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 in...
Jun 25, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 171
We’re sick of these false teeth and black cloaks, but we’re going to wear them anyway, because we’re reflecting on vampire movies this week at the Popcorn Counter. (But obviously not in a mirror.) How do rules-based stories work and why do we love them? Which vampire movies did we enjoy and which did we avoid? Why don’t teenagers know the vampire rules any more? And what exactly is the difference between ‘undead’ and ‘alive’? Including Let the Right One In, What We Do in the Shadows, Gremlins, C...
Jun 18, 2025•18 min•Ep. 170
We’re sucking blood and playing the blues this week, after watching the new Ryan Coogler Mississippi vampire picture Sinners and 1992’s Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Is Sinners an early contender for film of the year? What do the two films have to say about racism, cultural appropriation and ‘the other’? Which film has a lot of sexy talk and which one has more boobs than a straight-to-video erotic thriller? Which character is living their best life? And which film features a came...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 169
We’re talking about housing at the popcorn counter this week. After watching the real estate adventures of Secret Mall Apartment last week, we got to thinking about cinema’s function as a feeder of fantasy. Out of all the places that we’ve visited through the screen over the years, which are the ones we really wish we lived in? Which are our top five movie homes, and why? Do we prefer mansions or hammocks, quiet islands or cities, black and white or colour? Including two sea monsters, a volcano,...
Jun 04, 2025•25 min•Ep. 168
We’re in real estate agent mode this week, as we watch two films with unique takes on the property market. Secret Mall Apartment is a new documentary about an art collective who moved into a disused corner of a Rhode Island mall in the early 2000s, while 1960’s The Apartment sees sparks fly between Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in Billy Wilder’s landmark Oscar winning comedy. Two films with some profound themes, including love, art, death, urban living and takeout food. But what do the two fi...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 167
Popcorn seems to have got more expensive like everything else recently. And now we may be looking at tariffs on the film business. But how would these proposed tariffs work? And what might they mean for movie fans as well as moving picture professionals? Join us at the popcorn counter as we discuss Jon Voight’s proposals for MAGA’s film industry master plan with special guest Mike Primmer, and try to figure out what it all means. Are we looking at a renaissance for domestic film production? Or a...
May 21, 2025•27 min•Ep. 166
We’re joined by the film industry’s premier sound recordist this episode, as Mike Primmer sits down with us to talk about dog movies. We’ve seen The Friend, the new Bill Murray/Naomi Watts light drama, recorded by Mike, and we’re comparing it to the much loved Swedish 1985 coming of age picture My Life as a Dog. Two films about loss, grief, change, wagging tails and vinyl records. But which film reminded us of a Hallmark picture? Which film is based on the best book we’ve read this year? And wha...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 165
Okay, that’s it. We don’t understand anything anymore. This week we went to see A Minecraft Movie. It’s not a masterpiece. But we spent more time watching the audience than watching the film. Join us at the Popcorn Counter as we talk about the meme-ification of cinema, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, TikTok and the end times, Tommy Wiseau and the best way to clear up popcorn from a carpet. Altogether now: 'Flint and Steel!' If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: BlueSky: @tworeelcinema...
May 07, 2025•16 min•Ep. 164
We’re going off-world this episode, joining Robert Pattinson on an ice planet in Bong Joon Ho’s new satirical clone adventure Mickey 17, before crashing back to a ruined, rainy Earth to compare it to Ridley Scott’s flawed 1982 masterpiece Blade Runner. Two films about artificial humans and the value of life, but which one deals eloquently with eternal themes and which one can’t make up its mind what it wants to say? Which one feels fresh and contemporary, and which one feels like a satire that’s...
Apr 30, 2025•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 163
We’ve got to stop reading, it’s just making us mad. This week at the popcorn counter we’ve been looking at Namwali Serpell’s article in the recent New Yorker about ‘The New Literalism’, and boy do we have something to say. Serpell’s been to the multiplex a lot lately, and frankly if we’d just come out of Gladiator II and Megalopolis like she has, we’d probably be annoyed too. But is ‘on the nose’ story-telling really a new phenomenon? Or do some films still value showing instead of telling? And ...
Apr 23, 2025•20 min•Ep. 162
You may have read as we did recently in The Hollywood Reporter about ‘Netflix’s Old Movie Problem’. But is there really a problem? Does it matter if old movies aren’t available on Netflix? Join us at the popcorn counter where we’ll talk about discoverability, Quentin Tarantino, algorithms and the BBC Moviedrome. Which country has the biggest Netflix library? Is there anything to stop young people enjoying films from 1939? And what is our proposed solution to the whole 'problem'? Here’s the artic...
Apr 16, 2025•24 min•Ep. 161
We’ve set the Popcorn Counter up at the beach this episode, to enjoy a coconut water and a chopp with last week’s guest Inês Braga. She tells us about the experience of writing Alice, the first HBO production made for South America, fills us in on life in Rio, gives us a watch-list of some of the greats of Brazilian cinema, reflects on changes in Brazilian society over the last twenty years, and recommends a little music by Ezra Collective. Please bring your own towel. If you enjoyed the show, f...
Apr 09, 2025•22 min•Ep. 160
We’re heading to the southern hemisphere this week and taking regular guest Inês Braga with us, as we catch up with the Best International Feature Film Oscar winner, I’m Still Here, and compare it to 1997’s Brazilian kidnap drama Four Days in September. Two adaptations, two films about the Military Dictatorship, two films starring Fernanda Torres, two films with similar timely themes. But which film has five endings? Which film stars the cutest dog? Which film is bookended with images of resista...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 159
We’ve set up the reel to reel, we’ve planted our hidden microphones and we’ve put on our headphones, so it’s time to pay tribute to the late Gene Hackman and his finest film, The Conversation, at the Popcorn Counter this week. But which of Hackman’s many other outstanding movies stick in our minds? What was his connection to Dustin Hoffman? Which was his most famous hat? When did he put in an epidural? How do we manage to get deflected into a discussion about Alan Parker? And are John Grisham an...
Mar 26, 2025•25 min•Ep. 158
We’re sending our tuxedos back to the dry cleaners once again now that awards season is over. But did the Oscars thrill or disappoint this year? And more importantly, did we get it right? Which gong did we cheer at home, and which left us shrugging our shoulders? What do we think about the screenplay winners and who would have picked up the awards if we’d been in charge? Who would Letterbox’d have given the awards to? Who goes to the movies? And did we spot any trends that suggest what kind of f...
Mar 19, 2025•26 min•Ep. 157
We’re taking a trip back to the 1970s this episode, as we watch the new Oscar-nominated, Munich Olympics-based reconstruction-drama September 5, and compare it to Steven Spielberg’s film about the aftermath of those same events, 2006’s Munich. Two tense movies about truthfulness, integrity and violence. But which one features accountants chasing accountants? Which one takes full advantage of Aristotle’s principles? Which one quotes directly from a 1976 TV movie? Which one appeals to the nerd in ...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 156
After spending the week in Mexico last episode, we’re drinking a Corona at the Popcorn Counter and reflecting on Mexican cinema as a whole. Is there more to Mexican movies than Día de Muertos and narco-gangsters? Which Mexican director used to hang out with Andres at the coffee shop all the time? Which movie made its Mexican director so much money they could buy West London? Which Mexican director got their start at Maine Media Workshops? And who is the Mexican cinematographer who brought so man...
Mar 05, 2025•25 min•Ep. 155
We’re heading to Tijuana this episode, as we watch two films set in Mexico made nearly seventy years apart. Emilia Pérez, the new Netflix transgender narco-gangster musical, has thirteen Oscar nominations and a whole lot of bad press. But does it deserve the controversy and the opprobrium, or were audiences just expecting something different? We’re comparing it to 1958’s Touch of Evil, Orson Welles’ last great noir picture which was also maligned on release but is now considered a classic, espec...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 154
We’re mourning one of the most unique voices in modern cinema at the Popcorn Counter this week, as we discuss the career of David Lynch and his impact both on the world in general and on our own lives in particular. What happens when you pitch a film as ‘Lynchian’? What does Ronald Reagan have to do with his emergence? Was he the true originator of Peak TV? Which version of Dune do we prefer? And which of his films drilled a hole straight into our heads? If you enjoyed the show, find us on socia...
Feb 19, 2025•22 min•Ep. 153
Hit the road with us this week, as we get stuck at temporary traffic lights in Surbiton on the way to the Popcorn Counter and use the time to recall some of our favourite road movies. But what IS a road movie? Can it be set on a boat? Or a plane? Or a sidewalk? Or in space? Plus we watch a very young Sting, stroll along the yellow brick road, drink some effing Merlot, take a cruise down the Nùng River, and drive off a cliff. If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelci...
Feb 12, 2025•24 min•Ep. 152
Come with us on a couple of trips to Europe this week at the Two Reel Cinema Club, as we join Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin on a tour of Poland in the new Oscar nominated comedy drama A Real Pain, and then catch up with Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders in Roberto Rossellini’s 1954 masterpiece, Journey to Italy. These two films both explore deep themes, encompassing death, art, love, poetry and bickering, and the parallels between them are myriad. But which one features a villa where we woul...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 151
Welcome to our quarterly celebration of dead air and reflective silence: it’s the TRCC Popcorn Counter Quiz! This time around, we have thirty films released between 1957 and 2024, all starring pop stars. Can you guess the title and the star from the clues? Who is mostly made of oil and lotion? Who was the inventor of off-white paint? And when did Jennifer Connolly star in an episode of Fraggle Rock? If you enjoyed the show, find us on social media: Instagram: @tworeelcinemaclub Contact us at two...
Jan 29, 2025•41 min•Ep. 150
The mystique of Bob Dylan wafts through the Two Reel Cinema Club this week, as we watch the thoroughly enjoyable new biopic A Complete Unknown, and compare it to the actual Bob Dylan as he appears in the 1967 rock documentary Don’t Look Back. Two portraits of the Nobel Prize winning bard of the 20th century, but which reveals more of the real man? Which film features the most cigarettes? Which film reminds us of a teenage party? Which film really sings when the songs start? And which film stars ...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 149
It’s that time again, our annual favourite episode, the Two Reel Cinema Club Film of the Year Show. Seven categories, including best film, best actor, best script, biggest clunker, and weirdest moment of the year. As usual, we’ve kept our nominations secret from each other, so expect some dramatic revelations, some laughter, some tears and some last minute negotiations. Who will win, who will lose, who will have a meltdown and who will climb onto the lighting gantry, spread their arms wide and s...
Jan 15, 2025•41 min•Ep. 148
It’s yet another episode about four legged mammals this week, as we watch the riotous black and white physical comedy indie hit Hundreds of Beavers and compare it with the clever, witty and mind bending 2014 Chilean documentary Beaverland. These films offer two very different views of the industrious, furry dam-builders, while at the same time telling very similar stories. But which one had us asking, ‘Is this real?’ Which one surprised us with a connection to sex work? Which one made us genuine...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 147
There’s a shocking and perplexing development at the Popcorn Counter this week, as we tell the tale of how Google recently censored and deleted one of our podcasts. What was the objectionable material? Racism? Sexism? Incitement to violence? Or… a Sanskrit quotation from Oppenheimer? We discuss the history of censorship in the UK, the curious rules of film classification in the US, and the terrifying dangers to society presented by nipples. What does the future hold for film censorship? And what...
Jan 01, 2025•21 min•Ep. 146
It’s our annual Christmas episode at the Two Reel Cinema Club, and in keeping with the festive season, this year we’re watching two films about sex workers. Wait, what? Join us as we talk about the new, Sean Baker-directed, heavily award-tipped drama Anora, and compare it to the dream-like 1967 Luis Buñuel classic Belle de Jour. Two different takes on sex work, more than fifty years apart - but how much has really changed? Which film could be renamed Vapes and 808s? Which film reminded us of Whe...
Dec 25, 2024•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 145
Did we ever tell you about the time we met Al Gore? Join us at the Popcorn Counter to hear how we encountered the man who was almost the President of the United States, and what it had to do with the film industry. Plus, once we’re on the subject of An Inconvenient Truth, we ask why there aren’t more environmental films, given the size of the problem. Movies mentioned include Silent Running, The China Syndrome, Oppenheimer, The Cove, Darwin’s Nightmare, Virunga, My Octopus Teacher, Koyaanisqatsi...
Dec 18, 2024•26 min•Ep. 144
We’re watching new Latvian animated film Flow this episode, a beautiful and distinctive looking parable about cooperation and environmental collapse, and we’re comparing it to the 1997 Studio Ghibli classic Princess Mononoke. These two movies offer two very different perspectives on the effects of humans on the lives of animals: Flow seems simple and family friendly, while Mononoke is violent, complex and morally ambiguous. But which of these films offers hope? Which could do with more jokes? Wh...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 143
This year is the first time in the history of cinema that every film in the top ten is a sequel or a prequel. Join us at the popcorn counter to talk about what’s wrong with the industry, how we’ve ended up here and what we might do to get ourselves out of this particular creative ditch. Who has the star power to open a non-franchise film these days? How can we encourage more risks? What can we learn from the craft brewery business? And how might A.I., our favourite nemesis, possibly come to our ...
Dec 04, 2024•30 min•Ep. 142
