Author Archives: Chance Solem-Pfeifer

And your lower-case hosts said, “Let there be Passover Pod.” This Passover, Noah and Chance watch three Hollywood adaptations of the Moses story: “The Ten Commandments” (1956), “The Prince of Egypt” (1998) and “Exodus: Gods and Kings” (2014). It’s eight hours of plagues and partings, as we pass judgment on epic Exodus, animated Exodus and […]

In the amnesia puzzler’s golden age (1996-2001), blank-slate protagonists from Christopher Nolan, David Lynch and Shane Black generated their own stories. In every case, these histories ended up rosier and nobler than the depraved violence just beneath the surfaces of “Memento” (2001), “Mulholland Drive” (2001) and “The Long Kiss Goodnight” (1996). So let’s retrace our […]

Decades before he carried Batman’s breakfast and launched a thousand Cockney impersonations, Michael Caine mostly played transgressors. In late-60s and early 70s films like ALFIE, GET CARTER and THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, Caine brought a streetwise intelligence to a gallery of anti-social rogues: philanderers, killers and colonialists. Ahead of Caine’s 88th birthday, Noah […]

Former actor Kasi Lemmons has charted her own cinematic path since tiring of “best friend” roles in mid-90s. The versatile director of “Eve’s Bayou” (1997), “Talk To Me” (2007), and “Harriet” (2019) has gradually cultivated a fascinating directorial career. To discuss this pioneering Black female filmmaker and genre-agnostic dramatist, we’re thrilled to be joined by […]

On Valentine’s Day, “The Silence of the Lambs” celebrated 30 years of haunting imaginations and changing serial-killer cinema forever. On this week’s Be Reel, Noah and Chance appreciate the many inimitable qualities of Jonathan Demme’s 1991 classic before exploring the full menu of Thomas Harris adaptations: “Manhunter” (1986), “Hannibal” (2001), and “Hannibal Rising” (2007).

Alan J. Pakula was an under-celebrated voice in 1970s American cinema. Most famous for “All the President’s Men,” Pakula built a career focused on rule-breakers and the vast conspiracies they untangle. With Criterion Collection releasing “The Parallax View” (1974) this month, Be Reel takes the opportunity to dive into Pakula’s conspiracy/mystery standouts, focusing on “The […]

Dolly Parton is a true American icon. For her 75th birthday, we revisit the country superstar and EGOT nominee’s three most significant film roles in “9 to 5” (1980), “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (1982), and “Steel Magnolias” (1989). In each, Parton embodies a heightened yet classical definition of America: she’s outspoken, loyal, gun-toting, […]

On December 12, a man called David Cornwell passed away in the English countryside. He was 89 and worked under the alias John le Carré, a pen name that added a mysterious and sophisticated aura to 60 years of spy novels that were often quietly hellbent on demystifying the very genre he mastered. In his honor, […]

As we end a truly extraordinary movie year, Be Reel dives into the work of seven directors who made their marks and cemented their voices in 2020. 3:00- Leigh Whannell (“The Invisible Man”) 9:45 – Kitty Green (“The Assistant”) 17:20 – Jason Hehir (“The Last Dance”) 25:15 – Garrett Bradley (“Time”) 36:40 – Sean Durkin […]