Second Take Cinema

Listener request month continues with Danny Boyle's low budget indie horror hit 28 Days Later which helped revive the zombie genre in the early 2000s and has gone on to spawn a franchise (28 Months Later and 28 Years Later). Jamie has seen this film many times but Rory never has. It's sure to be a fun experience seeing he reacts to it.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Requested by listener Tierra in Wisconsin, USA this week Rory and Jamie was watching cult Sci-Fi indie movie "Cube." A group of strangers wake up in a steel cube with no recollection of how they got there or how they know one another. Every subsequent room is an identical cube, some equipped with terrifying and brutal traps designed to whittle their group down. Will they band together to make it out? Will they succumb to the sinister and monolithic Cube and does this movie still hold up in the year 2026? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the start of listener request month (or listener requests for slightly more than a month) and first up is Batman Begins! The start of Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, listener Craig claims this is the best film in the trilogy but Jamie has always considered it his least favourite. Will that opinion change with a Second Take?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We wrap up season 3 of Second Take Cinema with a pair of movies made by musicians! Moonwalker is the vanity project by Michael Jackson at the height of his fame (and arguably madness). Rejecting narrative and traditional filmmaking in favour of a surrealistic blend of noir gangster movie, music videos, Looney Tunes and...Transformers?Meanwhile, Spice World made roughly a decade later is a testament to the cynicism and relentless grinding of the pop culture machine; taking the biggest girlband of the 1990s and throwing them into a Frankenstein of a movie stapled and tied together from scraps of other scripts, celebrity cameos and the sheer desire to see just how much Spice Girls the world could take before it finally snapped. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode of Second Take Cinema the boys return to the work of Mr Robert Zombie with his second ever movie "The Devil's Rejects." Jamie saw this movie when he was 14 and has maintained that this is the best movie in Rob Zombie's filmography. Will he still feel that way reviewing the movie in 2026 and how will Rory react to this blood-soaked grindhouse movie? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a stunning start with Iron Man, the MCU hit a misstep early on with its second movie out the gate; The Incredible Hulk. Or did it? The film has a mixed reaction and the lead actor Edward Norton was famously replaced by Mark Ruffalo going forward. There also weren't any solo Hulk movies after this (so far at least) which would lead one to believe this movie sucked and so we decided to give it a second take and see how it stacks up in 2026. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Based on the popular play and featuring a cast of massive names including Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, Jack Lemmon and Ed Harris this is a contained movie about salesman facing the chop if they can't reach the increasingly high targets set by their corporate overlords. A meditation on capitalism, desperation and toxic masculinity, does the film resonate even more now than when it was released? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode of Second Take Cinema we take a look back at this sci-fi classic from 1984, the film that put so many of the people involved on the map; director James Cameron as well as stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn. There's been a lot of sequels since that saw Schwarzenegger's T-800 turned into an iconic action hero, but in this original movie he is the bad guy. Does it still work in 2026 now we all know Arnie as the action star?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wow, we recorded this episode literally almost about a year and a half ago and due to some schedule changes never got around to releasing it. The boys are joined by Kirk Redgate, indie filmmaker and George Romero fan to discuss the OG zombie masterpiece; Night Of The Living Dead! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The boys are joined by special guest David Gardner (the voice of Karl Trevino) on this weeks episode of Second Take Cinema as they take a look back at this Alfred Hitchcock classic which sees two strangers plan the "perfect" murder; by swapping victims with one another they believe the authorities would have no hope of catching them. However things take a dark turn when it turns out one of the conspirators is more serious about the plan than the other... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This indie film was a juggernaut in the late 90s and is usually credited as being the film that first mainstreamed the "found footage" subgenre. Since release it's been a divisive movie with some audiences finding the lack of anything happening dull and a waste of time, whilst others find an oddly compelling sense of dread in the lack of any "real" events. Jamie and Rory are coming at the movie from opposite directions and discuss how they think the film plays today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're talking about the Sandman, no not the Neil Gaiman Netflix show but Adam Sandler. It's undeniable that Sandler has built a lengthy career in Hollywood although the quality of that career is up for discussion. On today's episode Jamie and Rory discuss one of the more unique (albeit oft-forgotten) of Sander's oeuvre; 2006's Click. What begins as a very by-the-numbers Sander comedy about a man who gifted a universal remote that let's him...well, control his universe, this movie takes a SHARP turn around the middle portion of the film that transforms it into a completely different movie. Do these two halves coexist? Does one impact the other? Let's find out! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're going waaaay back on the podcast this week as we review one of Rory's all time favourite movies, the Marx Brothers' classic "Animal Crackers." The second movie from the vaudeville stars, catapulted the boys to stardom, but does their sense of humour still play in 2026? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the latest episode of Second Take Cinema we're taking a look at this Marilyn Monroe-led classic. Directed by Billy Wilder and based on a stage play, this movie features the iconic Marilyn Monroe white dress scene and became a part of pop culture, however the director had a lot of regret about the movie, feeling it had been held back by the restrictive Hayes Code at the time. Jamie and Rory look back at it and see how it plays in a modern age. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a controversial episode this week folks as the boys take a look at Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy. Whilst this film is widely likely and has a pretty good reputation, it didn't sit well with Jamie who is extra grumpy on this episode on account of being very unwell. The boys discuss the movie and try to articulate what they liked and didn't like about the movie and Jamie airs his beef with Will Ferrell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this edition of Second Take Cinema we take a look at one of Rory's favourite movies and the final movie directed by the legendary Richard Donner. Starring Bruce Willis as an alcoholic cop who has given up on life, this film charts the journey of an apathetic man who unexpectedly finds himself fighting for something for the first time in a long time.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A franchise built on parodying existing franchises, 1996's Scream was a much needed shot in the arm for the very tired and essentially dead slasher genre when it released and it introduced the world to one of the most iconic slasher's in cinema history in Ghostface alongside one of its most iconic final girls with Neve Campbell's Sydney Prescott. But how does the original Scream hold up today, after all of these years (and sequels)? Jamie and Rory discuss it in this new episode of Second Take Cinema! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Widely recognised as having saved the Star Trek franchise from certain doom, The Wrath Of Khan finds its strength in being a film that strips back its budget and instead relies on tight scripting, iconic (if over-the-top) performances and escalating tension and winds up with a more successful outcome than its predecessor. How does it hold up all of these years later though? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Telling the true story of Jordan Belmont and the schemes that earned him the titular moniker, this is our first visit back to Martin Scorsese-land since we covered Goodfellas right back at the beginning of the show. Will this movie fare better with Rory than Goodfellas did? The boys discuss the film and the moral implications associated with telling this sort of story, which seems to thread through a lot of Scorsese's work.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1994 remains perhaps the biggest year of Jim Carey's career, seeing the release of 3 of his biggest hits all in one year; Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (see previous STC episode!), Dumb & Dumber and perhaps the most risky of the three ventures: The Mask. Based on a comic book and produced by New Line Cinema, the movie takes the source material in a more comedic direction and blends a weird sense of disturbing fantasy, real-life mundanity and cartoonish comedy under the guiding hand of director Chuck Russell (A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob). The question is, how does the movie hold up more than thirty years' later? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A huge Merry Christmas from Second Take Cinema and all of us here at Impala Films! We celebrate this week by reviewing a movie that holds a nostalgic place in Jamie's heart. Of the many screen adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol that there has been, Jamie contests that this 1970 Albert Finney vehicle is the best of the bunch. Will Rory agree? Do you agree? Let us know! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Love Actually is usually regarded as one of the best Christmas and romantic movies ever but, in recent years opinion has been turning on the film with many acknowledging that the films idea of "love" is often misplaced. So who better to weigh in on this discussion than two fat guys? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A British-made New York gangster movie, a period-piece AND it's a musical!? How is that supposed to work? Oh, and one other thing...the cast is entirely made up of children. Yep, children. That's the unusual concept at the centre of Alan Parker's odd British musical-comedy Bugsy Malone which tells the story of a man caught up in a battle of rival gangs determined to wipe one another out and vying for control of a powerful new weapon; the "splurge gun." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A classic movie that launched Audrey Hepburn into a cultural icon and even spawned a 90s soft rock hit, almost everyone recognises Breakfast At Tiffany's, even if they've never actually seen the movie. Jamie first saw this movie as a teen and introduces it to Rory for the first time. Does the movie deserve its cultural reputation or is it all fanfare with no substance, and can certain poor decisions in this movie be reconciled with modern values? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show Jamie and Rory go back to one of the scariest sci-fi movies of all time, described as a "haunted house in space" Alien launched a franchise that remains one of the most well-known in Hollywood, but it all stems from humble beginnings. Jamie and Rory discuss some of the more disturbing themes of the movie and take a look at some of the filmmaking techniques used to bring the Nostromo to life.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie and Rory review the classic action movie "Die Hard" widely regarded as an excellent movie, Jamie has to come along with his usual contrarian take and isn't too enamoured by the movie. The boys discuss the reasons behind this and whether or not Die Hard could work with another action hero in the lead.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The third season of Second Take Cinema continues and, since HAUNTED is currently on a break we're continuing to share it with all of our Patreon supporters. In the first episode of the season we discussed the landmark superhero movie "The Dark Knight" and this week may give you tonal whiplash as we're reviewing "Come And See" a harrowing, haunting and relentlessly bleak Soviet movie from 1985 that follows a young Belarussian boy who gets caught up in the Nazi invasion of his country.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Second Take Cinema returns for a third season of movie discussion beginning with the epic "The Dark Knight." A movie that became an instant classic and along with Iron Man sparked the second wave of the superhero craze that we're recently seeing the come-down of. Jamie and Rory look back on this 2008 film to see how it holds up, does it still hold the same meaning and power as before or has the passage of time taken some of the shine out of The Dark Knight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Big news! Second Take Cinema is coming back soon for a third season! In the meantime, we were asked to do a quick preview of this brand new UK horror movie "Borley Rectory: The Awakening" based on the real life story of England's most haunted house. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is it! Our long journey to cover all of the films in the Elm Street franchise comes to a close not with a bang but with a whimper as we look at 2010s "A Nightmare On Elm Street" which failed to breathe new life into the franchise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A decade in the making, 2003's Freddy vs Jason saw the two slasher icons going at it and represented the end of an era; the final time Robert Englund would play Freddy Krueger on the big screen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The lovely folks at Enigma Releasing kindly offered us the chance to do an early review of their new movie The Last Front. Already available in the United States, The Last Front releases in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on November 1st. Starring Iain Glenn (Game of Thrones) this World War I period drama tells the story of a small Belgian village that is set upon by a passing group of Germans who accuse the village residents of harbouring an anti-German resistance gang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Often cited as a dry-run for Scream two years later, franchise creator Wes Craven returns to his most infamous creation to deliver a new tale which makes use of meta-narrative and self-referential winks to the audience. Does this first attempt at a meta horror movie from Craven hold up 30 years later? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So this is how it ends, not with a bang but with a whimper. Freddy left the 80s and entered the 90s with a particularly weak entry in the franchise in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. That's not to say there isn't anything interesting to be found here; brightly lit, very colourful and with jokes lifted right out of Looney Tunes, this film more than any other displays the ways in which Freddy had become watered down and commercialised for the mainstream audience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thus begins what many would consider the downslope of the A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise with 1989's part 5: The Dream Child. Returning from the previous movie, Alice (Lisa Wilcox) begins experiencing strange Freddy Krueger-tinged dreams whilst she is awake. Around the same time she discovers that she is pregnant. Could the two things be related? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Dream Master is the highest grossing film in the A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise (excluding crossover movie Freddy vs Jason) which is a remarkable achievement considering how fraught with problems the movie's production was. A Nightmare On Elm Street's 4th entry is a film that, by rights, really shouldn't work; its elements are too disparate, it began shooting without a script, the producer and director who consistently at loggerheads and it had a turnaround time of less than a year after the third one...and yet, somehow, A Nightmare On Elm Street 4 has that "X Factor" that makes it feel much more entertaining and cohesive than it has any right to be. At least, that's Jamie's take on this film, but will Rory agree? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our voyage through the A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise brings us to the third entry; Dream Warriors, which many consider a high point in the franchise's success. Heather Langenkamp returns as Nancy Thompson to do battle once again with Freddy Krueger who is haunting the nightmares of a group of teens residing in a mental health centre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We continue our trek through the A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise with what may well be the most curious entry in the series. A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge was initially derided upon release as a poor follow up but has been reappraised in recent years with many commenting on the movies underlying homoerotic subtext and the effects the movie had on its leading man's career (for more information see the documentary Scream, Queen!: My Nightmare On Elm Street). Looking back in 2024, how does the movie play today? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spooky season is upon us and this year we'll be treating you to a bumper crop of Second Take Cinema episodes as we make our way through the entire A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise. We begin, naturally, at the beginning, with Jamie's favourite movie of all time, the movie that very literally changed the course of his life; A Nightmare On Elm Street. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Delving into one of Rory's favourites this week, the boys review 1994's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. One of the movies that catapulted Jim Carrey to his dominant status over movie comedies in the 90s, the film is a personal favourite of Rory's but not remembered fondly by Jamie. Add in the problematic nature of the films final moments and one has to ask how Ace Ventura: Pet Detective plays in todays world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie and Rory look back on what is largely regarded as one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. 2004's Spider-Man 2 sees the return of Director Sam Raimi as well as stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons, joined by newcomer Alfred Molina as the villainous Doc Ock!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Angry Men gets reviewed by...2 Angry Men, I guess. This black and white classic has been a part of pop culture since it first arrived on the scene and is a film Rory has long waited to discuss on the show. Jamie finally relents and the pair engage in discussion this critically acclaimed film. Do the jurors actually break the justice system? Does the film deserve its sterling reputation? And could you make a modern version of this same story or is it truly a product of its time? Find out, on Second Take Cinema! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie and Rory delve into this 2004 comedy that they both missed on initial release but Jamie saw in 2022 and became temporarily obsessed with (watching it 6 times). It's a weird jumble of a film that probably shouldn't work and yet somehow does. It also has what is undeniably one of the best performances of Timothy Olyphant's career.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Second Take Cinema, Jamie and Rory take a look at this 2003 Western featuring Kevin Spacey, Robert Duvall, Anette Benning and Michael Gambon. One is a fan of Western's the other isn't. So how will the movie be received? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie and Rory take a look at this 2004 monster-smash epic that tried putting the Universal monsters together long before anybody dreamed up the so called "Dark Universe." Remembered fondly from younger years, how does Van Helsing hold up today? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A true box office smash and for a while the reigning champion for Highest Grossing Movie Ever Made, Titanic has a split reputation amongst critics being remember fondly by some as an epic love story that pushed the abilities of cinema to new heights and by others as a somewhat generic and bloated popcorn flick. Today Jamie and Rory are joined by Kirk Redgate to take a look back at James Cameron's epic and see how it feels in 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The late Matthew Perry stars in this late 90s flick alongside Scream-Queen Neve Campbell and the most reliable smug-bad-guy actor in the world Dylan McDermott. With a sitcom-esque plot revolving around a simple and easily-fixed misunderstanding, Three To Tango attempts to tread a line on an edgy subject without crossing over into offensive territory. How successfully does it achieve this goal? Does the film play better or worse now than it did back then? Tune in and find out! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie and Rory are joined by special guest Kirk Redgate to discuss Sofia Coppola's indie drama. Things get a bit tense and argumentative in this episode as angry Rory returns, having not been seen since our Serendipity episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Second Take Cinema, Rory bring a true classic to the table to be reviewed. The Men is the screen debut of Marlon Brando and tells the story of a group of young men recovering in a VA hospital following a tour of duty in World War 2. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie and Rory review Damien Chazelle's epic love letter to classic Hollywood. Did this 3-hour behemoth deserve the box office flop it was destined for, or is there something worth keeping to be found amongst the on-screen depictions of debauchery? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.