Reel Rap Reel Rap

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.
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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 me

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

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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!

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

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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