Listen, over here at the Reel Film Chronicles, we adore a good super hero movie. We're instinctively drawn to them - every theatrical release, each direct to streaming movie - but we're getting a bit worn out. Superhero fatigue, Disney+ MCU series, etc. We've got a lot to say about the industry, what's grinding our gears, but also what we really enjoy. With a focus on the newest Captain America movie, we find light within the dark, and I say this simply because I really haven't seen any positive discussions about the movie. Well, in this podcast episode we nearly get there.

Regardless, this was a fun one to do, and we hope you forgive us for the long hiatus. I promise we have more episodes in progress and a loose plan to record some more soon. Thanks for listening and supporting us!

Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

Directed by: Julius Onah

Starring: Anthony Mackie - Harrison Ford - Danny Ramirez - Shira Haas - Tim Blake Nelson

Genres: science fiction - action - thriller

Runtime: 119 minutes

Our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Reel Film Chronicles⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Nathan's Site: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Feed the Voices⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Episode 93

Captain America: Brave New World

Because we exist now in a purgatory between reality and unreality and all original thought has been expunged, filtered out through a cosmic sieve that we can neither perceive nor define, we are now subject to a neverending cavalcade of remakes, reboots, reminaginings, and sequels. Gladiator II is not just a legacy sequel to an Oscar-winning film that has become revered among fans and critics alike; it is yet another herald of the New Age, in which our collective consciousness is only capable of telling stories that have already been told and consuming those same stories again, and again, and again in an endless cycle until the heat death of this universe and our reabsorption into the next link in the Great Chain of Being. Fortunately for us, some of those stories are told by Ridley Scott and are still spectacles worthy of the big screen. Gladiator II is a direct sequel to Gladiator, catching us up on the state of the Roman Empire since the heroic General Maximus gave his life to bring down a corrupt leader and provide a glimmer of hope for the oppressed and the outcast. As always, Ridley Scott has his finger on the pulse, and shows that Maximus' sacrifice led to... the rise of not one but two insane Emperors drunk on their own power and slowly destroying their own empire. But a new her will arise in Hanno, a warrior who is enslaved and forced to fight as a gladiator but who secretly holds the power to overthrow the empire... Listen, if you've seen the first one you know the drill, but you also know the old saying; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you have the constitution, then journey with The Reel Film Chronicles into this fantasy world that vaguely resembles ancient Rome to see if the second time really is the charm and whether Gladiator II answers the age-old question that echoes in eternity: Are you not entertained?

GLADIATOR II (2024)

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Starring: Paul Mescal - Denzel Washington - Pedro Pascal - Connie Nielsen

Genres: drama - action - adventure

Runtime: 148 minutes

Our Website: ⁠⁠⁠Reel Film Chronicles⁠⁠⁠

Our Letterboxd Profiles: ⁠⁠⁠Brian⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Nathan⁠⁠⁠

Nathan's Site: ⁠⁠⁠Feed the Voices⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠ ⁠| ⁠⁠⁠IMDb⁠⁠⁠

Episode 92

Gladiator 2

Will they be, though? Will they? We confirm that things WILL be different, as your intrepid hosts delve into a time-twisty lo-fi sci-fi thriller that focuses on two siblings hiding from the law in a house that seems to exist outside our regular time. Yeah, it's a great concept and honestly, a pretty great film, especially if you're into these kind of indie concept films. With some great performances and intriguing story that's rife with meaning, Things Will be Different is a film that's worthy of your time. So check it out, then swing back to our discussion on the movie, which, I guess, is no different than our other episodes in terms of the format we follow, but still, the conversation is good, and we appreciate your company.

THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT (2024)

Directed by: Michael Felker

Starring: Adam David Thompson - Riley Dandy

Genres: science-fiction - thriller - horror

Runtime: 102 minutes

Our Website: ⁠⁠Reel Film Chronicles⁠⁠

Our Letterboxd Profiles: ⁠⁠Brian⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Nathan⁠⁠

Nathan's Site: ⁠⁠Feed the Voices⁠⁠

⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠IMDb⁠⁠

Episode 91

The lights dim. The curtains rise. A murmur passes through the room, the residual sound of a thousand voices going silent. The stage is set. A street from another century. A lamppost that would make Gene Kelly feel right at home. A series of storefronts with nothing behind them but a skeleton of two-by-fours. Then there he is, appearing as though by magic. Joaquin Phoenix. In his full Joker makeup. As he starts into a passionate musical number, bellowing his emotions to the back of the room and beginning a highly choreographed dance number, two thoughts cross your mind: 1) Joaquin Phoenix truly is one of the greatest performers of our generation and 2) What the hell is he doing in your kid's school play? Mr. Phoenix is definitely not out of place in Joker: Folie à Deux, Todd Phillips' follow up to his smash hit Joker, which took the box office by storm back in 2019, earning nearly $1 billion for Warner Bros. Joker 2? Let's say its contributions to Warner Bros.' portfolio were more... aspirational than financial. In a genre-bending twist, Phillips and Phoenix take superhero movies into a new realm with the help of Lady Gaga, introducing the world to the first musical superhero blockbuster movie of the modern era. Taking a sharp left turn from where most audiences thought about the trajectory of the character and world, the team behind the second Joker movie instead decided to try something completely different with the character and the genre. Whether or not that new direction worked for you (and based purely on box office numbers, odds are that it did not) is a matter of taste. Either way, Joker: Folie à Deux is nothing if not a bold vision, and your intrepid hosts at The Reel Film Chronicles have gallantly sallied forth to explore the deranged minds at the heart of of this film and the characters they've created on screen for our twisted amusement.

JOKER: FOLIE à DEUX (2024)

directed by: Todd Phillips

starring: Joaquin Phoenix - Lady Gaga - Brendan Gleeson - Catherine Keener

runtime: 138 minutes

Our Website: ⁠Reel Film Chronicles⁠

Our Letterboxd Profiles: ⁠Brian⁠ | ⁠Nathan⁠

Nathan's Site: ⁠Feed the Voices⁠

⁠Letterboxd⁠ | ⁠IMDb⁠

episode 90

Never before would one have considered the inoffensive little cuckoo as a symbol of death, destruction, and parasitic infection. But thanks to writer-director Tilman Singer, now that's all you'll ever associate with them every time you think about those cute little birds, which I have to assume is at least once an hour. You know, like most normal people. Cuckoo is a movie that explores what it means to be part of a family as well as the potential consequences of what it might mean if another species of human beings evolved alongside our own. Two totally normal thoughts that most people grapple with at least once in the normal course of their lives. While historically, most people go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, in this episode your intrepid hosts go cuckoo for horror stuff, as the Reel Film Chronicles explores the meaning of life, the universe, and brood parasitism in our typically analytical and well-researched review of 2024's Cuckoo.

Nathan's Full Review on Cuckoo

CUCKOO (2024)

directed by: Tilman Singer

starring: Hunter Schafer | Jan Bluthardt | Marton Csokas | Jessica Henwick | Dan Stevens

runtime: 103 minutes

Our Website: Reel Film Chronicles

Our Letterboxd Profiles: Brian | Nathan

Nathan's Site: Feed the Voices

Letterboxd | IMDb

episode 89

For every action there is a reaction; for every yin, a yang; for every Casino Royale, a Quantum of Solace. And so in conjunction with our Top 10 of 2024 episode, we must also release our Bottom 5 of 2024, and so maintain balance in the universe and prevent the untimely destruction of existence due to a variance in the fabric of space time itself. It's all in good fun as the Reel Film Chronicles cover their picks for movies in 2024 that missed the mark despite lofty narrative ambitions, suffered from an excess of studio interference, or just seemed like they were put together for some kind of tax write off. These are merely the opinions of some casual movie fans, so as always, we recommend not taking any opinions offered herein as having any kind of authority whatsoever and invite you to make up your own minds. Reel Film Chronicles

You are, perhaps, never more acutely aware of the apparent injustice woven into the fabric of the universe than when you love a movie everyone else hates or hate a movie everybody else loves. Welcome back once again for the Reel Film Chronicles yearly tradition of reviewing our top 10 movies of the previous calendar year. In this case, your intrepid hosts each run down their top 10 movies of 2024. The suspense is palpable and the stakes couldn't be higher as they try to unravel the ultimate mystery: Do they agree on their favourite movies of 2024? And perhaps even more mysterious: Do YOU agree on their picks? So follow along fellow movie fans, both hardcore and casual, as we explore some of the finest works of cinema to grace our screens, both large and small, in 2024. Perhaps you'll discover a new hidden gem, or perhaps you can just rage listen and revel in our wrongness. Either way, you're in for a good time. So tune in and embark with the Reel Film Chronicles on the next step of your film journey.Reel Film Chronicles

This year marks the 85th anniversary of everyone's favourite comic book hero. So here we are, a bit behind (as per usual) with an episode where we revisit - complete with nostalgia glasses - Tim Burton's BATMAN from 1989!

Apologies again for the audio quality - we have one more episode left in the bank where we were afflicted by this condition, but then it's back to the usual "stellar" sound you've come to expect. Well, nearly there at least.

Batman (1989)

directed by: Tim Burton

starring: Michael Keaton - Michael Keaton - Kim Basinger

genres: action - fantasy - crime - superhero

runtime: 126min