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

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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

We're back from an unplanned hiatus, with M Night's latest film, TRAP! And apologies in advance: Nathan's audio quality is a bit poor, due to a technical slight that ended up in him recording on the wrong microphone. I did my best but I'm no audio engineer, so I thank you in advance for your patience over the next couple of episodes as we get that rectified. I promise: it's all the same great content and commentary you come to expect!

TRAP (2024)
directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
starring: Josh Hartnett - Ariel Donoghue - Saleka - Alison Pill
genres: horror - thriller - crime
runtime: 105 min The Film: Letterboxd - IMDb - TMDb

https://reelfilmchronicles.com

We were long overdue for another episode featuring fan and podcast-favourite Nic Cage, and what better film for discussion than the much anticipated LONGLEGS? We're going to give a quick rundown of recent Nic Cage films, as well as director Osgood Perkins filmography before we jump headfirst into the feature film. We have lots to say for a film with lots of genres - we think there's a little something for everyone here. Get yourself comfortable and listen in!

Also, go watch the movie first! We don't hold back on spoilers in our discussion (we give plenty of warning in the episode).

Longlegs (2024)

directed by: Osgood Perkins

starring: Maika Monroe - Nicolas Cage - Blair Underwood - Alicia Witt

genres: horror - crime - thriller

runtime: 101 min

REEL FILM CHRONICLES

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Possibly the first western film we've covered on the podcast, and who better than to guide us into the genre than Kevin Costner, with his latest ambitious multi-part movie project? We give a quick rundown of Costner's acting and directorial efforts, and our experiences with the western genre before we kick our spurs and discuss the movie at length - which is mostly what we enjoyed about the film.

* Spoiler warning given during the episode, but we don't hold back during our conversation here. *

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024)

directed by: Kevin Costner

starring: Kevin Costner - Sienna Miller - Sam Worthington - Jena Malone - Owen Crow Shoe

genres: western

runtime: 181 minutes Website: Reel Film Chronicles

Movie Links: Letterboxd - IMDb - TMDB