The Reel Take Podcast

Sidney Poitier broke the mold of what a Black actor could be in Hollywood, consistently playing leading roles in major films, Poitier projected ideals of respectability and integrity. In 1964 he became the first Black person to win the Oscar for lead actor with “Lilies of the Field", the same year Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and solidified his place as Hollywood’s first ma...

Bad news everyone! We left Sinead to lock up last night and in an incredibly rash move, she grabbed the podcast takings and went to Atlantic City where she lost it all! So that means The Reel Take has just 3 days before our callous owner sells us off to an evil heartless corporate giant.... or worse, Spotify. Actually, now that I think of it, I may be confusing real life with the plot of 1995's EM...

After a well earned break through January, we have emerged from our hibernation, blinking into the bright February sun and are back with a look at a beloved film franchise that has spawned five movies, a cartoon show, a smash hit Netflix series...as well as a lot of school yard accidents as children around the world emulated the crane stance. Yes, we're taking a look at all things Karate Kid! So t...

It's the most wonderful time of the year so since you've been good all year as a gift to all our loyal listeners, we present to you a very special Christmas episode where we discuss in depth, a perennial holiday favourite... HOME ALONE. You didn't think we were talking about another film, did you? It's a beloved Christmas classic which has spawned no fewer than five sequel/reboots including this y...

Time for another spotlight episode and this week we travel into the genetically perfect future to examine the double helix genome that makes up 1997's high concept sci-fi GATTACA. A stellar cast, a clever concept and suits so sharp they'll poke your eye out if you're not careful, this sci-fi film noir was somewhat overlooked on it's initial release but has come to be reevaluated since then. Not le...

At the grand age of 88 and with over 150 movies under his belt, Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr. or Michael Caine to you, has announced he's calling it a day and retiring to write thrillers. We're not so sure we've seen the last of him, but it's a good excuse to take a look at the career of the iconic actor. So don your national health spectacles as we examine the diverse filmography that swayed fro...

It's time for another spotlight episode and this week we're looking at RUBBER from 2010. Director Quentin Dupieux's tale of a car tyre that comes to life with the power to make people explode and goes on a murderous rampage through the Californian desert has been called both a work of post modern genius and one of the worst films ever made. Either way, it's the best film you'll see about a killer...

Episode 50 sent us to movie jail, so we missed last week, but we have been released into the general population for episode 51. However, due to extreme studio interference, we have all adopted pseudonyms, lest this episode tarnish our hitherto (mostly) unblemished reputations. This week we're looking at the career of one of Hollywood's longest-working and most diverse filmmakers, Alan Smithee. It...

It's our 50th episode and some may say that we went off the rails quite some time ago. So no better excuse to look at some of the films that derailed the careers of well known actors and directors. They were fan favourites, darlings of the box office, too big to fail... and then they come out with a stinker so bad that they're put in movie jail. Some languish there forever, some are released on go...

It's time to go back to 1987 and go back to high school with a spotlight episode focusing on one of Sinead's favourites SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL. Focusing on an artsy high school outcast from the wrong side of the tracks Keith (Eric Stoltz) , who tries to land a date with popular girl Amanda Jones (Lea Thompson) with some help from his tomboy best friend, Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson) much to the ch...

It's that time of year when the barriers are down between the real and the unreal, and the dead might be looking in to sit by our fires of turf and listen to a film podcast... Yes, it's Halloween... the festival of Samhain! What better time to talk horror and the one franchise synonymous with the season. And because your three regular podcast hosts are big ole 'fraidy cats, we have enlisted the he...

The year was 1986, VHS was the best way to see movies, there was nothing more thrilling than finding a hidden gem at the back of the video shop, and there was one name that meant action, adventure and excitement! Stargrove. Lance Stargrove.  John Stamos is Lance Stargrove, son of a legendary superspy played by George Lazenby, who must team up with sultry secret agent Danja Deering (played by...

There comes a time in the life of any long running franchise when, out of fresh new ideas, the creators rely on the familiar old trope of the body swap. Not so in the case of this week's episode. We ran out of new ideas months ago. In this week's installment, the hosts learn a little about themselves, a little about life and maybe, a little about each other when they all touch a magical totem at t...

In this week's episode, we turn the spotlight on, only to discover hundreds of bugs scuttering across the kitchen floor. Is this the beginning of an invasion from beyond the stars or just the result of poor housekeeping. Either way we're ready to do our part because we've watched 1997's STARSHIP TROOPERS directed by Paul Verhoeven. Super advanced space ships, killer alien arachnids, government pro...

To mark the long awaited release of NO TIME TO DIE, the 25th entry in the James Bond franchise, in this week's episode of The  Reel Take we dust down the tuxedo, order a martini shaken not stirred and celebrate everything we love about this hugely successful film series, from the gadgets, the cars, the bad guys and the cheesy one-liners it's all here.  And stepping into the role of quart...

An overnight success over a decade in the making, writer, actor, director Mark Duplass, (along with his brother Jay) has directed over 10 feature films, created multiple television shows and produce more than 40 movies, as well as acting in various projects such as FX comedy 'The League' and Apple TV's 'Morning Show'. If you don't know his name, it's probably your fault, as he's consistently been...

In the first of our new Spotlight episodes, where we'll be focusing on one film during a slightly shorter show, this week we're talking about a movie that celebrates its 30th birthday this year, Gus Van Sant's MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO.  It's a road movie, a riff on Shakespeare’s Henry IV and an essential text of queer cinema (and did we mention it stars River Phoenix as a sensitive narcoleptic wh...

Sorting through some old boxes the other day, I happened upon a photo of the old Reel Take crew back in the day. In those days, we were the film podcast by film fans, for film fans, and what we lacked in logical tag lines, we more than made up for in access to IMBD trivia. Overcome by memories and poor ventilation in the attic, I found the old R9000 Stereo Podmaster, popped a cartridge of an old e...

It's the final episode of the season before we take a short break so it's time for another Dealer's Choice where one of the hosts gets to chose a film maker to put under the miscroscope. This time Sinead is in the hot seat as we look at the varied career of one of her favourite directors, indy behemoth James Robert Jarmusch. Film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor, composer and owner...

This week we once again ask the enchanted French candelabra to lead our magical anthropomorphised household items in song as we invite a fellow film fan to 'Be Our Guest'. Director, actor, writer and Drogheda native Darren Thornton is behind the IFTA award-winning TV series Love is the Drug, as well as the IFTA award winning feature film A Date For Mad Mary. He kindly took time off from polishing...

In this episode of THE REEL TAKE we present to you an episode of REEL REVIEWS: PART DEUX, our short lived spiritual predecessor/prequel podcast... Recorded way back in early 2020 with all of the hosts in the same actual room, (Ross was wearing pants) it has all of the features you would come to know and love from The Reel Take, yet it seems altogether younger and more optimistic. So step back in t...

We're now well into our third season so it's only right that we take on a question that has baffled cine-philes for centuries: Nicholas Cage - Good or Bad? In this episode we settle once and for all whether or not Nicolas Kim Coppola (look it up) is a good actor who takes on bad roles because he has money problems, a bad actor who just likes to scream and yell but manages to shine when cast in the...

Summertime has arrived and so no better excuse for us to relax by the pool, cool down with an umbrella drink and examine those movies set during the summer months. From childhood summers that you wished could last an eternity to family holidays where you prayed for them to come to an abrupt end, the sun shines brighter, the evenings are longer, and there is a good chance you might just fall in lov...

It's time to take a trip in the old DeLorean as this week we once again look at the "Best Pictures" from the year of one of the hosts birth. It's the turn of baby of the podcast, L'il Wossie, as we often call him, so we're catching up with the nominees for Best Picture at the 61st annual Academy Awards in 1989! There were Girls Working, Men Raining, Burnings Mississippian, Tourists Accidental and...

There is a certain class of actor who you may rarely notice but often see. They appear in various works, filling their roles faithfully but when you notice them individually, you remember seeing them before but never where it was and you can never say their name but are forced to just exclaim "Hey, it's them from that thing." Last season we celebrated 'That Guy' actors by talking about some of the...