What the corpus says about W. (2008)

What was said about it (13)

1. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:04:13 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] No Country for Old Men ↔ W. · theme · Both arrived as the Bush era wound down and prompted audiences to take stock of the 21st century. · "No country for old men in W arrived just as the Bush era was winding down, and both movies prompted audiences to take stock of the 21st century so far."
2. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:30:52 · Brian Raftery (0.90)] W. ↔ Frank Capra movie (unspecified) · theme · Stone thought of Bush as a character out of a Frank Capra movie, a regular guy risen from alcoholic bum to most powerful figure. · "Stone said he thought of Bush as a character out of a Frank Kabra movie."
3. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:03:19 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. ↔ No Country for Old Men · craft · Raftery links Stone's film to the Coens' as a different take on one man in over his head setting off destruction. · "That kind of domino effect was explored in a very different movie from the year before."
4. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:38:21 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] No Country for Old Men ↔ W. · contrast · Raftery implies Moss at least realizes he is in trouble; Bush in Stone's film never does. · "Still, at least Lou Ellen Moss has a moment or 2 where he realizes he's in trouble."
5. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:25:56 · Oliver Stone (0.90)] W. ↔ Pinkville · career · W. got made because financing for Pinkville collapsed in the 2008 meltdown. · "The money got pulled by a stock firm called Merrill Lynch at that time."
6. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:26:10 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] World Trade Center ↔ W. · people · Stone had planned Pinkville to follow World Trade Center; when it collapsed he moved to W. · "He jumped into his George W. Bush movie, which stone had had on the back burner for a while."
7. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:38:59 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. ↔ Nixon · people · Nixon was frenzied, impassioned and inflammatory; W. looks like an outlier next to it. · "And when you look at the film next to a movie like Nixon, which was frenzied and impassioned, and sometimes inflammatory."
8. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:27:29 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. ↔ Rendition · industry · Rendition came and went despite an A-list cast because audiences avoided politics at the movies, explaining Stone's financing trouble. · "People were going to movie theaters to avoid the news, not to relive it."
9. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:00:44 · Oliver Stone (0.90)] W. ↔ The Manchurian Candidate · Stone's view of Bush · Stone said Bush seemed programmed and controlled by others, like a Manchurian candidate. · "There was a sense of a brainwashed president, I'd say, everything was very programmed, like a Manchurian candidate."
10. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:26:32 · Brian Raftery (0.90)] W. ↔ American Dreamz · failed Bush satires · A couple of high-profile movies had taken aim at the Bush administration and missed; American Dreamz is one. · "During Bush's 2nd term, a couple of high profile movies had taken aim at his administration."
11. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:43:38 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. ↔ No Country for Old Men · title pun · On Obama beating McCain, Raftery quips that this was no country for old men. · "And this was no country for, well, you know."
12. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:45:08 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. ↔ Iron Man · cultural handoff · After the Bush years, audiences wanted a new big-screen hero, Tony Stark, teasing the next episode. · "Not to mention time for a bold, new big screen hero."
13. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:31:43 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] Josh Brolin ↔ W. · people · Stone cast Brolin in W. right after No Country for Old Men; Brolin was at first not interested. · "Stone then turned to Josh Brolin, who'd just come off no country for old men."

Films put beside it more than once (1)

1. [pairs] W. ↔ No Country for Old Men · said 4 times in 1 episode

Fun items about it (6)

1. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:27:59 · Oliver Stone (0.85)] W. · fun · No studio would touch W.; it was financed overseas for about $27 million, including a Jackie Chan producing partner Stone met gambling in Macau. · "He was a gambler. You'd go off to Macau, and we gambled, and he was quite a fun guy, a crazy guy."
2. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:30:44 · Oliver Stone (0.90)] W. · fun · Stone wanted satire, not a takedown; Bush was a simple man while Nixon was three-dimensional. · "Nixon had many, many issues, but it was a three-dimensional man, whereas George Bush was a very simple man."
3. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:31:37 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. · fun · Christian Bale was originally cast as Bush and studied him for months but dropped out when makeup could not make him W. · "But he dropped out after it became clear that no amount of makeup would transform him into W."
4. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:36:49 · Richard Dreyfuss (0.60)] W. · fun · Cheney sweet-talks Bush into war with a one-percent-chance lettuce and E. coli analogy. · "There was a one% chance of you dying, sir."
5. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:38:01 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. · fun · The closing press-conference scene has Bush struggling for over a minute to name a lesson learned. · "Bush struggles for more than a minute."
6. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:42:04 · Oliver Stone (0.85)] W. · fun · Bill Clinton, a friend of Stone's, gave Bush a copy; Bush reportedly said Josh had done a good job. · "He just said that he was thought that Josh had done a good job."

One hop out: what recommends the films most often joined to it (16)

1. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:07:47 · Brian Raftery (0.90)] Cormac McCarthy ⇒ No Country for Old Men (the host's read) · lineage · The film adapts McCarthy's 2005 novel and the Coens refused to water it down. · "You can tell the cones were determined not to water down McCarthy's book."
2. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Incredible Hulk · 0:23:12 · Griffin or David (0.35)] Iron Man ↔ The Incredible Hulk · programming · Both Iron Man's post-credits Fury scene and Tony's Hulk cameo got audiences cheering, building the idea of a shared universe. · "I was so invested in the idea, which seems hilarious now of a cinematic universe."
3. [The Rewatchables · ‘The Ice Storm’ · 0:13:48 · Bill Simmons (0.80)] The Ice Storm ↔ Nixon · lineage · Simmons says the nostalgia turned to re-examination in the mid-90s, citing Oliver Stone's Nixon. · "So mid 90s, it starts to be like, hmm."
4. [Blank Check · Fargo · 2:02:52 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] Peter Stormare ↔ No Country for Old Men · theme · Gaear caring about Jerry's cruelty is compared to Tommy Lee Jones's sheriff not knowing whether he belongs in this world. · "This is like his Tommy Lee Jones in no country sort of like conundrum where he's like, I don't even know if I belong in this world."
5. [Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:18:06 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man ↔ Iron Man 2 · programming · Griffin has a point about Paltrow in Iron Man 2 and promises a separate Iron Man 2 commentary. · "We're going to do an Iron Man 2 commentary so we can talk about the movie I want to talk about there."
6. [The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 0:21:37 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Panic Room ↔ No Country for Old Men · theme · Rooting for a morally complicated figure (Whitaker) recalls No Country and The Godfather. · "is it really that far afield from like no country for old men or the godfather"
7. [Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:48:57 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man ↔ Thor · programming · The hosts preview the next trio: Thor, Captain America, Avengers; one hates Thor. · "So what our next three is going to be Thor, Captain America, Avengers."
8. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:10:17 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] No Country for Old Men ↔ No Country for Old Men · theme · It works as neo-Western, chase movie and killer-on-the-loose flick but is monumental for another reason. · "A neo Western, a chase movie, a killer on the loose flick, and it does all of those things perfectly."
9. [Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 2:01:42 · unknown (Griffin) (0.50)] Iron Man ↔ Captain Marvel · programming · Mentions Captain Marvel's upcoming 90s setting and Kamala Khan idolizing her as a possible future movie. · "And then like models herself after Captain Marvel."
10. [The Rewatchables · ‘Reservoir Dogs’ · 1:23:02 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Reservoir Dogs ↔ No Country for Old Men · craft · Not showing the heist works as in No Country; slowly unfurling beats showing. · "No, we've learned this from no country for old men."
11. [Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:18:57 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man ⇒ Iron Man 3 (the host's read) · lineage · The Iron Man trilogy is closed into a circle by the flashback to the party and Becca Hall and Pierce. · "as individualistic as this movie is, it actually like... It's bringing the 1st 2 complete."
12. [The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:20:57 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] No Country for Old Men ↔ No Country for Old Men · craft · Its message of powerlessness fit audiences after 9/11, Katrina, Iraq and the economy. · "911, Katrina, Iraq, the economy."
13. [Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:09:11 · unknown (Griffin or David) (0.30)] Iron Man ⇒ modern superhero movies (the host's read) · lineage · Called the prototype format every later superhero film riffs on. · "this is the prototype for the modern superhero movie."
14. [Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac · 0:17:16 · Leslye Headland (0.40)] Zodiac ↔ No Country for Old Men · craft · Zodiac, There Will Be Blood and No Country shared a nihilistic mood in 2007. · "But even like just these nihilistic endings where you're like, you know, there's just there's no hope."
15. [Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:27:36 · unknown (probably David) (0.40)] Stan Lee ⇒ Iron Man (the maker said so: Stan Lee interviews) · lineage · The film follows the first comic issue's origin; Lee wanted to make an industrialist war profiteer compelling to hippie kids. · "here's like an industrialist, war profiteer, Laos, and make him like compelling to these, like, hippie kids."
16. [Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:05:06 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man ↔ Batman Begins · lineage · The suit-development process scenes are a funny version of Batman Begins' gadget-building. · "This is like funny version of Batman begins."

Who said it, by their latest sketch (3)

1. [speaker] Brian Raftery · latest sketch, The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · Loves slow-burn tension and scenes built on dialogue, naming the Ellis kitchen scene the best of the 2000s. Is drawn to films that capture their national moment. Has little patience for the word classic, and dry humor about presidents and haircuts. · stances: No Country for Old Men is about inevitability and powerlessness; Its 2007 release resonated with Bush-era anxiety; W. was undone by timing, not quality; Stone's late-2000s movies are best read through the decade's politics
2. [speaker] Oliver Stone · latest sketch, The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · Drawn to American history, especially its darker moments and the truth beneath official stories. Distrusts chasing the news and prefers distance. Sympathetic and a little rueful about Bush, finding him a simple man with a limited imagination. · stances: The 21st century has been downhill; Do not chase the news; Bush was a simple man, not a villain; A Bush film needed time away from the Bush years
3. [speaker] Richard Dreyfuss · no sketch

The shows' running bits (3)

1. [bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
2. [bits] Blank Check: The box office game (Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against); The sung theme ("Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it)
3. [bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

The whole prompt

You are a clerk at Video Culture, a video store. A customer just finished W. (2008) and wants to know what to watch next.

Below is what people who love movies said on three podcasts (Blank Check, The Rewatchables, The Big Picture) about W. (2008) and the films around it, one line each. Every line starts with where it came from, in brackets: [show · episode · time · speaker (how sure we are it was them)]. A [pairs] line says how often two films were put side by side. A [speaker] line says what that person likes. A [bits] line lists a show's running bits: a format, not an opinion.

[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:04:13 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] No Country for Old Men ↔ W. · theme · Both arrived as the Bush era wound down and prompted audiences to take stock of the 21st century. · "No country for old men in W arrived just as the Bush era was winding down, and both movies prompted audiences to take stock of the 21st century so far."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:30:52 · Brian Raftery (0.90)] W. ↔ Frank Capra movie (unspecified) · theme · Stone thought of Bush as a character out of a Frank Capra movie, a regular guy risen from alcoholic bum to most powerful figure. · "Stone said he thought of Bush as a character out of a Frank Kabra movie."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:03:19 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. ↔ No Country for Old Men · craft · Raftery links Stone's film to the Coens' as a different take on one man in over his head setting off destruction. · "That kind of domino effect was explored in a very different movie from the year before."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:38:21 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] No Country for Old Men ↔ W. · contrast · Raftery implies Moss at least realizes he is in trouble; Bush in Stone's film never does. · "Still, at least Lou Ellen Moss has a moment or 2 where he realizes he's in trouble."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:25:56 · Oliver Stone (0.90)] W. ↔ Pinkville · career · W. got made because financing for Pinkville collapsed in the 2008 meltdown. · "The money got pulled by a stock firm called Merrill Lynch at that time."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:26:10 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] World Trade Center ↔ W. · people · Stone had planned Pinkville to follow World Trade Center; when it collapsed he moved to W. · "He jumped into his George W. Bush movie, which stone had had on the back burner for a while."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:38:59 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. ↔ Nixon · people · Nixon was frenzied, impassioned and inflammatory; W. looks like an outlier next to it. · "And when you look at the film next to a movie like Nixon, which was frenzied and impassioned, and sometimes inflammatory."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:27:29 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. ↔ Rendition · industry · Rendition came and went despite an A-list cast because audiences avoided politics at the movies, explaining Stone's financing trouble. · "People were going to movie theaters to avoid the news, not to relive it."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:00:44 · Oliver Stone (0.90)] W. ↔ The Manchurian Candidate · Stone's view of Bush · Stone said Bush seemed programmed and controlled by others, like a Manchurian candidate. · "There was a sense of a brainwashed president, I'd say, everything was very programmed, like a Manchurian candidate."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:26:32 · Brian Raftery (0.90)] W. ↔ American Dreamz · failed Bush satires · A couple of high-profile movies had taken aim at the Bush administration and missed; American Dreamz is one. · "During Bush's 2nd term, a couple of high profile movies had taken aim at his administration."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:43:38 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. ↔ No Country for Old Men · title pun · On Obama beating McCain, Raftery quips that this was no country for old men. · "And this was no country for, well, you know."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:45:08 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. ↔ Iron Man · cultural handoff · After the Bush years, audiences wanted a new big-screen hero, Tony Stark, teasing the next episode. · "Not to mention time for a bold, new big screen hero."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:31:43 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] Josh Brolin ↔ W. · people · Stone cast Brolin in W. right after No Country for Old Men; Brolin was at first not interested. · "Stone then turned to Josh Brolin, who'd just come off no country for old men."
[pairs] W. ↔ No Country for Old Men · said 4 times in 1 episode
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:27:59 · Oliver Stone (0.85)] W. · fun · No studio would touch W.; it was financed overseas for about $27 million, including a Jackie Chan producing partner Stone met gambling in Macau. · "He was a gambler. You'd go off to Macau, and we gambled, and he was quite a fun guy, a crazy guy."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:30:44 · Oliver Stone (0.90)] W. · fun · Stone wanted satire, not a takedown; Bush was a simple man while Nixon was three-dimensional. · "Nixon had many, many issues, but it was a three-dimensional man, whereas George Bush was a very simple man."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:31:37 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. · fun · Christian Bale was originally cast as Bush and studied him for months but dropped out when makeup could not make him W. · "But he dropped out after it became clear that no amount of makeup would transform him into W."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:36:49 · Richard Dreyfuss (0.60)] W. · fun · Cheney sweet-talks Bush into war with a one-percent-chance lettuce and E. coli analogy. · "There was a one% chance of you dying, sir."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:38:01 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] W. · fun · The closing press-conference scene has Bush struggling for over a minute to name a lesson learned. · "Bush struggles for more than a minute."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:42:04 · Oliver Stone (0.85)] W. · fun · Bill Clinton, a friend of Stone's, gave Bush a copy; Bush reportedly said Josh had done a good job. · "He just said that he was thought that Josh had done a good job."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:07:47 · Brian Raftery (0.90)] Cormac McCarthy ⇒ No Country for Old Men (the host's read) · lineage · The film adapts McCarthy's 2005 novel and the Coens refused to water it down. · "You can tell the cones were determined not to water down McCarthy's book."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Incredible Hulk · 0:23:12 · Griffin or David (0.35)] Iron Man ↔ The Incredible Hulk · programming · Both Iron Man's post-credits Fury scene and Tony's Hulk cameo got audiences cheering, building the idea of a shared universe. · "I was so invested in the idea, which seems hilarious now of a cinematic universe."
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Ice Storm’ · 0:13:48 · Bill Simmons (0.80)] The Ice Storm ↔ Nixon · lineage · Simmons says the nostalgia turned to re-examination in the mid-90s, citing Oliver Stone's Nixon. · "So mid 90s, it starts to be like, hmm."
[Blank Check · Fargo · 2:02:52 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] Peter Stormare ↔ No Country for Old Men · theme · Gaear caring about Jerry's cruelty is compared to Tommy Lee Jones's sheriff not knowing whether he belongs in this world. · "This is like his Tommy Lee Jones in no country sort of like conundrum where he's like, I don't even know if I belong in this world."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:18:06 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man ↔ Iron Man 2 · programming · Griffin has a point about Paltrow in Iron Man 2 and promises a separate Iron Man 2 commentary. · "We're going to do an Iron Man 2 commentary so we can talk about the movie I want to talk about there."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 0:21:37 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Panic Room ↔ No Country for Old Men · theme · Rooting for a morally complicated figure (Whitaker) recalls No Country and The Godfather. · "is it really that far afield from like no country for old men or the godfather"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:48:57 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man ↔ Thor · programming · The hosts preview the next trio: Thor, Captain America, Avengers; one hates Thor. · "So what our next three is going to be Thor, Captain America, Avengers."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:10:17 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] No Country for Old Men ↔ No Country for Old Men · theme · It works as neo-Western, chase movie and killer-on-the-loose flick but is monumental for another reason. · "A neo Western, a chase movie, a killer on the loose flick, and it does all of those things perfectly."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 2:01:42 · unknown (Griffin) (0.50)] Iron Man ↔ Captain Marvel · programming · Mentions Captain Marvel's upcoming 90s setting and Kamala Khan idolizing her as a possible future movie. · "And then like models herself after Captain Marvel."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Reservoir Dogs’ · 1:23:02 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Reservoir Dogs ↔ No Country for Old Men · craft · Not showing the heist works as in No Country; slowly unfurling beats showing. · "No, we've learned this from no country for old men."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:18:57 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man ⇒ Iron Man 3 (the host's read) · lineage · The Iron Man trilogy is closed into a circle by the flashback to the party and Becca Hall and Pierce. · "as individualistic as this movie is, it actually like... It's bringing the 1st 2 complete."
[The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:20:57 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] No Country for Old Men ↔ No Country for Old Men · craft · Its message of powerlessness fit audiences after 9/11, Katrina, Iraq and the economy. · "911, Katrina, Iraq, the economy."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:09:11 · unknown (Griffin or David) (0.30)] Iron Man ⇒ modern superhero movies (the host's read) · lineage · Called the prototype format every later superhero film riffs on. · "this is the prototype for the modern superhero movie."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac · 0:17:16 · Leslye Headland (0.40)] Zodiac ↔ No Country for Old Men · craft · Zodiac, There Will Be Blood and No Country shared a nihilistic mood in 2007. · "But even like just these nihilistic endings where you're like, you know, there's just there's no hope."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:27:36 · unknown (probably David) (0.40)] Stan Lee ⇒ Iron Man (the maker said so: Stan Lee interviews) · lineage · The film follows the first comic issue's origin; Lee wanted to make an industrialist war profiteer compelling to hippie kids. · "here's like an industrialist, war profiteer, Laos, and make him like compelling to these, like, hippie kids."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:05:06 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man ↔ Batman Begins · lineage · The suit-development process scenes are a funny version of Batman Begins' gadget-building. · "This is like funny version of Batman begins."
[speaker] Brian Raftery · latest sketch, The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · Loves slow-burn tension and scenes built on dialogue, naming the Ellis kitchen scene the best of the 2000s. Is drawn to films that capture their national moment. Has little patience for the word classic, and dry humor about presidents and haircuts. · stances: No Country for Old Men is about inevitability and powerlessness; Its 2007 release resonated with Bush-era anxiety; W. was undone by timing, not quality; Stone's late-2000s movies are best read through the decade's politics
[speaker] Oliver Stone · latest sketch, The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · Drawn to American history, especially its darker moments and the truth beneath official stories. Distrusts chasing the news and prefers distance. Sympathetic and a little rueful about Bush, finding him a simple man with a limited imagination. · stances: The 21st century has been downhill; Do not chase the news; Bush was a simple man, not a villain; A Bush film needed time away from the Bush years
[speaker] Richard Dreyfuss · no sketch
[bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
[bits] Blank Check: The box office game (Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against); The sung theme ("Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it)
[bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

Recommend three to six films, and only films that appear in these lines. A series, a TV film, or a franchise counts too when a line recommends it or pairs it with W. (2008); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend W. (2008) itself. For each one, give one short reason in your own words and say whose reason it is: the show, named exactly as the brackets name it, and the speaker when the line names one (an "unknown" speaker is just the show). If the lines are thin, say so plainly rather than stretching them.

Keep a contrast a contrast. When a line sets two films apart, the reason is how they differ; never turn it into a way they're alike. A line with ⇒ puts the source first and what drew on it second, and one marked "the maker said so" is still the host reporting it: say who said it, and never state an influence as fact.

You know only what's on these lines. Add no fact they don't state: not who directed a film, not what kind of film it is, not when it came out, unless a line says so. Say nothing about the store or how anything rents here.

Talk the way a clerk talks to a customer at the counter: plain text, titles written plainly with no asterisks or other markup, no headings, no lists of more than six, no JSON.