Every episode we watch two movies, one old, one new, and try to connect the dots.
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Going to the cinema is like experiencing a shared dream. (Especially when the film is so bad we fall asleep in it - and that’s happened to us more than a few times.) But who is the finest auteur of films as dreams? Is it Federico Fellini, or David Lynch, or is it Arnold Schwarzenegger in a blockbuster from 1990? Join us at the Popcorn Counter this …
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Twisters vs The Wizard of Oz: Twisted Wizards
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1:36:20
We’re processing trauma and fighting a mighty wind at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we go to see the new weather-based action sequel Twisters, and compare it to the 1939 family classic The Wizard of Oz. Twisters can’t stop quoting from Oz, but the parallels don’t end there: both films centre around powerful women and both films are abou…
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Popcorn Counter: The Song-Movies-Name-Quiz
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(*Turns to camera*) You may remember that back in the 1980s and 90s they used to name a lot of films after songs. Seriously. A LOT. It was like an actual thing. So come and join us at the Popcorn Counter this week, where we’ve turned those Song-Named-Movie-Tune-Films into a Song-Named-Movie-Tune-Film-QUIZ. (*Cut to title card with music*) Forty mov…
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Popcorn Counter: Community in Conspiracy
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With films like Capricorn One, Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View, the Watergate scandal meant the 1970s was the golden age of Hollywood conspiracy thrillers. OR WAS IT?! Join us at the Popcorn Counter this episode as we keep our heads down and ask in quiet voices if conspiracy cinema is not as simple as it first appears. Klute and The …
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Fly Me To The Moon vs Capricorn One: That's No Moon
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We’re lost in the desert, deep in conspiracy country this episode, as we enjoy the new Scarlett Johansson / Channing Tatum ‘how they could have faked the moon landings’ rom com Fly Me To The Moon, and compare it to its direct antecedent, the 1977 Elliot Gould ‘how they might fake the Mars landings’ thriller Capricorn One. The parallels are obvious,…
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We’re wiping away the tears of a clown at the Popcorn Counter this episode, as we spend a happy twenty minutes asking: how come so many well known actors got their start as stand up comedians, and yet there seem to be so few films about comedians? We draw parallels between comedians and writers, wonder if the best comedy reveals too much about its …
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I Used to be Funny vs Punchline: I Used to be a Punchline
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It’s comedy night at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we watch the new Canadian dramedy I Used To Be Funny and compare it to an early Tom Hanks picture, Punchline, from 1988. Both films are set in and around stand-up comedy venues, and it’s fascinating to see what’s changed and what’s not in 36 years. But does either film have much more to…
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Popcorn Counter: The Eponymous Movie Quiz
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Everyone loves a quiz. Well, we do. Well, one of us does. This week at the Popcorn Counter, Maurice has inspired us to make a note of just how many eponymous films there are on the IMDb. So join us for an eponymous movie quiz, where we’ll give you a trickle of clues to help you guess forty movies each with a forename as their title. Play along at h…
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Am I Ok? vs Maurice: Is Maurice Ok?
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Everyone’s coming out this week at the Two Reel Cinema Club, as we watch the new-ish Tig Notaro comedy Am I Ok? and compare it to 1987’s Merchant Ivory heritage picture Maurice. When stood next to each other these two films have a lot to say about the experience of coming out as LGBTQ a century apart. But what bit of 1980s UK legislation is Maurice…
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After watching two robot pictures back to back last week, we’ve cleared some space at the Popcorn Counter this episode for a Robot Rumble: eight cinematic robots in a knockout contest with mystery challenges. We have electronic wrestlers from sci-fi classics, post-humans from TV that moved to the big screen, and children’s characters with depth and…
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Robot Dreams vs Metropolis: Metropolitan Robots
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(You may hear the sound of cats in the studio this episode, but just think of it as atmospheric background sound effects…) This week, we watch the new, Oscar-nominated animated feature Robot Dreams, which stars anthropomorphic animals living in a stylised 1980s New York and a beautiful, unconventional love story. We’re comparing it to the film that…
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Popcorn Counter: I Am Number Four. Or Five.
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We have a theory… Do long series of films only hit their stride after their first three instalments? Join us at the Popcorn Counter this week after our Mad Max marathon as we try to prove or disprove our thesis, using a hefty list of examples. Surely if you rummage around in the IMDB for long enough it’s possible to ‘prove’ anything, isn’t it? We t…
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Furiosa vs Mad Max Fury Road: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Road
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Join us in the post apocalyptic wasteland for one of our longest episodes ever this week, as we watch the new ‘Mad Max Saga’ Furiosa, and compare it with its direct antecedent, 2015’s action masterpiece Mad Max Fury Road. These two high octane, gas guzzling thrillers are more or less anagrams of each other, but can Furiosa drive away with Fury Road…
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Popcorn Counter: Elevator Pitches of the 80s
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We have a bit of a disaster this week as we get stuck in the elevator on the way to the popcorn counter, but at least it gives us a chance to practise our elevator pitches. And after watching The Fall Guy last week we’re basing all our pitches on pre-existing 1970s and 80s properties. Three pitches each, which one would we commission? Including a r…
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The Fall Guy vs The Fall: Taking The Fall
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We’re watching stunt performers smash up cars, leap from helicopters and ride horses across the desert in this week’s movies as we compare the new Ryan-Gosling-Emily-Blunt 80s throwback The Fall Guy to 2006’s surreal and sumptuous The Fall. They’re both films about stuntmen, but aside from sharing most of a title they could hardly be more different…
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Apparently there’s some kind of election in the US soon? We’re not sure of the details, but if we had the opportunity to write the name of a movie president on the ballot, who would get our cross? Join us as we hash out the possibilities at the Popcorn Counter this episode. And while we’re at it, we ask what’s the difference between Bill Pullman an…
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Civil War vs Land and Freedom: Civil War Land
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Neighbours fight neighbours in this week’s pod, as we watch Alex Garland’s new, maybe-too-close-to-real-life, dystopian thriller Civil War and compare it with Ken Loach’s 1995 Spanish Civil War picture Land and Freedom. Both of these films are certainly thought-provoking, with action, bloodshed, tragedy and tension. But which one makes the best use…
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Popcorn Counter: The Podcast About Podcasts
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You’re welcome to join us at the Popcorn Counter this episode, but speak up because we’ve got our noise cancelling headphones on. (You know, the ones for dogs, remember?) We’ve been listening to a few rival pods while we wait for the popcorn machine to warm up, but which would we sincerely recommend? What are the podcasts that make it into our subs…
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The Teachers' Lounge vs To Sir, With Love: Teachers Teach
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Is it term time already? It must be, because we’re heading back to school again, this time comparing the new, Oscar-nominated German drama The Teachers’ Lounge with 1967’s scholastic classic, To Sir With Love. There are so many elements in common here that you have to ask if someone’s been copying their homework: outsider teachers, rebellious pupil…
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Please be seated, the Court of the Popcorn Counter is now in session. We’re hosting a constitutional controversy of our own this episode, as we accuse Legal Dramas of the crime of being a bit boring and fundamentally uncinematic. And in true legal tradition, we flipped a coin beforehand to decide which one of us was going to prosecute and which def…
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Anatomy of a Fall vs Anatomy of a Murder: Anatomies of the Law
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It’s double anatomy at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we catch up on the last of the Oscar nominees with Anatomy of a Fall, the French courtroom drama that ended up with the Best Screenplay Academy Award this year. It’s a bloody and nuanced multilingual piece with a couple of dynamite performances, but is it possible that not quite enoug…
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Join us at the Popcorn Counter this episode for some late-to-the-party Oscars chat. Which nominated film was hit with plagiarism claims? Which film was like getting struck by a steamroller? What exactly is Barbie ‘adapted’ from? When is sound crucial? What are short films actually for? And how much controversy can we generate over the pronunciation…
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Origin vs Birth of a Nation: Birth of the Racists
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Again? Seriously? Yes, welcome to our third podcast in a row to feature Nazis. These guys will just not go away. This episode we have watched the new Ava DuVernay docudrama Origin, and read the book it’s based on - Isabel Wilkerson’s non-fiction best seller Caste. We’re comparing it to what may be the first ever cinematic epic, 1915’s silent KKK mo…
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Popcorn Counter: We Did Nazi That Coming
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Join us at the Popcorn Counter this week as we ask: why are Nazis such commonly used villains in movies? Films and shows discussed include Hogan’s Heroes, Indiana Jones, Schindler’s List, Star Wars, Starship Troopers, Saving Private Ryan, The Producers, Das Schreckliche Mädchen, Germany Year Zero, and They Saved Hitler’s Brain. Give yourself a bonu…
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The Zone of Interest vs Triumph of the Will: In The Zone of Wilful Nazis
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Oh, dear, what have we gotten ourselves into this episode? Join us for a look at some of the most evil people in history as we watch the new Oscar nominated Auschwitz movie The Zone of Interest and compare it to the Nazis' own 1935 propaganda epic, Triumph of the Will. Light hearted fun is in short supply this time round, but we still manage to cha…
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Sometimes at the Popcorn Counter we just go off on one. We have no idea how it happens, we try to plan these things out, but there it is. So join us this week for a high speed tour that takes in intermittent fasting, mind reading, Woody Allen, feral cats, raccoon families, French cinema’s tribute to the animal kingdom, the financial performance of …
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American Fiction vs A Raisin in the Sun: American Fiction in the Sun
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We enjoy a clever and ironical look at black cinema this episode as we watch the hilarious and heartfelt Oscar-nominated feature American Fiction, and then compare it to the 1961 Chicago drama A Raisin in the Sun. Plus we see the return of the Two Reel Book Club, as we’ve also read the book and the play that gave birth to each film. But how do the …
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Popcorn Counter: What Have We Learned?
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As George W Bush famously once asked, ‘Is our children learning?’ Join us in the specially commissioned TRCC Popcorn Counter Lecture Theatre as we celebrate our 100th episode. There we try to distill the lessons we’ve garnered from recording two years of podcasts into ten condensed nuggets of insight. Has all that viewing and talking about films ma…
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Popcorn Counter: The Sense of an Ending
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After watching Dogtooth recently, we’re convinced that endings are hard. Or are they? Join us at the Popcorn Counter as we take a look at movie endings good and bad from the history of cinema, Including: John Sayles’ Limbo, Birdman, The Long Good Friday, North by Northwest, Planet of the Apes, Fight Club, Top Gun Maverick, 2001: A Space Odyssey, an…
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The Boy and the Heron vs My Neighbour Totoro: My Heron Neighbour
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A new Hayao Miyazaki film from Studio Ghibli has appeared! The Boy and the Heron is the master animator’s first feature length work in more than ten years, and on this week’s episode we dive deep into its mysterious, dreamlike world and measure it up against what might be the studio’s greatest feature, 1988’s My Neighbour Totoro. It’s no great surp…
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Popcorn Counter: Jesus, Socialism and Electric Sheep
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How many times has Frankenstein been made into a movie? More times than we remember, it turns out. There’s Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Young Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein 2, yes, yes, yes. But what about Robocop? The Fly? The Six Million Dollar Man? Even one of our own scripts was a Frankenstein story. What does Frankenstein have in …
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Poor Things vs Dogtooth: Sexy Frankenstein
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What happens when you put the brain of a baby in the body of an adult woman? You get Sexy Frankenstein, apparently. At least that’s the opinion of the new Yorgos Lanthimos picture Poor Things starring Emma Stone, which is out in the UK this week. We’re comparing it to Lanthimos’ 2009 feature, Dogtooth, which first brought him to international promi…
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Ines Braga hangs out at the Popcorn Counter with us this week, where she confesses that she really doesn’t like musicals. But there are a few notable exceptions, including last week’s masterpiece West Side Story. Is there a rule that distinguishes good movie musicals from bad ones? Why do The Lion King, Frozen and Moana succeed where others do not?…
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Maestro vs West Side Story: West Side Maestro
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Tonight, tonight, we’re joined by screenwriter Ines Braga to sing a song of two musical pictures, the new Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, helmed by A Star is Born director Bradley Cooper, and Bernstein’s own 1961 masterpiece, West Side Story. They’re both very enjoyable, but which one has more to say about contemporary la la la la la l’America? W…
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Popcorn Counter: Film of the Year 2023
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It’s the show we’ve been anticipating for the last twelve months, the Two Reel Cinema Club Film of the Year Show. We’ve seen some masterpieces this year, we’ve seen some real clunkers, we’ve seen some incredible performances and we’ve seen some very eye catching hats. Who will win, who will get a dishonourable mention, and who will leave the ceremo…
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The Holdovers vs Another Country: Holdover Country
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Happy Holidays from the Two Reel Cinema Club, as we watch one of the funniest, dourest and most heartfelt Christmas films we’ve seen in years, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. We discover it perched under the mistletoe kissing a film forty years its senior, 1983’s English private school drama Another Country. These two films both examine privilege,…
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Popcorn Counter: If You Want to Get Ahead, Get a Hat
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You might think we saw enough hats for one lifetime last week in Napoleon and Barry Lyndon but no, we want more. Join us as we doff our hats to the finest headgear in Hollywood. Which is the most famous hat in cinema? Who has the biggest hat in the MCU? How did cowboys decide between a black and a white hat? What hat did Zack Braff force Natalie Po…
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Napoleon vs Barry Lyndon: Dueling Duels
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Join us in the Eighteenth Century this episode as we compare the new Ridley Scott feature Napoleon with its 1975 forefather, Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. It’s an explosion of candlelight and costume design, huge battles and intimate character moments. But it does make us wonder: why is the French Language no longer the Lingua Franca of cinema? W…
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Persepolis, Watchmen, Ghost World, American Splendor, Akira, Gemma Bovary… can you see the pattern yet? After watching David Fincher’s The Killer last week, we look at films that have been adapted from graphic novels. Which ones work, and which ones don’t? And what’s the common factor that makes a good adaptation? Plus, we talk about Paul Giamatti …
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The Killer vs The Killer: Bullet Ballet
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Two films, two assassins, and two hundred thousand bullets this episode, as we watch the new David Fincher film The Killer and compare it to John Woo’s 1989 breakout Hong Kong action spectacular The Killer. There’s no denying the technical craft on display here, but while there’s a lot of bloodshed is there perhaps a little too much rumination? Whi…
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Popcorn Counter: Love You Long Time
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It’s not just a feeling in your bladder, it’s actually true. Films really are getting longer. After struggling with the length of Killers of the Flower Moon last week, we analyse a few statistics about how film length has changed in the last forty years. Is it to do with length of a VHS tape? Or is the rise of streaming to blame, like it is for eve…
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Killers of the Flower Moon vs Once Upon a Time in the West: Killers of the West
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We take two dark journeys into the American West in this episode as we watch the new Martin Scorsese picture Killers of the Flower Moon, and compare it to Sergio Leone’s 1969 classic Once Upon a Time in the West. It’s an epic total of six hours of gunshots, dirt, crime, money, corruption and revenge, all in Cinemascope. But which film is a textbook…
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Popcorn Counter: Writing a Rom Com
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After watching Sliding Doors and Past Lives the other week, you find us writing our own romcom at the Popcorn Counter this episode. We ask ourselves: how many tropes can we squeeze into one pitch? The answer seems to be all of them, as we fold mismatched undercover cops, crazy best friends, a high stakes bake off, dance lessons on the beach, a wedd…
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Popcorn Counter: Fifty Five Inches
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Watching Blackberry last week made us wonder how many hours of cinema are watched on a tiny, pocket-sized smartphone screen these days. Now that many of us have a fifty five inch OLED at home, are the days of cinema numbered? What will become of the experience of watching a movie in a big, dark room full of strangers? Will VR headsets and short for…
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Blackberry vs There Will Be Blood: Blackberries and Blood
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We get down to business at the Two Reel Cinema Club this episode, as we watch the very entertaining new Canadian comedy-drama Blackberry, which explores the multi-billion-dollar early days of the smartphone, and compare it to Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 masterpiece There Will Be Blood. They’re two stories about big money, separated by a century, bu…
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Money is all we can think about at the popcorn counter this week, after watching two films about money last week. What are our top five financial films of all time? And can we answer five trivia questions about the insanity of film financing? What film made the most money, who got the biggest payday ever, and what clunker lost the most money? Do we…
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Dumb Money vs Trading Places: Dumb Places to Trade Money
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We’re losing money hand over fist in this week’s episode. Or maybe making money? Or buying… um… options? We have no idea what we’re doing to be honest, but neither do many of the protagonists in this week’s films. Dumb Money, from the director of Cruella, is the first film we’ve ever seen that’s based on a Reddit thread, and is a surprisingly funny…
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Spencer Brown, director and co-writer of T.I.M., the number one Netflix feature, joins us at the Popcorn Counter this episode, to discuss the making of his film about an AI companion that becomes the world’s most effective and threatening stalker. He has some fascinating insights into the writing process and his methods of collaboration with his wi…
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Past Lives vs Sliding Doors: Lives Sliding Past Doors
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Join us on the road not taken this episode, as we watch new Korean-American feature Past Lives and compare it to a very 90s take on similar themes in Sliding Doors. Past Lives is like a tiny serving of understated New York drama, filled with comfortable silences and autobiographical details. But we have to ask: does enough actually happen? Meanwhil…
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There have been more than 450 spy films released in the last 12 months* (*citation needed) and yet most spy films seem to involve very little actual spying. James Bond has spent vastly more of his career running, driving, shooting and drinking than he has LOOKING AT THINGS CAREFULLY. At the popcorn counter this week we ask which spy films get it ri…
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