Be Reel

It's not even August, and this summer has already smothered the country in multiple record-breaking heatwaves. As with any crisis, we look to the movies for wisdom, catharsis and lunacy. This week, it's three heatwave pictures: "The Seven Year Itch" (1957), "Do The Right Thing" (1989) and Weekend at Bernie's (1989).

In honor of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" turning 50, we’ve constructed a podcast category about bizarro adults and their puzzling worlds. After unpacking the general discomfort of watching candymen, goblin kings and world-builders covet innocent children for mysterious ends, we plunge into the alternate realities of “Willy Wonka” (1971), “Labyrinth” (1986) and “Tomorrowland” (2015).

So says every warden on today's podcast, Alcatraz was the most secure prison ever constructed. Film directors, of course, took that as a challenge and gave us movies about prisoners with dreams too big for the famous San Francisco jail. These famed inmates will try and escape one way or another. We watched "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962), "Escape From Alcatraz" (1979) and "The Rock" (1996).

With theaters around the U.S. either open or on that path, we're exploring films that hinge on the theatrical experience, narratively speaking. From “The Last Action Hero” (1993) to “The Majestic” (2001) to “The Blob” (1958), today's episode pays tribute to how films depict movie houses for magical purposes, nostalgic ambiance and self-aware carnage. See you back at the theater soon. We'll be ones toasting ginger ales and Narragansetts.

With one more week until your hosts are fully back in action, please enjoy this episode from our Patreon archives on "The Pelican Brief." We talk John Grisham adaptations, hot Stanley Tucci, whispering Denzel, and much more. Also, if you'd like to join us for this Sunday's "Point Break" watch party, email bereelyguys@gmail.com for the link. Cheers!

We're on a short break in May, so please enjoy a bonus episode from our Patreon! This one being a review of 1999’s “The Mummy” which we enjoyed at our March watch party. And if you haven’t checked out the BR Patreon yet, we’d love your support and to spend even more time talking at you about these damn movies: https://www.patreon.com/bereel

John Woo’s unparalleled directing career is best known for blazing barrels, shadow selves and slow-motion “heroic bloodshed.” To celebrate the Hong Kong legend’s 75th birthday, we talk Woo's full arc with film scholar Karen Fang. Then, we focus on a sweet spot in Woo’s oeuvre, when he maxed out his Hong Kong street operas with "Hard Boiled"(1992) and transitioned to inimitable American shoot-em-ups “Hard Target” and “Face/Off."

If you don't know Henry Selick by name, you certainly know his puppets. The Stop Motion guru behind "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993), "James and the Giant Peach" (1996) and "Coraline" (2009) has been capturing children's imaginations—and perhaps lovingly scarring them, too—for 30 years. On today's show we're joined by sculptor and constant Selick collaborator Damon Bard to reflect on a one-of-a-kind career.

And your lower-case hosts said, "Let there be Passover Pod." This Passover, Noah and Chance watch three Hollywood adaptations of the Moses story: "The Ten Commandments" (1956), "The Prince of Egypt" (1998) and "Exodus: Gods and Kings" (2014). It's eight hours of plagues and partings, as we pass judgment on epic Exodus, animated Exodus and atheist Exodus. Behold!

In the amnesia puzzler's golden age (1996-2001), blank-slate protagonists from Christopher Nolan, David Lynch and Shane Black generated their own stories. In every case, these histories ended up rosier and nobler than the depraved violence just beneath the surfaces of "Memento" (2001), "Mulholland Drive" (2001) and "The Long Kiss Goodnight" (1996). So let's retrace our steps through this forgetful sub-genre, shall we?

Decades before he carried Batman's breakfast and launched a thousand Cockney impersonations, Michael Caine mostly played transgressors. In late-60s and early 70s films like ALFIE, GET CARTER and THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, Caine brought a streetwise intelligence to a gallery of anti-social rogues: philanderers, killers and colonialists. Ahead of Caine's 88th birthday, Noah and Chance dive into the first act of the English legend's storied career.

Former actor Kasi Lemmons has charted her own cinematic path since tiring of "best friend" roles in mid-90s. The director of "Eve's Bayou" (1997), "Talk To Me" (2007), and "Harriet" (2019) has gradually cultivated a fascinating directorial career. To discuss this pioneering Black female filmmaker and versatile dramatist, we're thrilled to be joined by Professor Christina N. Baker, author of "Kasi Lemmons: Interviews."

On Valentine's Day, "The Silence of the Lambs" celebrates 30 years of haunting imaginations and changing serial-killer cinema forever. On this week's Be Reel, Noah and Chance appreciate the many inimitable qualities of Jonathan Demme's 1991 classic before exploring the full menu of Thomas Harris adaptations: "Manhunter" (1986), "Hannibal" (2001), and "Hannibal Rising" (2007).

Alan J. Pakula was an under-celebrated voice in 1970s American cinema. Most famous for “All the President’s Men," Pakula built a career focused on rule-breakers and the vast conspiracies they untangle. With Criterion Collection releasing “The Parallax View” (1974) this month, Be Reel takes the opportunity to dive into Pakula’s conspiracy/mystery standouts, focusing on “The Parallax View,” “Klute” (1971) and “Presumed Innocent” (1990).

Dolly Parton is a genuine American icon. For her 75th birthday, we revisit the country superstar and EGOT nominee’s three most significant film roles in “9 to 5” (1980), “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (1982), and “Steel Magnolias” (1989). Also, thank you for funding the Moderna vaccine, Dolly; we will alwaaaaaays love you.

Celebrating the life and career of master spy novelist John le Carré, Be Reel begins 2021 with a mannered, ominous blowout in the deceased writer's honor. From "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" (1965) to "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), we bite off 6 film adaptations from a man often tagged as the Anti-Bond of the espionage genre. Also dear listeners, we'd be honored if you'd subscribe to our brand new Patreon! Unlock a new bonus episode right now at https://www.patreon.com/bereel?fan_landing=true

As we end a truly extraordinary movie year, Be Reel dives into the work of seven directors who made their marks and cemented their voices in 2020. 3:00- Leigh Whannell (“The Invisible Man”) 9:45 - Kitty Green (“The Assistant”) 17:20 - Jason Hehir (“The Last Dance”) 25:15 - Garrett Bradley (“Time”) 36:40 - Sean Durkin (“The Nest”) 44:30 - Eliza Hittman (“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”) 57:20 - Josephine Decker (“Shirley”)

What's that clatter upon the roof? Why it's the preeminent family comedy about Santa's violent demise and the "clause" pun that confused an entire generation! On this BR, we recap our watch party of "The Santa Clause," determining once and for all whether Tim Allen is a movie star and this 1994 smash hit belongs in the Christmas movie canon.

Discussing films about real screenwriters this week we dig into David Fincher's "Mank" (2020)—the new Netflix film about Herman Mankiewicz and the origins of "Citizen Kane." Then, we leap to the 21st century to reappraise Charlie Kaufman fictionalizing and splitting himself in "Adaptation" (2002). Finally, it's Dalton Trumbo's quest against the Hollywood Blacklist in "Trumbo" (2015). Each film comes with its own indulgent, even seductive spin on history, but isn't that what Hollywood does anyway?

This Thanksgiving, we were home alone... watching "Home Alone"! Following our first-ever watch party, we reappraise the iconic holiday film turning 30. Through a 2020 viewing, we address whether Kevin is a sociopath, the acting quality by the sad adult characters, and just how much dairy Kevin puts away. 'Tis the season for losing one's reading glasses, highlighting toxic family dynamics and showing how incompetent the cops really are!