The Kick

In this special in-person episode recorded in a hotel room in Lincoln, Nebraska, Chance and Noah reunite to watch and review "A Star is Born." The guys discuss everything from the film's portrayal of pop music, what it means to be a songwriter, why the hell Dave Chappelle is in this movie, and how Bradley Cooper can play sweaty, drunk and sexy at the same time. While Chance believes this movie is the great Vanessa Carlton/Caleb Followill (Kings of Leon) love story that no one ever asked for, Noah has a pretty hot take on the real reason for the tragic ending everyone is talking about. Give 'em a listen, unless you're too fuckin' loaded there, brother.

It's not easy building a musical narrative from the pieces of one artist's catalogue. That's one thing Chance and Noah learned this week when they reviewed three jukebox musical movies: "Mamma Mia," "Rock of Ages," and "Across The Universe." In experiencing cinematic delivery systems for ABBA, The Beatles, and the worst of '80s rock, your hosts gained a little appreciation for the jukebox musical form while also struggling with some of its conventions. Luckily, Playbill editor Ruthie Fierberg stopped by to contextualize the seemingly ceaseless Broadway trend and to defend the jukebox musical idea, if not always the execution. Highlights of today's episode include Noah critiquing "Mamma Mia" for exploiting Greek isles, an argument about why hair metal and musical showstoppers are too similar, and Chance not having a George or Ringo impression.

If you're looking for a late-summer/early-fall adventure, might we suggest NOT taking a rafting trip? Ample evidence of why rafting is a terrible idea is provided by classic river pictures "Deliverance" (1972), "The River Wild" (1994) and "Without a Paddle" (2004). Even if you have enough river savvy to navigate the white water of the Gauntlet or the burning marijuana fields of Oregon, you're definitely going to get picked off (or picked up) by the river hillbillies! Chance and Noah investigate why these movies are a genre, why they're so sympathetic to the male ego (even when Meryl Streep is the protagonist) and how Hollywood has no empathy for the rural poor. Make sure to pack a fresh pair of socks for this episode, because very few of the rafts actually make it to the end.

In this pseudo-mini pod (oops, it's long!) Chance and Noah watch and discuss the end of summer's biggest hit, "Crazy Rich Asians." It's the first major Hollywood movie to feature an all-Asian cast in 25 years, and your hosts are on hand to unpack its romantic comedy tropes, its visions of excess and cultural specificity, and to pick out some favorite players from this giant cast. While attempting not to get distracted by just how beautiful Henry Golding is, the guys analyze the difficult pedestal this movie is on (and the future of non-Marvel films that target new film-going demographics). Then, writer and editor Vivian Lee helps explain mahjong allegories, the resonance of the film's soundtrack, and the importance of the satay plaza scene. Let's go!

Ba da. Ba da. Bum bum bum bum bum. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the movies, Hollywood (and China) releases a new shark picture—and it commands the summer box office! Chance and Noah use this as an opportunity (as if they needed a better reason) to talk Sharks that Aren’t “Jaws” one more time: this summer’s "The Meg", "Open Water" (2003) and Johannes Roberts’ "47 Meters Down” (2017).

They’re joined by author and “The Meg” enthusiast Caroline Moss to explain the simple pleasures of the summer blockbuster without deeper meaning or politics. Chance and Noah are a bit more critical, but what else is new? Highlights of this week’s ep: Chance claiming he can name 20 kinds of sharks, Noah being pretty skeptical of the bends, and Mandy Moore getting jacked up on nitrogen.

In today's mini-episode, Chance talks to veteran documentarian Rachel Dretzin about her new film "Far From The Tree." They discuss her surprisingly close collaboration with bestselling author Andrew Solomon and how to be ethically curious when interviewing people with disabilities. "Far From The Tree" opens this weekend in select cities.

What’s more impressive: that Tom Cruise is still making Mission: Impossible movies into his 50s or that Chance and Noah recorded 100 episodes of Be Reel? Feels like a toss-up, and reviewing all six MIs is our chosen victory lap.

Inspired by the current box office hit, “Fallout”, Chance and Noah look to the Brian de Palma origins of the franchise, the John Woo growing pains, and the JJ Abrams-ification of the Cruise-produced series. Does Tom’s personal/tabloid life almost perfectly mirror the arc of his character Ethan Hunt? Does Tom have more sex appeal than Jeremy Renner and Henry Cavill (living embodiment of Gaston) combined? How is it these movies are about everything internationally relevant but nothing important? All will be addressed on this special 90-minute megapod edition!

In this special prelude to our Mission: Impossible super show, Chance calls up Sheryl Oh. The Film School Rejects writer breaks down the character development and camera work that together make "Fallout" a new high point in the MI franchise. Then, Chance and Sheryl look backward at "Mission Impossible" and "MI2" and wonder when this series shifted genres.

Read Sheryl's "Fallout" piece here:

https://filmschoolrejects.com/how-mission-impossible-fallout-gets-immersive-action-right/

Do you ever stop and look at a New Yorker cartoon or a sardonic comic book and wonder, "Huh! I wonder what sort of deviant mind would create this"? Lucky for you, dear listener, there are at least three movies about such people--one fiction, two biopics. This week, with the release of Gus Van Sant's "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot" (about the late John Callahan), Chance and Noah look at movies about cynical cartoonists: Harvey Pekar in "American Splendor" and fictional writing duo Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards in "Chasing Amy."

And big news! We got Gus Van Sant himself on for an interview (20:05-mark) --talking John Callahan, Joaquin Phoenix and the late Robin Williams. So stop doodling and give a listen!

Oh, dads! They love things like the great outdoors and mansplaining political movements. But where does one draw the line between normal dad and egomaniac, survivalist dad? Does your father rant about consumerism or the coming nuclear holocaust? Does he ship your family off to the jungle to act out a colonialist fantasy? On this episode of Be Reel, Chance and Noah look at movies about wild dads and their wild dad ways. From Harrison Ford in “Mosquito Coast” to Viggo Mortensen in “Captain Fantastic” to Ben Foster in the recently released “Leave No Trace”, the guys break down how this off-the-grid genre portrays, glorifies, damns and justifies fathers with a dream of a simpler life.

At the 20-minute mark, director Debra Granik joins Chance to talk about portraying the Pacific Northwest's local flavor in “Leave No Trace," rendering a creeping sense of fear in her 2010 breakout "Winter's Bone," and what it means to take only what you need in America.