Two Reel Cinema Club

Weapons is our new film this week, the sophomore feature from sometime sketch comedian Zack Cregger. It may have a great cast, a great premise and some great scares, but can it stick the landing? We’re comparing it to a film from 1995 that shares its premise and a lot more besides, The City of Lost Children. But which one is best described as Lynchian? Which one is stacked with zany action? Which one looks like a CD-ROM video game? And which one is about so many different themes that’s it’s almost about nothing?

Plus, we watch Selena Gomez and Steve Martin in a New York podcast caper, we singlong to a Netflix K-Pop hit, we ask what a roustabout is, we wonder what happened to the pictures of missing children on milk cartons, and we try to define what ‘brassy’ means.

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com

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 week we dress up for concert night and dare to ask the question: how is it possible to not like John Williams? We scan through some of our favourite movie soundtracks and try to figure out what makes a good one. How broad is Hans Zimmer’s career? Why do we consider the gold standard to be Bernard Herrmann? What’s the best thing about Tron Legacy? What’s the right word to use to describe an Italian Western? What has Patrick Jonsson been doing in the Congo? And what soundtracks do we like to listen to while we write?

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com

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

‘Damn!’ That’s what Ice Cube says about two hundred times in tonight’s new film, the Amazon Original feature War of the Worlds. It’s not often that you see a film that confesses, ‘It’s worse than you think,’ in the actual publicity material. But is this new sci-fi non-action picture really as bad as the online chatter claims? And how does it compare to the 2005 version of the same story, Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, starring Tom Cruise and a ten year old Dakota Fanning? Which film makes it hard to tell the difference between the movie and the ads? Which film has something to say about the Attention Economy? Which film breaks the four rules of film making? Which film stars the senior gremlins? And which film features a man tripping over a chair? (Spoiler: it’s both of them.)

Plus a 1960s superhero caper from Marvel, a pop star misadventure with St Vincent, some overtime for the Cliche Squad, a list of constitutional amendments that we don’t need to pay attention to any more, a Sega CD game from 1997, the invention of Narrative Atheism, and a moment when we go just a little bit meta….

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com

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

For once we actually agree with Martin Scorsese: there has been an observable degradation in the experience of going to the cinema over the last few years. But is it, as Marty suggests, the fault of unruly audiences? Or is our theory correct, that exhibitors are making things worse? Join us at the popcorn counter this week as we discuss some of the patents we’ve seen recently that are actively trying to make watching movies worse for everyone. Which are real and which are made up? And what can audiences do to resist?

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com

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 seeing double at the Popcorn Counter this week, as take note of the cultural trend in cinema: actors playing more than one role in a movie. Everyone’s doing it: Superman, Sinners, Mickey 17 and Saturday Night have all used this trick in the last few months. But it’s hardly a new phenomenon. Who did it first, who did it best, who did it the most, and who did it so well we didn’t even notice?

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com

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 been looking up this week, enjoying Superman new and old. This year’s Superman is James Gunn’s first film as head honcho for the DC Universe, and bears many of his technicolor trademarks. But how much does it owe to the OG, 1978’s Superman the Movie, starring Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman? And does the original still stand up 47 years later? Which film has the longest opening credits we’ve seen in forever? Which film did we watch twice in the space of six hours? Which film takes an hour and nine minutes before we see any superfeats? Which film has the best toupees? And why, why, why, why, WHY do we keep saying ‘Batman’ instead of ‘Superman’?

Plus: an alien invasion by CGI slugs from 2006, a hyper violent low budget superhero spoof from 2010, a happy week spent in a state park, two boxes of candy cigarettes, a concert with St Vincent, a very long single from Laurie Anderson, and some tantric advice for Sting as we join the Seven Minute Climax Club…

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com

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

The New York Times recently published their list of the top 100 films of the twenty first century, and hoo hah, that has certainly stirred up some strong reactions! Does the list just reinforce our suspicion that cinema is on its death bed? Or is the list full of joyful surprises and incredible revelations? Which films on the list do we agree with? Which left us scratching our heads? And what are the conspicuous omissions? 

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

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Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com

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 strapping on our helmets and climbing into our bucket seats this week, as we watch maybe the most heavily branded film we’ve ever seen, the new Apple feature F1: The Movie, and answer the question: how much phallic imagery can be crammed into a single two and half hour period? We’re comparing it to the film with probably the most famous car chase in cinematic history, 1968’s Bullitt. But which film has the most montages? Which film demonstrates the power of casting? Which film touched us with a surprising personal moment? Which film has a cameo from friend of the pod Mike Primmer? And which of us had a unique personal experience while watching Steve McQueen blow up a car?

Plus some geeky dinosaurs, some symbolic fountains, a low budget Hal Hartley tribute from Colin Trevorrow, a fine jazz soundtrack, and a surefire method to avoid police prosecution. Start your engines!

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com

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 are good films with bad names, and there are bad films with good names. And sometimes, rarely, there are films that hit both targets dead centre. Join us at the Popcorn Counter where we’re discussing movie titles this week – ones we love, ones we hate, ones we’re proud of and ones we just don’t understand. Where did the name for Blade Runner really come from? Which is better, Snakes on a Plane, or just plain Plane? Which Kubrick film has two titles? And how did The Unbearable Lightness of Being re-emerge recently?

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com

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 isle of Berk this week, as we go lizard taming with the vikings in the new live action remake How to Train Your Dragon. And then stay with us as we set sail for an unnamed 10th century Moorish city in the 1964 action epic The Long Ships. It’s a manly podcast about Gerard Butler and Richard Widmark, with more beards that you can shake an axe at. But is there a gentler message at the heart of either of these films? How does the new film quote from the old one? Which film takes us into a mirror world? And what’s the real reason why this new version of an animated classic was made at all?

Plus Tom Cruise goes all Jesus on us, we investigate dinosaurs’ mating habits, we discover what a Norse AmEx card looks like, we thrill at the mare of steel, we drink some sheep’s milk, we meet some Viking red shirts, we learn about the origins of Bluetooth, and finally we hide in a vestibule…

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

BlueSky: @tworeelcinemaclub

Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub

Contact us at tworeelcinemaclub@gmail.com

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