At this point in horror-movie history — hell, in American history — trace elements of Stephen King linger in every breath. In 2019, the setup to one of his film adaptations feels as familiar in our cinematic language as a vanload of horny teens headed to a remote cabin, or a group of misfit baseball […]
Author Archives: Chance Solem-Pfeifer
More Illegal Than Fiction
With our dear Noah and several thousand writers visiting Portland for AWP ’19 last week, we cracked the spine live and in-person on a related podcast category: the writer as forger, as plagiarist, as literary Danny Ocean. This time out, Be Reel reviews “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (2018), “The Hoax” (2007) and “Secret Window” […]
Don’t Hurt Yourself: ‘Us’ Challenges, Rewards What You Want From a ‘Get Out’ Follow-Up
Two years in the rear view and seemingly not one day undiscussed, Get Out was driven by a paradox — a paradox that fueled its status as a box office, film essay, theatrical experience, awards season, memeified phenomenon. Jordan Peele’s 2017 directorial debut was packed with meaning and symbolism that was also really only interpretable […]
Operation Cha-Ching
War is hell, but $50 million sure takes the sting out of it. This week, we watch Netflix’s latest big swing, “Triple Frontier“, and discuss the movie genre mashup that is military heists. David O. Russell’s “Three Kings” and the 1970 Clint Eastwood epic “Kelly’s Heroes” round out the category. “Be Reel” is brought to […]
When Liaisons Get Dangerous
The rich are monsters, and Noah and Chance are watching three movies based on the scandalous French novel “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.” Don’t know it? That’s fine. You might know “Cruel Intentions,” the now-20-year-old teen movie it inspired, as well as the 1988 Oscar contender “Dangerous Liaisons,” starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. We watched a […]
Winning Noah’s Office Oscars Pool (For Real This Time)
Last year, we got absolutely crushed in Noah’s Oscar pool. This year is different. Tune in for our 2019 Oscars guide, featuring some level-headed awards talk, Noah explaining his love for “The Wife”, and a podcast interruption for the ages. This episode is brought to you by California College of the Arts’ MFA in Writing Program.
A Game On Top Of A Game
[Editor’s note: This episode is brought you by California College of the Arts MFA in Writing Program, and the pre-review below was written last week in advance of High Flying Bird’s release.] For being more examined now than literally any moment before this exact moment (happy NBA trade deadline day), sports are relatively still unexamined in […]
The Best Of ‘Mean Gene’ Hackman
Gene Hackman may be happily retired, but the same can’t be said for your trusty hosts. We’re still breaking down three movies a pop, and this week, we celebrate the all-time great actor’s 89th birthday by looking at three of his iconic villain/antagonist roles: “Superman: The Movie” (1978), “Unforgiven” (1992) and “The Firm” (1993). Be […]
M. Night Shyamalan’s Cinematic Universe
Chance and Noah try to make sense of M. Night Shyamalan’s Eastrail 177 trilogy beginning with 2000’s Unbreakable, picking up steam with 2017’s Split, and culminating in the new ostensibly thoughtful comic-book riff Glass. Zach Vasquez joins the show (at the 50-minute mark) to talk about his new Guardian essay on deconstructionism ruling the super-hero film boom and why […]
Thrillers In A Box
The mid-winter dumping ground of movies gives Be Reel a chance to examine the weird, medium-budget genre fare Hollywood throws at the wall, as well as some of the better movies that set the table. On this episode, we unbox the newly released “Escape Room,” plus two of its thrilling enclosed-space predecessors in 2002’s “Panic […]