The Kick

Friends of the podcast and dear listeners, welcome to the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom mini pod! The park is gone and the characters’ basic desires have been totally rewritten, but that won’t stop Universal from releasing another unholy beast of a movie for our viewing pleasure. Come along as Chance and Noah dissect how this movie fits (or doesn’t) into the JP Universe, as well as the new sci-fi ground this film endeavors to break. Pod will find a way!

It was Ben Franklin or George Bernard Shaw or someone who said, "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." Luckily, this also happens to be a Be Reel tailor-made genre!

On today's show, Chance and Noah review "Tag," "Game Night" and the classic "Clue" as we look at adults refusing to grow out of their childlike need to play games. As it happens, this genre is also a great referendum on both the legacy and current health of the broad comedy. When it comes to playing a crew's handsome guy, is a straight Kyle Chandler ultimately funnier than a goofy Jon Hamm? And who is 2018's Chevy Chase heir apparent: Jason Bateman or Ed Helms? And at the 21-minute mark, we welcome Joe Tombari, member of the real-life friend group who inspired "Tag" onto the show to shed a little light on having one's life adapted for the screen. Play on, friends!

Boredom, boldness and a proper mark — those are the three ingredients shared by today's category of "American" criminal films. It matters not if it's New York in the '70s or a sleepy college campus in 2004; flying too close to the sun for that big score is apparently a national pastime.

We start the episode in the true crime realm with a discussion of the new film "American Animals" and the dramatization of its stranger-than-fiction premise. Chance interviews director Bart Layton to ask about connecting with the real people who tried to steal $12 million worth of rare books and the world view of the four young men who seemingly set out to create havoc in their own lives.

Then, it's on to "American Made," last year's Tom Cruise extravaganza. We consider whether this silly, slippery movie is a proper crime epic or a ridiculous highlight reel of faux-history. And speaking of faux-history, we wrap up with "American Hustle," revisiting the film five years after we were both initially dazzled by its star-studded cast and lively David O. Russell script. Don't con yourself; just press play.

Sequels are so 20th century; in the 21st, we supposedly want origin stories. Starting with the relative disappointment that is Disney's new "Solo: A Star Wars Story," Chance and Noah look at other more or less successful prequels: "Red Dragon" (prequel to "Silence of the Lambs") and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (prequel to the Harry Potter films). The guys pick apart what makes these films nominally successful or totally grating: How many links does one need to the films that came before? How much world-building must occur to have these films stand alone? And is it possible to make a prequel that isn't a shameless money grab? To help answer those questions where Star Wars is concerned, Film School Rejects' John DiLillo joins Chance in a conversation about "Solo" and all the meaning wrapped up in its big cameo.

A couple 4/20's ago, we spent a day on the couch with the genre of Cult Weed Movies ("How High," "Bongwater," etc.), but today our chosen stoner movies are on a mission, maybe to nowhere. In this week's episode, we unpack the wild and circuitous journeys of some unlikely high heroes. “Inherent Vice” is groovy and insane (5:00), “Dude, Where’s My Car?” is the featherweight sci-fi prequel to “The Hangover” (37:50), and “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” is actually more about race than weed (51:30).

With the help of Slash Film writer Marshall Shaffer (19:00) and his strong feelings about where "Inherent Vice" belongs in the PTA canon, Chance and Noah head off on their own little mission. They're searching for the proverbial lost car of their often-conflicting film taste. Light up and listen in.

Here's the story, of guys watching movies, and these movies are all linked around a theme. All of them are about adaptions, of TV series, about families with a dream.

It's a podcast, where Chance made Noah, watch three TV Land movies on his own. They were weird and, without context, maybe didn't stand alone. 'Til the one day Chance and Noah were recording, and they knew it was much more than a hunch, that quality of these films would not be equal, when they reappraised the merits of The Brady Bunch.

(Also we reviewed "The Addams Family" and "The Flintstones")

You don’t get to a couple hundred listeners without making a few social media observations. On this episode, Chance and Noah collect all their likes and reposts and subtweets to analyze how terrifying being online can be. Through "Ingrid Goes West" (6:15), "Unfriended" (39:55), and "The Social Network" (52:10), they look at the thin line between follower and stalker, trend and obsession, and friend and frenemy.

In the middle of it all (23:10), Instagram influencer and The Cut editor Emily Sundberg stops by to discuss the warped lenses of social media perception, what it's like to try and put her phone away, and the stereotypes of the LA 'gram-gal as seen in "Ingrid Goes West."

Ultimately, whether it’s building a platform with your dormmates, following an Insta-famous trendsetter to Joshua Tree, or watching your high school classmates die over Skype, it’s clear that social media as subject matter makes for challenging film. Oh, and make sure to like and follow us, or else we’ll possess your laptop and dilute your shares in our startup!

Bret Easton Ellis is a writer, commentator and real-life character almost too easily defined by the word "problematic." The quintessentially '80s novelist who struck a cultural chord with his borderline-nihilistic tales of excess, perversion and violence has aged into a fascinating person to do a podcast about. This week, Noah and Chance drop in on the most famous three films adapted from Easton Ellis' novels: "Less Than Zero" (1987), "The Rules of Attraction" (2002), and "American Psycho" (2000). Press play for a million and one Patrick Bateman impressions, a take about why only women should be allowed to adapt BEE, and Chance catching you up on his trip to Europe in a speedy parody montage.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Chance's trip @ 3:55

"Zero" review @ 11:05

What is Bret's deal @ 29:10

"Rules" review @ 32:35

"Psycho" review @ 47:55

It's this year's unexpected horror smash... but is "A Quiet Place" actually good-good? Is the cinematic ingenuity of this pseudo-indie picture enough to overcome some Cloverfield-level world-building? Chance and Noah break down the hokey premise (sound aliens), potentially pro-life politics (or lack thereof), and whether Jim from "The Office" could be a believable father even without a beard in this mini appraisal of John Krasinski's third directorial effort.

Since early fairy tales, the wolf and red riding hood have done battle towards grandmother’s house. Of course in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, this predator/prey relationship continues in our cinema—usually ending in murder. On this week’s episode, we look at cult classic "Wild Things," and two recent additions to this genre of teen girls plotting against skeezy older men, "Thoroughbreds" and "Flower." As we unpack these femme Lolitas, there’s sex, horse murder and Adam Scott’s weirdly charged bowling lessons. Plus, film critic Abbey Bender celebrates the 20th anniversary of "Wild Things" with Chance at the 22-minute mark. Buckle up!