Two Reel Cinema Club – The website of the podcast Two Reel Cinema Club. Every episode we watch two films, one old and one new, and try to connect the dots.

Popcorn Counter: Building T.I.M.

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 27 September 2023
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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.)

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

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: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com

Past Lives vs Sliding Doors: Lives Sliding Past Doors

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

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

Popcorn Counter: Spy Hard

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 13 September 2023

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…?

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

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: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning: Part One vs The 39 Steps: The 39 Impossible Missions

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 6 September 2023

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?

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

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: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com

Popcorn Counter: The Greatest of All Time

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 30 August 2023

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!

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

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: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com

Popcorn Counter: Recording Debutante

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 23 August 2023

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.

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

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: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com

Barbie vs Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce: True Life Lies Between Barbie and Jeanne

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 16 August 2023

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.

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

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: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com

Popcorn Counter: Upright Guitarist Steven Ray Liedlich and Debutante

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 9 August 2023

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

Find us on social media:

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: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com

Oppenheimer vs Dr Strangelove: It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and We Feel Mildly Disappointed)

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 2 August 2023

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.

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

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: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com

Popcorn Counter: Michael Primmer – Here Comes The Boom

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 26 July 2023

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:

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: https://tworeelcinemaclub.com