The Big Picture

Bobby Wagner joins the show to bid farewell to The Big Picture and The Ringer at large. We look back at how he started working on the show and run through all of his favorite moments during his time as a producer (0:54). Then, Bobby finally convinces Sean and Amanda to discuss ‘Shrek' and ‘Shrek 2' on the show and talk about why ‘Shrek' is such a critical movie for young millennials and early Gen Z (23:40). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Bobby Wagner Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda start the show with a quick recap of all the awards handed out at the Cannes Film Festival and wonder what this year's ‘Anora' could be (1:13). Then, they react to the biggest Memorial Day weekend box office in history and consider what it means for the industry going forward (7:34). Next, they discuss Disney's newest live-action remake, ‘Lilo & Stitch,' and explain why not only this specific movie but also this “genre” at large does not work for them (17:34). Finally, they cover A24's strange but hilarious comedy ‘Friendship,' starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd (43:20), and finish the episode with their top five favorite friendships in movie history (1:02:13). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece, ‘Spirited Away': the wonderful 2002 animated fantasy film, which features an unbound representation of what it feels like to be a child. They talk about what they make of Chihiro as an unusual main character figure, celebrate the huge technical achievement in its stunning animation, and explore how its “perfect movie status" is defined by its singularity. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda need you to trust them one last time as they unpack the highly anticipated ‘Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning,' starring Tom Cruise. Before diving into the film, they briefly recap all of the news headlines from the Cannes Film Festival by highlighting all of the heavy hitters, big surprises, and disappointments (1:05). Then, they unpack their complicated feelings on the newest ‘Mission: Impossible' movie and discuss its legendary set pieces that might be the greatest of the entire franchise, plus its very deep flaws (19:42). Finally, they update their ‘Mission: Impossible' rankings to see where this new installment fits among the rest of the series at large (1:21:04). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to discuss the flaw in death's design by covering ‘Final Destination Bloodlines,' the latest installment in the legendary, violent franchise (2:57). They share why they have such a great affinity for the 'Final Destination' series at large, spoil the movie by highlighting the electrifying kills that define the movie's success (14:38), and go through every single kill in the entire franchise and rank their personal favorites (31:29). Host: Sean Fennessey Guest: Chris Ryan Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda are joined by Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, and Chris Ryan for a very special episode where they draft the best movies of Tom Cruise's legendary career. They talk about their relationship to Cruise, introduce some new draft categories, and have a whole lot of fun. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan, and Bobby Wagner Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Lars von Trier's ‘Melancholia,' the deeply upsetting 2011 science fiction drama, which stars Kirsten Dunst and Kiefer Sutherland and features one of the greatest opening scenes of all time. They discuss Dunst's astounding performance, explain why this was such a critical project for von Trier's career, and revisit the infamous controversy at the Cannes Film Festival and consider what it means for the legacy of the film. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda open up the mailbag once again to answer all of your questions about underrated indie directors they'd like to see get the “Sean Baker treatment” at this year's Oscars, why Amanda majored in classics, recent films that are the most likely to inspire the next generation of filmmakers, and much more (3:05). Then, Alex Ross Perry returns to the show to discuss his new genre-bending music biopic, ‘Pavements.' They discuss what attracted Perry to making this stylized vision, the complicated and interesting process behind making the movie, and what types of projects he'd like to take on in the future (1:02:33). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Alex Ross Perry and Bobby Wagner Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda briefly tease next week's mailbag episode and react to the Golden Globes adding a new category for Best Podcast (1:34). Then, they dive into their long-awaited Paul Newman episode, where they unpack who Newman was as a person (7:06), explore what made him such a special actor (16:13), and build his Hall of Fame by selecting the 10 most essential performances of his career (43:47). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda briefly react to the news that President Donald Trump wants to impose a 100 percent tariff on any films produced outside of the United States (1:46). Then, they react to the new trailer for Spike Lee's film ‘Highest 2 Lowest' and discuss ‘Another Simple Favor,' the sequel to ‘A Simple Favor,' starring Blake Lively (7:41). Later, they create their 2025 Movie Star Rankings, where they select and rank the 35 biggest movie stars over the age of 35 (21:11). Finally, Sean is joined by Nicolas Cage to talk about his new film, ‘The Surfer'; what attracts him to certain projects at this stage of his career; and the actors who have inspired him as a performer (1:51:17). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Nicolas Cage Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda are joined by their superhero correspondent, Mallory Rubin, to cover the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Jake Schreier's, ‘Thunderbolts*' (2:04). They praise the strong performances from Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan, and dive deep into some spoilers to project which key characters could play a critical part going forward (18:15). Lastly, they have a big-picture conversation about the MCU and debate whether this return to form is too late to course-correct the state of Marvel (1:17:09). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Mallory Rubin Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss their favorite installment of the beloved Tom Cruise action franchise with ‘Mission: Impossible—Fallout', which features some of the greatest action filmmaking of all time. They explain why this concretized director Christopher McQuarrie as a legitimate star filmmaker, explore what this film means and represents about Cruise's movie stardom persona, and share why they went with this film instead of ‘Top Gun: Maverick' as the official late-stage Cruise movie for the list. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to recap their trip to the mobile Criterion Closet before celebrating the big box-office weekend performances of ‘Sinners' and ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith' and explain why movies are so back (1:09). Then, they cover some recently released mediocre action films: ‘The Accountant 2' (14:30), ‘Havoc' (25:39), ‘A Working Man' (36:33), and ‘The Amateur' (44:41), and have a big-picture conversation on what these four films mean for the state of action movies (53:32). Finally, they discuss a handful of movie news headlines and share their excitement and concern for some upcoming releases (1:00:35). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda briefly react to some Oscars news, including a rule requiring Academy members to watch the movies and the details surrounding the new Casting and Achievement in Stunt Design award (1:34). Then, for the first time, they play the Summer Movie Preview Game, in which they predict the box office and Metacritic score for every major summer movie release in 2025 (16:27). Later, Sean is joined by Adam Nayman to give a brief “state of the movies” before discussing David Cronenberg's newest body horror film, ‘The Shrouds.' They talk about its complicated and moving portrayal of grief, praise Vincent Cassel for his excellent performance, and create a “Cronenberg starter pack” for those who aren't very familiar with the director's filmography (1:25:06). Finally, Sean is joined by the great David Cronenberg to discuss ‘The Shrouds.' They talk about his decision to cast Cassel in an unusual and challenging role, why he hates shooting on film and would never return, and his long-term creative collaboration with composer Howard Shore (2:06:43). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: David Cronenberg and Adam Nayman Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to honor the late Val Kilmer by creating his Hall of Fame. Before creating the list, Chris shares his thoughts on why Ryan Coogler's ‘Sinners' worked so well, sort through the box office controversy, and consider what kind of award chances the film has (4:18). Then, they build the Val Kilmer Hall of Fame by selecting the 10 most essential performances of his career (34:13). Host: Sean Fennessey Guest: Chris Ryan Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Alfonso Cuarón's ‘Children of Men,' a deeply upsetting 2006 apocalyptic thriller starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore, which features some of the most emotionally moving image-making of all time. They explore how this film altered the trajectory of Cuarón's “shapeshifter” filmmaking career, celebrate Owen's amazing physical performance, and revisit the Academy's baffling decision not to honor the film with a single Academy Award. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda are joined by Van Lathan to unpack Ryan Coogler's highly anticipated vampire horror film, ‘Sinners.' They applaud the film for its originality and authenticity, debate whether or not this is Michael B. Jordan's best performance of his career, and unpack one of the film's most controversial and daring scenes by hypothesizing about whether its boldness will be well received (2:28). Then, Sean is joined by Ryan Coogler to explain why he felt like he needed to make this movie, the importance of shooting on film, and the advice Christopher Nolan gave him for shooting on IMAX film cameras (1:12:03). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Ryan Coogler and Van Lathan Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are drafting again! Before their draft, Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to briefly discuss Matt Damon's shredded appearance for Christopher Nolan's ‘The Odyssey' and the new trailer for Ari Aster's ‘Eddington' (1:03). Then, they talk about who they were in 1990 and draft the best movies from the year (10:37). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Chris Ryan and Bobby Wagner Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda begin the episode with their instant reactions to the official announcement of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival lineup. They share their overall mixed feelings about the slate, attempt to figure out why some notable films missed the cut, and debate whether or not Sean would be capable of taking a three-month movie sabbatical (0:00). Then, Chris Ryan joins the show to cover Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza's new combat drama, ‘Warfare,' to discuss how emotionally affecting the film is and examine its use of differing perspectives (0:00). Finally, Sean is joined by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza to explore the intentions behind ‘Warfare,' then work through the importance of memory and examine how it plays a critical part in the storytelling of the film (0:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza, and Chris Ryan Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. They discuss Nancy Meyers's ‘Something's Gotta Give,' the 2003 romantic comedy starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, which featured some of the most realized and developed characters of the century. They highlight and celebrate Meyers's auteurist vision, argue why it's the last great studio romantic comedy, and remember one of Jack Nicholson's final performances that featured an incredible balance of his powerful charisma and uglier, stranger side. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda cover the absolute box office phenomenon ‘A Minecraft Movie,' a video game adaptation starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa. They explore the event film of the year and discuss why the theatergoing experience of the film is such a great thing for the industry at large (1:08). Then, they give a Movie State of the Union, where they work through the troubling slate of early 2025 movies and consider whether television is currently “beating” movies (22:05). Finally, in an attempt to end the episode on an optimistic note, they highlight some movies they've enjoyed in 2025 and share their list of the best movies of the year so far (54:05). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda recap their recent trip to Las Vegas for CinemaCon and catch up on the latest news from around the industry, including some exclusive insight on the ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood' sort-of sequel, which will reportedly be directed by David Fincher. Then, they are joined by Puck's Matt Belloni to talk about their 15 most anticipated movies from CinemaCon. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Matthew Belloni Producers: Jon Jones and Marcelino Ortiz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amanda is joined by The Ringer's very own Jomi Adeniran, Jade Whaley, and Jack Sanders to convey the first (and possibly last) Gen Z Movie Focus Group! They discuss how they watched movies growing up versus today, debate what is the most important movie to Gen Z, and assess whether movies are “so back” or “so over.”Host: Amanda Dobbins Guests: Jomi Adeniran, Jade Whaley, and Jack Sanders Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producers: Jack Sanders and Cory McConnell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amanda is joined by Yasi Salek to create a new mini-genre called "Garbage Women," a list of mediocre to bad streaming movies starring the greatest actresses of our generation. Before officially forming the canon, they cover some recent releases that fit into the genre, ‘Holland' (2:54) and ‘Kinda Pregnant' (20:44). Then, they get into the list, working through the official criteria, discussing what they love and hate about these types of movies, and sharing their notes for future Garbage Women films (32:04). Host: Amanda Dobbins Guest: Yasi Salek Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda return to continue their year-long project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far with a discussion of Park Chan-wook's ‘The Handmaiden,' the 2016 erotic thriller period piece starring Kim Tae-ri and featuring some of the best camera work and production design of the century. They talk about Park Chan-wook's incredible ability to complicate simple stories with depth of design, how it portrays the complicated power dynamics of sex, and why its layered portrayal of shifting psychological perspectives is so impactful. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to react to some trailer and release calendar news about ‘One Battle After Another,' ‘Materialists,' ‘F1,' ‘Together,' and ‘The Phoenician Scheme' (2:41). Then, they discuss Barry Levinson's new gangster movie ‘The Alto Nights,' written by Nicholas Pileggi and starring Robert De Niro (18:58). Finally, they sketch out a new mini-genre, “Garbage Scorsese,” a list of films that are deeply indebted to the work of Martin Scorsese but not actually that good (43:45). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're drafting again! Sean, Amanda, and Chris are joined by the resident physical-media king of 'The Big Picture,' Tracy Letts, to draft movies from 1982 and take stock of the biggest ways the film world has changed in the past 40 years. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Tracy Letts and Chris Ryan Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda kick off their year-long project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far with a discussion of Tony Gilroy's ‘Michael Clayton,' the 2007 legal thriller starring George Clooney and featuring one of the best scripts of the century. They talk about how tightly wound the movie is, some sliding doors in its production, and what it means for the list to start with such a beloved movie for both Sean and Amanda. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to discuss the latest Netflix mega-budget action movie, ‘The Electric State,' one of the worst movies of the decade so far (1:00). They discuss the state of Netflix's influence on the movie industry and the series of disastrous movies made by the Russo brothers since they left Marvel. Then, they run through a list of other movies they've missed on the show, including ‘The Gorge' (47:00), ‘Last Breath' (56:00), ‘The Monkey' (1:00:00), ‘Eephus' (1:04:00), ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin' (1:07:00), ‘Chaos: The Manson Murders' (1:10:00), ‘Love Hurts' (1:12:00), and ‘The Actor' (1:13:00). Finally, Sean is joined by writer-director Mark Anthony Green to discuss the long journey to making his first feature, ‘Opus,' starring Ayo Edeberi and John Malkovich (1:18:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Chris Ryan and Mark Anthony Green Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producers: Jack Sanders and Jon Jones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda discuss their upcoming trip to Las Vegas for CinemaCon (1:00) before taking stock of Steven Soderbergh's 36th feature film, ‘Black Bag,' starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender (8:30). Then, they build a Hall of Fame for Blanchett by selecting the 10 most important performances by the two-time Oscar winner (27:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producers: John Richter and Jon Jones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a brief discussion of the A24-inflected ‘Thunderbolts*' trailer that dropped over the weekend (0:45), Sean and Amanda dive into Bong Joon-ho's eighth feature film, ‘Mickey 17' (4:15). They discuss its often uneven tone, how the film fits into Bong Joon-ho's body of work, Robert Pattinson's incredible performance and lack of movie star persona, and some of their favorite scenes. Then, they rank all eight of Bong Joon-ho's feature films (49:32). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producers: Bobby Wagner, Chia Hao Tat, Sasha Ashall, and Jon Jones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda are joined by Joanna Robinson to tie up some loose ends from Sunday's Oscars (1:00) and to answer your mailbag questions about ‘Anora,' Sean Baker's huge night, snubs, ratings, the cultural relevance of the ceremony, and anything else you could cook up about the awards (42:00). Then, Sean is joined by returning guest Bong Joon-ho and interpreter Sharon Choi to discuss his new film ‘Mickey 17,' following up the tremendous success of ‘Parasite,' his famous storyboarding style, what he took inspiration from in the making of this movie, and more (1:30:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Bong Joon-ho and Joanna Robinson Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producers: Chia Hao Tat and Jon Jones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda sit down moments after the conclusion of the 2025 Academy Awards to discuss ‘Anora' and Sean Baker's historic night. They discuss Baker taking home four Oscars for the same film, the uneven nature of the telecast and speeches, which films petered out before Hollywood's biggest night, and much more. Plus: the results of Sean and Amanda's final Oscar predictions as well as their Big Oscar Bet from back in September (0:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producers: John Richter and Cory McConnell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda discuss a bit of news about the 2026 movie slate (1:00), then launch headfirst into their final predictions for the 2025 Oscars' winners, losers, and everything in between (15:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda return for their fifth annual Alternative Oscar awards (a.k.a. the Big Picks), in which they award alternative nominees and winners for the major Oscar categories, as well as some of our own homemade categories. The snubbed, the beloved, and more are all represented here (44:00)! Before handing out the awards, they react to the past week's big news in the film world, including a fascinating Timothée Chalamet SAG speech, and the news that the Broccoli family has ceded creative control of the James Bond franchise to Amazon (1:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan gather to draft films that have been awarded Best Picture at the Academy Awards. This time, they select from six categories: 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, 1990s, 2010s, and Best Picture Loser. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda are joined by ‘Bandsplain' host Yasi Salek to discuss ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,' the fourth installment in the franchise (1:00), before breaking down ‘Paddington in Peru,' the third film in the beloved ‘Paddington' series (35:00). Then, they sketch out a loose American vision of the British film canon for the 21st century (50:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Yasi Salek Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to review the utter mess that is ‘Captain America: Brave New World.' They discuss its various rewrites, the ways the movie shows its seams, why Harrison Ford is even interested in taking roles like this, and what it means for the end of Phase 5 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda react to the movie trailers that ran during the Super Bowl and give their broader thoughts about cinema's role in football's biggest broadcast (1:00). Then, they dig into the PGA and DGA Awards, including what they portend for the front-running films at the Oscars, like ‘Anora,' ‘The Brutalist,' and ‘Emilia Pérez' (11:00). Finally, they open up the mailbag: Listeners sent in over 1,000 questions about watching habits, the state of theater-going, auteur theory, work-life-movie balance, and much more (37:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda react to the ‘Fantastic Four' and ‘Jurassic World Rebirth' trailers (1:00) before discussing the slate of movies being released that are tied to Valentine's Day, including Drew Hancock's ‘Companion' (15:15), ‘You're Cordially Invited' (29:30), ‘Love Me', and ‘Heart Eyes' (40:00). Then, they mint a new bespoke subgenre called “garbage love”—romance movies that use genre as a vehicle to deliver their love stories (55:00). Then, Sean is joined by Hancock to discuss his circuitous journey to directing his first feature, ‘Companion'; casting Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher in the lead roles; working alongside ‘Barbarian' producer Zach Cregger; the themes of the film; the difficultly of promoting a movie that relies so much on the tension in its script; and more (1:24:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Drew Hancock Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda discuss the evolving story of Karla Sofía Gascón's old tweets (1:00) and what it might portend for the ‘Emilia Pérez' Oscar hopes. Then, they discuss an underwhelming Sundance 2025 (12:00) before diving deep into one of the best movies of 2024, ‘Nickel Boys' (44:00), and discussing the excellent Michael Keaton performance at the center of ‘Goodrich' (1:01:00). Finally, Sean is joined by director Tim Fehlbaum to discuss ‘September 5,' how he became interested in the story that it depicts, casting the film, and the ascendant run it's been on this awards season (1:15:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Tim Fehlbaum Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda dig into ‘The Brutalist' (with spoilers!)—the text, the reception, the performances, the score, its awards chances, its lasting presence in the American film canon, and everything in between (1:00). Then, they're joined by Joanna Robinson to weigh in on the Best Picture race and rank all 10 films nominated for the award based on their current chances to win the race (1:31:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Joanna Robinson Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices