The Kick

'Tis nearly the season to swap romance-devoid lives with someone halfway around the world. In this mini-episode, Noah and Chance discuss the 2006 Nancy Meyers film "The Holiday." Their actual holiday episode might be a little rougher, so here's one for those starry-eyed lovers with a real taste for rom-com tropes. As it turns out, that's only one of the hosts.

As always, a refresher on the rating system:

Good-Good = High quality, high watchability (e.g. The Departed)

Good-Bad = High quality, low watchability (e.g. Schindler's List)

Bad-Good = Low quality, high watchability (e.g. Escape from LA)

Bad-Bad = Low quality, low watchability (e.g. White Chicks)

Follow Be Reel, Guys on Twitter at @bereelguys or write to us at [email protected].

A few times in recent Hollywood history, we've seen nearly identical movies come down the pipe in the same year. And over Thanksgiving weekend, Noah and Chance doubled their duty and watched six movies, three pairs of action movie twins. There's the gargantuan "Armageddon" and the trying-to-be-smarter "Deep Impact" that sent celestial killers toward earth in 1998. There's the 1997 volcano flicks, "Volcano" and "Dante's Peak" about civil servants fighting to save cities in denial from lava flows. And there's "Flightplan" and "Red Eye," which put unsuspecting women in danger during night-time plane rides in 2005. Welcome to the Megapod, folks.

3:30 - Armageddon

16:30 - Deep Impact

29:00 - Volcano

40:30 - Dante's Peak

53:30 - Flightplan

1:08:30 - Red Eye

Chance calls Noah, who's stranded in the Minneapolis airport, to talk about the new James Bond movie, "Spectre." They unpack its flaws and the larger problem of self-seriousness gone array in the Daniel Craig-led Bond films.

As always, a refresher on the rating system:

Good-Good = High quality, high watchability (e.g. The Departed)

Good-Bad = High quality, low watchability (e.g. Schindler's List)

Bad-Good = Low quality, high watchability (e.g. Escape from LA)

Bad-Bad = Low quality, low watchability (e.g. White Chicks)

Follow Be Reel, Guys on Twitter at @bereelguys or write to us at [email protected].

It doesn't matter if you specialize in insurance, personal injury or petty naval law, Hollywood knows attorneys can do anything when the gavel starts pounding. We watched three movies about lawyers in way over their heads, fighting that good fight. Spielberg's new "Bridge of Spies" pits Tom Hanks against an amoral Cold War world. "My Cousin Vinny" (1992) plays politely with New York and Southern stereotypes in a half-comedic courtroom. And "A Few Good Men" (1992) is novice Sorkin set in screamy military court with a dynamite cast. Now, call your first witness!

5:00 - Bridge of Spies

21:00 - My Cousin Vinny

35:00 - A Few Good Men

As always, a refresher on the rating system:

Good-Good = High quality, high watchability (e.g. The Departed)

Good-Bad = High quality, low watchability (e.g. Schindler's List)

Bad-Good = Low quality, high watchability (e.g. Escape from LA)

Bad-Bad = Low quality, low watchability (e.g. White Chicks)

Follow Be Reel, Guys on Twitter at @bereelguys or write to us at [email protected].

Look — sometimes we want to bring you topical reviews, but want to save ourselves from watching three movies on a given topic, like say, the indoctrination of child soldiers. So, we bring you the first "Reeled In" mini-episode of the podcast. They'll be more of these bite-sized episodes to come, and for the first edition, we suffered with, or through, depending on which of us you ask, "Beasts of No Nation." That's the Netflix-released child solider movie, starring Idris Elba and directed by Cary Fukunaga.

As always, a refresher on the rating system:

Good-Good = High quality, high watchability (e.g. The Departed)

Good-Bad = High quality, low watchability (e.g. Schindler's List)

Bad-Good = Low quality, high watchability (e.g. Escape from LA)

Bad-Bad = Low quality, low watchability (e.g. White Chicks)

Follow Be Reel, Guys on Twitter at @bereelguys or write to us at [email protected].

In light of Aaron Sorkin's new snapshot take on Steve Jobs, Noah and Chance watched three movies hinging on only a chapter (or so) of biography. They go back and forth on "Steve Jobs," though not on Michael Fassbender's riveting portrayal. Then, it's on to "Invictus" and "The Queen" to discuss the dangers of character sainthood and the difficulty of invoking characters' long pasts in their later years.

Episode Sponsor: A List of Songs on Your First Generation iPod

5:00 - Steve Jobs

31:30 - Invictus

45:00 - The Queen

Humanity's laws and best interests be damned, let's go to space and see what happens when one person (but maybe robot) is stranded on a planet (but maybe moon.) Noah and Chance watched the biggest movie in the world, "The Martian," and parlayed that into a discussion of 2009's "Moon" and 2008's "Wall-E." Episode highlights include: a surprise visitor, Noah accusing Chance of being "a rube," and a discussion of Chance's written guide to Ridley Scott's later years.

7:30 - The Martian

29:30 - Moon

50:15 - Wall-e

Good-Good = High quality, high watchability (e.g. The Departed)

Good-Bad = High quality, low watchability (e.g. Schindler's List)

Bad-Good = Low quality, high watchability (e.g. Escape from LA)

Bad-Bad = Low quality, low watchability (e.g. White Chicks)

Follow Be Reel, Guys on Twitter at @bereelguys or write to us at [email protected].

Johnny Depp's acting career may be remembered most for the whimsical and fantastical roles via his Tim Burton partnership, but he's taken turns as three violent gangsters, as well. That's where we turn our steely gaze this week. The Whitey Bulger biopic "Black Mass" hit theaters this month, Depp portrayed an elusive John Dillinger in 2009's "Public Enemies," and 1997's "Donnie Brasco" is an underrated mob movie. Noah and Chance are joined on this week's podcast by film scholar and writer Murray Pomerance, who wrote the book "Johnny Depp Starts Here."

5:30 - Black Mass

33:00 - Donnie Brasco

1:00:30 - Public Enemies

Colleges are supposed to be among the most accepting and inclusive environments in the country, but this week, we focus on three fictional institutions that took it too far. Noah and Chance discuss three movies about "students" who are treading water, faking it or just want the trappings of university life. It's "22 Jump Street" (2014), "Old School" (2003) and "Van Wilder" (2002) taking their "Be Reel, Guys" exams. We pay special attention to their often dicey sexual politics and what exactly the movies find so halcyon about the college years.

As always, a refresher on the rating system:

Good-Good = High quality, high watchability (e.g. The Departed)

Good-Bad = High quality, low watchability (e.g. Schindler's List)

Bad-Good = Low quality, high watchability (e.g. Escape from LA)

Bad-Bad = Low quality, low watchability (e.g. White Chicks)

Follow Be Reel, Guys on Twitter at @bereelguys or write to us at [email protected].

Noah and Chance watched three movies that, in their own ways, pull back some Hollywood veil. "Tropic Thunder" (2008) yells, shocks and offends its way to memorable moments of famous people doing insane things. Through a "sight" gag, Woody Allen's "Hollywood Ending" (2002) is an old artist's take on how the old studio system worked. And 2000's "State and Main" takes the writer's side in a story of seedy Hollywood meeting small-town America.

As always, a refresher on the rating system:

Good-Good = High quality, high watchability (e.g. The Departed)

Good-Bad = High quality, low watchability (e.g. Schindler's List)

Bad-Good = Low quality, high watchability (e.g. Escape from LA)

Bad-Bad = Low quality, low watchability (e.g. White Chicks)

Follow Be Reel, Guys on Twitter at @bereelguys or write to us at [email protected].