Two Reel Cinema Club

Popcorn Counter: Call Me Maybe

We get stuck in a phone booth on the way to the popcorn counter this episode. (Do they still even exist?) Mobile telephony has ruined a lot of plots since about 1999, and smart phones have spoiled even more since 2007, but on the other hand there have been some great telephone scenes in cinema. We talk about the joys and pitfalls, celebrate Hal Hartley and Scorsese, curse Steve Jobs, and discuss the lengths we’ve had to go to in our own projects to stop someone’s phone ruining the whole thing.
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Twitter: @tworeelcineclub
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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: tworeelcinemaclub.com

Women Talking vs Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: Nervous Women Talking

Sarah Polley’s new film Women Talking gives us plenty to discuss this episode, with shocking violence, sobering drama and a deep examination of patriarchy, all delivered through outstanding performances. But for all its excellence, we have one major criticism: is it really a film at all? Then after the break we compare it to Pedro Almodóvar’s 1988 international hit Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Two different looks at the issues facing women, with wildly different presentation, but it turns out they have more in common than we expected. Plus some IMDB news, a viewing of 2011’s Jane Eyre adaptation, a look at this year’s Oscar short film nominees, a trip to watch live theatre group Manual Cinema, an ad about the future of food science and a brief interlude while we let the dog out. There’s always an animal connection, isn’t there?
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
Twitter: @tworeelcineclub
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: tworeelcinemaclub.com

Popcorn Counter: Frenemies

This time as we shoot the breeze at the Popcorn Counter, we have a confession about school punishments, make a trip through the Chambers English Dictionary and add some reminiscences about the UK stand-up comedy scene before we compare some of our favourite frenemies in cinema. Surely, any proper believable friendship on screen has an element of the frenemy about it, doesn’t it? It’s yin and yang. Butch and Sundance, Whiplash, the Avengers and more come up for discussion before we realise that we’ve already been down this road in one of our own scripts a few years ago… If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
Twitter: @tworeelcineclub
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: tworeelcinemaclub.com

The Banshees of Inisherin vs The Field: Donkey Redux

Welcome back to the Two Donkey Cinema Club, where we seem to exclusively discuss donkey based films from around the world. This episode, current Oscar favourite The Banshees of Inisherin grazes the pastures alongside 1990 Richard Harris classic The Field. These two films about rural Ireland have so much in common that one feels almost like a remix of the other. But the differences they have really underline the ways the world has changed in the last 32 years. Which film goes full Hamlet, and which one warns the audience: beware of the artist? Plus the Cliche Squad turns up to arrest some fiddlers, we discover we both want to be the same character but for very different reasons, there’s a quick look at Puss In Boots and Regle du Jeu, and we have a very, very brief word from our sponsor.
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
Twitter: @tworeelcineclub
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: tworeelcinemaclub.com

Popcorn Counter: Animal Boxing

This place is like a zoo! After a week of donkey pictures we’ve set up a short series of bestial fights at the popcorn counter, pitting some of our favourite animal movies against each other to see which will win. Just two rules: no anthropomorphism, and no mercy. Can Bambi defeat King Kong? Do bears dream? And who will reign supreme as the king of the Hollywood jungle?
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
Twitter: @tworeelcineclub
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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: tworeelcinemaclub.com

Eo vs Au Hasard Balthasar: Donkey Kong Country

It’s on like Donkey Kong at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we watch new Polish donkey movie and best international feature Oscar contender Eo, and yoke it up to its direct ancestor, the 1966 Robert Bresson movie Au Hasard Balthasar. There’s plenty of uncomfortable watching here, with many scenes of cruelty to both animals and humans, but there is also hope, kindness and love on screen. Which film left us numb and which film made us literally shout, ‘No!’ at the screen? Which film makes best use of its religious imagery, and which film features some of the most beautiful cinematography we’ve seen in recent months? Plus a remarkable snippet of biographical background from Andres, our new VHS Video Library venture, a miniature snowed-in film festival, and our close personal identification with truck drivers and The Cubeman. 
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
Twitter: @tworeelcineclub
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: tworeelcinemaclub.com

Popcorn Counter: Game of Death

Death stalks the halls of the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we get stuck at the Popcorn Counter and kill time with a quiz about our favourite movie demises. How often do you hear Jeff Bridges, Stanley Kubrick and Public Enemy in the same show? Also, be prepared for plenty of dead air while our brains move at the speed of melted cheese. Plus one of us almost electrocutes themselves. Guess along with us, and place your bets on who will win or, more accurately, who will lose the least. 
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
Twitter: @tworeelcineclub
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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: tworeelcinemaclub.com

The Menu vs Babette’s Feast: A Cinematic Smorgasbord

Man cannot live by popcorn alone (and God knows we’ve tried) so this episode sees us drinking deeply from the cup of culinary cinema. The Menu boasts a high concept story, a starry cast and a considerable body count, but is it a comedy or a horror movie? And how does it measure up against one of its primary influences, 1987’s beautiful Danish Oscar winner Babette’s Feast? The two form an incredible double bill that pits late stage capitalism against the foundations of liberal democracy, religion against sensuality, death against rebirth, champagne against Valpolicella, and turtle soup against some marshmallows, with bread on the side. Actually, no, there’s no bread. Can we get some bread here, please? No? Please? Plus a look at some new docs, a regrettable viewing of an 80s dud, a brand new sponsor and a revealing game of ‘Who Am I?’ Tuck in!
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
Twitter: @tworeelcineclub
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: tworeelcinemaclub.com