly is Barbie ‘adapted’ from? When is sound crucial? What are short films actually for? And how much controversy can we generate over the pronunciation of the word ‘controversy’?
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Again? Seriously? Yes, welcome to our third podcast in a row to feature Nazis. These guys will just not go away. This episode we have watched the new Ava DuVernay docudrama Origin, and read the book it’s based on - Isabel Wilkerson’s non-fiction best seller Caste. We’re comparing it to what may be the first ever cinematic epic, 1915’s silent KKK movie Birth of a Nation. There’s a lot of highly emotional material here about the history of racism and prejudice, but we do have a few questions. Why are these films like looking down opposite ends of a telescope? What do they teach us about the scars racism leaves on society? Which film is so full of house-building metaphors that it feels like a property show? Which film do we nickname ‘American Fiction for stupid people’? And which film features a cameo from ‘Massive Jesus’?
Plus one of us fires a handgun, we both eat a lot of waffles, and then we drink a beer with White-Arm-Jack and Anvil-Man. Also we have a look at two films about artists that begin with the letter ‘A’, make a visit to a cult from a 2017 low budget sci-fi movie, and discover a new slant on PPP from our sponsors.
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Join us at the Popcorn Counter this week as we ask: why are Nazis such commonly used villains in movies? Films and shows discussed include Hogan’s Heroes, Indiana Jones, Schindler’s List, Star Wars, Starship Troopers, Saving Private Ryan, The Producers, Das Schreckliche Mädchen, Germany Year Zero, and They Saved Hitler’s Brain. Give yourself a bonus mark if you can guess which of those films has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes rating…
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Oh, dear, what have we gotten ourselves into this episode? Join us for a look at some of the most evil people in history as we watch the new Oscar nominated Auschwitz movie The Zone of Interest and compare it to the Nazis' own 1935 propaganda epic, Triumph of the Will. Light hearted fun is in short supply this time round, but we still manage to challenge evil with ridicule as we ask who exactly paid for all those jackboots? Which film features the most pathetic and ineffectual salute? Which film breaks the fourth wall? And which film best portrays the insidious creeping advance of fascism?
Plus, we ask why Donald Rumsfeld isn’t more popular among seven year olds, we check out some of the longest short films we’ve seen in ages, we enjoy a submarine drama with a twist on Apple TV, we debate exactly what to do with an umlaut, and we taste some unique new flavours of popcorn at our very own popcorn counter.
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Sometimes at the Popcorn Counter we just go off on one. We have no idea how it happens, we try to plan these things out, but there it is. So join us this week for a high speed tour that takes in intermittent fasting, mind reading, Woody Allen, feral cats, raccoon families, French cinema’s tribute to the animal kingdom, the financial performance of canine movies and a lengthy guest appearance from Kiki the dog. Plus Mishima, Adaptation, and Wonder Boys. Also, this podcast includes maybe the most restful, hypnotising moment we’ve recorded in over a hundred episodes, so if you find your eyes gently closing at the ten minute mark, don’t panic, it’s intentional…
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We enjoy a clever and ironical look at black cinema this episode as we watch the hilarious and heartfelt Oscar-nominated feature American Fiction, and then compare it to the 1961 Chicago drama A Raisin in the Sun. Plus we see the return of the Two Reel Book Club, as we’ve also read the book and the play that gave birth to each film. But how do the two films differ in their explorations of racism? Which film could have made life even harder for its characters? Which film uses anti-cinematic photography to tell its story? And most importantly, which film has the best gags?
Plus a fragrant message from our new sponsors, a viewing of an unmissable new feature from Ana DuVernay, a tour of the Musée Rodin in Paris, a caution from the Cliche Squad about stock characters, a worldwide search for the Blue Zones, and a handful of synthetic thoughts.
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As George W Bush famously once asked, ‘Is our children learning?’ Join us in the specially commissioned TRCC Popcorn Counter Lecture Theatre as we celebrate our 100th episode. There we try to distill the lessons we’ve garnered from recording two years of podcasts into ten condensed nuggets of insight. Has all that viewing and talking about films made us any wiser, or just hoarser? Can we apply the intelligence of George Orwell to the podcaster’s craft? Why does Oppenheimer get mentioned not once but twice? And have we come up with the perfect sequel to Groundhog Day?
Thanks to all our listeners for sticking with us over the first one hundred episodes, and here's hoping you'll join us in raising a half empty soda can to the next hundred.
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After watching Dogtooth recently, we’re convinced that endings are hard. Or are they? Join us at the Popcorn Counter as we take a look at movie endings good and bad from the history of cinema, Including: John Sayles’ Limbo, Birdman, The Long Good Friday, North by Northwest, Planet of the Apes, Fight Club, Top Gun Maverick, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Libertine. (…How do you like us now?)
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A new Hayao Miyazaki film from Studio Ghibli has appeared! The Boy and the Heron is the master animator’s first feature length work in more than ten years, and on this week’s episode we dive deep into its mysterious, dreamlike world and measure it up against what might be the studio’s greatest feature, 1988’s My Neighbour Totoro. It’s no great surprise to find a lot of common ground here, with both films examining magic, love, fear and family crises. But which of the two is filled with so many ideas it risks incoherence? Which offers a barely disguised guest appearance from Mussolini? Which film vividly reminds us of our own endless summers? And which one stars our new favourite animated characters, the Potato Puff People?
Plus an extra special ‘Also Playing’ segment, a look at new Portland-based feature film ‘Hangdog’, a novel peripheral for your television, a visit to a shooting location for a well known science fiction series, and the startling realisation that maybe the whole world is actually just a 13 piece block puzzle…
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How many times has Frankenstein been made into a movie? More times than we remember, it turns out. There’s Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Young Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein 2, yes, yes, yes. But what about Robocop? The Fly? The Six Million Dollar Man? Even one of our own scripts was a Frankenstein story. What does Frankenstein have in common with socialism? And what connects Mary Shelley to Philip K Dick? Join us at the Popcorn Counter as we slowly figure out that Frankenstein is the cinematic story that will simply never die…
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What happens when you put the brain of a baby in the body of an adult woman? You get Sexy Frankenstein, apparently. At least that’s the opinion of the new Yorgos Lanthimos picture Poor Things starring Emma Stone, which is out in the UK this week. We’re comparing it to Lanthimos’ 2009 feature, Dogtooth, which first brought him to international prominence. And it turns out there’s plenty of common ground between these two curious, violent, comic fables. But which film reminds us of Terry Gilliam? Which film shares a premise with The Croods? And which film serves as a lesson on what the French will give out awards for?
Plus a rewatch of All About Eve, a few tips on dissecting a worm, a caution from the Cliche Squad, the return of the Two Reel Cinema Book Club, a refresher in Greek mythology, and a tribute to TRCC dog Dino.
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Ines Braga hangs out at the Popcorn Counter with us this week, where she confesses that she really doesn’t like musicals. But there are a few notable exceptions, including last week’s masterpiece West Side Story. Is there a rule that distinguishes good movie musicals from bad ones? Why do The Lion King, Frozen and Moana succeed where others do not? Is it possible to go wrong when you have the Beatles catalogue to draw from? And how does Clint Eastwood fit in to all this?
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Tonight, tonight, we’re joined by screenwriter Ines Braga to sing a song of two musical pictures, the new Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, helmed by A Star is Born director Bradley Cooper, and Bernstein’s own 1961 masterpiece, West Side Story. They’re both very enjoyable, but which one has more to say about contemporary la la la la la l’America? Which one paints the most vivid picture of toxic masculinity? Which one can’t quite decide whose story it wants to be? And who forced Stephen Sondheim to change his lyrics before they’d accept a part?
Plus the return of Gary Oldman to Apple TV+, one of us is abducted by a low budget 1950s UFO thriller, we hear a message to Bee Kind from our sponsor, we make an observation about what happens to people who cough in movies, and we watch a Project Runway episode so exciting it makes us pull the cable out of our microphone.
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It’s the show we’ve been anticipating for the last twelve months, the Two Reel Cinema Club Film of the Year Show. We’ve seen some masterpieces this year, we’ve seen some real clunkers, we’ve seen some incredible performances and we’ve seen some very eye catching hats. Who will win, who will get a dishonourable mention, and who will leave the ceremony emotional, drunk and bitter as their personal security staff roll them into the back of a white limo with lightly stained upholstery?
We’ve kept our nominations secret from each other, so join us for some lively debate that includes Sergio Leone, Sydney Sweeney, Ralph Fiennes, Cillian Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, a Hollywood horse, a mini miracle, a disguise based on the outfit of a German tourist and much more.
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Happy Holidays from the Two Reel Cinema Club, as we watch one of the funniest, dourest and most heartfelt Christmas films we’ve seen in years, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. We discover it perched under the mistletoe kissing a film forty years its senior, 1983’s English private school drama Another Country. These two films both examine privilege, wealth and class, while simultaneously exploring the depths of the human heart. But which one features a triple tragedy? Which revolves around a wonky drainpipe? And which one is so good it is more or less 100% cliche resistant?
Plus a preview of a new podcast about Elon Musk, a cameo from the LoFi HipHop girl, our most confessional game of ‘Who Am I?’ yet, a new Netflix misfire, a trip through a Japanese time travel comedy, a highly detailed local weather report, a quick lesson on treating a dislocated shoulder, and a French film that turns out to be a Spanish film when we actually pull the dvd off the shelf…
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You might think we saw enough hats for one lifetime last week in Napoleon and Barry Lyndon but no, we want more. Join us as we doff our hats to the finest headgear in Hollywood. Which is the most famous hat in cinema? Who has the biggest hat in the MCU? How did cowboys decide between a black and a white hat? What hat did Zack Braff force Natalie Portman to wear in Garden State? And which of us has a friend who made a hat for Madonna? Well… a kind of hat…
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Join us in the Eighteenth Century this episode as we compare the new Ridley Scott feature Napoleon with its 1975 forefather, Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. It’s an explosion of candlelight and costume design, huge battles and intimate character moments. But it does make us wonder: why is the French Language no longer the Lingua Franca of cinema? What exactly are drummers for on the battle field? And which is the most famous vagina in cinematic history?
Plus: the definition of a good surgeon, the career of UK comic actor Leonard Rossiter, a revisit of a 1990s sci-fi comedy classic, the return of an old podcast sponsor, the joy of watching Bill Murray on a bus, why we wish we lived in the Eighteenth Century and why we’re glad we didn’t. And if you listen very carefully, you may just hear two men say ‘Cameron Diaz’ together in perfect synchronisation…
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Persepolis, Watchmen, Ghost World, American Splendor, Akira, Gemma Bovary… can you see the pattern yet? After watching David Fincher’s The Killer last week, we look at films that have been adapted from graphic novels. Which ones work, and which ones don’t? And what’s the common factor that makes a good adaptation? Plus, we talk about Paul Giamatti and Scarlett Johansson, falling asleep while Tokyo explodes, video game Visual Novels, Wordle for film nerds, Steve Buscemi’s type casting, and using alternative organs to read…
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Two films, two assassins, and two hundred thousand bullets this episode, as we watch the new David Fincher film The Killer and compare it to John Woo’s 1989 breakout Hong Kong action spectacular The Killer. There’s no denying the technical craft on display here, but while there’s a lot of bloodshed is there perhaps a little too much rumination? Which of these films should really be described as a comedy? Which one is dedicated to Martin Scorsese? Which film spent most of its budget on candles and squibs? And which film is like a Hallmark movie with a twist?
Plus a sponsorship offer from an AI company (maybe), a twenty year old Tom Hanks picture all about compassion (maybe), a Portland film with a little toxic masculinity (maybe), and a question about the best way to treat a bullet wound: with more bullets, maybe?
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It’s not just a feeling in your bladder, it’s actually true. Films really are getting longer. After struggling with the length of Killers of the Flower Moon last week, we analyse a few statistics about how film length has changed in the last forty years. Is it to do with length of a VHS tape? Or is the rise of streaming to blame, like it is for everything else? Are ‘event films’ the only reason people will leave the house now? What happened to the double feature? Isn’t everything supposed to be short form video now? And what is the new role of cinema in culture?
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We take two dark journeys into the American West in this episode as we watch the new Martin Scorsese picture Killers of the Flower Moon, and compare it to Sergio Leone’s 1969 classic Once Upon a Time in the West. It’s an epic total of six hours of gunshots, dirt, crime, money, corruption and revenge, all in Cinemascope. But which film is a textbook in cinematic story telling? Does either film justify its run time? Which actor do we consider the Big Mac of movie stars? And why do we both wish we were Charles Bronson?
Plus a word about socks with fingers, a rewatch of a Studio Ghibli classic for Halloween, a namecheck for 80s TV series Hart to Hart, a rival podcast from Malcolm Gladwell, and a serious question: isn’t the term ‘Spaghetti Western’ a bit racist?
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After watching Sliding Doors and Past Lives the other week, you find us writing our own romcom at the Popcorn Counter this episode. We ask ourselves: how many tropes can we squeeze into one pitch? The answer seems to be all of them, as we fold mismatched undercover cops, crazy best friends, a high stakes bake off, dance lessons on the beach, a wedding at a castle, a tiny car, kissing in the rain and a shared parachute into the mix, creating a romcom monster of box-office-destroying proportions…
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Watching Blackberry last week made us wonder how many hours of cinema are watched on a tiny, pocket-sized smartphone screen these days. Now that many of us have a fifty five inch OLED at home, are the days of cinema numbered? What will become of the experience of watching a movie in a big, dark room full of strangers? Will VR headsets and short form video kill movie going, or will new innovations like the Las Vegas Sphere and grass roots community movie clubs save us? Plus: the one weird trick of our mix engineer friend Patrick, the possibility of films being released in ten minute snippets, Microsoft’s new dystopian patent application, and the prospect of a telly that goes aaaaall the way around your head.
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We get down to business at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we watch the very entertaining new Canadian comedy-drama Blackberry, which explores the multi-billion-dollar early days of the smartphone, and compare it to Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 masterpiece There Will Be Blood. They’re two stories about big money, separated by a century, but with many touchstones in common. But which film had to recast a central character well into shooting? Which film has the most incredible soundtrack? And which film do we dub ‘Oppenheimer’s Little Brother’?
Plus we watch a 1930s James Whale classic on 16mm film, digitally deconstruct some Impressionist paintings, launch a series of original new websites, ask whether Michael Ironside’s sides are still made of iron, and demonstrate exactly what people mean by the phrase ‘when one door closes, another one opens’…
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Money is all we can think about at the popcorn counter this week, after watching two films about money last week. What are our top five financial films of all time? And can we answer five trivia questions about the insanity of film financing? What film made the most money, who got the biggest payday ever, and what clunker lost the most money? Do we prefer films about stealing money or saving it? And see if you can spot our own clunker when we forget who made American Graffiti… (Disclaimer: the value of your investments can go down as well as up, always seek expert financial advice and never, ever invest in the film business.)
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We’re losing money hand over fist in this week’s episode. Or maybe making money? Or buying… um… options? We have no idea what we’re doing to be honest, but neither do many of the protagonists in this week’s films. Dumb Money, from the director of Cruella, is the first film we’ve ever seen that’s based on a Reddit thread, and is a surprisingly funny and warm hearted comedy about money that ends up being about something much more important. Trading Places, now forty years old, covers much of the same territory but with a lot more gratuitous nudity. Which film treats its female characters with respect? Which film breaks the fourth wall? Which film explains the financial markets in one sentence? And which film features a character who in real life almost certainly went to Andres’ school?
Plus a new animated version of Romeo and Juliet, a Kurosawa classic on a scratchy print, a beautiful and eloquent short film about Philadelphia, a recommendation from Naomi Klein, a shocking confession about our Hulu viewing habits, and our first sponsor to offer an optional epipen with their product…
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Spencer Brown, director and co-writer of T.I.M., the number one Netflix feature, joins us at the Popcorn Counter this episode, to discuss the making of his film about an AI companion that becomes the world’s most effective and threatening stalker. He has some fascinating insights into the writing process and his methods of collaboration with his wife, best selling novelist Sarah Govett. But what was the kernel of the idea? How does he approach rewriting scenes that aren’t working? What is ‘thinking in 3D’? And will we get through a whole podcast without having to let the dog out? (Spoiler: no.)
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Join us on the road not taken this episode, as we watch new Korean-American feature Past Lives and compare it to a very 90s take on similar themes in Sliding Doors. Past Lives is like a tiny serving of understated New York drama, filled with comfortable silences and autobiographical details. But we have to ask: does enough actually happen? Meanwhile, London based Sliding Doors might have the opposite problem, packing the screen with events until it effectively crams two whole films into less than 100 minutes. Which film feels most authentic? Which film loves its home city the most? And which meet cute is the cutest?
Plus we sign up for a quick burst of Jury Duty, accept a sponsorship offer from a definitely legal cryptocurrency speculator, make an observation about anaesthetists on screen, watch Owen Wilson cycle around a French town, and ponder what kind of man would write a serious, literary book called ‘Boner’.
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There have been more than 450 spy films released in the last 12 months (citation needed) and yet most spy films seem to involve very little actual spying. James Bond has spent vastly more of his career running, driving, shooting and drinking than he has LOOKING AT THINGS CAREFULLY. At the popcorn counter this week we ask which spy films get it right and which do not. Which is the best Bond film? Which spy did Benedict Cumberbatch play to a tee? And which one of us knows a CIA agent in real life…?
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TRCC favourite Tom Cruise returns this episode, as we look at Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning: Part One, the seventh film in the ever growing franchise, and compare it to the 1935 Hitchcock classic The 39 Steps. Trains, chases, handcuffs and the very latest technology pepper the screen with bullet holes in both films, even though they were made 88 years apart. But which film nearly ended Andres’ marriage? Which film features cinema’s most notable milkman? And how does the finest moment from one of these films revolve around one woman’s hairstyle?
Plus we namecheck Rush song ‘Big Money’, question who really wrote ‘Macbeth’, watch Martin Short joking with Selena Gomez, get a soft and squishy new sponsor, discuss Aristotelian story space, and ask: does Venice have a coliseum? And if so, what’s it made of?
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Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, last week’s film, is now broadly acknowledged as The Greatest Film Of All Time. Do we agree? And what, to quote LL Cool J, is on our lists of the Greatest Of All Time? Will we include works by Kubrick, Hitchcock and the Cohen Brothers, or will we play it safe and stick to Zack Snyder? How many of our favourites are not in English? How many of them are suitable for family viewing? How many were made in the twenty first century? And how often can we be interrupted during the recording of one podcast, by car horns, doorbells or dogs? There are some profound thoughts in this podcast, but the greatest of them is probably — BING BONG! RUFF! RUFF! RUFF! HONK! HONK!
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It’s part two of our interview with A list Hollywood sound recordist at the Popcorn Counter this week. We talk about the early days of VHS film making, the joys of the ‘Control Track’ and in-camera effects, Mike’s secret technique for beating the popcorn counter at its own game, and why every short film ought to be a remake of Taxi Driver.
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Who had any expectations for a Barbie movie? But somehow the heavily branded toy franchise has given birth to a smart and witty satire that’s started a lot of conversations about the lives of women in the 21st century. We talk about what we enjoyed and what we missed, and compare it to the 1975 ‘slow cinema’ masterpiece now acknowledged by Sight and Sound as the greatest film of all time: Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. It’s two sides of the same coin once again. But which film wants to smash the patriarchy, which film presents the greatest shock, and which film wants to sell you a Chevrolet?
In between, we manage to forget Mitt Romney (an understandable mistake if ever there was one), launch a brand new social network under the banner of a single letter of the alphabet (which letter did we choose, do you think?), rewatch a recent hit with new (googly) eyes, learn about the invention of sonar, and discuss the complexities of plastic surgery.
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A special, musical Popcorn Counter this week as we talk to the star of Debutante, upright guitarist extraordinaire Steven Ray Liedlich. In between excerpts from the movie we talk about song writing, composing for film, gender fluidity, Steve’s unique playing style and the Boulder music scene of the 1990s. Make sure you listen to the end for a beautiful performance of the song River Road. This recording was a real pleasure for us, and we hope you enjoy it just as much as we did.
Watch the film on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9OhNioXTsw
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Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com
Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com
A new Christopher Nolan film is always an event, and there are certainly parts of Oppenheimer that we loved… but which parts? Join us to find out which sections of the film contain all the high drama, and which sections resemble ten men arguing over whether somebody’s library card should be renewed. Which characters get short-changed and who gets all the funny lines? And how does Oppie compare to Kubrick’s hilarious 1964 take on the nuclear arms race, Dr Strangelove?
Plus we court the QAnon crowd with some conspiracy talk, revisit a Tom Hanks picture when We Get Mail, promote noise cancelling headphones for dogs, revise all 37 Shakespeare plays in one evening, and get a lesson on how to tie up a horse, Hollywood style.
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It’s a very special popcorn counter this week, as we bump into A-list Hollywood sound recordist Michael Primmer and ask him all about his adventures in the screen trade. What’s it like to record Al Pacino? What happened to the dialogue Michael recorded for Christopher Nolan in Interstellar? How would he describe David Fincher’s set? And what’s the secret to a successful career in sound?
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
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Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub at gmail.com
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For a film all about time loops, the new Indiana Jones picture Dial of Destiny sure seems interested in repeating the past. Harrison Ford returns for the fifth Indy movie, which is filled with daring chases, speeding trains, mysterious artefacts and troublesome Nazis. But how much does the film owe to its 1981 predecessor Raiders of the Lost Ark? We run them both through our projector this episode, and ask: just how similar are they? Can the new version match the textbook film-making of the original? Will it address some of the racism of Raiders’ stereotypes? And exactly how many vehicles does Indy steal and wreck in the course of an average day?
Plus an appearance by Tom Hanks on a rival podcast, a quick blast of Nick Drake, a trip to the Temple of Doom, a shot of vitamins from our sponsor, and a sensible question about why the ancients could build elaborate traps that work for two thousand years but today a phone battery only lasts for eight hours.
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If we got a dollar every time someone asked us where we get our ideas, we’d have eight dollars. Everyone seems to have a great idea for a movie, but what does the process of converting that idea into a hundred page script look like? This episode we talk at the popcorn counter about what writing techniques work for us. Mind maps? Post it notes? Treatments? Or just plain ‘listening to strangers’ conversations on the bus and writing them down verbatim’? Plus, what’s the one screenwriting book we’d recommend above all others?
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There’s a new Wes Anderson film out! Is it very different to the last Wes Anderson film? Good question…
This episode we watch Asteroid City and compare it to Anderson’s sophomore picture Rushmore from 1998. The new film is certainly starrier, with the kind of cast that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars on any other film. But does that result in much actual drama or is Asteroid City as flat as the desert that surrounds it? And has the work of America’s most recognisable director changed in the last 25 years? Or has Wes stayed the same while the world has changed around him?
Plus, we play our new game ‘The Coppola Count’, invent the school of ‘Insiderism’, debate the difference between ‘fluff’ and ‘fondant’, watch a slapstick interpretation of Watergate, catch ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm for Middle Schoolers’ and enlist a hair-raising new sponsor.
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Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com
The 1970s is often called the last Golden Age of Hollywood, with big stars and auteur directors making challenging and experimental films aimed at an adult audience. Join us as we relax in the sticky, grimy foyer of our local repertory cinema for our longest Popcorn Counter yet, where we try to come up with an A to Z of the most influential pictures and talents of the decade. Will we see appearances by Coppola, Spielberg or Altman? Are there any uniting themes that define the era? And which of us gets stuck with the letters ‘X’ and ‘Z’?
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Some movies are ‘ripped from the headlines’ but new HBO feature Reality has been literally transcribed from the headlines, using the text of a publicly available FBI interview as its script, word for word. It’s a mesmerising tale about espionage, betrayal and the US intelligence services, and this episode we put it in a locked room with Sidney Pollack’s 1975 spy thriller Three Days of the Condor and see which one breaks first. How have attitudes to spies and leaks changed in nearly fifty years? Do the films treat their female characters fairly? And does any of this remind us of any big news stories happening right now?
Plus a discussion of toupees in the movies, some controversy over the pronunciation of the word ‘translator’, a warning from the Cliche Squad, a look at a new VR headset, a trip to see a 1980s rock star and a place on the team for the Tour de France.
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Brevity is famously the soul of wit, but exactly how short can a film be to still get classified as ‘feature length’? We looked it up and the answer is probably shorter than you think (and more than four times shorter than Avatar: The Way of Water…) Join us at the Popcorn Counter this episode where we try to figure out what is the greatest film of all time under ninety minutes using our own, foolproof, scientific scoring system. Along the way, we struggle with French pronounciation, fail to add up single digit numbers, and finally prove that Christopher Nolan is a greater film maker than Akira Kurosawa. Maybe.
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It’s back to the first year of Junior High this episode, with two preteen dramas that both perform well in their midterms. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret is a heart warming family story that’s witty, fresh, sweet and more moving than we expected, while 1995s Welcome to the Dollhouse is its antimatter equivalent, jarring, grimy and nihilistic. But the two have so much in common that it’s like looking in a greasy, fire-damaged mirror. Which film has the more modern view of adolescence? Which film has the best chunky phones? And how does each film use food to explore character?
Plus we discuss the banning of books from public libraries, watch a greatest-of-all-time TV climax, recount a podcast-inspired nightmare, listen to an extremely well-recorded word from our sponsors, and ask: does corn have sides?
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French actor Adèle Haenel, best known for Portrait of a Woman on Fire, published an incredible letter about her retirement from the film industry a couple of weeks ago. This episode at the Popcorn Counter we read the letter and talk about some of the issues she raises. What are our responsibilities as writers and as consumers of cinema? What is the right way to respond to news of sexual assaults and the abuse of power? And what can we do to effect progress? Some heavy subject matter this time round, and neither of us feels like we have the answers, but it’s good to talk.
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We’re still trying to recover from the trauma of watching Beau Is Afraid for this episode. Ari Aster’s new Freudian ‘comedy’ horror movie feels like a three hour nightmare that left us begging to wake up. Happily, we’re comparing it to Tom Hanks’ 1994 Oscar winner Forrest Gump, which is just the right film to cleanse our tainted, rancid, bloody palates. These two have so much in common that one is like a ‘dark dimension’ mirror image of the other. But which movie features the most running? Which movie says more about the state of America? And which movie draws from the David Lynch playbook?
We also hail the invention of ‘elastic thinking’, visit Iñárritu’s new homage to Fellini, rewatch a low budget time travel romp, and give a lesson on how to fit a burro in a station wagon. Plus Tom Hanks. Did we mention Tom Hanks? Tom Hanks' name comes up in this podcast. Many times.
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Welcome to the ‘urban planning’ section of the podcast, as we meet at the popcorn counter this week and talk about why the inner city gets such a bad rep in cinema. Who is London’s most famous inner city resident? What does ‘NF’ stand for in the world of Shane Meadow’s ‘This is England’? And why should ‘Boyz N The Hood’ be remade as ‘Boyz N The Garden’?
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We return to school again this episode, spending a semester with new Argentine Netflix feature The Substitute, before graduating to a course with 2008 Palme d’Or-winning French drama La Classe. Both films examine the challenges of inner city schooling, but while The Substitute makes teaching look like a Sicario spin off, La Classe is more realistic and subtle. Which film sees two teachers sneak off at lunchtime for a little afternoon delight? Which film shows that there isn’t much of a difference between the staff and the pupils? And which film features a kid rapping? Yes, rapping. Is that what lessons are like these days? Must be some kind of inner city school thing.
Plus a strange James Corden film that might have been a fever dream, a revisit of the greatest action adventure movie of all time, a revelation about the difference between American and British schools, and a merger announcement from this episode’s sponsors. Plus we enjoy some novel mathematical nomenclature and a Venn diagram. Every day is a school day, isn’t it?
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Listen to us get completely out of our depth in tonight’s episode, discussing our encounters with LGBTQ cinema over the years, and its role in advancing social change. Which is our favourite date movie? Who is the Countess von Bismark? Where does Al Pacino fit in? And what happens when you write the words ‘there is a song and dance number’ in a script?
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(Let’s start with a content warning, as this episode’s films contain scenes of extreme violence, self harm and suicide.) If you’re happy to continue, join us as we watch two films about the many forms of love this time: new Belgian drama Close and 1999’s classic Boys Don’t Cry. They form a great double bill, outstanding, beautiful, moving, absorbing, tragic and transformative. But which film reminds us vividly of our ‘happy place’? And which film feels so contemporary it’s a shock when one of the characters uses a landline phone?
You can also hear us fail to remember the name of Nic Cage’s best film, try to figure out what ‘Benelux’ means, and discuss the difference between ‘hot potatoes’ and ‘living in each other’s pockets’. Plus a quick look at a classical music movie, a thumbs down for the Spielberg biopic, a laugh with a robotic doll assassin, and a brief word from our sponsor - although we’re not sure if what they’re saying is an ad or a warning….
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Join us as we hide in a little bubble of nostalgia at the popcorn counter this week. Before AI and chatbots, before Netflix and YouTube, before dvd, there was VHS. We explain why we think those chunky cassettes might possibly have been the most important thing to happen to cinema ever, both for film viewers and for film makers. So what if you spent half your evening adjusting the tracking and then had to watch the movie through a fog of static that would get even blurrier just before the good bit? It was ANALOG. You can’t beat that. ANALOG. Do you hear? ANALOG!
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You can’t move for blog posts and YouTube videos about ChatGPT at the moment, but what is it going to mean for working writers? Will AI help us, giving every writer a patient editor and a sympathetic sounding board to ease them through the painful development process? Or will it steal all the jobs and throw us away, leaving us no option but to look for employment in an Amazon warehouse or sweeping up at the local cinema? Join us at the popcorn counter as we give what we like to call ‘CheatGPT’ some writing assignments of our own, and come to our own rather downbeat conclusions as it answers our questions in its irritatingly bland and cheerful tone…
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We’ve seen the future in this episode’s films, and frankly it doesn’t look like a place we’d want to visit. Netflix’s new Hong Kong Chinese sci-fi action movie Warriors of Future paints a bleak picture of the rest of the 21st century, with killer plants, killer robots, killer air pollution and killer civil engineers to contend with. We compare it to 1995 anime classic Ghost in the Shell, which adds urban flooding, malign AI, existential crises and brain hacking to the mix. But which film fights for the greater good, and which film exudes noirish resignation? Which film has the biggest spider-shaped armoured tank in it? And which film sees the protagonist’s clothes fall off every time they need to start shooting? Plus a run in with the garbage collectors, a quick look at an anime sequel, a farewell to a veteran film journalist, and a singalong chant about dog adoption.
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Back in the 80s, when we were naive enough to think that the song ‘White Lines’ was a road safety anthem, cocaine was a big thing in movies - and not a small thing in the movie industry. Join us in a cramped toilet cubicle for a few snorts of our favourite cocaine films, including Die Hard, Annie Hall and Maria Full of Grace. Plus a quick look at drug slang, a celebration of Melle Mel, and a little insight into how medical grade cocaine is used legally.
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We take a hike in the wilderness for this week’s episode, and find ourselves shimmying up a tree at speed in the hope of avoiding the worst of Cocaine Bear, the not-so-impressive new comedy horror from the Lord and Miller stable. Then once we’re in a position of safety we take our time with Werner Herzog’s astonishing and revelatory 2005 documentary Grizzly Man. There’s a lot of gruesome violence between these two, but which film has the scariest bear in it? Which film has the most heinous cliches? And why is the most frightening character in either of these films someone who is barely seen on screen at all? Plus a self-help book from the master of suspense, a quick look at new European features ‘Close’ and ‘Godland’, reflections on ‘Medical Student TikTok’, a revisit of a tasty Pixar classic and a confession that at least one of us doesn’t know what a ‘wheelhouse’ is. What IS a wheelhouse? Seriously? What do you wheel in it?
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We get stuck in a phone booth on the way to the popcorn counter this episode. (Do they still even exist?) Mobile telephony has ruined a lot of plots since about 1999, and smart phones have spoiled even more since 2007, but on the other hand there have been some great telephone scenes in cinema. We talk about the joys and pitfalls, celebrate Hal Hartley and Scorsese, curse Steve Jobs, and discuss the lengths we’ve had to go to in our own projects to stop someone’s phone ruining the whole thing.
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Sarah Polley’s new film Women Talking gives us plenty to discuss this episode, with shocking violence, sobering drama and a deep examination of patriarchy, all delivered through outstanding performances. But for all its excellence, we have one major criticism: is it really a film at all? Then after the break we compare it to Pedro Almodóvar’s 1988 international hit Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Two different looks at the issues facing women, with wildly different presentation, but it turns out they have more in common than we expected. Plus some IMDB news, a viewing of 2011’s Jane Eyre adaptation, a look at this year’s Oscar short film nominees, a trip to watch live theatre group Manual Cinema, an ad about the future of food science and a brief interlude while we let the dog out. There’s always an animal connection, isn’t there?
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This time as we shoot the breeze at the Popcorn Counter, we have a confession about school punishments, make a trip through the Chambers English Dictionary and add some reminiscences about the UK stand-up comedy scene before we compare some of our favourite frenemies in cinema. Surely, any proper believable friendship on screen has an element of the frenemy about it, doesn’t it? It’s yin and yang. Butch and Sundance, Whiplash, the Avengers and more come up for discussion before we realise that we’ve already been down this road in one of our own scripts a few years ago… If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
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Welcome back to the Two Donkey Cinema Club, where we seem to exclusively discuss donkey based films from around the world. This episode, current Oscar favourite The Banshees of Inisherin grazes the pastures alongside 1990 Richard Harris classic The Field. These two films about rural Ireland have so much in common that one feels almost like a remix of the other. But the differences they have really underline the ways the world has changed in the last 32 years. Which film goes full Hamlet, and which one warns the audience: beware of the artist? Plus the Cliche Squad turns up to arrest some fiddlers, we discover we both want to be the same character but for very different reasons, there’s a quick look at Puss In Boots and Regle du Jeu, and we have a very, very brief word from our sponsor.
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This place is like a zoo! After a week of donkey pictures we’ve set up a short series of bestial fights at the popcorn counter, pitting some of our favourite animal movies against each other to see which will win. Just two rules: no anthropomorphism, and no mercy. Can Bambi defeat King Kong? Do bears dream? And who will reign supreme as the king of the Hollywood jungle?
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It’s on like Donkey Kong at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we watch new Polish donkey movie and best international feature Oscar contender Eo, and yoke it up to its direct ancestor, the 1966 Robert Bresson movie Au Hasard Balthasar. There’s plenty of uncomfortable watching here, with many scenes of cruelty to both animals and humans, but there is also hope, kindness and love on screen. Which film left us numb and which film made us literally shout, ‘No!’ at the screen? Which film makes best use of its religious imagery, and which film features some of the most beautiful cinematography we’ve seen in recent months? Plus a remarkable snippet of biographical background from Andres, our new VHS Video Library venture, a miniature snowed-in film festival, and our close personal identification with truck drivers and The Cubeman.
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Death stalks the halls of the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we get stuck at the Popcorn Counter and kill time with a quiz about our favourite movie demises. How often do you hear Jeff Bridges, Stanley Kubrick and Public Enemy in the same show? Also, be prepared for plenty of dead air while our brains move at the speed of melted cheese. Plus one of us almost electrocutes themselves. Guess along with us, and place your bets on who will win or, more accurately, who will lose the least.
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Man cannot live by popcorn alone (and God knows we’ve tried) so this episode sees us drinking deeply from the cup of culinary cinema. The Menu boasts a high concept story, a starry cast and a considerable body count, but is it a comedy or a horror movie? And how does it measure up against one of its primary influences, 1987’s beautiful Danish Oscar winner Babette’s Feast? The two form an incredible double bill that pits late stage capitalism against the foundations of liberal democracy, religion against sensuality, death against rebirth, champagne against Valpolicella, and turtle soup against some marshmallows, with bread on the side. Actually, no, there’s no bread. Can we get some bread here, please? No? Please? Plus a look at some new docs, a regrettable viewing of an 80s dud, a brand new sponsor and a revealing game of ‘Who Am I?’ Tuck in!
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Ah, the water: clear, blue, enveloping. And also cold and airless and deadly. Do we have any favourite films set on or under the water? You bet we do. From Moana’s beautiful vistas to Jaqueline Bisset’s effect on an impressionable eight year old, we look back at half a lifetime at sea in the cinema. Plus we reveal the secret to successfully pitching an ocean-going picture, and contemplate the benefits of drowning in butter.
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Avatar The Way of Water is dominating screens all over the world, closing in on two billion dollars at the box office as we record. But it’s not the first time James Cameron has been on a diving holiday - and we’re not talking about Titanic, either. 1989 sci-fi swimathon The Abyss was the superstar director’s first foray into the water (Piranha II doesn't count), and although it flopped at the time, it has a great deal in common with his new, all conquering CGI epic. We submerge ourselves in the two films, and return to the surface with questions. Which film features 1960s dad? Which film relishes the darkness? And which of the two could really do with a few more jokes? Plus we play a new movie game and watch half of Glass Onion. Only half, mind you.
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We’ve been doing this podcast for a whole year now, and we’ve seen some astonishing and remarkable movies. We’ve seen some dreadful clunkers, too. So join us for our inaugural award ceremony, celebrating the best of the best in six categories, while not forgetting the awful films, which get an award all of their own.
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There’s a whole channel of Christmas movies now, a whole channel! Why? This episode at the popcorn counter we ask how come there seems to be such a wealth of Christmas movies, but not nearly so many Easter movies or Thanksgiving movies or Harvest Festival movies. And seeing as there is such a glut, we single out some of our favourites to give you a bit of a guide to the best of Yuletide watching.
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It’s that time of year again, when Christmas movies come to our screens thick and fast. But do either of those adjectives describe the new Amazon original, UK-based, rom-com feature Your Christmas or Mine? And how does it compare to the eternal yuletide classic It’s a Wonderful Life? We examine both films in depth, including a look at the writing process and the challenges of creating a good ‘bottle episode’. Which film features Elon Musk in disguise? Which film has the Cliche Squad working overtime? And does the differing way these films discuss race and class suggest any social change in the last eighty years?
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We’ve got it bad, got it bad, got it bad at the popcorn counter this episode. Teachers appear in so many films, but how often do they get it right? What does Matthew Broderick do to convince us he knows what real teaching is like? And has anyone in the US ever heard of Grange Hill?
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We’re travelling through time this episode, back to the podcast we missed last summer, and back to school. Acclaimed Scottish 90s teenager doc My Old School has arrived on streaming platforms, meaning we can at last watch it and draw parallels with Ken Loach’s 1969 classic Kes. Two films about struggling youths, one doing everything he can to escape his oppressive life, the other doing everything he can to turn back the clock and live it all again. But how differently do the two films portray education? And which of the two contains the finest football scene in all of cinema?
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Haven’t we been here before? We bump into screenwriter Inês Braga at the popcorn counter this episode, where we talk about that rarest of beasts, the sequel that’s not equal: second films that are better than the first film. Yes, they exist! We nominate some of our favourites, mention a few sequels that went totally off the rails, and invent a new word, before finally getting some insight into Inês’ current hit television show 'Santiago' and her thoughts about her own sequel.
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Screenwriter Inês Braga is our guest on the show this week, and she schools us on our Portuguese pronunciation as we compare the monolithic new MCU picture Wakanda Forever with 1984’s Brazilian take on very similar themes, Quilombo. We find epic battles, extravagant costumes, warehouses rammed with gear, and awkward diving suits full of melons. But do these two versions of utopia have more in common than super-powered spears and elaborate headgear? And what is the idea that Wakanda Forever leaves hanging but that Quilombo completes?
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So about half of all films are based on pre-existing works, be they books, plays, magazine articles or toy cars that turn into robots. But how have we approached the task of turning some other thing into a movie script? What films do we think did it well? And what does Aphex Twin have to do with it all?
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We take two trips to Hell at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, and emerge bloody, traumatised, and hungry for croissants. Netflix’s current release is the third time All Quiet on the Western Front has been adapted into a film, and this time it’s a good one, reversing the recent trend of disappointing original features from the streaming giant. But can the new film survive an attack from Full Metal Jacket, Kubrick’s shocking and unconventional Vietnam war movie from 1987? And which of the two deserves a visit from the Cliché Squad?
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Big hair! Shoulder pads! Day-go jumpsuits! But enough about us, what about the cinema of the 1980s? After watching David Bowie’s 80s incarnation recently, we trawl through the 80s' biggest movies with a quiz, and then search for common motifs. We visit Project Fear, look at solving problems with guns, and have a strange Leonard Nimoy fever dream. Finally we ask: is the 80s the decade that’s responsible for the film business we see today?
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We have some pretty well developed theories on how characters have got their names in films, based partly on our own experience, and partly on wild and unsubstantiated conjecture. Find out the ‘truth’ about R2D2 and Obi Wan, plus a brief meditation on how your name determines what career you’ll follow in medical school…
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There’s a Starman waiting in the sky this episode, as we watch the new David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream, and then leave the planet for an orbital rendezvous with the original Ziggy Stardust, 1976’s The Man Who Fell to Earth. There’s no shortage of entertainment, with 'milk-sex', an electrifying performance of Heroes and a waltz around a giant Pepsi can with Tina Turner. But which film shows us the most honest glimpse of the real David Bowie?
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Sexposition. Intimacy Coordinators. Lobster sex. There are no holds barred at the popcorn counter this episode, where we take the clothes off some of our previous projects and expose their most personal details. When we think back, we realise we’ve both written more sex scenes than we thought over our careers so far. But which scenes bring more problems, the happy or the sad ones? And have we ever been given any good advice about how to write about getting it on?
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We take a double length look at enduring Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe this episode, as new Netflix ‘fictional biopic’ Blonde stares into the make-up mirror and sees 1985’s Insignificance staring right back. There’s no shortage of controversy here: Netflix’s first NC17 rated picture doesn’t shy away from sex, nudity and graphic violence, while Insignificance has a body count in the thousands. But does Marilyn get a fair deal in either film, or is she still just being exploited sixty years after her death?
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Audiences just can’t seem to get enough of brutal, bloody murder. What does that say about humans as a species and moviegoers in particular? We look at some psychologists’ theories about why murder is such a popular form of entertainment, and try to square that with our own, rapidly mellowing tastes…
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Episode 27: Do a Stranger’s Revenge
Do Revenge, the new Netflix original feature, is doing crime right in front of our eyes this episode. The film wears its main influence prominently on its impeccably tailored, pastel, cashmere sleeve: Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, reputedly the master of suspense’s fourth best film (citation needed). But do the films share more in common than their criss cross plot lines? And have attitudes to violence, criminality and revenge changed scene 1951?
The books we referenced this episode:
Creatures of Darkness https://books.google.com.vc/books?id=kIgfBgAAQBAJ
Hitchcock/Truffaut https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitchcock/Truffaut
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The Black Panther sequel is coming later this year, and having recently watched Nope and The Brother From Another Planet, we find ourselves talking about Afrofuturism at the popcorn counter this time, where literature, movies, games and TV all make the Mothership Connection.
References this episode
Octavia Butler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavia_E._Butler
N K Jemisin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._K._Jemisin
Samuel Delany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_R._Delany
Mass Effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Effect
Deathloop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathloop
Nichelle Nicols https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichelle_Nichols
Black Panther https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_(film)
The Woman King https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_King
The Matrix https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpheus_(The_Matrix)
Blake Crouch, author of Recursion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake_Crouch
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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 a science fiction scenario as John Sayles’ 1984 picture The Brother From Another Planet? Join us as we stare into the heart of cosmic horror and then overclock some old arcade video games like ET goes to New York with an Atari 2600.
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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 films that HAVE shown up in the past. And in penance for our poor planning we’ll be reporting for detention at four o’clock, alongside Molly Ringwald and Emilio Estevez.
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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 anyone. Just don’t expect us to ever do it again.
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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 EXPLODES!
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At the popcorn counter this time we try to list our top three war films, only to find we’ve out manoeuvred each other and ended up with a pyrrhic victory: five good movies and one that’s so bad it earns a whole new rating.
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There are lots of advantages to putting God in your film. No-one knows what they look like, so casting can be as crazy as you like, and (so far) they never sue over the unlicensed use of their image. We try to remember as many examples of God on screen as we can while we queue at the popcorn counter. Inevitably we will have missed a few - but that’ll all be sorted out by Judgement Day, won’t it?
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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 tell a parallel story about how ideas of empowerment and responsibility have changed over the last sixty years…
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After sneaking a musical instrument into the popcorn counter, we prove once and for all that neither of us is Bob Dylan, but we have seen some kick ass concert movies. Which ones stand out and is the live music feature film due a comeback?
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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 cinema or the world changed as much as we hope in the last 95 years?
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Don’t believe what your parents told you, monsters are definitely real. After watching Godzilla and Jurassic World, we talk at the Popcorn Counter about a few of our favourite monster pictures, explain why we’re wary of swimming in three feet of water and lament the end of the broadcast television late night scare movie.
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We’ve been to see Jurassic World Dominion for this episode, the sixth movie in a franchise that now feels a little like it dates back 65 million years. There’s a lot of stuff on fire in this film, but can it hold a candle to 1954’s Godzilla, the original Jurassic monster movie that stamped out the template for resurrected dinosaur flicks with its enormous, three toed foot?
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Forty years into his career Tom Cruise has his biggest opening ever. Has any actor ever had a career like that before? Join us at the popcorn counter for a quick Cruise-a-thon, followed by an even quicker exit when we figure out who we should be careful of.
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This episode we feel the need… the need for a broad reassessment of cinema’s portrayal of the military industrial complex. Top Gun: Maverick sees Tom Cruise return to flight school after 36 years, but can it fly higher and faster than John Ford’s 1945 John Wayne picture They Were Expendable? And has the way cinema views militarism changed since World War 2?
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Join us at the Popcorn Counter, where this episode we’re shooting the breeze about Martial Arts Cinema. Warning: may contain scenes of two men talking about something they know nothing about.
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We scoot across the multiverse and slide between parallel worlds in this episode, as we look at the new A24 picture Everything Everywhere All At Once, and revisit its ancestor, The Matrix. Has the world moved on since 1999? And find out why we wish one of these movies was available in suppository form...
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This time while we queue at the Popcorn Counter, we talk all about actors who play actors who like actors who play actors. What’s the difference between an actor and a movie star? And who’s the Queen of the Hall of Mirrors?
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Join us as we hit each other over the head with a big stick with ‘IRONY’ written on it. This episode we watch the new Nic Cage picture The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and line it up against 1999’s Being John Malkovich. Is it possible to die from too much irony? Because it kind of feels like that’s possible.
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We always have ideas left over from recording main episodes, so we're going to start sharing some of them at the Popcorn Counter. This time: our favourite meals in movies. And is it the food or the company that's most important?
Hold onto your aprons as blood pours off the screen in this episode: Robert Eggers’ new, hyper violent Viking revenge tale The Northman draws a sword to challenge Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 classic The Seventh Seal. Which of them has the most to say about love, faith and death? And which of them has some naked dudes fighting near lava?
Everyone’s favourite rotoscope animator Richard Linklater returns to screens with Apollo 10 1/2 this month. How does his new film about weightlessness measure up against his rather heavier 2006 picture A Scanner Darkly?
Three men, one woman, an isolated house, a gun. This episode we watch Netflix's new 90 minute thriller Windfall, and measure it up against 2004's German indie feature The Edukators. Lots of ideas in common here, but how do the body counts compare?
Two Afghan refugee stories this time, comparing current release Flee with 2002's In This World. Both detail harrowing journeys across borders and through the hands of traffickers. Have we learned anything in the last twenty years, or does the story remain the same?
Two Almodovar movies this episode: 2021's Parallel Mothers and 1999's All About My Mother. What's changed in 22 years of Almodovar's career, and how much do the two films have in common? (Spoiler: a lot.)
This episode we watch the much acclaimed new Paul Thomas Anderson film Licorice Pizza and take it for a date with one of its primary influences, Amy Heckerling's debut feature Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Two groups of teenagers from the 1970s and the 1980s: will they party on down by the pool or will they get into a fight over who scratched their older brother's car?
This episode we watch the famously expensive new Netflix feature Red Notice, and measure it up against 1955 French noir classic Rififi. Two heist movies, but do they have more in common than that?