The Kick

Noah and Chance were held up by sickness and travel in their plans for a steel-jaw-meets-iron-glove fight over Batman Vs. Superman. But they still squabble a bit. Noah calls from a parked car in Los Angeles to explain what he finds entertaining about the much-maligned superhero showdown. Chance is largely incredulous.

In the late '80s and throughout the 1990s, Hollywood conceived a new wave of animation, cross-branding and films for children. They looked half-animated and half-live action, with entries like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", "Space Jam" and "The Pagemaster." On this week's episode, Noah and Chance revisit that trio and that era in filmmaking to assess the industry's artistic and business intentions an...

In the post-awards wasteland, Noah and Chance took shelter underground this week with "10 Cloverfield Lane." A spirited conversation followed the bunker thriller and "Cloverfield" pseudo-sequel — about the state of popcorn filmmaking in 2016, how marketing creates suspense and what happens when you give John Goodman a real role.

For as long as humanity has dreamt of traveling through time, it's also dreamt of time manipulation as a means of preventing terrorism, apprehending warlords in future dystopias and stopping your younger self from killing your older self. But don't take our word for it! This week, we watched a trio of "Fight Crime Through Time" movies, including Demolition Man (1993), Looper (2012) and Deja Vu (20...

Spurred forth by Brie Larson's Oscar victory, Noah and Chance watched "Room" for this mini-episode. Worthy of both tears and cringes as it was, a debate ensued about whether adaptational problems from Emma Donoghue's 2010 novel are severe enough to derail this emotional study of trauma-sick mother and son.

Noah and Chance discuss the Coen Brothers' three kidnapping movies: the wild-eyed "Raising Arizona," the neo-classic black comedy "Fargo" and the new Hollywood tribute spectacle "Hail, Caesar!" Zooming out, Noah wonders about the brothers' precarious place in contemporary film and Chance speculates about their one-of-a-kind storytelling priorities and areas of narrative neglect. 5:30 - "Hail, Caes...

On this week's episode, Chance and Noah tell you about everything but their childhoods. But a little personal disclosure is appropriate as they discuss three movies about therapists and their patients. Plus, Chance invites a counseling graduate student (to whom he's also a live-in boyfriend) onto the show to talk about the accuracy and responsibility-of-representation sides of "A Dangerous Method"...

On this week's episode, Noah and Chance dive below the surface and into the high stakes, misunderstanding-wrought world of submarine movies. With a little help from retired navy man and sub expert John Clear, they take on the undeniable plot of "The Hunt for Red October" (1990), the bad movie genetics of "Below" (2002) and the nuclear acting war happening in "Crimson Tide" (1995). 4:00 - John Clea...

Because they mostly like their suffering beautiful, Noah and Chance review "The Revenant" in this mini-episode. There's talk of Emmanuel Lubezki's gorgeous catastrophes, disagreements over whether Leo's performance is interesting and comparisons to Alejandro Iñárritu's previous outing. Plus, a friend of the program hops on for a segment we're calling "The Kozal Proposal."

Noah and Chance were reunited over the holidays when they spent a few very head-achy days in a dim and borrowed living room. Back together in their Nebraska college town, they rang in 2016 watching three movies (all covered in the 2015 "Trailer Pod," by the way) about trying to reconcile with family before it's too late. Did Liam Neeson save his son from hitmen in "Run All Night"? Did the sellout...

Chance and Noah were reunited in Lincoln, Nebraska over the holidays, and three hours of it was spent watching Quentin Tarantino's new time-bomb of a bottle Western. With love for the performances and camera work, they dive into "The Hateful Eight", its narrative incongruities and they ask why his trademark ultra-violence doesn't work so well in the writer/director's eighth film. As always, a refr...

We love a good year-end list as much as the next people who begrudgingly buy into a completist mentality where art and entertainment are ranked. But you can read insightful lists everywhere online and a bunch of the movies on them aren't available to you yet. So, why not absurdly swing the other way? In this episode, we look back at the movies we didn't see in 2015 and review (and sorry about this...

Contemporary Christmas film has a real thing for the coal-getting kids. In our holiday episode, we take on three movies flipping the bird to seasonal propriety through partying, perfectionism and general Grinching. And yet, these films only exist and resolve themselves because of an eventual appreciation for tradition and familial embrace. We watched "The Night Before" (2015), "Christmas Vacation"...

'Tis nearly the season to swap romance-devoid lives with someone halfway around the world. In this mini-episode, Noah and Chance discuss the 2006 Nancy Meyers film "The Holiday." Their actual holiday episode might be a little rougher, so here's one for those starry-eyed lovers with a real taste for rom-com tropes. As it turns out, that's only one of the hosts. As always, a refresher on the rating...

A few times in recent Hollywood history, we've seen nearly identical movies come down the pipe in the same year. And over Thanksgiving weekend, Noah and Chance doubled their duty and watched six movies, three pairs of action movie twins. There's the gargantuan "Armageddon" and the trying-to-be-smarter "Deep Impact" that sent celestial killers toward earth in 1998. There's the 1997 volcano flicks,...

Chance calls Noah, who's stranded in the Minneapolis airport, to talk about the new James Bond movie, "Spectre." They unpack its flaws and the larger problem of self-seriousness gone array in the Daniel Craig-led Bond films. As always, a refresher on the rating system: Good-Good = High quality, high watchability (e.g. The Departed) Good-Bad = High quality, low watchability (e.g. Schindler's List)...

It doesn't matter if you specialize in insurance, personal injury or petty naval law, Hollywood knows attorneys can do anything when the gavel starts pounding. We watched three movies about lawyers in way over their heads, fighting that good fight. Spielberg's new "Bridge of Spies" pits Tom Hanks against an amoral Cold War world. "My Cousin Vinny" (1992) plays politely with New York and Southern s...

Look — sometimes we want to bring you topical reviews, but want to save ourselves from watching three movies on a given topic, like say, the indoctrination of child soldiers. So, we bring you the first "Reeled In" mini-episode of the podcast. They'll be more of these bite-sized episodes to come, and for the first edition, we suffered with, or through, depending on which of us you ask, "Beasts of N...

In light of Aaron Sorkin's new snapshot take on Steve Jobs, Noah and Chance watched three movies hinging on only a chapter (or so) of biography. They go back and forth on "Steve Jobs," though not on Michael Fassbender's riveting portrayal. Then, it's on to "Invictus" and "The Queen" to discuss the dangers of character sainthood and the difficulty of invoking characters' long pasts in their later y...

Humanity's laws and best interests be damned, let's go to space and see what happens when one person (but maybe robot) is stranded on a planet (but maybe moon.) Noah and Chance watched the biggest movie in the world, "The Martian," and parlayed that into a discussion of 2009's "Moon" and 2008's "Wall-E." Episode highlights include: a surprise visitor, Noah accusing Chance of being "a rube," and a...

Johnny Depp's acting career may be remembered most for the whimsical and fantastical roles via his Tim Burton partnership, but he's taken turns as three violent gangsters, as well. That's where we turn our steely gaze this week. The Whitey Bulger biopic "Black Mass" hit theaters this month, Depp portrayed an elusive John Dillinger in 2009's "Public Enemies," and 1997's "Donnie Brasco" is an underr...

Colleges are supposed to be among the most accepting and inclusive environments in the country, but this week, we focus on three fictional institutions that took it too far. Noah and Chance discuss three movies about "students" who are treading water, faking it or just want the trappings of university life. It's "22 Jump Street" (2014), "Old School" (2003) and "Van Wilder" (2002) taking their "Be...

Noah and Chance watched three movies that, in their own ways, pull back some Hollywood veil. "Tropic Thunder" (2008) yells, shocks and offends its way to memorable moments of famous people doing insane things. Through a "sight" gag, Woody Allen's "Hollywood Ending" (2002) is an old artist's take on how the old studio system worked. And 2000's "State and Main" takes the writer's side in a story of...

It's ratings at all cost on this week's episode — Noah and Chance watched three movies where disturbed souls are anchoring TV shows against their own will or the network's better judgment. Through "The Truman Show" (1998), "Network" (1976) and "Welcome To Me" (2014), we trace the power of the 20th century media monster and ask when and how these movies may stop resonating. Plus, is "Truman Show" t...

Noah and Chance went to theaters to see the David Foster Wallace-portraying "The End of the Tour." Then, they watched two more movies — "The Hours" (2002) and "Howl" (2010) — about famous authors struggling with their art, the people reading it and themselves. Follow us on Twitter at @bereelguys or write to bereelguys@gmail.com.