Two Reel Cinema Club

Popcorn Counter: Funny Ha Ha

We’re wiping away the tears of a clown at the Popcorn Counter this episode, as we spend a happy twenty minutes asking: how come so many well known actors got their start as stand up comedians, and yet there seem to be so few films about comedians? We draw parallels between comedians and writers, wonder if the best comedy reveals too much about its writer, and ask: who told the joke ‘The Aristocrats’ the best? Who is the comedian’s comedian that every comic in London went to see for one night only? And why is so much that’s funny also painful?
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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

I Used to be Funny vs Punchline: I Used to be a Punchline

It’s comedy night at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we watch the new Canadian dramedy I Used To Be Funny and compare it to an early Tom Hanks picture, Punchline, from 1988. Both films are set in and around stand-up comedy venues, and it’s fascinating to see what’s changed and what’s not in 36 years. But does either film have much more to say than the usual ‘tears of a clown’ cliches about comedians being sad and troubled people off stage? Which film is the most authentic? Which film is the funniest? And which film features the most bacon?
Plus: we discuss a little about our own brief stand-up career, we weigh up the value of getting the audience hammered during the interval, we try to prove the existence of God and regret seeing a recent Disney clunker, we ask how far can you get in New York on $15, we welcome a furry new sponsor to the podcast, and we warn against typing ‘out-joking each other’ into your phone when you have autocorrect switched on…
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
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

Popcorn Counter: The Eponymous Movie Quiz

Everyone loves a quiz. Well, we do. Well, one of us does. This week at the Popcorn Counter, Maurice has inspired us to make a note of just how many eponymous films there are on the IMDb. So join us for an eponymous movie quiz, where we’ll give you a trickle of clues to help you guess forty movies each with a forename as their title. Play along at home and let us know if you can beat Andres’ score. (Unlikely, if you ask us...) Featuring Clint Eastwood, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mia Farrow, and of course Tom Hanks.
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
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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

Am I Ok? vs Maurice: Is Maurice Ok?

Everyone’s coming out this week at the Two Reel Cinema Club, as we watch the new-ish Tig Notaro comedy Am I Ok? and compare it to 1987’s Merchant Ivory heritage picture Maurice. When stood next to each other these two films have a lot to say about the experience of coming out as LGBTQ a century apart. But what bit of 1980s UK legislation is Maurice really about? Which film features a job we would love to have? And exactly how many people live in LA? Is it five? It certainly looks like five.
Plus we stare at Dave Gilmour’s nipple, spend seven hours with a serial killer, question whether a Tom Hanks short story works as a play, buy a meal kit that’s a little light on ingredients, burst into tears as we make an IKEA wardrobe, and sigh enviously at Hugh Grant’s hair.
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
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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

Popcorn Counter: Robot Rumble

After watching two robot pictures back to back last week, we’ve cleared some space at the Popcorn Counter this episode for a Robot Rumble: eight cinematic robots in a knockout contest with mystery challenges. We have electronic wrestlers from sci-fi classics, post-humans from TV that moved to the big screen, and children’s characters with depth and pathos. Who will win? Who will be assimilated? And who will graduate to a lucrative career DJing across Europe?
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
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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

Robot Dreams vs Metropolis: Metropolitan Robots

(You may hear the sound of cats in the studio this episode, but just think of it as atmospheric background sound effects…) This week, we watch the new, Oscar-nominated animated feature Robot Dreams, which stars anthropomorphic animals living in a stylised 1980s New York and a beautiful, unconventional love story. We’re comparing it to the film that features possibly the first ever robot in cinema, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis from 1927. Two cities, two robots, two eras, and plenty in common. And as a bonus, we've read (most of) both of the books these films were based on. But which offers the most authentic portrait of day to day life in a MegaCity? Which presents a version of Elon Musk and a rabble rousing sexbot? And which is really three love stories woven into one?
Plus, we drink in an ad from a sponsor you may already have in your house, make a visit to an Italian archaeological dig, take a journey four light years into space with Netflix, extol the joys of 1.5x, and struggle to pronounce ‘recipe’. And to cap it all off, we have a possible chance to meet Tom Hanks for real… 
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
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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

Popcorn Counter: I Am Number Four. Or Five.

We have a theory… Do long series of films only hit their stride after their first three instalments? Join us at the Popcorn Counter this week after our Mad Max marathon as we try to prove or disprove our thesis, using a hefty list of examples. Surely if you rummage around in the IMDB for long enough it’s possible to ‘prove’ anything, isn’t it? We take a whistle stop tour of franchise cinema that includes James Bond, Star Trek, Mission Impossible, Star Wars, the ‘Before’ movies and more. Which of these movies is the best one? Has the power of Godzilla has been diluted over dozens of sequels? And what is the secret to making films with the same actors playing the same characters that improve as the years go by?
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
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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

Furiosa vs Mad Max Fury Road: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Road

Join us in the post apocalyptic wasteland for one of our longest episodes ever this week, as we watch the new ‘Mad Max Saga’ Furiosa, and compare it with its direct antecedent, 2015’s action masterpiece Mad Max Fury Road. These two high octane, gas guzzling thrillers are more or less anagrams of each other, but can Furiosa drive away with Fury Road’s crown? Which film makes us think of the post literate society, and which one leaves us quoting T S Eliot? Which film features a character who belongs in an M and Ms ad, and which film is aimed at fifty five year old teenagers? Why are these films a triumph for inclusion and progress, and how come it’s so easy to find a decent mechanic in the wasteland?
Plus we announce a new podcast for would-be neuroscientists, we reflect on whether the Bible is literature, we suggest how George Miller may have saved money on salaries and trailers, we call the Cliche Squad over some hairdressing controversies, we watch a surreal recent classic about San Francisco, and we sit through every other Mad Max film in a single week. And after all that, we could really do with a drink and a cool shower.
If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media:
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