Two Reel Cinema Club

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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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 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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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 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?

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

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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

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…

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

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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

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.

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

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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 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’…

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

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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

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.)

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

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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

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…

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

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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

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.)

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

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’. 

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