Oct 01 2013

Episode 8 – The Thin Man

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The Thin ManFor our newest episode, we enjoy the glorious duo of William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man. If you have never watched this booze soaked noir/comedy, you should definitely check it out and then listen to our podcast.  It is hard to deny this is one of the great treats of classic cinema.  And William Powell is an actor who definitely needs to be enjoyed as often as humanly possible.

And hey – on the podcast, Tim says that we’ll be doing our next recording live at the Parkway theatre on the 7th of October.  Then later, he says the 10th!  Which is it?????

It’s the 10th.  Thursday the 10th.  Mark your calendars!  We’ll be watching Rear Window!

The Thin Man (1934)
The Thin Man poster Rating: 7.9/10 (34,049 votes)
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Writer: Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, Dashiell Hammett
Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan
Runtime: 91 min
Rated: TV-PG
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Released: 25 May 1934
Plot: Former detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it.

Sep 15 2013

Episode 7 – Breakfast at Tiffany’s

, with special guest:

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Breakfast at Tiffany'sWe actually got to watch this week’s movie in a movie theatre!  Pepitos Parkway Theatre was kind enough to host a live recording of our podcast on Monday, September 9th.  A small but vocal group joined us to enjoy Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard and Cat in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s!”  We also had to ask the logical question: what the heck is with Mickey Rooney in this movie? And by that we mean: seriously – what the heck is with Mickey Rooney in this movie????

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Breakfast at Tiffany's poster Rating: 7.5/10 (199,916 votes)
Director: Blake Edwards
Writer: Truman Capote, George Axelrod
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal
Runtime: 115 min
Rated: Approved
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Released: 06 Oct 1961
Plot: A young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.

Sep 01 2013

Episode 6 – The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

, with special guest:

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The 7th Voyage of SinbadYes, we know that we really should have waited for The 7th Voyage of Sinbad until episode 7 but it didn’t happen that way.  Get over it.  We recorded this episode approximately one week after special effects Genius Ray Harryhausen passed away.  Jena, as usual, had absolutely no knowledge of the film or of Harryhausen.  This was a problem Tim and Melissa gleefully solved.  As a bonus, both Tim and Melissa have stories about actually meeting Ray Harryhausen!  Envy us!

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad poster Rating: 7.0/10 (15,847 votes)
Director: Nathan Juran
Writer: Ken Kolb, Ray Harryhausen
Stars: Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer
Runtime: 88 min
Rated: G
Genre: Action, Adventure, Family
Released: 23 Dec 1958
Plot: When a princess is shrunken by an evil wizard, Sinbad must undertake a quest to an island of monsters to cure her and prevent a war.

Aug 19 2013

A Reel Education goes social!

After some digital dabbling, we have set up a few more ways to keep up with A Reel Education!

Enjoy!

Aug 16 2013

A Reel Education LIVE on September 9th!

Breakfast at Tiffany's

That’s right! A Reel Education will be recording an episode LIVE at the Parkway Theater on September 9th, 2013! With this live recording session, you will also get to enjoy the wonderful Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the 1961 classic starring Audrey Hepburn!

Not only are tickets a mere five bucks, but if you bring a friend… they get in FREE! That’s right! It’s a 2-for-1 deal where you and a buddy can see Breakfast at Tiffany’s on the big screen for five tiny dollars!

In addition, The Parkway Theater is a great venue in the heart of South Minneapolis. The theater is partnered with Pepito’s, the Mexican restaurant next door, so you can actually eat Mexican food and drink beer in the theater. How cool is that?

It’s so cool that you want to join us! (…and spread the word about this awesome event!)

A Reel Education LIVE featuring Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Monday, September 9th
Intro at 7:15 PM, film at 7:30 PM. Podcast continues after the film.

The Parkway Theater
4814 Chicago Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55417

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Breakfast at Tiffany's poster Rating: 7.5/10 (199,916 votes)
Director: Blake Edwards
Writer: Truman Capote, George Axelrod
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal
Runtime: 115 min
Rated: Approved
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Released: 06 Oct 1961
Plot: A young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.

Aug 15 2013

Episode 5 – The Road Warrior

, with special guest: ,

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The Road WarriorOur last episode was about the soaring greatness of Lawrence of Arabia.  A great movie it is but we figured that we needed to have a little more fun.  This episode, we watched Mad Max 2, which is better known as The Road Warrior.  Many cars were wrecked.  Very few lines were delivered. Awesomeness was achieved.  We were joined by Melissa’s friend Fes Works to enjoy this fine example of 80’s post apocalyptic action.

Our September 1st episode will be a tribute to the late Ray Harryhausen as we watch The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad!

The Road Warrior (1981)
The Road Warrior poster Rating: 7.6/10 (209,544 votes)
Director: George Miller
Writer: Terry Hayes, George Miller, Brian Hannant
Stars: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston
Runtime: 96 min
Rated: R
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Released: 21 May 1982
Plot: In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community get rid of a horde of bandits.

Aug 01 2013

Episode 4 – Lawrence of Arabia

, with special guest:

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Lawrence of ArabiaHoly crap!  This movie is so long we had to split this episode into three parts! Lawrence of Arabia is an undisputed classic no matter what the length so Melissa and Tim couldn’t wait to show it to Jena.  There is significant geeking about the score, the flimmaking and Peter O’Toole.  If you have never seen this movie, you have missed one of the great pleasures of film geekdom.  Don’t let yourself miss out for too much longer!

Our next episode will be out on August 15th and we’ll be watching The Road Warrior!

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Lawrence of Arabia poster Rating: 8.3/10 (334,419 votes)
Director: David Lean
Writer: Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson
Stars: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn
Runtime: 227 min
Rated: PG
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama
Released: 02 Apr 2013
Plot: The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.

Jul 15 2013

Episode 3 – Argo

, with special guest:

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ArgoWe don’t want to be accused of only watching old movies so for this episode, we focused on the 2012 Academy Award winner for Best Picture – Argo!  Not only has Jena never seen the movie, she has no first hand memories of the historical event upon which it was based! Not only does she get to learn about the movie, but she also gets to learn about something that happened.  Well…if you ignore all the stuff that isn’t actually true.

Our next podcast will be on August 1st and we’ll be talking about Lawrence of Arabia!

Argo (2012)
Argo poster Rating: 7.7/10 (658,145 votes)
Director: Ben Affleck
Writer: Chris Terrio, Tony Mendez, Joshuah Bearman
Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman
Runtime: 120 min
Rated: R
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Released: 12 Oct 2012
Plot: Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.

Jul 01 2013

Episode 2 – Singin’ in the Rain

, with special guest:

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Singin' in the RainFor our second episode, our permanent co-host Melissa Kaercher joins the party to enjoy one of the greatest movie musicals ever made – Singin’ in the Rain.  We don’t know how Jena managed to go this long without experiencing “Make ’em Laugh” but that horrible oversight has now been rectified.  Enjoy the episode and remember to jauntily tip your cap to Gene Kelly!

And keep an ear out for our next episode on the 15th of July when we look at 2012 Best Picture, Argo.

Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Singin' in the Rain poster Rating: 8.3/10 (275,331 votes)
Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Writer: Betty Comden, Adolph Green
Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
Runtime: 103 min
Rated: G
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Romance
Released: 10 Apr 1952
Plot: A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.

Jun 16 2013

Episode 1 – Casablanca

, with special guest:

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CasablancaWelcome to the inaugural episode of our podcast! This podcast will follow our attempts to  educate Jena Young on the great films that she hasn’t seen yet. Or, occasionally, just the ones she doesn’t remember.  This week’s episode was recorded before co-host Melissa Kaercher became a co-host so Tim Wick educates Jena all on his own.  If you didn’t suss it out from the title, we start with one of Tim’s favorite films – Casablanca.  To open the podcast, Jena tells us everything she knows about the movie she is about to see.  Then we take a break to watch the movie. If you really feel like playing along, you can watch it too!  Then we come back and discuss the movie.  We hope you enjoy our first podcast and keep coming back for more!

Casablanca (1942)
Casablanca poster Rating: 8.5/10 (640,770 votes)
Director: Michael Curtiz
Writer: Philip G. Epstein, Julius J. Epstein, Howard Koch
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
Runtime: 102 min
Rated: PG
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Released: 23 Jan 1943
Plot: A cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.