It's the Season One finale of Cinema Reels where Jessica Welman, along with John Cook and James Ross, head to the race track in a Richard Dreyfuss classic, as the trio breakdown the 1989 film, Let it Ride, directed by Joe Pytka,

Aside from John re-evaluating his top ten favourite films for the 100th time in the series, the three offer their initial thoughts on the film, the use of actual horse racing footage, Robbie Coletrane's performance and, as always, how closely was the experience of gambling on horse racing portrayed in the film.  

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: John Cook & James Ross
Producer: Anaya McDonald
Editor: James Ross

A nosy cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and wins big, but he can't seem to stop gambling. Will he go broke or walk home with a pretty penny?

Released: 1989
Director: Joe Pytka
Writers: Jay Cronley & Nancy Dowd
Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, David Johansen & Robbie Coltrane

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The Cinema Reels trio take a different path in the latest episode as they move away from full length feature films and look towards its shorter form counterpart. 

Jessica Welman, along with John Cook and James Ross, breakdown The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, directed by Wes Anderson, and an adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More".

With a run-time of 37 minutes, the trio offer their views of Wes Anderson's style and how it has been incorporated in the film, their stand-out, or not so, performances, as well as reflecting on how truly accurate the casino scene is represented. 

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: John Cook & James Ross
Producer: Anaya McDonald
Editor: James Ross

Chronicles a variety of stories, but the main one follows Henry Sugar, who is able to see through objects and predict the future with the help of a book he stole.

Released: 2023
Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Roald Dahl & Wes Anderson
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch & Dev Patel

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Cinema Reels hits the road again as Jessica Welman, alongside John Cook and James Ross, head back to Las Vegas to review Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: John Cook & James Ross
Producer: Anaya McDonald
Editor: James Ross

An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.

Released: 1998
Director: Terry Gilliam
Writers: Hunter S. Thompson, Terry Gilliam, Tony Grisoni
Stars: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro & Tobey Maguire

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Cinema Reels heads back in time to the 80's as Jessica Welman, John Cook and James Ross, review Barry Levinson's 1988 film Rain Man.

Rain Man, American dramatic film, released in 1988 and starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, that was a hit with both critics and audiences and won four Academy Awards, including that for best picture, as well as two Golden Globe Awards, including that for best drama. The trio discuss Hoffman's Oscar winning performance, their views on Tom Cruise in general and the infamous counting cards scene. 

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: John Cook & James Ross
Producer: Mollie Chapman
Editor: Mollie Chapman

After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.

Released: 1988
Director: Barry Levinson
Writers: Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass
Stars: Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman,Valeria Golino, Bonnie Lynn Hunt

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Cinema Reels goes down the 007-route with a wacky twist as Jessica Welman, John Cook and James Ross, review the 1967 film Casino Royale, which is loosely based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming.

The film that had five directors attached to it, the trio review how the narrative unfolds, stand-out performances, with James particularly showing his age when it comes to performances in this movie, and looks closely at the baccarat scene. 

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: John Cook & James Ross
Producer: Mollie Chapman
Editor: James Ross

Casino Royale sees Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement, following the death of M, to stop SMERSH. In order to trick SMERSH and Le Chiffre, Bond thinks up the ultimate plan: every agent shall be named James Bond. One of the Bonds, whose real name is Evelyn Tremble, is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat, but all of the Bonds get more than they can handle.

Released: 1998
Director: John Huston, Ken Hughes, Robert Parrish, Joe McGrath & Val Guest
Writers: Wolf Mankowitz, John Law & Michael Sayers
Stars: Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Woody Allen & Ronnie Corbett

Cinema Reels heads to the East End of London as Jessica Welman, John Cook and James Ross, review Guy Richie's directorial feature-length debut film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. 

Initially considered gambling heavy by the three, the trio soon realise how wrong they were, give their thoughts on backing Nick Moran's character Eddy in a game of poker and their overall thoughts on the film. 

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: John Cook & James Ross
Producer: Mollie Chapman
Editor: James Ross

When four friends end up losing money to a gangster in a card game, they are forced to choose a crooked path to clear the debt and save themselves.

Released: 1998
Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Jason Statham, Nick Moran, Dexter Fletcher, Jason Flemming

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Jessica Welman, John Cook and James Ross, head to Bedrock to review the The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, a prequel to the 1994 film, directed by Brian Levant. 

The three J's offer differing views on the film while also looking more closely at the Stone Age version of Las Vegas in the film and round off the episode in providing their opinions on if Viva Rock Vegas is better or worse than Marin Scorsese's Casino. 

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: John Cook & James Ross
Producer: Mollie Chapman
Editor: James Ross

In this live-action prequel to The Flintstones (1994), the Flintstones and the Rubbles go on a trip to Rock Vegas, where Wilma Slaghoople is pursued by playboy Chip Rockefeller.

Released: 2000
Director: Brian Levant
Writers: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera & Deborah Kaplan
Stars: Mark Addy, Stephen Baldwin & Kristen Johnston

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Welcome to the Cinema Reels podcast.

Led by Jessica Welman, Editor of SBC Americas and Double Major in Film Studies, she will be joined every two weeks by her colleagues James Ross and John Cook to go through motion pictures past and present to commend or condemn their attempts at portraying betting culture and the gambling industry on the silver screen.

In the debut episode of Cinema Reels, Jessica Welman, John Cook and James Ross, delve into Molly's Game, offering their stand out moment/performance of the film, how gambling is represented throughout the movie and who player 'X' may be. 

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: John Cook & James Ross
Producer: Mollie Chapman
Editor: James Ross

The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. 

Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknown to her, the Russian mob. 

Released: 2017
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Writers: Aaron Sorkin, Molly Bloom
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner

Make sure to follow Cinema Reels on LinkedIn here to keep up-to-date and follow us whichever platform you get your podcasts.

In the latest episode of Cinema Reels, Jessica Welman, John Cook and James Ross, delve into Win It All, offering their stand out moment/performance of the film, how gambling is represented throughout the movie, looking into responsible gaming within the main character and concluding with a quiz relating to all things Win It All. 

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: John Cook & James Ross
Producer: Mollie Chapman
Editor: James Ross

A small-time gambler agrees to stash a bag for an acquaintance who is heading to prison. When he discovers cash in the bag, he can't resist the urge to dip into the funds.

Released: 2017
Director: Joe Swanberg
Writers: Jake Johnson, Joe Swanberg
Stars: Jake Johnson, Joe Lo Truglio, Keegan-Michael Key, Aislinn Derbez

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Following on from the first two episodes of Cinema Reels, Jessica Welman, John Cook and James Ross, return to offer their analysis of Martin Scorsese's 1995 film Casino. 

While lauded as a "must-see" film, the trio sit down to evaluate the true representation of Las Vegas, former home to our very own Jessica, accuracy surrounding the gambling and offering our fresh takes on the film. 

Host: Jessica Welman
Guests: John Cook & James Ross
Producer: Mollie Chapman
Editor: James Ross

In early-1970s Las Vegas, low-level mobster Sam "Ace" Rothstein gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he's a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with his loose-cannon enforcer Nicky Santoro, his ex-hustler wife Ginger, her con-artist ex Lester Diamond and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger.

Released: 1995
Director: Marin Scorsese
Writers: Nicholas Pileggi
Stars: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci

Make sure to follow Cinema Reels on LinkedIn here to keep up-to-date and follow us whichever platform you get your podcasts.