Reel Film Chronicles – Page 7

The Night House

Be afraid. Be very afraid. Or not. We’re not here to tell you how to live your life. We are here, however, to tell you about the Night House, the latest movie from director David Bruckner. As Beth (Rebecca Hall) struggles to deal with the suicide of her husband, she unravels a sordid tale full of murder, unstoppable supernatural entities, and labyrinthine mirror houses in alternate dream dimensions. Or maybe the only thing that unravels is Beth’s sanity. Or maybe The Night House is really 2021’s sleeper hit romantic comedy. Or maybe it’s all a metaphor for the effect of the industrial revolution on the slow decline of proletariat ownership over the means of production. Join Brian and Nathan as they delve into the twisted world of The Nighthouse, and try to determine exactly how much stock you should be buying in adult diapers before you check out what is undoubtedly one of the most unique cinematic visions of 2021. THE NIGHT HOUSE | 2021 directed by David Bruckner starring Rebecca Hall – Sarah Goldberg – Vondie Curist-Hall – Evan Jonigkeit…

Malignant

The face of evil has a new… face. In this week’s exciting episode, Brian and Nathan delve into James Wan’s latest horror opus, Malignant. The movie is another entry in the genre from one of only two people in history to ever successfully oversee a cinematic universe, so, of course, expectations for Malignant were entirely realistic and reasonable. Part slasher, part body horror, part psychological thriller, Malignant festers in the mind long after the credits roll owing to an original idea and a unique voice. Does Malignant usher in a bloody new era of horror and franchising rights? Tune in to hear our dynamic duo discuss the merits of James Wan’s latest and greatest and weigh in on whether murder and horrific surgery is scarier than parking unnecessarily close to the edge of cliff. MALIGNANT | 2021 directed by James Wan starring Annabelle Wallis – Maddie Hasson – George Young – Michole Briana White mystery / thriller / horror 112 min

The Mummy

Join Brian and Nathan as they unearth this blast from the past, and attempt to unravel the secret to the movie’s ongoing success more than twenty years since its initial release. Whether you’re a long-time fan or discovering The Mummy for the first time, your intrepid hosts will make sure you don’t end up on the wrong side of the river.

Pig

Sometimes there’s a movie that audiences both deserve and need right now. Pig is that movie. Though not entirely clear in the marketing campaign, Pig is not, in fact, a John Wick ripoff starring Nicholas Cage, but rather a somber meditation on grief and loss. Listen in as Brian and Nathan go hog wild for this touching film about the age-old tale of a man on the hunt for his truffle pig, scouring the dark underbelly of the seemingly inscrutable world of Portland high-end cuisine on a journey of catharsis and self-actualization. Once again, Nic Cage brings home the bacon in a career-best performance as a man with a very particular set of culinary skills wielding an arsenal of flavours and textures with a deftness and precision that would leave even Gordon Ramsay speechless and questioning his life choices. Though a slow burn, Pig is never a boar, and with a surprisingly refreshing narrative and thematic depth, your hosts discuss how they never feel penned in to any one interpretation.

Werewolves Within

In this episode, Brian and Nathan sink their teeth into Werewolves Within, the latest in a long line of video game movie adaptations. You’ll howl with delight as your intrepid hosts take a bite out of the werewolf movie subgenre before trying to make heads or tails out of Werewolves Within. The fur will fly as Brian and Nathan debate the cinematic merits (or lack thereof) of this latest lycanthropic legend. Fans of werewolves will be over the moon as the discussion examines the elements that make a great werewolf tale and whether Werewolves Within is able to claw its way to the top of the heap. So settle in for yet another fangtastic episode that asks the tough philosophical questions like whether there can be too much gore in a werewolf movie? (Short answer: No, no there can’t be.) WEREWOLVES WITHIN | 2021 directed by Josh Ruben starring Sam Richardson – Milana Vayntrub – George Basic – Sarah Burns horror / comedy 97 min

Black Widow & The Tomorrow War

Let’s get ready to podcast! In the red corner, weighing in at two hours and fourteen minutes, with a current IMDB average rating of six point seven stars, we have the latest contender from the Marvel school of blockbusters, the Phase Four Fury, the Franchise Surprise, the master assassin with a ledger dripping in red, BLACK WIDOW! And in the blue corner, weighing in at two hours and eighteen minutes, with a current IMDB average rating of six point six stars, it’s the pride of Amazon Prime, the envy of streaming services the world over, the Temporal Confusion, the Alien Attacker, it’s THE TOMORROW WAR! Tune in with Brian and Nathan for this week’s harrowing adventure as they pit these two blockbuster titans against each other in the cinematic showdown of the century. Marvel at the blow-by-blow breakdown of two 2021’s biggest releases. In this no-holds-barred episode, our dynamic duo wrestle with the possibilities and limits of big budget filmmaking. Oh the humanity!

Censor

Journey along with Brian and Nathan as they explore the darkest depths of the human mind, test the very limits of human decency, and put their sanity – and indeed their very souls – in peril in an odyssey that must be heard to be believed. In this episode, the dynamic duo share their incredibly insightful insights on CENSOR, the feature-length debut from director Prano Bailey-Bond. The movie takes viewers back in time to the 1980s England which was in danger of being submerged under a wave of moral panic in regards to those particularly scandalous horror and exploitation films known not-so-affectionately as the “video nasties.” Against this backdrop, CENSOR depicts one woman’s descent into madness as she tries to unravel the mystery of her sister who went missing and in the process and somehow finds herself cast in a low-budget horror film alongside the Beastman himself. Marvel as Brian and Nathan try desperately to maintain any modicum of suspense through the end of the episode as they gush about how much they love this film that exemplifies the genre of psychological horror…

Wrath of Man

Picture this: You’re alone on a tropical island, basking in the tangerine glow of the setting sun, reveling in nature’s majesty. Then, out of nowhere, out jumps Jason Statham and twelve, burly men brandishing various weapons and implements of death, destruction, and torture. You whisper a silent prayer of thanks to Guy Ritchie who is hiding in a nearby bush with a movie camera, and lean forward to get a better view of the carnage to come because Statham has just saved you from another boring evening staring at the sun set while trying in vain not to end up with pants full of sand. Such is the power of Jason Statham to shatter the sense of boredom and malaise we’ve been conditioned to think of as tranquility. Wrath of Man is the latest of Guy Ritchie’s foray into the gangster underworld, teaming up for the fourth time with Jason Statham, arguably his greatest on-screen muse. So get ready to get wrathful with Nathan and Brian as they explore this perfect antidote to a lazy Sunday afternoon, and marvel as…

Species

You may not know it, but they’re always there. Lurking in the shadows. Lying in wait in otherwise abandoned subway tunnels. Standing by themselves in the corner at parties. Ghoulish freaks clinging to the tattered edges of civilization. Until you dare enter their dark domain, and they ask you the question you’ve feared your entire life, that query that fills your heart with an existential dread: Have you seen SPECIES? Episode 11 of the Reel Film Chronicles sees your intrepid hosts tackle this staple of ‘90s cult cinema and its host of sequels, which embody the very essence of the phrase “diminishing returns.” Join Nathan and Brian as they explore a personal favourite and do their best to spread the SPECIES love. So settle in and prepare to join the elite ranks of SPECIES fans. There are literally dozens of us!

Captain America: The First Avenger

Year: 2011 | Dir: Joe Johnston | Runtime: 124m If I didn’t care about The Avengers in my youthful comic book collecting days, then I cared even less for Captain America. I would write him off as a relatively flat, simple and boring hero that was completely boring to my younger self; it’s no secret that when I pictured myself as a Marvel hero on the playground and in my imagination, it was a Wolverine-esque indestructible mutant with cool cybernetics that pulled from my favourite sci-fi films. Or maybe that was a secret. Either way, I never once picked up a Captain America comic, allowing only his cameos in other books and his depictions in pop culture as my basis for my (poor) opinion. When the film was announced, I did not approach with any excitement save that this was the next entry in the great experiment that was the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a lead in to the properly gigantic Avengers film. So when I came out of the theatre, I gave my head a shake and realized this…