Two Reel Cinema Club

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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.  If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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.  If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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! If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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… If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com  

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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… If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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  If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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 If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com

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. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Twitter: @tworeelcineclub Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Or come to our website, where we’ll be writing about the movies we cover in the show and a few more things besides: tworeelcinemaclub.com