Two Reel Cinema Club

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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

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?

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

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at [email protected]

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 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. 

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

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at [email protected]

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 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.

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

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at [email protected]

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

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!

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

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at [email protected]

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