Reel Phonies

Beginner's Guide to Studio Ghibli

In this special Reel Phonies Spinoff, husband/wife duo and newly-minted Ghibli experts Joseph and Valerie take you on a journey through the Studio Ghibli catalog. Often described as Japanese Disney (and recently accessible on streaming through HBOMax), the Ghibli films are animated stories for all ages that weave fantastical tales of adventure, whimsy, and self-discovery. Whether you've seen some or none of these films, this guide will give you a basic rundown of each of the movies and what makes each one special (or skippable). If you're just looking for a jumping off point, a timecode for our rankings of the 23 films is listed below:

 

Ghibli Rankings - 48:56

125 - Biopics That Need To Happen

From Ray to Imitation Game to Into The Wild, we love a good biopic that tells a comprehensive story of a fascinating life in a tight 2 hours. But there are still so many interesting folks whose stories have yet to be adapted to the big screen. This week we're looking at some overlooked biopics that we think are well-overdue for the Hollywood treatment.

124 - Time Travel Movies (And The Mandalorian)

From Back to the Future to Terminator to Bill and Ted, some of our favorite movies are time travel stories. Although it's fun to think about what would be possible with the ability to travel backward in time, each of these movies proposes it's own particular rules for how that might work.  We break down some of the most famous time travel movies along with their own time travel logic and see at what point they break their own rules and whether that even matters.

123 - Mandalorian Returns and October News Roundup

The Mandalorian is back! Oscar Isaac as Moonknight! Jared Leto still exists! There's a lot to catch up on and we've got you covered for all the October entertainment news worth noting and, of course, the new season of The Mandalorian.

122 - Halloween Horror for Cowards: The Thing

We're closing out our Halloween Horror for Cowards series with the classic John Carpenter masterpiece, The Thing. It's got Kurt Russell, an underrated Keith David, an almost unrecognizable Wilford Brimley, and a lot of squirmy, wet tentacles. Truly a monster movie that delivers on it's monster, this was a blast to watch and even more fun to talk about.

121- Halloween Horror for Cowards: Sleepaway Camp

In our third foray into the horror genre this month, we're taking a look at the 1983 cult classic, Sleepaway Camp. It's a classic 80's slasher set in a campground with an unexpected ending. From questionable casting and costuming choices to impossible cookware to numerous plotholes, this film was a lot of fun to talk about even if not all of us enjoyed the viewing experience.

120 - Halloween Horror for Cowards: Cabin in the Woods

This week we're diving into Drew Goddard's meta-horror/comedy film The Cabin in the Woods. It's a film that feels very much like an Evil Dead ripoff and a sequel to The Office that spends most of its runtime explaining how those two can go together. It's more comedy than scares which makes it perfect for the cowards who do this podcast.

119 - Halloween Horror for Cowards: The Invisible Man

In our Halloween kickoff episode, we're watching Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man to be frightened by a threatening, unseen presence and by how dang good Elizabeth Moss is at acting. It's an update to a classic movie monster that feels much scarier than it's original iteration. Join us through the month of October as we traumatize our feeble, wimpy brains with a new horror flick each week.

118 - Enola Holmes

This week we're tackling Netflix's newest, family-friendly detective flick, Enola Holmes. We discuss Henry Cavill's antagonistic relationship to clothing, why Helena Bonham Carter is underrated, and an unexpected amount of Harry Potter.

117 - Mandalorian Trailer, She-Hulk, WandaVision

We're back and catching up on the big news of the last few weeks. We got casting news on Marvel's She-Hulk series, updates to the future of DC streaming, and the first trailers for Denis Villeneuve's Dune, WandaVision, and The Mandalorian: Season 2.