Quarantine

March 28, 2014
The Next Reel • Season 3 • Series: Found Footage • Quarantine

For many audience members, found footage films are just an opportunity to film a horror story on the cheap and don’t bring anything to the table. There are films, however, that work to use the filmmaking style to their advantage in exploring different ways to tell their stories. Sure, it’s a conceit, but if you buy into it, it can make for a fun style of storytelling. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we begin our Found Footage Series with John Erick Dowdle’s 2008 film “Quarantine.”

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A League of Their Own

March 20, 2014

Tom Hanks and baseball — they go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Aside from always wanting to be an astronaut, Hanks has always been a great baseball fan and eagerly jumped at the chance to be in Penny Marshall’s 1992 film about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The film is a crowd pleaser and drew in the crowds when it was released, which was great because it shined a light on an aspect of sports history that had sadly been largely forgotten. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we finish our Tom Hanks series with a dip back into our spring Baseball series of past years.

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Apollo 13

March 14, 2014

Tom Hanks already won his back-to-back Oscars and with an ensemble film like “Apollo 13,” he wasn’t a clear choice to get nominated again to make a three-peat a possibility. All of that aside, as anyone on the cast or crew who worked on the film knows — as well as anyone who saw the film — he was clearly born to play an astronaut. He reunited with Ron Howard on the making of this amazing film dealing with one of the worst space disasters the world has ever seen, and even though everyone knew what happened, it was a compelling piece of cinema. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Tom Hanks series with “Apollo 13.”

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Forrest Gump

March 7, 2014

Forrest Gump broke all sorts of box office records when it was released in the summer of 1994, which may be why people spent a lot of time digging into what they thought the film was really saying, even if it’s not what the filmmakers were actually saying. At its heart, it’s a character story about people struggling to find their paths in life, and looking back on it 20 years later, it’s still an absolutely beautiful film. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Tom Hanks series with Robert Zemeckis’ Oscar-winning film, “Forrest Gump.”

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Splash

February 28, 2014

In the late 70s and early 80s, Disney Pictures had been getting grief for releasing films that were too adult. When “Splash” came along, they decided to create a new label for releasing more adult fare. And thus, Touchstone Pictures was born! On top of that, the film was such a success that it pushed its star, Tom Hanks, and director, Ron Howard, up toward the upper echelons of the Hollywood elite. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we begin our Tom Hanks series near the beginning of his career with “Splash.”

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Inception

February 21, 2014

It’s a sad state to consider that Christopher Nolan had to fight to get money to make “Inception” because it wasn’t a sequel, based on a comic book, a remake, or something similar. It was purely an original script about a wild inverted heist taking place inside someone’s dreams. It’s a marvel of a film, and we conclude our latest Original Sci-Fi series with this non-benevolent alien movie, Nolan’s 2010 film, “Inception.”

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The Abyss

February 14, 2014

When the extended trailer for James Cameron’s 1989 undersea scifi spectacular, “The Abyss,” was released, it set the stage for an epic film that promised to deliver “Aliens” underwater. When the film was released, it received good reviews and earned its money back, but wasn’t what people expected. But 3 years later, Cameron was able to return to it and release an extended version with nearly 30 minutes of new material, including an extended ending. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Original SciFi series with “The Abyss.”

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Close Encounters of the Third Kind

February 7, 2014

In 1977, Devil’s Tower went from being known as the first National Monument (for those who had actually heard of it) to the iconographic image marking the rendezvous point where the aliens want to meet the humans in Steven Spielberg’s third theatrical film, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The release and success of the movie saw visits to the monument skyrocket, which shows the power in Spielberg’s film. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we jump back into our Original SciFi series with this fantastic entry into the genre.

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In the Mood for Love

January 31, 2014

Wong Kar-Wai’s sumptuous film “In the Mood for Love” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000 and, while it lost the Palm d’Or, it left an indelible impression on everyone who saw it. A story of a connection between a man and woman who learn their spouses are having an affair, the film deals with their growing friendship as they help each other come to terms with the infidelity. In the process, they also struggle with their own draw to each other. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we discuss the first of our Listener’s Choice films.

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Richard Dysart: A Special Next Reel Interview

January 30, 2014

Richard Dysart is one of those faces that you instantly recognize. He’s acted on the stage, on the movie screen and on the TV screen most of his life. This week, he sits down with Pete and Andy to talk about a decades-long career on the big screen and small.

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