The Next Reel Family of Film Podcasts

26/02/2026

After a lot of thought, we're stepping back from posting here and focusing our energy where our community actually lives.

You can find us—and keep the conversation going—at:

🎬 Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/thenextreel
🦋 Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/thenextreel.com
🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thenextreel
💬 Discord: discord.gg/yW72E6M

The shows aren't going anywhere—The Next Reel, Cinema Scope, Movies We Like, The Film Board, and Sitting in the Dark are all still going strong. We just want to be present where we can actually be present.

Come find us. We'd love to see you there.

19/02/2026

“We’re gonna put television on trial.”
This week's The Next Reel episode is live! 🎬

We continue the True Lies series with "Quiz Show," Robert Redford's examination of the 1950s scandal when NBC's Twenty-One was exposed for feeding contestants answers. This is the first film in our series where we genuinely sympathize with the protagonist—Charles Van Doren's descent feels natural rather than desperate, enabled by institutional pressure rather than need.

We track the emotional core through father-son scenes between Charles and Mark Van Doren, examining Paul Scofield's devastating wordless moments. We argue about whether the film lets Van Doren off too easily or whether that discomfort is precisely the point. The real villains are at the top—the NBC and Geritol executives comfortable with lying while lower-level employees take the fall. The iconic isolation booth shot with its dolly-zoom effect becomes a visual metaphor for moral pressure closing in.

Does privilege change how you judge someone who gets pulled under by institutional corruption?

https://trustory.fm/thenextreel/quiz-show/

17/02/2026

In our newest episode of Movies We Like, filmmaker Miguel Ángel Ferrer joins us to talk about The Sea Inside and why Alejandro Amenábar’s film remains such a lasting touchstone for him.

It’s a conversation about restraint, performance, and the way actor-driven cinema can hold moral tension with empathy instead of spectacle. Miguel also connects the film’s lessons to his own directing work on The Shadow of the Sun, and the kind of stories that linger long after the credits.

What’s a film that changed the way you see what cinema can do?

https://trustory.fm/movieswelike/filmmaker-miguel-angel-ferrer-on-the-sea-inside/

12/02/2026

When does the deceiver become the deceived? 🎬

In "The Hoax," we explore how a literary fraudster's own deceptions spiral into something much larger than himself. This fascinating dynamic shows how even those who start as manipulators can become pawns in a bigger game.

Watch our full episode on The Next Reel to dive deeper into this compelling story of power, manipulation, and self-deception.

12/02/2026

This week's The Next Reel episode is live! 🎬

We explore "The Hoax" in our True Lies series, diving into Richard Gere's fascinating portrayal of literary fraudster Clifford Irving. From method acting choices to the film's atmospheric tension, we examine how Lasse Hallström builds a world of deception without directly showing Howard Hughes. Alfred Molina's grounded performance adds crucial moral complexity as Irving's increasingly conflicted research partner.

What fascinates you most about films that explore real-world frauds and deceptions?

https://trustory.fm/thenextreel/the-hoax/

05/02/2026

This week’s The Next Reel episode is live! 🎬

In the True Lies series, "Shattered Glass" is the kind of newsroom movie that makes trust feel like a liability. We unpack why the film’s structure can feel like it drops viewers into the “third act,” and how that unsettles audience alignment from the start. Then we track the real engine of the story: verification as suspense—fact-checking workflows, documentation gaps, and the moment when a great anecdote starts asking to be proven.

There’s also a spirited performance conversation: Hayden Christensen’s off-putting charm (and whether it reads as “whiny” in key beats) versus Peter Sarsgaard’s steady, slow-burn pressure that holds the whole movie together. If you like workplace tension that comes from process instead of spectacle, this one is a great listen.

What’s the most important thing a film like "Shattered Glass" should make you feel—unease, empathy, or anger?

https://trustory.fm/thenextreel/shattered-glass/

04/02/2026

04/02/2026

In The Fly, the most unsettling thing isn’t the creature—it’s what “strength” looks like when the choice is brutal either way.

She’s framed as the perfectly composed 50s wife, then has to follow through with the press, see the hand wasn’t crushed, and go back to do it a second time with the gore right in front of her. That’s not helplessness; it’s endurance.

Full episode: https://trustory.fm/cinemascope/1950s-science-fiction-atomic-age-anxiety-with-robert-horton/

What movie moment best captures courage as staying steady when you don’t get a clean option?

04/02/2026

This month’s Cinema Scope episode is live!

1950s Science Fiction didn’t just deliver monsters and flying saucers—it became a pressure valve for Atomic Age dread, Cold War suspicion, and fears about identity itself. Andy and critic Robert Horton (member of the National Society of Film Critics) build a practical viewing lens: what each film externalizes, what it implies about the body and “the self,” and how science and authority respond when the unknown arrives.

What 1950s sci-fi moment best captures paranoia or transformation for you—and why?

https://trustory.fm/cinemascope/1950s-science-fiction-atomic-age-anxiety-with-robert-horton/

03/02/2026

This month’s The Film Board episode is live!
We convene an emergency hearing for "Mercy"—a slick, noisy screenlife thriller where Chris Pratt wakes up strapped into a futuristic courtroom chair with 90 minutes to live, and an AI judge who looks like Rebecca Ferguson. ⚖️🤖

From there, it’s a full-spoilers conversation (but we’ll keep this post light): does the movie actually have something to say about automated justice, surveillance-as-normal-life, and AI fallibility… or is it mostly a shiny roller coaster powered by touchpads, “research mode,” and a parade of coincidences?

Pete tries to keep the court metaphor alive. Andy is not having it. Steve is intrigued by the big ideas even when the story wobbles. Tommy unexpectedly has a blast—especially after an accidental 3D screening turns the chair into the main character.

What’s the most interesting (or scariest) idea "Mercy" puts on the table—AI judging, total surveillance, or speed-over-fairness “justice”?
https://trustory.fm/filmboard/mercy-the-algorithm-wants-your-lunch-money/