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.

Film of the Year 2025: Popcorn Counter

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 14 January 2026

It’s the final episode of the Two Reel Cinema Club this week, but what a show to go out on: Film of the Year. We’ve seen a wide range of movies of … variable quality this year, and we’ve compared them to a host of immortal classics. But which will walk away clutching one of our seven awards, including Script of the Year, Scene of the Year and Product Placement of the Year? Featuring no-budget true stories, movies we’d almost forgotten about, two appearances by deities, historical films that feel scarily up to date, some surprising disappointments, a dose of heartwarming joy and a special mention for Rob Reiner.

Thanks to all our listeners who’ve helped us get to 200 episodes. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to slide into your ears every week, and we’re both looking forward to seeing you again in different forms as we move onto new projects! All the best, J and A.

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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

Hamnet vs Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Hamnet is Dead

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 7 January 2026

We’re travelling back in time 400 hundred years this episode, to watch the new award-tipped historical drama Hamnet and compare it to an alternative take on Shakespeare, 1990’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Two sets of muddy streets, two sets of Elizabethan gowns, two sets of plays within plays. But which film left us dissolved in a puddle? Which film reminded us of Rousseau and Voltaire? Which film threatens to become grief porn? And which film made us of think of Monty Python and Peter Greenaway?

Plus: Keanu Reeves in New York, Christmas with Bukowski, Mr Bean fights Cassius Clay, a made-for-TV Agatha Christie movie on a mega budget, a consistently terrible series of short films, and a reappearance by the most flatulent man in showbusiness. Happy New Year!

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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

Netflix vs Warner Bros: Whoever Wins, We Lose: Popcorn Counter

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 31 December 2025

What a way to end 2025, with the potential sale of Warner Brothers to Netflix hammering another nail into the coffin of cinema. Who are the main players, how much money is involved, and what implications does it have for the wider world? What is the mountain in the Paramount logo? Who could have predicted that the makers of bird documentaries would buy Batman? And why do we reckon that in this battle, whoever wins, we lose?

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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

Sentimental Value vs Fanny and Alexander: Sentimental Alexander

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 24 December 2025

(Warning: discussion of suicide from the start.) Season’s Greetings from the Two Reel Cinema Club as we watch the new Scandinavian drama Sentimental Value with Stellan Skarsgård, and compare it to one of the longest films ever released, Ingmar Bergman’s evergreen and ever festive Fanny and Alexander. Two theatrical families, two beautiful houses, two sets of hidden drama. But which of the two movies is European Film Type C? Which invites us into the little world? Which gave us flatulence envy? And which reminded us of a weak cup of tea?

Plus a spelling lesson from Laurence Fishburne, a sci-fi action adventure with Elle Fanning, a quick trip to Ikea, a film so good we bought a new DVD player especially to watch it, an invitation to lick an envelope, and the debut of Wallace and Gromlet. Happy Christmas, one and all!

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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

Adapting the Classics: Popcorn Counter

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 17 December 2025

We often talk about adaptations at the Popcorn Counter, but this episode we’re joined by Inês Braga to ask: is it ever a good idea to adapt a classic? Old books have the advantage of brand recognition, and if they’re out of copyright there are no royalties to pay, but do the benefits outweigh the risks of sullying a much loved property and making the entire audience angry that you’ve done it wrong? Which classic adaptations got it right and which ones missed the mark? Do young people like to read at all in 2025? And who will read scripts in the future?

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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

Frankenstein vs Young Frankenstein: Frank and Frank

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 10 December 2025

We welcome back screenwriter Inês Braga to this week’s episode, as we watch the new Guillermo del Toro take on Frankenstein, and compare it to maybe the finest Frankenstein in all of cinema, Mel Brooks’ 1974 Young Frankenstein. Two experiments gone wrong, two crazy scientists, two lightning bolts. But which film owes the greatest debt to James Whale? Which film features a barely disguised Peter Thiel? Which film has a beginning that never really pays off? Which film gave some welcome work to artisans and craftspeople? And which film’s producer drove Inês around Los Angeles for a week?

Plus: a documentary about a dark episode in history, a disappointing remake of a Schwarzenegger movie, a look at the new Luca Guadagnino picture, a cameo from The Hulk, a tour through some deleted scenes, and a delivery of 400 small buckets of petrol.

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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

Mystery Mondays: Popcorn Counter

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 3 December 2025

Trust the Canadians to save cinema: Cineplex’s new Mystery Monday screenings are hoping to revive the flagging exhibition industry. But do we think it will work? And if it doesn’t, how would we save cinema? Featuring costumed actors, great food, locality, curation, communality, microcinemas, using Netflix’s biggest weapon against it, and finding a teenager who’ll agree to jiggle your seat around wildly while you watch The Empire Strikes Back.

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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

Bugonia vs Save the Green Planet: Save Bugonia

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 26 November 2025

A surprising amount of lightning at the Two Reel Cinema Club this week, as we watch the new Yorgos Lanthimos picture Bugonia, and compare it to the Korean film it’s based on, 2003’s Save the Green Planet. Two kidnaps, two investigations, two conspiracy theories. But how do these two films differ? What is it they want to say? Which film is a prime example of ‘scrap of paper film making’? Why did the remake remind us of Tears for Fears? And who exactly is Jesse Plemons married to?

Plus some animated dinosaurs, a raucous one man band, a Spanish time travel thriller, some fetching knitwear, Neil Young playing a baby shoe, a host of new words including ‘metronomic’ and ‘both-sides-isms’, a VCR floating in space, and a definitive answer to the question: how much electricity can you send through a human body?

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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

Musical Biopics: Popcorn Counter

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 19 November 2025

We’re humming along at the popcorn counter this week as we pitch the musical biopics we’d like to see – ones which are little less bland than some of the music movies we’ve watched recently. Join us as we travel from Canada’s greatest rock trio to the Chairman of the Board, from Jamaica’s tallest export to m-m-m-my Sharona. We get three biopics each, but which is the most obscure? Which is the weirdest? And which one writes itself?

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere vs The Night of the Hunter: Night of the Boss

Post author By James Ruzicka
Post date 12 November 2025

We’re dancing in the dark this week, as we watch the new movie Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere and then study the film that makes a cameo in that rock and roll biopic, 1955’s The Night of the Hunter. Two bad fathers, two rivers, two tales of growing up poor. But which of the two features the sweatiest man? Which of the two has the most riverside wildlife? Which of the two is wearing twenty undervests and a fake chin? And which movie do we consider a mediocre film that everyone should watch?

Plus a twentieth century ghost story, a short film about migration, a soccer semi-final, an almost silent music producer, a no-show for Courtney Cox and a forest’s worth of the King of England’s trees.

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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