Episódios

  • It’s that time again, a new season is here. Lend us your shitty little ears for the premiere of Season 8: Mario Van Melvin. This exploration of Mario and Melvin Van Peebles will once again find your hosts discussing a range of genres and exploring the myriad sins and shortcomings of Hollywood gatekeeping.

    Episode 1 focuses on the lone co-directorial effort from one of cinema’s few father-son directing pairs: Gang in Blue. It’s an ultra-timely story of police brutality and systemic racism, featuring white supremacist antics that look all too familiar in 2020. The boys welcome Danny Benson of the Not So Macho Fans podcast who offers an overview of the elder Van Peebles’ career as well as his thoughts on this intermittently thrilling made-for-tv drama.

    Reel Rap Recommends

    A.) a film from the same year as the film discussed on mic

    B.) a film featuring one of the same actors as the film discussed on mic

    C.) a film that’s connected to the film discussed on mic in some other way

    A.) Scream (1996, dir. Wes Craven)

    It might be my favorite horror movie. You don’t like it? Well I guess you don’t like thrills, spills, and chills. All of the sequels are good too.

    B.) Nixon (1995, dir. Oliver Stone) ft. J.T. Walsh

    Folks, it’s a goddamned shame that we’re being subjected to Adam McKay’s bullshit while Oliver Stone is still with us. Nixon is one of those three-hour-plus movies that I could watch every day.

    C.) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013, dir. Martin Scorsese) ft. a reference to Grenada

    One of the lawyers prosecuting Jordan Belfort refers to him as “a Grenada.” He means that Belfort doesn’t stand a chance in court. The same actor shows up in The Irishman and The Trial of the Chicago 7. Besides maybe the guy from Burn Notice, I don’t think there’s ever been someone with a more insufferable face. In WoWS, it’s nearly (but not quite) enough to make you root for Belfort.

    Annotations and Apologies

    * Eternal apologies to Danny for getting the name of his podcast wrong.

    * Bennett used the term “neck-bearded” to describe the roving bands of white trash who “defended” Fishtown back in June. This was not only inaccurate, but completely insulting to all of the fine neck-bearded people in Philadelphia and across this country.

    Meanwhile . . .

    On the latest Patreon-exclusive episode, the boys discuss Kelly Reichardt’s 2013 masterpiece Night Moves.

    Give the Gift of Reel Rap

    Why not share Reel Rap with the Reelheads in your life?

    Become a Reelhead

    What are you waiting for?



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com
  • A Brief History of Reel Rap

    Shane and Bennett started Reel Rap in the summer of 2017. Bennett became a professional podcaster and a “Chicken Guy” at the local supermarket on the same day. In Boston, Shane was growing mushrooms in his apartment and was oft mistaken for a mentally ill escapee of the local hospital, moonlighting as a barback at an upscale hotel bar.

    Reel Rap has its origins in the middlebrow fare that most filmgoers have forgotten. Bennett and Shane have shared formative film experiences, but they haven’t centered on blockbusters and big hits. On the big screen (the Silver), the boys have paid to see slop like The Descendants and nodded politely side by side. On the small screen (the silver), they’ve idly yipped and hollered through all manner of would-be Oscar bait and mid-budget action movies.

    The first season found the boys working in familiar middlebrow territory. A fascination with How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) led to their snout-to-tail look at the career of Ron Howard and stretched over more than a year. After focusing on Hollywood’s nicest guy, they pivoted with a season on one of its absolute worst. Mel Gibson provided the perfect opportunity to settle on a theme. After all, he represents the actor-turned-director at their most grandiose.

    Actors-turned-directors (more on them below) have provided Reel Rap with opportunities to discuss some of Hollywood’s biggest Ls as well as their own personal shortcomings. They’ve also discussed some of the great works of American independent cinema, some foreign gems, and even the rare transcendent Hollywood effort.

    To recap, here’s where the boys have tracked their mud-soaked galoshes:

    * Season 1: Screwball Right Down the Middle of the Plate: The Films of Ron Howard

    * Season 2: God’s Angry, Racist Man: Mel Gibson the Director

    * Season 3: Cassavetes v. Cassavetes

    * Season 4: A Chip on His Shoulder and a Song in His Heart: Jon Favreau’s Hollywood

    * Season 5: A Rich Diet: Sofia Coppola’s Substantive Style

    * Season 6: Nichols & May & Reel & Rap

    * Season 7: Pardon My French! It’s the Complete Works of Jacques Tati!

    That’s not including one-offs, holiday specials, and other miscellaneous episodes.

    Today, Shane rarely watches movies and Bennett only watches movies. It’s a match made in hog heaven. They’ve covered good movies (Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, A Star is Born, the works of John Cassavetes and Sofia Coppola), they’ve covered bad movies (The Grinch, The Dilemma, the works of Nick Cassavetes), but mostly they’ve covered anonymous movies. Some of the best episodes of Reel Rap episodes focus on movies that no one has thought about — let alone discussed at length — in years or decades. Subscribing to Reel Rap is an opportunity to hear the definitive conversations on films like Ransom, Charlie Wilson’s War, and The Man Without a Face.

    Hit the button above to hear the latest episode of Reel Rap. This time around, the boys provide a quick overview of their shared history and reflect on the show’s past, present, and future.

    A Poem for Reel Heads

    By Shane

    Grand theft and the heat’s on, mayors

    And Everyone showing their ass

    Tom Cruise too. Washed up before he’s in the wash tub

    No weeping for Willow, and Gung Ho to those

    Who narrowly adored Howard’s ransom, over our hearts

    There is no evidence of survivors, drafts of backdraft hopelessly hopefully

    Burned. His studio imagines and breathes moneyed breaths in its chrysalis

    Parenthood is anything but easy, splashes of mermaid’s wake on our Cocoon.

    EDtv, woah, who me? Im not a cinderella man, I’m a cinderella, man.

    brave old heart, fuck you. I have no mind not beautiful unwise.

    Mel Gibson freedom, The missing. Missing out and strike anywhere matches on the lip

    Of poor Glenn Close's Paper.

    No code but Da Vinci’s for the man without a face

    Who steals his passion from Christ. We never knew what happened on hack ridge

    Probably where they make mince meat out of a guy who looks like Jesus.

    Angels and Aliens re-addressed their longstanding beef with cowboys and demons.

    Who’s frankenstein? OUR FRANKENSTEIN! Call me Ishtar’s monster,

    Five cent mike with none of the early sense that made him a primary color

    Who’s afraid of a woman under the influence? Tom hanks, if I hazard a guess.

    Yellow does not run in this parade. Willow still weeps thought the water diviner creeps

    Somewhere I’m sure. A missing ransom that got lost in translation in a Chinese bookie’s car factory, here lies a far and away dream of licking a star.

    You were supposed to die at the bookie’s house, but you didn’t. You are amazing. Zathura’s birdcage shakes. Its your big day. And shadows of my uncle as he curled threats like husbands at our faces.

    Playtime, he called it. We knew he would be on holiday, and maybe for good.

    We’d commit to a sisterly suicide for our little christ and this pitiful alter serves less as a notebook and more as an Apollo, built with twigs and bound to guidance by brotherly voices.

    You are my man of iron, twice. On new leaves this elf found never

    Found that nostalgic green in the heart of the sea, or in another woman. Queen Marie

    Would be without her beguiled chef who, wolflike, careened through a hospital lobby, looking for a new heart to break in traffic. Past interviews, beyond the satellite of blood beverages and apologies. The vampire doctor will see you now. Rescheduled for sinai. The test audience hates it, and here it is in two stoned tablets the Irish warrior finally shouted along with the country:

    Symbolic psychos like Mr. Sophistication rode the last taxi out into plasmatic sanguine sunset

    And just before the credits became shadows and special thanks and all curtains,

    A skywriter in debt on borrowed time cashed in amidst the cosmos to sing one last time to no one in particular

    “That’s a Reel Rap!”

    What’s a Reel Head?

    For the Reel Head, cinema is a buffet (pronounced boo-fay) that can only give you diarrhea of the mouth. Reel heads gorge themselves at this buffet like a pig at the trough. It’s all slops, in a good way. If you miss getting pretzel nuggets before a 10:00AM matinee, you might be a Reel Head. If you’ve got Criterion discs behind lock and key, you might be a Reel Head. If your neckbeard has a neckbeard, you might be a Reel Head.

    Reel Head Viewing List

    What are a Reel Head’s favorite flicks? Buddy, I’m glad you asked. Excluding the films they’ve covered on-mic, here are just a few that the boys would recommend to any would-be Reel Head:

    * Archipelago (Joanna Hogg, 2010)

    * Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt, 2016)

    * Miami Vice (Michael Mann, 2006)

    * Monterey Pop (D.A. Pennebaker, 1968)

    * Ordet (Carl Theodore Dreyer, 1955)

    * Safe (Todd Haynes, 1995)

    * Sherman’s March (Ross McElwee, 1985)

    * Sink or Swim (Su Friedrich, 1990)

    * Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016)

    * Maidstone (Norman Mailer, 1970)

    Why Actors-Turned-Directors?

    No character in Hollywood is more interesting than the actor who decides to direct. For some, the career change comes when roles dry up. For many others, however, it’s not a retreat but a bold, even hubristic, step in a new direction.

    If you’ll forgive me, I think Reel Rap’s own co-host Bennett said it best:

    The beret and jodhpurs confer entry into a new, higher sphere, the Pantheon of Keaton and Chaplin. The role of director validates the actor’s every pretension and, for many, provides an opportunity to affirm (or, more often, reaffirm) for the entire world just how hot and multi-talented they are.

    Did Bradley Cooper have to lower his voice, learn an instrument, and write his own songs to make A Star is Born? Of course he did, for the same reason he had to open a scene with a shot of his own bare ass. He’s an actor-turned-director and that’s what they do.

    3 Reasons to Subscribe to Reel Rap

    * The hosts have a genuine rapport: Bennett and Shane met in a high school gym class. Their relationship was incubated in a world of towel slinging and ass slaps. It began in earnest years later, feeding on new insecurities and giving birth to bit after bit. Listening to Reel Rap is like watching a blind-drunk Jackson Pollock at work, or like living inside the moment where Rip Torn swung a hammer at Norman Mailer for an hour or so every week.

    * Shane and Bennett meld the high and low: Reel Rap Season 3 juxtaposed the transcendent films of John Cassavetes with the work of his beefy son Nick. John’s work practically invented American independent cinema as we know it, Nick’s is a strange blend of the maudlin and the hyper-masculine. The episodes covering both directors provide a picture of Reel Rap in microcosm, it’s a mix of high and low, a show with its nose pointed toward the trough and its eyes pointed toward the stars. Reel Rap’s hosts are a lot like Shrek. They wear crappy little vests and they’ve got layers.

    * You’ll get into heaven: Shane promised indulgences duringReel Rap’s episode on The Da Vinci Code. That wasn’t some empty cash grab. Subscribing to Reel Rap’s Patreon at the $10/month level will earn you an indulgence and a spot behind those Pearly-ass Gates.

    Meet the Hosts

    Shane is an actor and writer living in Austin, Texas. He does 99.9% of Reel Rap’s behind-the-scenes work. At 12, he chopped his toe off with an axe while splitting wood barefoot at his home in Yardley, Pennsylvania. His first book of poetry Sliding into First is slated for release in January 2022. His influences include Norman Mailer, Francis Scott Key and Marianne Moore.

    Bennett coined the phrase “my man” and is an authority, perhaps the preeminent one, on “shitboy cinema.” He once swallowed over a pound of sunflower seed shells in one sitting. It required two surgeries over four days to remove them and, even still, he had to pass a bunch of shells the old-fashioned way for several days afterward. His favorite directors include Terence Davies, Joanna Hogg, and Tobe Hooper.

    How to Become a Reel Head

    Want to realize your lifelong dreams of becoming a reel head? You’re in luck, it’s easy!

    1. Subscribe to the Reel Rap

    Hit subscribe and you’ll get each of our free episodes delivered directly to your mailbox. You’ll also get essays, lists, poems, one-liners, and other such crap from the internet’s preeminent prize pigs.

    2. Become a Patron

    Want more Reel Rap content? Become a Patreon subscriber for extra posts and musings from the greasiest, sweatiest hosts you know.

    3. Read Shane and Bennett on the World Wide Web

    In addition to the occasional Reel Rap special, Split Tooth Media continues to share essays from both Reel Rap hosts. Stay tuned for Bennett’s upcoming piece on the “wife guy” in Eric Rohmer’s Moral Tales. Reel Rap subscribers may even get an early look at upcoming essays and interviews.

    4. Follow the Boys on Letterboxd and Twitter

    Reel Rap

    Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/reelrap/

    Twitter: @ReelRapPodcast

    Shane

    Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/slake4/

    Twitter: @Ovasenyase

    Bennett

    Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/B_Glace/

    Twitter: @FilmPilled

    5. Tell Your Friends

    If Reel Rap is about anything, it’s about sharing. In that spirit, why not share Reel Rap with friends who like good films, bad vibes, Hollywood gossip, and indie charm?



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com
  • Estão a faltar episódios?

    Clique aqui para atualizar o feed.

  • Described as a "meta-soap opera," PERSONAL PROBLEMS(1980) conceived by Ishmael Reed and directed by Bill Gunn is a singular viewing and listening experience. Shot by world renowned Italian photographer Robert Polidori, scored by the excellent Carman Moore, with music by the inimitable Sam Waymon, this movie is a recently restored treat to behold. Bill Gunn is a stage actor turned director and his skill and ingenuity is undeniable. The fact that he got all of these artists in one place for the duration of the shoot is a testament to his skill as a human and artist. Check out the film on the Criterion Channel or at Kino Lorber.

    Buy the soundtrack for the movie here: https://readinggroupcompany.bandcamp.com/album/personal-problems

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Reel Rap is back in the business of making sense of the film landscape. We might not mention a single movie in this episode, which is a big relief to some of you, I know. The voicemail line is always open and we are standing by!

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Telling the truth can be dangerous business? You're telling me!

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Stay Tuned! Find all new episodes on splittoothmedia.com!!!!

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Shane and Bennett discuss Elaine May’s masterpiece

    John Cassavetes and Peter Falk star in May’s 1976 film that reflects the chaotic nature of life and teaches about film in a way that no class or textbook could ever convey. Bennett and Shane declare Mikey and Nicky one of the best films ever made and May an unrivaled genius — a far cry from previous Reel Rap films and directors. They also discuss smoking on trains, belt hygiene and drinking out of tiny glasses.

    "TV sucks. Movies mostly suck. Write from the heart and don’t take a writing class" — Shane

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Elaine May’s second film is another relationship comedy that fires on all cylinders

    Charles Grodin, Jeannie Berlin and Cybill Shepherd star in Elaine May’s second film — an all-time-great comedy — The Heartbreak Kid. In this episode Bennett also reveals the official Reel Rap opinion of Alec Baldwin and they debate the prospect of swallowing chewing gum.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Elaine May’s time in the hot seat begins with her impeccable directorial debut

    Reel Rap pivots to Elaine May’s filmography in this week’s episode. May stars in her 1971 directorial debut, A New Leaf, alongside Walter Matthau in the high-society comedy about a rich man who goes broke and decides the quickest way to rebuild his fortune is marry a rich woman (May) and kill her. Shane and Bennett marvel at May’s near-perfect comedic timing on script and screen, the film’s ability to bounce between beats and how quickly May and Nichols both became technically advanced directors.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Reel Rap revisits the film that provided Nichols his only Oscar win for Best Director

    Everyone’s favorite sophomoric philosophers tackle Mike Nichols’ best-known, Oscar winning effort with 1967’s The Graduate. Along with special guest Ryan McClosky, Shane and Bennett discuss how their appreciation for the film has shifted through the years and how the leads —Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft and Katharine Ross — and various side characters read differently more than 50 years later.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • In the freshly reupholstered hot seat for Reel Rap Season 6: Elaine May and Mike Nichols

    Legendary comedy-duo-turned-filmmakers Elaine May and Mike Nichols are the subject of the sixth season of Reel Rap. Shane and Bennett kick things off with Nichol’s directorial debut, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Adapted from Edward Albee’s hit 1962 play, Nichols’ sharp-tongued, star-studded 1966 film lets the booze flow and the insults fly between Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal and Sandy Dennis. Shane and Bennett also share their favorite insults in the film, discuss how cleaning products have evolved and relive the craziest tears they’ve gone on.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Reel Rap concludes their journey through the filmography of Sofia Coppola

    In the finale of Reel Rap’s season devoted to Sofia Coppola, Shane and Bennett discuss her 2017 remake of the Civil War drama ‘The Beguiled.’ The film tells the story of a wounded Union soldier (Colin Farrell) being taken in by a group of women (including Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning) in a boarding school. They also give their final rankings of Coppola’s filmography.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Reel Rap makes its triumphant return to the films of Sofia Coppola.

    After taking a short break for Split Tooth Media‘s 31 Days of October Horror series, Shane and Bennett resume their deep dive into Sofia Coppola’s filmography. Episode 4 covers 2010’s Somewhere, her subdued follow-up to the critically maligned Marie Antoinette (2006). They also share stories about bad bar experiences and discuss the gossip surrounding Benicio del Toro’s elevator cameo.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Ancient daggers, inexplicable dream logic and the scariest sound of all — Shane’s impression of a burping crow. Reel Rap stands divided on this 1973 experimental blaxploitation vampire film and reflects on a letter from director Bill Gunn to white critics about how black art is received by mainstream media.

    Links:
    https://www.nytimes.com/1973/05/13/archives/to-be-a-black-artist-a-black-artist-.html

    https://www.austinfilm.org/2018/07/bill-gunns-holy-grail-of-film-personal-problems-presented-in-2-parts/

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Happy New Year

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Shane and Bennett discuss the third most important event of 2001, Bill Paxton’s directorial debut in Frailty

    When similar murders to “The God’s Hand Killer” begin again, Adam (Matthew McConaughey) recalls his childhood with his father (Bill Paxton) who claimed to be killing demons in order to prevent Judgement Day. But when Adam’s brother, Fenton (Levi Kreis), also begins seeing the demons, new questions arise. Reel Rap dives into this thriller that blends wholesomeness and religious extremism with a dash of humor. Shane also tells the story of how he cut off a toe as a teenager.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Actor Charles Laughton’s first and only directorial effort, The Night of the Hunter (1955), follows a mysterious preacher with “LOVE” and “HATE” knuckle tattoos on the hunt for $10,000 hidden in a little girl’s doll. Reel Rap puts on their best southern accents to dig into the strange Gothic fantasia and rate the Bible an 8 out of 10.

    Also in this episode: smelling salts, reviews of weird and peculiar film reviews and an ice cream-serving family named the Spoons.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • In this episode they discuss the initial reception to the film’s historical inaccuracies, how its style emphasizes the story and Rip Torn’s portrayal of a disgusting, decadent monarch.

    Also in this week’s episode, Bennett contemplates quitting his job, Shane talks like a pirate and they argue the value of fireworks.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • Posted on https://www.splittoothmedia.com/reel-rap-lost-in-translation/ on 9/20/19

    Most best of the 2000s lists include Lost in Translation (2003), often near the top. The film garnered four Oscar nominations and Sofia Coppola took home the award for Best Original Screenplay. Coppola’s definitive style is on full display in this film and Reel Rap examines the interplay between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson and how their secondary relationships help define their characters.

    In this episode Shane and Bennett also discuss superfluous self-care products, the repulsive act of drinking milk and how our relationships to film change over time.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com

  • This episode is hosted by Split Tooth Media!

    In the first episode of Reel Rap Season 5, Shane and Bennett discuss Sofia Coppola’s directorial debut film, 1999’s The Virgin Suicides. They discuss how Coppola’s signature style began to make itself known in everything from the costumes and casting, to the acting and its portrayal of youth.

    Also in this episode, they discuss the perennially underrated Kirsten Dunst, taking pride in work and the how film both employs and deconstructs the male gaze.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelrap.substack.com