Two Reel Cinema Club

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 If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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/ If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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… If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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 than inspired a ten year old. The times, they are a changin’…. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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… If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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! If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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 Runnings, 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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub 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