Each episode of The Next Reel Film Podcast is a part of a series or collection of films brought together by time, idea, or contributor. Looking to build a great watchlist? You can’t go wrong with starting on a Next Reel Series.
Our April member bonus—and Thinking Machines series closer—digs into S1M0NE, Niccol’s 2002 satirical sci-fi about a director who builds a digital actress no one can let go of.
We close out Thinking Machines with Brian and Charles—a Welsh inventor, a washing machine robot, and a father-son story that splits us right down the middle.
In our Thinking Machines series, we dig into “I Am Mother”—a post-apocalyptic sci-fi about an AI, a sealed bunker, and whether a machine that truly cares is the most dangerous kind.
We dig into Alex Garland’s tense, unsettling Ex Machina — a Thinking Machines entry about consciousness, creation, and who’s really running the test.
In our Thinking Machines series, we dig into Spike Jonze’s Her—AI love, a voice-only performance that works completely, and why this film feels truer every year.
We dig into John Badham’s WarGames for our March member bonus episode—the AI that learns, the script that sidesteps, and the film that actually changed federal law. Thinking Machines series.
We dig into Donald Cammell’s Demon Seed, the Thinking Machines series entry where AI gets personal—hubris, a smart home turned prison, Julie Christie, and a genuinely bonkers ending.
The machine does exactly what we designed—and that’s the problem. We dig into “Colossus: The Forbin Project,” the Thinking Machines series opener about Cold War AI and the danger of indifference.