Shows
The Reel Cut2021 Film Highlights: The Year That Resurrected CinemaAfter the utter horror of 2020, both for the accessibility of cinema and the box office in general, 2021 saw the second coming of the theatre experience, back with a bang and sorely missed. From the new phase of superhero blockbusters to more independent and thought-provoking pieces, there was plenty to sink our teeth into. You know the drill, 3 chaps, 3 choices for favourite films of the year.
2022-03-171h 07The Reel Cut2021 TV Highlights: Sean Bean in a Haunted PrisonThe Reel Cut Season 2: Electric Bugaloo. Never has there been a more hyped return since Stone Cold Steve Austin delivered a stunner to every member of the WCW roster in 2001. Scott was too busy prioritising being a new father to turn up for the premier episode of season 2 so that meant it was up to the gargantuan shoulders of Mark and Nick to carry us through a retrospective of 2021 TV highlights. It was all following the same formula till Nick turns us into an episode of Lore half way through as we delve into the insane background of the...
2022-03-031h 50The Reel CutFavourite Fathers on FilmOne became two in this last few weeks as The Reel Cut welcomed another father to its ranks. Scott won't be with us on this episode as he welcomes a new life into the world of his own creation, the paternity pay from The Reel Cut is quite frankly a breach of international human rights so he won't be gone long as he can't afford to be. In his absence, Mark and Nick (already a wizened and battle hardened dad) discuss who the best movie papas are in tribute to the new arrival. We also break down a few...
2021-10-281h 27The Reel CutMarvel: Highlights and LowlightsAs a man with a certain taste in films that left no room for the broad shoulders and wide chests of Yankee superheroes, Nick has long shunned the allure and come-to-bed eyes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Having recently sat down to watch all films from Phase 1 to 3, Nick was finally ready to tackle this pop culture abomination and breakdown our favourite and least enjoyable parts of the series.
2021-09-161h 45The Reel CutBilly Zane Is A Cool GuyIt's confessional time at TRC HQ. We all have these dark, twisted secrets that lay beneath the patio slabs in our minds. To narrow it down from the countless media related skeletons in our closets, we must choose one guilty pleasure TV show, one movie and one actor. Prepare for some controversial and down right incorrect opinions.
2021-08-191h 48The Reel CutWillem Dafoe Gave Me PTSDAfter our summer holidays, TRC is back with Mark and Scott as Nick takes yet another week off - the greedy, greedy pig. The discussion is on childhood movies that shaped us and and our personalities. David Lynch may be the reason Scott is such an emotionless android having stolen his innocence at a tender age with a certain Willem Dafoe inspired motion picture. Whereas Paul Reubens performance as a pale man-baby gave Mark the tools he needed to be the man he is today. Join us on the chez lounge as we delve deep into our cinematic psyche.
2021-08-041h 01The Reel CutCrime and PunishmentWhat is life without a good crime documentary series to watch on an evening? Netflix, of course, is the undisputed don of the streamers when it comes to these shows and rules over the others with an iron fist. That's not to say the other smaller factions of Amazon Prime and Sky Boxsets don't have their own hidden gems in this regard. We each break down our current favourite picks and hopefully introduce you to your new favourite binge watch.
2021-06-241h 25The Reel CutRobin Hood Is Not A Sports Movie, Is It?Sports are something that you could quite easily separate from the movie industry, an entertainment format on its own that captures the passion and tribalism of human nature. Often times, events in sport can be stranger than that of a Hollywood plot line, the closing day of the 2012 Premier League season for instance was a day of unbelievable raw emotion. Do we need then to relive sporting moments, dramatised on film? The short answer is, sometimes. It has to be the right movie with the perfect tone. We break down our favourites, from Billy Beane to Ernie McCracken, and...
2021-05-201h 36The Reel CutFrances McDormand is UnstoppableAward season came to an abrupt and awkward end last month with the 93rd Oscars. Banished from the evening were controversies surrounding the lack of diversity amongst the acting/directing nominees, and in the gaping void they left behind came criticism around the reshuffling of the ceremony itself. In a year filled with opportunities for smaller, independent pictures to succeed and bathe in the warm glow of Hollywood's spotlight, the awards suffered their worst year on viewership of all time. Was that deserved and was that indicative of the gongs themselves being given to unworthy pieces of work? Absolutely...
2021-05-061h 13The Reel CutThe Limited SeriesShorter than a TV series, longer than a movie. The middle bowl of porridge. Just right. The limited series should in fact be named the 'unlimited series' because the potential in story telling within 8-10 episodes of a self contained story is vast, and has been proven on many occasions to be the perfect blend of character development and plot. Like an RBMK reactor in a Ukraine power plant, there has been an explosion of great choices within the last decade or so, we break down our favourites and wax lyrical like a beautifully delivered philosophical sonnet from Rustin...
2021-04-232h 04The Reel CutTired Tropes & Cinematic ClichésI could tell you how much it grates on me to see certain clichés in film, but then I'd have to kill you. Here at TRC we were born ready to tackle this subject, and we certainly aren't too old for this sh..! As the streets of Britain still remain quiet (too quiet) we attempt to run down a few of our most frustrating tropes that seem to crop up in almost every run of the mill Hollywood production. Now we can do this the easy way or the h...
2021-04-011h 43The Reel CutTop 5: Movie Character IntroductionsAs the saying goes, there are no second chances at a first impression. An introduction to a character has great potential in setting them up for the rest of the film, how they speak, the way they walk, the cut of their jib - all should give subtle clues into their entire personality. Well, the best character introductions do this. So far in the Top 5 series, this was our toughest challenge, whittling down 9 exceptional examples to a perhaps controversial 5. There are tears, there is sulking and there are many expletives of disbelief contained within this episode. And those are...
2021-03-241h 48The Reel CutCinema Soundtracks: Greatest HitsAppreciation for good music often walks hand in hand with a love for great cinema. When the two come together and it works, that usually translates into a transcendent artistic experience. The images on screen are ignited and emphasised by the lyrical or rhythmic poetry that binds it, the notes and melodies given fresh and vibrant emotional weight by the scenes they accompany. We love a movie soundtrack. We love it when film makers take existing music and use it to elevate the moments on screen, whether that be big and bombastic or quiet and sombre, there are some...
2021-03-181h 34The Reel CutThe Tarantino-VerseDo you know what they call The Reel Cut in France? It's just Le Reel Cut I imagine, like Le Big Mac but that's beside the point. It's time for another of our deep cuts into one of our most beloved areas of modern entertainment: the pop cultural phenom that is Quentin Tarantino. Come check out the big brains on all three of us as we chat favourite QT movies.
2021-03-041h 43The Reel CutRecast In The PastWhat would have happened if the some of your favourite movies had their scripts green lit in a different decade? Or what about the films that had bags of potential on paper that didn’t make the grade due to poor production choices; what if they were remade? And most crucially... who would you cast? These are the tough questions we don’t shy away from, we embrace the challenge of recasting the “un-recastable” and remaking the unspeakable.
2021-02-251h 47The Reel CutYou Say Tom-ay-to...Rotten Tomatoes has grown into quite the critical beast, hanging bulbous and overripe on the virtual vine. Even in it's infancy it has collated some of the most world renowned critics' reviews that could be classed as contentious at best. We're here to debunk, expose and critique these critics; give them a taste of their own medicine if you will. How'd you like them tomatoes, Gene Siskel?
2021-02-181h 38The Reel CutLet's Talk About The CinemaWe are a man down this week and like any strong company of men, we have left a man behind and continued on without him. Our usual anchor, Scott, is absent so tune in as Mark and Nick steer this ship straight into the rocks. We're reacting to the Golden Globes 2021 awards nominations with as much know-how as we can for two guys that haven't been to the cinema in 13 months. For the second half of the show, we're taking a trip down memory lane and talk about our most memorable experiences in the cinema itself, in hopes that...
2021-02-111h 30The Reel CutDeep Cut: Game of ThronesIt was the TV behemoth that dominated pop culture for the vast majority of the 2010s. Breathtaking highs and heart-breaking lows, love it for what it was or hate it for what it became but it's undeniable that this was one of the greatest and grandest spectacles ever to grace the humble television screen. An enviable wealth of eclectic characters inter-weaving between an all encapsulating and engaging story line, if Game of Thrones taught all of it's acolytes one thing it's that we don't deserve nice things (here's lookin' at you Season 8).
2021-01-281h 37The Reel CutTop 5: Best TV DeathsWe're at it again. We couldn't help ourselves, once we got a taste for it in movie deaths we had to come back for round two. Deaths in TV shows often carry more emotional heft than they do in movies. They can completely change the course of entire seasons, alter character motivations and become pop culture shock moments that we all share simultaneously in our homes via the small screen. Death, as they say, is the great equaliser, but you'll always have a TV favourite, and we have nine choices right here to whittle down to that famous five.
2021-01-211h 50The Reel CutTop 5: Best Movie DeathsHappy 2021! A great movie death can cement a film's place in cinematic history. But what defines 'best movie death'? Maybe it's what it means to the story and the impact it carries to the characters story arcs? No? Well what about the drama, the surprise, the gore or the creativity of it all? It can be almost impossible to describe why we enjoy a good movie death when it's often such a depressing and challenging subject in reality, but one thing is for definite - that scene in Deep Blue Sea where Samuel L. Jackson is bitten in half b...
2021-01-142h 10The Reel CutChristmas TV SpecialsMerry Christmas one and all! All 3 of use love a good British Christmas special. Memories of sitting down on Christmas evening, bellies full, still riding the high of the day - then to sit down and enjoy a memorable spot of TV with the whole family. It’s even more apt this year as many of us will be sadly parted from the ones we’ve shared many a Christmas Day. But we’ll be there with you. Pull up a chair, grab a turkey sandwich and join us round the table.
2020-12-241h 24The Reel CutDeep Cut: Marty ScorseseAfter casting Marty aside on so many podcasts because we wanted to give the rest of the pack a chance in the spotlight, we finally give the little genius his overdue plaudits. Plenty to discuss, we've brought it down to 3 classics and 3 'modern classics' and a brief look into his upcoming picture 'Killers of the Flower Moon'. Be warned, there's a tad more f-bombs than usual, something I'm sure the man himself wouldn't mind at all.
2020-12-171h 32The Reel CutConvince Me, Verbal: Best Die Hard Film?It's a question as old as time, and one that has caused more rifts between friends and family than any political leaning ever could. It is of course, 'Which film is the best in the Die Hard franchise?'. We each have a favourite and will attempt to convince the others to our way of thinking, though we are stubborn, we will instead more likely attempt to convince you, which version of McClane reigns supreme.
2020-12-0251 minThe Reel CutAnti Hero Top 5: TV ShowsIt's November, which can only mean one thing: the perfect excuse to take a deep dive into our personal favourite moustaches in celebration of the great work done by Movember campaigns across the month. The Anti Hero chatter comes to an epic conclusion this week in a bumper episode filled with passionate, heated and outrageous claims all based around the greatest morally ambiguous characters to ever grace the small screen.
2020-11-261h 49The Reel CutAnti Hero Top 5: Film BiopicsA bit of catching up this week on a few crucial news stories, including the firing of Johnny Depp and the shooting wrap of Jurassic World: Dominion. Scott, Nick and Mark then battle it out to get their 3 chosen anti-hero biopics into the official Reel Cut Top 5. How will Jason Statham naturally worm his way into this weeks episode? You'll see, as we expose the real life hard mans web of lies.
2020-11-181h 37The Reel CutArmistice Day Special: WarAs Edwin Starr once said, 'War. What is it good for?'. Well Edwin, the movie industry for one. This week we sit down to discuss in depth our favourite war films, and a deep dive into our most loved Band of Brothers episodes. Nick and Scott then go toe-to-toe in a War based quiz selection, who will rise victorious on the battle field of trivia?
2020-11-121h 41The Reel CutConvince Me, Verbal: Hal Vs HeisenbergComing at you with something a little different this week. Harking back to Scott's outrageous claim at the end of Episode 1, we debate which was Bryan Cranston's best performance: Hal from Malcolm in the Middle or Walter White from Breaking Bad. I know, I know... but take a listen and see who has the more compelling argument in our brand new segment 'Convince me, Verbal'.
2020-11-0551 minThe Reel CutAll Hallows EveIt's Halloween 2020. In what feels like a day of levity in a year of relentless horror, we take a look at what film is scientifically the scariest, which 3 films we all enjoy at this time of year and a deep dive into Mike Flanagan and The Haunting Series. An extra pair of shorts before listening is advised.
2020-10-271h 37The Reel CutStreaming Top 5: TV ShowsAnother week of not so great news and this time it's coming from the Happiest Place on Earth, what's been going on at Disney? Also, the conclusion of the battle of the streamers; the guys get into a heated debate on which TV shows should make the Top 5 currently streaming on Netflix and Prime. Will we stay civil? Will we fight fair? Probably not, no.
2020-10-231h 39The Reel CutStreaming Top 5: FilmsThe premiere episode of The Reel Cut!This week Scott, Nick & Mark discuss the cinema closures of the past week and debate their must see films on Netflix & Prime, with each bringing 3 to the table, but only 5 can make the list!
2020-10-161h 39