The Kick

From Chance's couch in Portland, your trusty hosts exchanged many looks (but mostly held it together) through three movies about the adult film industry. We begin with the new film KING COBRA, a depiction of rival production teams in the 2000s gay porn business. It's very James Franco. At 17:45, we move on to the porn movie monolith, BOOGIE NIGHTS, except we don't agree on just how great the saga...

This week, Noah and Chance saw the artful new alien invasion film "Arrival." Directed by Denis Villeneuve, it stars Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner as scientists charged with discovering shell-shaped spacecrafts' purpose on Earth. That familiar premise led Noah and Chance to argue whether "Arrival" is a relative of movies we've seen before or something more meditative with stranger designs. Spoilers a...

The boys were together in Portland last week for a category they'd been sitting on for awhile: battling invaders at cruising altitude. First, they revisit "Snakes On A Plane" for its 10th anniversary –- a movie that must be bad-good, but is it? Then it's on to "Air Force One" and conspiracy theories about the president being drunk while literally beating back communism. They wrap up with "Executiv...

On this week's show, we watched a trio of movies about adults returning to the small towns they abruptly left as teenagers. Comprising GROSSE POINTE BLANK, SWEET HOME ALABAMA and THE JUDGE, this genre raises all sorts of questions about self-reflection, the meaning of roots, and forgiving your younger self for handing out judgment. So naturally, we had to have Noah's little brother (a high school...

This week, Noah and Chance order up the 1988 Tom Cruise vehicle "Cocktail." Never seen it? Somehow we hadn't either, despite the fact that it features one of the brashest, most encompassing Cruise performances ever. He plays a showman bartender who twirls bottles, gyrates to '80s hits, parties with the clientele, competes poisonously with his mentor, and fancies himself "the world's last barman po...

This week, Noah and Chance climb out of hell with three contract killers left for dead. They begin with "Kill Bill, Vol. 1," asking whether this is a turning point in the scope of Tarantino's genre bloodbaths. At 18:10, they analyze Mel Gibson's lost and compromised stardom in "Payback" (1999)and quibble over when this Hollywood noir riff is set. When "John Wick" is approached at 28:15, they ask i...

Few instances invite “based on a true story” films like individuals amid massive conspiracies and cover-ups stepping up to the plate and blowing the whistle. Edward Snowden knows it. And Oliver Stone really wants you to know it in his 2016 Snowden biopic. We begin the show in conversation with GQ culture writer Scott Meslow, discussing his recent piece on Snowden’s ascendance as a blockbuster them...

From the mind that brought you "Boyhood," sit back and enjoy ... "Brohood"? In this week's mini-episode, Noah and Chance move in with the much-praised 2016 Richard Linklater film "Everybody Wants Some!!" Set in a Texas house of college baseball players in 1980, it's easygoing, it examines every inch of a social group, and it's an idealist's take on just duding around in the days before class start...

A love so great it spawned a movie and this podcast episode. Thanks, Obamas. We lead off our discussion of romance movies set during a single day with the new film "Southside With You." First, Chance speaks with LA Weekly's lead film critic April Wolfe about the movie's ambitious premise, odd diction and political bubble. At 27 minutes, Noah and Chance move to "Before Sunrise," discussing what mak...

Cinematic Americans cross the border for myriad reasons: to unwittingly liberate a village with their theatrical abilities, to chase down an ornamental pistol with a deep folklore, or to tell a cartel chief what's what. Off the screen, our Noah Ballard went to Mexico for the pools and the margaritas. This week, he calls in with his old pal Brent to discuss ¡Three Amigos! (1986), The Mexican (2001)...

Our long summer continues with a mini-episode on the 2015 music biopic "Love & Mercy." Chance and Noah are torn on this two-headed telling of the Brian Wilson story. One is a deep studio dive into Wilson's orchestral pop genius and the other is an overcast, nearly unrelated custody drama. Listen to all episodes of BRG at bereelguys.com. Love & Mercy is streaming now on Hulu and Amazon.

You know we'll wave the flag for a few bad movies. Hell, we have a whole category on the show for them (bad-good). But are we fans of "Bad" movies? The kind that take a career or societal station and stand on a premise of someone doing a heinously poor job at it? This week, we're talking "Bad Moms" (2016), "Bad Company" (2002) and "Bad Lieutenant" (1992). Misbehaving never felt so good, baby. (Nor...

At a certain point in life we all make that choice: Are we chasing tornados because they killed our dads or are we corporate posers who barely even listen to classic rock in pursuit of a cyclone? You have until the end of our mini-episode on 1996's "Twister" to decide. Also discussed — oh, that's too much Paxton, there are no other tornado films, and what movie does Philip Seymour Hoffman think he...

Right, so let me introduce you to your bunkmates. This is Moonrise Kingdom (2012), meticulously packed and maybe too earnest. This is Heavyweights (1995), vaguely inspirational and with an insane look in its eye. And this is Sleepaway Camp (1983). Who knows what the hell's going on with it. Play your cards right, and this could be the best summer of your life. Find all episodes of Be Reel, Guys at...

Toss the kids in the back and chart a winding course to a kitschy destination — we're at the wheel of three American road trip comedies this week. Pit stops include a deep psychological analysis of Clark Griswold, a theory on how you market indie pop and questions about whether Netflix is making the new cable movie. Chance begins the episode in conversation with writer Saul Austerlitz. They discus...

Noah and Chance briefly considered the genre of sci-fi cowboy films before realizing our ill-fated manifest destiny: watching "Wild Wild West" on HBO and reconciling that decision as best we could. This mini-episode raises all sorts of questions. How do you pronounce "Kenneth Branagh"? How do you pronounce Kenneth Branagh pronouncing the nonsense words he says in this movie? And what didn't go wro...

Live from Noah's bed in Brooklyn, we cozy up and discuss the genre that houses our favorite film. But not that film; what is there to say about "Jaws" anyway? So we watched three lesser shark movies: Blake Lively battling a great white in "The Shallows," the deranged shark science of "Deep Blue Sea" and attempts at disaster camp in "Sharknado."

The moms took their turn; yesterday the dads were on deck. Noah and Chance called "Big Rod" and "Digdoug" to discuss a pair of movies about early 20th century sporting. (It's worth noting that the dads chose movies independent of each other.) First, Chance called his father to discuss 2005's Cinderella Man, listening to classic fights on the radio, and remembering Great Depression anecdotes passed...

With the presidential election cycle eating itself (and many of our souls), this week's episode takes on three recent electoral satires: 1999's "Election," 2012's "The Campaign" and 2003's "Head of State." In them, races for student council president, a rural Congressional seat and the highest office in the land are wrought with the betrayal, the puppeteering and the backroom handshakes we imagine...

We may not always see eye to eye, but dammit, we're partners. This week, Noah and Chance take on three examples of Shane Black's buddy cop movies, 1987's Lethal Weapon, 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and the new Gosling/Crowe team-up, The Nice Guys. Noah is away from New York this week recording from a Summersville, West Virginia radio station with his lifelong pal Alex "Spiel" Wiederspiel.  But first...

Pop on your vest or polo and try not to lose your mind as we head inside the fluorescent maze of movies set in big box stores. This week, Chance and Noah are joined by an old colleague to discuss the experience of working in a haven of "sad commerce." Former Walmart baker and current editor/radio host Casey Welsch starts the show with some personal insights. Then at 11:20, Chance and Noah talk the...

In the spirit of this past weekend, Noah and Chance called their moms to discuss a favorite film from each. We begin from a dining room in Lawrenceville, New Jersey with a discussion of 1985's "Out of Africa," a sweeping romance about a Danish baroness (Meryl Streep) making her life in Kenya. At 27:50, they transition to 2001's "The Royal Tenenbaums," a movie the Solem-Pfeifer house bonded over fo...

In honor of Prince and the singular acting method of truly not caring that there's a camera in your vicinity, Noah & Chance each watched "Purple Rain" for the first time. They discuss its "miraculous" existence, a comparison to "Lemonade" and how the 1984 film is a genuine artistic fantasy.

Your ship’s nose may look majestic cutting it and it may invite one hell of an orchestral overture, but do not trifle with the sea. This week, we watched three disaster movies upon the waves. Noah and Chance hop right into marveling at "Titanic" (1997) and quoting a lot of Billy Zane lines. At 22:30, "The Perfect Storm" (2000) is far from a perfect movie, but only one of the hosts can forgive the...

I know it sounds crazy, but there's just something *different* about this episode. Could it be that these kids see dead people, move inanimate objects or shoot light from their eyes? We begin with Noah having a firsthand encounter with the seemingly mystical. Then, it's on to a reappraisal of The Sixth Sense at the 6-minute mark. Is it still a watchable movie if you know about ... well, you know....