James and Sid discuss the all-time question, what's more deadly? Werewolves or Land Rovers. Yep. It's Dog Soldiers. There's some thoughtful back and forth here as Sid sees this as a top-5 example of a good low-budget Werewolf movie, while James found it a bit schlocky. Either way, we have two Land Rovers. Find out what unlikely vehicles they actual…

Sid and James tackle the cult classic meow movie about State Troopers who can't take their job seriously. It's fun. But... meow why? It's a long story that Sid tells meow at the beginning of the podcast about the sad end to his meow Thunderbird and his recent meow NA Miata purchase. Oh, and meow Super Troopers has a Miata. So there. Meow.…

James Dean had a short career as a movie star and died tragically before his fame was in full effect. Rebel Without a Cause is a stand-out for Dean, but we delve into his personal life to talk about the cars he raced as well. Joining us is Patrick Fransko of Speedster Dreams. Patrick has a wealth of knowledge about James Dean and he has incredible …

Derek Williams - Comedian, voice talent, expert gamer and Anime lover - is back on Reels and Wheels and he has a great Anime for us. The obscure(ish) Riding Bean! This one kind of defies description. It's a 45-minute one-off short movie that never led to a longer series. The story follows Bean, an accomplished Chicago driver as he gets caught up in…

Ready for a very unique episode of Reels and Wheels?! For the first time, (and it's about time!) we talk locomotives! This is the 1926 classic Buster Keaton silent film, The General. Joining James and Sid is one of our favorite cinematic experts (and a guy who knows his Buster Keaton), Brett Stillo! The General is silent comedy based on a real life…

Happy Holidays from Reels and Wheels! For this episode, Sid & James get into the holiday season with Planes Trains & Automobiles - a John Hughes classic about the worst attempt at holiday travel ever. This movie definitely delivers in the "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" department, with a glorious assortment of malais-era cars, but it's also an ex…

It's Halloween, so let's talk Halloween! This 1978 John Carpenter really kickstarted the slasher genre - and it was 1978, so there we plenty of scary malaise era cars to talk about. Joining Sid and James is Mike Moran, comedian, musician and host of the Confessional Podcast! Make sure you check out Mike Moran and the Confessional Podcast here: http…

It's a car movie starring a young Tommy Lee Jones as a sex symbol. And it's not Black Moon Rising. We already did that one. No, this movie is MUCH MUCH WEIRDER. The Betsy pretends to be a car movie, but it's possibly got the least car content of any movie we've covered here on Reels and Wheels (and we include Spaceballs in that tally). Joining us f…

It's 1982. It's Eddie Murphy's first acting role. It's Nick Nolte when he was still considered a handsome leading man. It's a time when a 1964 Cadillac was considered a shitbox. Sid and James are joined once again by Derek Williams, comedian, 80's expert, and alpha geek of comedy!

Reels and Wheels is back! And by request, Matt Cole, our resident Nicholas Cage expert, has returned to talk about the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds! This movie definitely has some baffling moments. It's also got kind of a crazy backstory regarding it's relationship to the H.B. Halicki original. But... is it enough Nicholas Cafe? James, Sid and…

In 1991, an attempt was made to reboot Knight Rider with a new Pontiac Banshee-inspired version of KITT. It failed. However... It's worth a second watch. Is it good? Not really. Does it do a good job predicting the year 2000? Mostly no. Is it a PG rip-off of RoboCop? Strangly, yes! James and Sid have a lot of weird things to talk about, not the lea…

Ghostbusters Afterlife tries to strike the right balance between appealing to a new generation and diving into rich nostalgia for old-school Ghostbusters fans. Joining Sid and James for this episode is comedian, podcaster and convention fixture George Plank! We discuss the great story behind this movie's version of Ecto-1 and the other interesting …

Get Shorty is a very 90's movie. And it features the Cadillac of minivans, the Oldsmobile Silhouette! Joining us for this episode is Amanda Marks of the Sis & Tell Podcast!

How many movies can you name that started a religion? The Big Lebowski brought us Dudeism. It also happens to be an awesome movie, however... Get ready for an off-the-rails episode of Reels & Wheels as James and Sid are joined by Brad and Adam of the Gutterballs Podcast, two guys who really embody the ideals of Dudeism. Consequently, the conversati…

Is reality all it's cracked up to be? Does the value of fiction outshine real life? This is Big Fish. Joining us to discuss this Tim Burton masterpiece is Jalopnik's resident wrencher, adventurer, David Tracy! David gets the opportunity to introduce Sid and James to his favorite movie and talk about choosing a life of adventure. Find David's articl…

James and Sid are joined by the biggest Nicolas Cage resource around. He's an actor, improv comic, and podcast host - Matt Cole! This episode is hard to describe in a couple of paragraphs. Yes, we talk about the cars - especially the Corvette and the GTI, but this podcast has an insanity level that lives up to Nicolas Cage expectations. Make sure y…

In part two of our episode on Clouzot's Wages of Fear, we discuss its along with its remake, Sorcerer.

Clouzot's 1953 thriller The Wages of Fear was a groundbreaking movie and was later remade into Sorcerer, a favorite movie of ours. Joining Sid and James once again is Remi Treuer, comedian and host of "Say the X" on Twitch. Part one of this episode focuses on The Wages of Fear - its characters, its setting, and its artful build-up of tension. It's …

Can American auto workers get along with their new Japanese bosses? That was the big question in the mid-1980's as Ron Howard's Gung Ho, inspired by real events, tried to tackle the subject as an inspirational comedy. In hindsight, it's an awkward movie to watch, riddled with racist/xenophobic assumptions about both the Japanese and American auto w…

Few shows nail nostalgia so perfectly while simultaneously endearing us to new characters. Cobra Kai knocks it out of the park. Cars have always been a key part of the Karate Kid franchise, from Mr. Miyagi's collection of classics to Mrs. Larusso's Malibu wagon to Johnny's Avanti II, Cobra Kai had a lot to live up to... and it does. Nicely. Comedia…

CONVOY! Hear us out on this one... As a production, Convoy was a bit of a train wreck. A drug-fueled, past-his-prime Sam Peckinpaw was trying to direct a dark film that made a statement about unfair laws. The studio wanted something more like Smokey and the Bandit, which came out the year before. Neither side one. The result is a tonally strange mo…

In this special, co-branded episode of Reels and Wheels, Sid and James are joined by Brad McMurran and Sean Devereux of The Pushers, hosts of the Nerds of Comedy podcast! ...and what amazing, special, exciting movie could possibly be important enough to bring these two podcasts together? Cannonball Run 2, of course! All kidding aside, Hal Needham's…

There can be only one!!! Sid and James tackle the 1986 classic Highlander, the story of an immortal, caught in a centuries-long struggle to claim a prize by beheading other immortals. And he drives a Porsche 356 Speedster. A discussion ensues on the virtues and not-virtues of the 356 and we take a look at the other cars of Highlander. We also feel …

David Michod's The Rover is a bleak, Australian post-apocalypse story. Sound familiar? It's definitely not Mad Max. Michod's anarchic landscape lacks hope... or even a real hero. The movie is a slog, depressing and gritty from start to finish. It's kind of character piece you would expect from a film that was chosen to be screened at Cannes. James …

This is the movie we've been waiting for. This is a story so crazy we're surprised it took this long to become a movie. This is Ford V Ferrari. Joining James and Sid is racecar driver Aditya "Deech" Madhaven as we talk about the incredible story of Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles. Ford V Ferrari is a rare example of a car movie that is so good that it…

If there's one thing to be said for animation, it's that the sky's the limit. Whatever craziness is hiding in your imagination - if you're good enough to draw it - can become a movie. Redline is a 2009 animated film that takes inspiration from all over the place - Death Race 2000, Aeon Flux, Aliens - you name it! This movie has dystopian government…

It's our Halloween episode! It's become traditional at Reels and Wheels to pick a horror movie with a car or two in it to discuss on Halloween and this year it's the movie that gave us the modern definition of zombies - the original Night of the Living Dead (and it's 1990 remake)! Joining Sid and James is their good friend and zombie expert, Derek …

Want to cry? Want to be sad? Have we got the movie for you! The Art of Racing in the Rain is a sad movie based on Garth Stein's really sad book of the same name. It chronicles all the sad stuff that happens to Denny, a racecar driver, through the eyes of his dog, Enzo. It does a great job of showing the blue collar side of car racing. And it does a…

Breaking the sound barrier. Going to space. The story didn't require a ton of embellishing to make a great movie. These pilots had the right stuff and speed was their life - from the planes they flew to the horses they rode to the cars they drove. Our good friends Josh Horowitz and Brett Stillo from the 5 Minutes of Trouble and 5 Minutes of Banzai …

Fans of the original Transformers toys/cartoons finally got the movie they wanted in Bumblebee - the first Transformers movie to diverge from the Michael Bay explosion-fest to bring us back to the 1980's. Sid and James are joined by The Salty Seaman, Gabriel Owens, host of the Military Bulls**t podcast in this co-branded episode. Bumblebee kind of …

Did you know that a young, often shirtless Tommy Lee Jones starred in a 1986 heist movie with Linda Hamilton where they had to steal a Knight Rider-esque concept car? Neither did we! Thanks to our friend and guest from Plaid Dad Blog, Christian Lee for turning us on to this obscure movie that's so packed with 1980's tropes you'll automatically grow…

In this mini-episode, James and Sid do something different - reviewing the trailers for two upcoming movies, Ford vs. Ferrari and The Art of Racing in the Rain. Ford vs. Ferrari is basically covers everything James and Sid always argue about and The Art of Racing in the Rain is about a dog. Both are exciting in their own way. @ReelsandWheels - iTun…

Ask anybody to name the greatest cars in TV history and the list is often topped by the General Lee. Controversy over confederate imagery aside, the Duke boys and their 1968 Dodge Charger somehow struck a chord with car lovers everywhere. The first episode of The Dukes of Hazzard is a lot more adult-oriented because the show runners had no idea it …

Some background on this episode - Last time we had Steve Lehto on the podcast (for Tucker: The Man and his Dream), we started talking about the Chrysler Turbine Car. It was Steve who told us it actually was center stage in an obscure movie, so... Steve Lehto of Lehtoslaw.com joins us once again to discuss The Lively Set! This 1964 movie is almost a…

An episode of Reels and Wheels about Star Trek? Thanks to the classic gangster episode from season 2, absolutely! James and Sid let out their inner Trekkie and geek out for the Cadillac V-12 that Captain Kirk attempts to drive. A Piece of the Action represents everything good and bad about the original Star Trek. The episode was hokey, but it made …

This is our first episode covering a movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and joining us for the occasion is one of our favorite guests, Ed Carden - a resident MCU expert and member of the Pushers comedy troupe! Ant Man and the Wasp shows a light-hearted, fun side of the MCU and we like it because it takes playing with Matchbox Cars to a whole…

It's a movie about the guy making the movie that references his other movies. H.B. Halicki gave us the classic movie "Gone in 60 Seconds." That gave him enough movie to film himself crashing cars over and over again and show off his collectibles while a flimsy "plot" happened around him. The Junkman - It's a bad movie, but it's still kind of fun to…

Some men are Baptists, others Catholics; my father was an Oldsmobile man. A Christmas Story - It's a silly movie about a very real family dynamic. It's also a tale of a love/hate relationship with an Oldsmobile that would freeze up in the middle of Summer on the equator! James and Sid talk about this holiday classic and the father/car/family dynami…

The 80's was all about exploiting our fear of the power of computers and Weird Science, another John Hughes classic, is a modern-day Frankenstein playing to our fear of keyboards, CRT monitors and phone modems. High school nerds Gary and Wyatt use a computer to create the perfect girl (and Kelly LeBrock fits that part nicely), who provides them wit…

Reels and Wheels celebrates Halloween by sitting down on Halloween night and talking about Quentin Tarantino's tribute to classic Grindhouse movies, Death Proof! Death Proof is a Horror/Thriller for car guys, layered with references to all the great classic car chase movies covered on this podcast, like Vanishing Point, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, and …

On this episode Reels and Wheels pays tribute to the late Burt Reynolds with a great movie - White Lightning. Joining us once again is racer, writer & comic JG Pasterjak! White Lightning celebrates the ethos of running moonshine and was one the cutting edge of the "small town with corrupt sheriff" movie trope. Smuggling moonshine is how NASCAR was …

Diamonds are Forever! It was Sean Connery's last official James Bond movie (not counting the non-Eon Never Say Never Again) and it was an interesting mixture of classy and campy; providing a precursor to the Roger Moore era. It also had some interesting car choices - A Triumph Stag, a 1971 Mustang Mach I and a moon buggy created by legendary car cu…

Son, you got a panty on your head. Raising Arizona - a masterpiece of a comedy/satire from the Coen brothers is a memorable, quotable and purely enjoyable movie from a time when Nicolas Cage wasn't just a walking punchline. Kyle Phalen (who previously joined us for Rain Man) joins us to talk about the movie and gets an education on Malaise Era cars…

Netflix made a movie! And it's got Forrest Whitaker in it! And it sucks! We love post-apocalypse movies at Reels and Wheels, so we had high hopes for How it Ends, the Netflix original that scrounged up enough cash to hire Forrest Whitaker. Sadly, the movie is just not good. Will wants to marry Samantha, but Samantha's father, Tom hates his guts. Th…

Cobra (1986) is an 80's cop movie that you can absolutely love (in theory) if you get past how reprehensible it is. Sylvester Stallone is a cop who plays by his own rules. His peers don't like the fact that he kills everyone he should be arresting, but they let it go because he "gets the job done." Joining us to talk Cobra and its iconic 1950 Mercu…

Wax on, wax off! The Karate Kid (1984) is a classic that still inspires people today and is still talked about - and it's a great car movie to boot. From Mrs. Larusso's Chevelle wagon to Johnny Lawrence's Avanti II to Mr. Miyagi's collection of 1940's classics, cars were almost as integral to The Karate Kid as... well, Karate. Learn a lot of intere…

The apocalypse happens. Jan-Michael Vincent is pretty chill about it. George Peppard suggests driving from southern California to Albany, New York in an armored all-terrain vehicle. They do that. Movie over. Improv comic and movie buff James Roach joins James and Sid to talk about Damnation Alley, a movie where NOTHING HAPPENS. Enjoy long scenes wh…

Remember when they did a post-apocalyptic pilot for a new Knight Rider series that never got picked up? Probably not. Knight Rider 2010 was part of a group of attempts at syndicated shows called the Action Pack. Unlike the Action Pack's successes (Hercules, Xena), it never got to be a series - but at least we got this bizarre pilot! Ed Carden of Th…