The Reel Take Podcast

They said it couldn't be done.... they said it shouldn't be done. But yes, THE REEL TAKE has hit 100 episodes... So what better time to sit back, take stock, and indulge in a well deserved round of self congratulations. We've covered topics as diverse as 'Films we love but everyone else hates' and 'Films we hate but everyone else loves', we've shone a spotlight on many an under-rated gem (and Blank Check), we've murdered enough scenes to get life and we've had some fantastic guests over this last century of takes. So as we reach this milestone, we invite you once more to sit down, and grab a glass. Sinead, Ross and Niall have made 100 episodes of their podcast!

Leonardo DiCaprio is an earthy type who wants to come up in the world. Kate Winslet is a free spirit, unwilling to confine herself to the norms of society. But this time there's no big boat, and no tragic end. After their icy dip Kate and Leo reunited for 2008's REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, based on the novel by Richard Yates and directed by Sam Mendes. It's the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a young couple who meet at a party, get married and create a suburban life with a nice house, a manicured lawn, "modern" furniture, two kids, a job in the city for him, housework for her, and martinis, cigarettes, boredom and desperation for both of them. It's not really 'What would have happened if Rose scooched over and made room on that doorframe for Jack', but it's a close as we'll get. So join the morning march of grey men in grey suits and grey hats to a job you hate, or spend your day vacuuming and dreaming of a better life in Paris as we put the spotlight on REVOLUTIONARY ROAD.

This week we welcome back guest SNILLOC NOSAJ to finally put to bed the question of whether Christopher Nolan's time bending 2020 film TENET is a classic of cinema or just too difficult for Ross to understand. The case for the prosecution features Jason and Ross, who spend the entire episode repeating over and over "We didn't understand it, it's a bad film" and scratching their heads in confusion, whereas the distinguished defense counsel of Sinead and Niall put forward an ironclad argument as to why this somewhat divisive movie might ask a lot of its audience, and need more than one watch (and the on subtitles at some point), but yields great reward. So strap yourself in, because voices get raised, tempers get frayed and nothing is sacred as we ask if TENET is worth a watch... then a rewatch backwards... then a re-rewatch forwards... then a re-re-rewatch backwards.

This week Niall and Ross are a pair of renegade Chicago cops (one's funny and one can tap dance), living on adrenalin and the edge as they take down the bad guys. But when the duo have one close call too many, their hard-ass captain Sinead rips them a new one and insists they take a vacation. Cut to a montage of roller skating/drinking/fishing all set to an 80's classic by a Doobie Brother. Will Niall and Ross get to retire to the sun kissed Florida Keys and run the bar they dream of? Will they make sure their last two weeks on the mean streets see them bring Gonzales to justice? Will Sinead stop being such a hard-ass? And what exactly is a 'Man Sized Love'? This week we answer all these questions and more as we spotlight 1996's RUNNING SCARED from director Peter Hyams and starring Billy Crystal and Gregory Hyams. Before there was Murtaugh and Riggs, there was Costanza and Hughes.

RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912, and has fascinated the world ever since. Not least of all James Cameron, whose multi million blockbuster TITANIC, made for an estimated $200 million is now 25 years old. "I made Titanic because I wanted to dive to the shipwreck, not because I particularly wanted to make the movie. When I learned some other guys had dived to the Titanic to make an IMAX movie, I said, 'I’ll make a Hollywood movie to pay for an expedition and do the same thing." The crew were unwittingly dosed with PCP laced chowder, Cameron threatened to fire employees who took bathroom breaks so Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have admitted to relieving themselves in the on-set water tank, and it should have been a disaster. But it wasn't. It was a film to remember.

This week we're heading off for a relaxing getaway south of the border. Lots of sun, salsa and cerveza as all our troubles melt away. Actually, we've been recruited by an elite government task force to aid in the war on drugs as we put the spotlight on Denis Villeneuve's taut and tightly wound thriller from 2015, SICCARIO. Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro lead a top notch cast in a film wound so tightly you'll need a relaxing vacation afterwards... just maybe not to Juárez.... and suggests that the longer we cling to our morals, the more susceptible we are to becoming sheep in a land of wolves.

For the week that's in it, as Ireland's premiere film podcast (are there others? we're not aware...) this week we thought we'd serve you up a bit o' the old blarney as we look at Walt Disney's 1959 celebration of Irish folklore and myth DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE  starring Albert Sharpe and Jimmy O'Dea along with some Scottish fella. From the director of MARY POPPINS and BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS, it was the film that brought a young Sean Connery to the attention of Bond producers, was wheeled out every March 16th in classrooms around the country and traumatised an entire generation of schoolchildren with a still very scary banshee. Slip through the portal with us now as we visit the realm of the wee folk, fiddle our hearts out and make three wishes, the last of which is that you have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's time for another spotlight episode kids! And as some certain Banshees of a certain Inisherin are getting such acclaim, we thought it a good excuse to look at 2012's SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS, from director Martin McDonagh and Colin Farrell, among others. Colin Farrell is Marty, a man in search of a screenplay. He has a title but no story to go along with it. His friend Billy played by Sam Rockwell makes a living by kidnapping rich people's dogs with his friend Hans (Christopher Walken) then returning them and collecting the reward. But when they kidnap the beloved pooch of a gangster (Woody Harrelson) the fur flies. Sharp dialogue, gleeful violence and a sly commentary on the state of cinema, as one character points out: “This thing’s got layers.”

We're back baby, for a whole new season in 2023 and what better way to kick things off than discussing one of the most seminal film directors of the last 50 years. A certain Stephen Allan Spielberg... perhaps you've heard of him. His new semi-kind-sorta-autobiographical film THE FABLEMANS is still in cinemas and is poised to take home a few little gold men, but whatever happens, it's undeniable that his influence on cinema has been just as epic as his films. Whether he's turned his lens on aliens, sharks, whip cracking archeologists, dinosaurs or Tom Hanks, you're guaranteed value for the price of your cinema ticket. Mister Spielberg, we salute you.

Inspired by VIOLENT NIGHT (in cinemas now) we decided to devote this year's Yuletide episode to Christmas Action Movies! And of course, if there's one of the Reel Take triumvirate who loves an actioner, it's Ross Leahy! He's hoping to spend Christmas with his estranged podcast hosts who have gone on to bigger and better things, but when a group of international thieves... I mean terrorists, they're definitely terrorists, not thieves, take over the newly opened Reel Take Podcast Tower, one man must crawl through air ducts in his bare feet to save the day. We may even get to discuss a few films. Yippee-ki-yay, melon farmers.

This week we're turning our attention to 1988's Midnight Run, a buddy action comedy in which Robert De Niro finally got the chance to fully try out his comic talents. In a cinema landscape of Lethal Weapons, Beverly Hill's Cops and 48 Hours', Midnight Run remains a forgotten gem. Director Martin Brest brings the brest out of De Niro as bounty hunter Jack Walsh, happy to subvert his tough guy persona and his quarry, deadpan master of drolery Charles Grodin as ex-mob accountant Jonathan 'The Duke' Mardukas. There's a rogues gallery of great character actors lending able support, but the show belongs to De Niro and Grodin.

One of the premiere names in film for the last 50 years, Martin Scorsese has just turned 80. So it's about time he got a little scrutiny from The Reel Take. If you think he's all about gangsters and gritty crime drama, we can't blame you. But there's a lot more to his CV than that. Unfulfilled wannabe singers no longer known at this address, yuppies who go into the wrong part of town after dark, and Emergency Medical Technician's who are haunted by their failures...and that's just scratching the surface.  Happy Birthday Marty!

Anthony Hopkins became history’s oldest best actor Oscar-winner in 2021 for his role in THE FATHER from writer/director Florian Zeller. The story of Anthony, a mischievous 80 year old, living defiantly alone and rejecting the carers that his daughter, Anne (Olivia Colman), insists he needs. Adamant that he doesn't need help, Anthony's grip on reality is unraveling. Or is he being gaslit by those closest to him. As the viewer experiences the ebb and flow of his memory, the film blends genuine fear with overwhelming sadness, and asks the question 'What is it like to grieve for a person who is still alive'.

Film: a series of static images creating the illusion of movement. And what purer form of that definition is there than animation. In many ways, it could be argued that all film is animation. A trompe l'oeil, deceiving the brain into thinking that what the eye sees is a representation of reality. If all that seems a little high-brow, it's because this week we're taking a look at animated movies aimed at adults. And if you're still worried it's a little high brow, fear not, apart from searing socio-political commentary about life in Afghanistan, and a deep examination of existential angst that makes you question if it is ever possible to relate to the world, there's also horny hot dogs, sexy buns and racial stereo-types to beat the band.

This week we're looking at Edward Norton's 2019 neo noir MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN. He produces, he directs, he stars, he adapts the original novel! No wonder people find him difficult to get on with. Based on Jonathan Lethem’s best-selling crime thriller published in 1999, Norton liked the book so much he got a copy of it before it was published, immediately bought the rights and proceeded to transplant its contemporary setting to 1950's New York. Every private detective needs a flaw and Lionel Essrog, an unlikely gumshoe with Tourette syndrome, a tic that means he will convulsively yelp disjointed phrases, is our hero as he tries to unravel the reason behind his bosses murder and gets embroiled in a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top! Forget it Lionel, it's Brooklyn-town.

This week it's order up as we get you to pull up a booth and look at those iconic movie scenes set in Diners. Whether you're a criminal cartel planning a heist, a group of muppets trying to make it big on broadway, or just a pair or friends faking an orgasm, there's no better place to sit down, grab a cuppa kwoffy and some grub and progress the plot of your movie. So sit right down and make yourself at home as we fire up the grill and get you started with a little dirty water, hold the yum yum.  

This week we turn our attention to the 1992 gem SNEAKERS. Robert Redford leads an all star team of a high-tech (for the time) hackers in this caper made in a post-cold war, pre-internet world when virtual reality was in its infancy and fears surrounding domestic surveillance and cyberwarfare were mounting. Luckily we don't need to worry about that 30 years later! So spill out all the scrabble tiles and discover the truth about 'Montereys Coast', 'My Socrates Note', 'Cootys Rat Semen' and 'Seetec Astronomy'.

Well, Guys and Ghouls, it's the most Spooktackular time of the year once more! And do you know what the most shocking thing bout this Halloween is? It's that your three terrifyingly terrible podcast hosts all have blind spots when it comes to famous horror franchises! So despite their fraidy cat hearts, they have undertakered to watch those pillars of the horror genre which they have heretofore avoided. So on this spectral special, Niall will be trying against all odds to stay away in the hopes that a certain Frederick Bartholomew Kreuger doesn't invade his dreams as he looks at A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, Ross will be learning a valuable lesson against the hazards of unsafe nail-gun use while attempting home DIY as he watches HELLRAISER and Sinead will wake up in a dingy basement bathroom, chained to the wall with a stranger and a dead body (so just a usual weekend for her) and she'll also watch SAW. Happy Halloween!

Acting! The craft!  To inhabit the soul of a character and bring it to life is a talent not granted not many. Yes, medical professionals and first responders may save lives, yes, scientists may work to discover solutions to humanity's problems... but an actor Acts! And there's nothing an actor likes more than those rare occasions when they are given a chance to give due respect to their chosen profession and portray a fellow performer. So on this week's episode we salute those sons and daughters of Thesbis who, egoless, have allowed themselves to be transformed, to become another of their calling... to perform as a performer... to act the actor! (...and scene!)

This week we're using the power of friendship to overthrow a sadistic regime and throw a spotlight on Indian Telugu-language epic action drama R.R.R. (Rise! Roar! Revolt!). Set in 1920s India, the film follows two historical figures in the resistance to the British empire: Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. They never met in real life, but this film asks, what if they did?... and what if their intimate friendship, their almost super human fighting skills and their desire for freedom lit the spark of rebellion? It's a film that goes toe to toe with the biggest Hollywood can offer, and like its two central characters, although you might think that the odds aren't in their favour, you' just might be surprised.