The Next Reel Film Podcast
Wag the Dog
We continue our Smoke & Mirrors series with Wag the Dog, unpacking the machine that manufactures a war to save a president’s re-election bid.
August 27, 2026
For all you proper film enthusiasts who would like to peruse the films of TruStory FM’s entertainment podcasts by release year. Get ready for a firehose of film history in these here stacks.
We continue our Smoke & Mirrors series with Wag the Dog, unpacking the machine that manufactures a war to save a president’s re-election bid.
We wrap up our series covering the 1998 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture Nominees with George Tillman Jr.’s Soul Food. Does he deliver the sentimental and heartwarming family drama he intended? And how hungry does it make us? Tune in!
We continue our 1997 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress nominees series with a conversation about Theodore Witcher’s only film, Love Jones. Is it a first film with questionable casting decisions, unbelievable dialogue, and badly paced editing? Or is it a good example of what romantic comedy dramas are supposed to be with enjoyable characters and a great ending?
The members have spoken and decided that, instead of a good film with real possible options for an alternate 1998 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress, we should talk about Mark A.Z. Dippé’s Spawn, based on Todd MacFarlane’s comics. Poor Theresa Randle. Still, it makes for a fun conversation!
We continue our series looking at the nominees at the 1998 NAACP Image Awards for Oustanding Lead Actress, this time delving into our first Quentin Tarantino film on the show, his fantastic Jackie Brown. Lots to love and lots to discuss!
We kick off our series looking at the 1998 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Actress nominees, starting with the brilliant Eve’s Bayou, Kasi Lemmons’ first film. Haunting, beautiful film worthy of a discussion. Check it out and tune in!
Why does over-the-top John Voight work so well here? Do anacondas really get to be this big? Does it work as a B-creature feature? Tune in to this week’s show to get answers to these questions and more!
Can a comedic film set during the Holocaust work? Does Benigni pull off the hat trick everyone thought he did back in 1998? Why is it hard to make a film that’s a fable? Tune in to this week’s show to get answers to these questions and more!
Living in exile and still hoping to return to Tibet one day, the Dalai Lama’s life story was one of interest to screenwriter Melissa Mathison who asked him if she could write about him. This eventually led to the biopic Kundun. Join us as we wrap up our Melissa Mathison series with Martin Scorsese’s 1997 film Kundun.
Hayao Miyazaki has always had a strong relationship with nature that he’s portrayed in a number of his films, but nowhere has it grown as dark as it did in his 1997 film Princess Mononoke. While an animated film, the level of violence is very high and the themes are much more adult than his previous films and while he hasn’t returned to such dark films since, it’s clear that this was an important step in his storytelling and how his films look at the relationship between man and nature.