On Cinema at the Cinema Season 1 Episode 2: "Skyfall" and "Lincoln"

The second episode of On Cinema at the Cinema's first season premiered November 8, 2012 on Thing X. In the episode, host Tim Heidecker and guest Gregg Turkington review the James Bond film Skyfall and the historical film Lincoln. Gregg selects Murphy's Romance as this week's ”Popcorn Classics” pick, despite saying “the film doesn't really work”.

There is a brief moment of awkwardness between Tim and Gregg before they begin their reviews, when Gregg begins to object to Tim implying he is a mere guest. The two shake it off before starting any sort of rancor.

The first film on the docket is Skyfall. Gregg says he is a “Bond Freak” and praises both the film and the franchise as a whole, claiming that there has never been a bad Bond film, and rates Skyfall as “right up there with the best of the best.” Tim says he “wasn't as nuts about it,” but praises the action sequences. He says he is not a big fan of Bond movies, to which Gregg is incredulous. However, Tim amends his popcorn rating from four to five, after which Gregg awards five bags tightly packed with popcorn, and 100 sodas.

For Lincoln, Tim declares it to be one of the greatest movies ever made, and commends director Steven Spielberg. Gregg also compliments Spielberg, noting that Lincoln is a departure from other hits such as E.T. He prefers Skyfall, however, stating that it is the better overall film, and advises the audience to see it instead. Tim gives Skyfall six bags to Gregg's four.

Gregg's pick for the episode's “Popcorn Classics” is Murphy's Romance (1985, 107 minutes). He speaks positively of the performances of the main actors, Sally Field and James Garner, but states that “the film doesn't really work” due to the age difference and lack of chemistry between the two main actors. Tim also claims to have seen it and not liked it, but they both advise the viewers to give it a chance. Gregg also notes that it took him several years to find a working copy of the film, which added to the disappointment when he finally saw it. In the ratings recap, Tim and Gregg disagree over whether the popcorn scale goes up to six bags.

Skyfall (2012, 143 mins.)
Tim: 5 bags of popcorn
Gregg: 5 bags of popcorn, 100 sodas

Lincoln (2012, 150 mins.)
Tim: 6 bags of popcorn, 3 sodas
Gregg: 4 bags of popcorn, 1 roll of Lincoln pennies

• This episode is one of the very few times in the series Gregg gives a popcorn rating less than five bags of popcorn. It also contains a very rare instance of a six-bagger from him, when he abruptly amends his rating of Skyfall to six bags at the end.
  • It is also the first of many disagreements between Tim and Gregg over whether the scale goes up to five or six bags.
• Gregg first stated he was a major fan of the James Bond franchise in episode 20 of the podcast.

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