The Kick

Charlie Chaplin lampooning Hitler’s bombast and fragility in “The Great Dictator” (1940) marked one of comedy’s all-time “truth to power” moments. But 80 years after WWII, how best to laugh at fascists when they seldom don the brownshirt? With the release of Taika Waititi’s “Jojo Rabbit”—a would-be charming comedy about a Hitler youth whose imaginary friend is der Führer—we’re again asking ourselv...

As much as people say, "You're your own worst enemy!", it's never been truer than for the protagonists of "Gemini Man" (2019), "Fight Club" (1999) and "Us" (2019). Whether through movie-science cloning, mental illness or oppressive class structures (with a healthy dose of late capitalism in all three), this week, the Be Reel guys are looking at movies that pit protagonists against literal manifest...

It’s a cold, dark place we find ourselves in the space adventure genre, where the themes owe themselves more to therapy couches than astronomy. Today's trio of the new Brad Pitt-starring "Ad Astra" (2019), the challenging and disturbing "High Life" (2019), and the ever-loving "Interstellar" (2014) shuttles the weight of children and fathers into deep space. And speaking of important relationships,...

Nobody tells you about the bonus round after the million-dollar question—the one where we ask, "Why have we obsessed for 70 years over the TV game show in all its inherent fakeness, exploitation, and only a lottery ticket's chance of actually paying the common person their money?" This week, BE REEL is buzzing in, to reappraise "Quiz Show" on its 25th anniversary, "Slumdog Millionaire" one decade...

Making a great impression on your loved one's parents is hard enough. But then imagine they want to hunt you ("Ready Or Not"), bust you for false crimes ("Meet The Parents") or poison you for seemingly no reason ("Monster In Law"). Then, you've got yourself a matrimonial Be Reel trio of comedic horrors and horrifying comedies. Better be an open bar, at least. Be Reel is brought to you by Californi...

The new Cate Blanchett/Richard Linklater film "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" launches Noah and Chance into a Be Reel category about mothers who reject motherhood. All in vastly different life situations, the protagonists of "Bernadette" (2019), "Ricki and the Flash" (2015) and "Second Act" (2018) find a common bond in pursuing much more than what society (real or imagined) tells them they deserve. I...

Aisling Franciosi stars in "The Nightingale," which is the summer's bravest drama or toughest watch depending whom you ask. It could be both, which is fitting of Franciosi's character, Clare, a very complicated woman out for justice against British Army officers in 1825 Australia. In this interview, Franciosi tells Chance how 'Nightingale' director Jennifer Kent would push her actors on set (and g...

Every so often a "Be Reel" category arises that makes us wonder if we didn't unknowingly orchestrate the films ourselves, solely to podcast about them later. Today we discuss three films all from 1989 about deep-sea divers encountering alien life. While James Cameron's "The Abyss" is the headliner (happy 30th this week), "DeepStar Six" and "Leviathan" may have their lower budget charms as well. In...

This week, Chance and Noah offer some premium content* for the Be Reel subscribers by sharing their holistic takes on the movie everyone is talking about: "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood." It's the 9th offering from video store flunkie cum Hollywood auteur Quentin Tarantino. Part pastiche, part homage, part alternate history, this 1969 La La Land-set buddy picture stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad P...

On a new Be Reel, we examine the ample evidence for why you shouldn't try to save your marriage with a movie. Chance and Noah check in with “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999) as the infamous Stanley Kubrick-directed interrogation of Tom Cruise and his marriage to Nicole Kidman turns 20. We also look back at the lovechild of “Liz” Taylor and “Dick” Burton, “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966) and the hone...

If modern life has you down, consider a spiritual summer fling with the oracles and the lotus eaters in this week's movies. First, Noah and Chance reckon with the cruel, entrancing, maybe even hilarious horror of "Midsommar" (2019) in which a Swedish death cult plays host to the fallout of a bad relationship. Then, it's on to "Children of the Corn" (1984) and "The Wicker Man." That's the 2006 "Wic...

Striking an unlikely balance between gentrification treatise and Great American fantasy, “The Last Black Man In San Francisco” is among 2019’s most striking debut films. This week, Chance and Noah unpack the new A24 drama and speak with its star, co-scribe, and inspiration Jimmie Fails. Be Reel is brought to you by California College of the Arts’ Writing MFA program. Learn more at cca.edu/writingm...

Treading water on television is a good way to not be on television, as we learn from this week's movies about TV institutions getting new life through new blood. In the new office comedy "Late Night," Mindy Kaling shakes up a white, apolitical comedy show, just as Rachel McAdams saves a GMA knock-off in "Morning Glory" and Christina Applegate rocks an absurdist boys club in "Anchorman." Change is...

With college looming, there’s a certain class of high-school comedy that races the clock. This week, Chance and Noah watched “Booksmart” (2019) “Superbad” (2007) and “Can’t Hardly Wait” (1998) for a trio of movies about graduating seniors with one last chance to ace their social lives. Big questions include: -Does the women-led “Booksmart” strike the balance between heightened comedy and teenage t...

With the untimely passing of writer/director/producer John Singleton last month, the guys take stock of his life, times and film career. From the seminal “Boyz N the Hood” to the endlessly meme-able “Poetic Justice” to the unsung epic “Rosewood,” Chance, Noah, and author Tochi Onyebuchi reflect on Singleton's role as a preeminent black filmmaker and all the beauty and ugliness wrapped up in his bo...

This week, Chance and Noah dive into the one-inch pool of movies based on fan fiction — writing that takes the characters of more popular sources and, apparently, has them do weird sex stuff. In addition to the new YA film "After" (2019), our case study includes the mega-franchise “Fifty Shades of Grey” (2015) and one-note joke of a movie “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies” (2016). Plus, Kathleen Newman...

Writer and director Madeleine Olnek first considered that Emily Dickinson might have been an actual human being with desires, muses, and ambitions when she read a 1998 New York Times investigation of the famed poet's original drafts. The result was the play "Wild Nights With Emily", now an inventive literary comedy starring Molly Shannon, Amy Seimetz and Brett Gelman. Press play for a discussion o...

All it takes is a carnival coin-trap, a packet of Party City fairy dust, or a wizard who needs you as his champion and — SHAZAM! — that pesky childhood is over in an instant. But is being thirty, flirty and thriving all it's cracked up to be? This week, "Big" (1988), "13 Going On 30" (2004), and "Shazam!" get the Be Reel treatment. There's Penny Marshall, a smoke monster, and six more smoke monste...

On an interview edition of Be Reel, Chance talks with director Emma Tammi about her new horror film "The Wind" (out now from IFC Films). They discuss how Tammi made the transition from documentary filmmaking to genre mashups, how the wind haunted real-life pioneers, and why trauma is having its day in the horror genre. Be Reel is brought to you by the California College of the Arts' Writing MFA.

With Noah and several thousand writers visiting Portland for AWP '19 last week, we cracked the spine live and in-person on a related podcast category: the writer as forger, as plagiarist, as literary Danny Ocean. This time out, Be Reel reviews “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (2018), “The Hoax” (2007) and “Secret Window” (2004) for a three-movie slate of word crimes. Plus, we’re joined by two esteemed a...

JC Chandor's "Triple Frontier" isn't the first movie to wonder what would happen if a few rogue soldiers tried to get rich while allegedly doing the right thing. On a new "Be Reel," Chance and Noah review Netflix's latest film and compare its themes and all-star casts to "Three Kings" (1999) and "Kelly's Heroes" (1970). Be Reel is brought to you by California College of the Arts' Writing MFA progr...

The rich are monsters, and Noah and Chance are watching three movies based on the scandalous French novel "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." Don't know it? That's fine. You might know "Cruel Intentions," the now-20-year-old teen movie it inspired, as well as the 1988 Oscar contender "Dangerous Liaisons," starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. We watched a less-known third adaptation called "Valmont" to...

Last year, we got absolutely crushed in Noah's Oscar pool. This year is different. Tune in for our 2019 Oscars guide, featuring some level-headed awards talk, Noah explaining his love for "The Wife", and a podcast interruption for the ages. Be Reel is presented by the California College of the Arts' Writing MFA program.

This week, we try desperately not to do a sports podcast while discussing sports movies where the most important games are played in offices. Starting with the slick, provoking new Steven Soderbergh film "High Flying Bird" and its critique of the NBA, the pod then revisits the statistical revolutions of "Moneyball" and the racial profiteering of "The Great White Hype." Be Reel is brought to you by...

Gene Hackman may be happily retired, but the same can't be said for your trusty hosts. We're still breaking down three movies a pop, and this week, we celebrate the all-time great actor's 89th birthday by looking at three of his iconic villain/antagonist roles: "Superman: The Movie" (1978), "Unforgiven" (1992) and "The Firm" (1993).