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 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

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 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

(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 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 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 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 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 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

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 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

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 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 humming along at the popcorn counter this week as we pitch the musical biopics we’d like to see - ones which are a 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 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 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 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 doing a bit of fantasy programming at the Popcorn Counter this episode, as we reflect on last week’s encounter with two of the major forces in 21st century Hollywood film making: the Coen brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson. They’ve both straddled the arthouse and the multiplex, and they both have an outstanding body of work behind them. But which do we personally rate? Whose films would we prefer to watch? And why does one appeal more than the other? 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

At last, two good films in one podcast! This week we’ve watched One Battle After Another, the new Paul Thomas Anderson picture with Leonardo DiCaprio, and we’re comparing it to the film that it doffs its revolutionary cap to, 1998’s comedy classic The Big Lebowski. Two stoners, two missing women, two dirty bathrobes. But which film feels out of time? Which film made us reminisce over payphones? Which film is broadcasting the revolution on AM radio? And which film is a remake of The Big Sleep? Plus ripping up a copy of the Yellow Pages, the early pregnancy of Obama, a Monty Python Beatles spoof, Seth Rogan exposing Hollywood, Tom Hanks in a FedEx ad, George Orwell and James Baldwin, another film about rocks, and we play a round of the hot new game ‘Six Degrees of Aimee Mann’. 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

Welcome to Jeopardy at the Popcorn Counter this week, where we’re pretending to be Alex Trebek with twenty movie related answers, but can you guess the questions? Some of them are doable … and some of them are frankly not. Do you know your Mount Rushmores from your Nostromos? Play along and see if you can beat our score. 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

Success is hard to measure in life, but easy to measure in comedy: does it make you laugh or not? After enduring Spinal Tap II last week we’re returning to some of our favourite comedies at the popcorn counter. But what is in our top five, and do we have any overlaps? How does Justin Trudeau fit in to all this? Are popstars funny? Where did we go for Andrew Curtis’ birthday party? And is there a connection between being funny and being objectionable? 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 those about to rock, we salute you this week, as we put on our poodle wigs and tune up our Gibsons to watch the new comedy feature Spinal Tap II: The End Continues and compare it to the film that started it all, 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap. Is the old film still funny? Does the new film live up to its predecessor? Which film sets up gags it never pays off? Which film has the cleverest cameos? And which film made us think of a martial arts movie? Plus an early Halloween treat from 2017, a Hollywood spoof with Seth Rogan, an amusing brush with cryptocurrency, Stephen King’s best book, echoes of Bill and Ted, another look back at Don’t Look Back, and an Eric Idle film from the 1970s. Rock on! 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 as we sit in the darkness at the popcorn counter this week and muse on why Noir seems to be the second most enduring genre in all of cinema. After jiggling our brains a little, we think we can come up with a significant noir film from every decade of the last ninety years. But have we ever tried to write a noir project? And how do noir mysteries trace their origins to bible stories...? 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 don’t know why a detective for hire is called a private dick, but we’ve certainly seen plenty of sexy investigators this week. We have watched the new Ethan Coen 'lesbian B-movie' Honey Don’t, starring Margaret Qualley and Aubrey Plaza, and we’re comparing it to Howard Hawks’ 1946 film noir that it tips its hat to, The Big Sleep with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Two gumshoes, two sets of murders, two seductive mysteries and two steamy romances. But which of these do we consider the most sexually charged film of all time? Which film is fifteen minutes too long, and which is fifteen minutes too short? Which film is 70% of the way there? Which film is hoping to flip your expectations? What did The Big Sleep change when compared to Raymond Chandler’s original book? And who did we leave the cinema wishing we were? Plus a video game made for four hands, some long scenes from Spielberg, a journey through the labyrinth of immigration, a trip to France with the Cliche Squad, and one of the greatest screen writing teams of all time. Just remember, we’re not enjoying watching these sex scenes. It’s our job. 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

Are there are any nepo-babies in the mainstream film industry? Perhaps we should be asking if there are any successful people who aren’t? We started making a list sitting at the popcorn counter this week and soon ran out of ink. But out of all the nepo-babies that we’ve seen at the movies over the last few years, why is Michael Douglas our most admired? We look back at his career and ask how he managed to consistently choose zeitgeist projects for more than thirty years. And out of all these timely pictures, which is our favourite? 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 seem to be stuck in a loop reviewing films called ‘War of the Something’, because this week we’ve watched the new Olivia Coleman Benedict Cumberbatch comedy The Roses, and we’re comparing it to the Kathleen Turner Michael Douglas version of the same story, 1989’s The War of the Roses. Two divorces, two fighting couples, two ruined houses. But which one of these films wants to be Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and which one wants to be Home Alone? Which character has nothing to do? Why does Michael Douglas love the rain? And how do they both compare to the original source novel from 1981? Plus a documentary about rocks, a return visit to a lost ark, some huge flowers, a Simpson’s tongue twister, a cardinal sin among comedians, a subtly optimistic lecture from Robert Reich, a box of ‘thank-you’ chocolates and a fridge full of deadly raspberries. 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 dressed as clowns at the Popcorn Counter this week, as we talk about the crossover between comedy and horror. Why did so many of the most successful contemporary horror directors, including Zach Cregger, Jordan Peele and John Krasinski, get their start in comedy? What are the differences between the two forms, and how are they more similar than you might think? And what’s the single most horrifying thing to a writer? 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

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 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