Appreciates craftspeople and lesser-known directors (loves The Boost and City Hall) and attends Cannes. Scrutinizes plot logic and loves Buscemi's Fargo energy. Disdains the garage finale.
Stances
The movie works until the murder, then the investigation sinks it
Modern tech would have ended the plot
Harold Becker's career deserves a look
Humor: Wry, uses film-nerd references and dry understatement.
In their words
“I just saw it for the 1st time this year is amazing.” (0:30:27)
“I just feel like reverse image search alone on a photo of Rick just ends this whole thing.” (1:08:35)
Treats After Hours as a top-5 Scorsese and an all-time favorite; loves style, Pee-wee-adjacent oddballs, Frances Ha and film-history research. Can't stand lazy comic-book flatness or explicit violence for its own sake. A sucker for homage, trivia and a clean pace.
Stances
After Hours is a hinge in Scorsese's career
Goodfellas' look starts here
Pauline Kael misread it
Nighttime New York movies are a lineage
Humor: Dry, researched asides and a New Yorker's grumble about the city changing.
In their words
“It's just a hinge movie for him, you know?” (1:41:36)
Barely audible in the transcript; credited by Bill's live-show promo and addressed as 'Fantasy', he offers short remarks on Spider Rico. Little can be said about his taste from this episode.
Admires Walken's monologue craft and Tarantino's refusal to sell out. Likes movie stars taking risks in non-star roles (Stallone in Cop Land). Dislikes how the film ends up with Fabienne.
Stances
Walken wins the Dion Waiters Award
Travolta, not Day-Lewis, was right
Tarantino never sold out
Humor: Quiet, wry one-liners; takes the long view.
In their words
“Don't massage my wife's foot unless you're a professional masseuse is one of my takes.” (0:10:40)
“I love when movie stars play non-movie star roles.” (2:41:43)
“Having him play like just one normal hitman having a weird day would be awesome.” (1:39:01)
Likes the sketch-driven silliness and Mini-Me/Scott Evil feud. Annoyed by Fat Bastard's grossness and Felicity sleeping with him. Likes Rob Lowe's resilient career.
Stances
Fat Bastard scene is the worst-aged
Dr. Evil nipples age best
Heather Graham deserves credit
Humor: Dry, plays straight man to Bill's tangents.
In their words
“Felicity sleeping with Fat Bastard has just grossed me out in 1999.” (0:37:25)
Sean is the most film-critical of the three, with a theory of Pacino as broken by Scarface and an argument that The Insider is his most calibrated performance. He admires Plummer's non-impression of Wallace and values the Mann-Roth research. He is less into the score and the style when applied to a white-collar story.
Stances
The Insider is probably Pacino's best performance
Mann's style strains for individuality and sometimes ages him
The movie is a little masturbatory when applied to a hotel-room decision story
The score is not his favorite Mann element
Humor: Wry and observational, with film-critic asides and self-deprecating comments about being excommunicated from the Mann club.
In their words
“I think this is truly his last great masterpiece.” (0:07:22)
“I think that the insider is probably his best performance because it's the one that is the most finely calibrated between loud, crazy, and kind of subtle and stormy” (0:12:36)
A DVD head and Letterboxd regular who would cave on the deleted scenes. Likes the fact sheets, craft details like Ozu, and friendship movies. Dislikes the sequel idea and the Costner scene being sat on forever.
Stances
Would show the cut Costner scene
Doubts Grand Canyon
Humor: Dry quips and the straight man to the Letterboxd jokes.
Cares about directorial craft and homage; Scorsese devotee. Praises performances and lessons over the direction, which he finds first-time-filmmaker plain. Bothered by mixed Goodfellas homages.
Stances
Wonders if Goodfellas echoes are purposeful
Scorsese directing would be more thrilling but less breezy
Wants answers on who planted the car bomb
Humor: Plays straight-man with deadpan nitpicks and question lists.
In their words
“my obsession with Martin Scorsese is probably rooted in the fact that I didn't have that.” (0:08:56)
“I just want to know how much of what he was doing was a purposeful homage to Goodfellas” (1:32:47)
Altman is in his top five favorite filmmakers and he knows the filmography cold, from Tanner '88 to Cookie's Fortune. He's a sucker for Carver and Blu-ray collecting and defends Greta Scacchi. He has little patience for TV-style stretches of an asshole.
Stances
Altman's legacy is the filmmakers he influenced
The Player is one of Altman's three or four best
Movies have been good for 15 months
The oral biography is the place to start with Altman
Humor: Dry and a little snobby about his own collector habits; deadpan fact-drops.
In their words
“He is in my top 5 favorite filmmakers ever.” (0:08:57)
“I think it's really like definitely one of his 3 or 4 best movies.” (0:10:20)
“I think movies have been good for like 15 months.” (1:40:05)
Film-nerd who values Willis's daring taste in directors and takes seriously the craft and the cultural footprint. Fond of Renny Harlin's Long Kiss Goodnight, De Palma, and a good that-guy roll call; skeptical of the movie's incoherent plot and the 9/11-erased airport.
Stances
Willis took risks with unproven filmmakers
Die Hard 2 is still among the better action movies of its era
Long Kiss Goodnight is Harlin's coolest movie
Air traffic control access was problematic
Humor: Dry, specific and film-literate; sets up jokes with precise references.
In their words
“he was willing to take on projects with filmmakers who were maybe not as proven.” (0:07:32)
Film-nerd who builds the big readings (Hitchcock lineage, Fincher career arc) and loves camera moves through walls and Blu-rays. Won't love the accent in Silence of the Lambs; sucker for nitpicks about propane physics.
Stances
Panic Room is Hitchcock doing Psycho after North by Northwest
Silence of the Lambs is still Foster's best
Likes Adventureland best of Stewart
Nitpicks the propane tank and phone logic
Humor: Dry and literate; gets teased for loving cameras inside walls and Blu-rays.
In their words
“I still think is probably the best thing she's ever been a part of” (0:29:47)
“I would say Adventureland is my favorite, Kristen Stewart” (1:34:50)
“Sean loves when we take cameras inside walls.” (1:21:07)
Loves Ang Lee's range, Brokeback Mountain, tragedy with satire, and thinking about how industry changes. Can't stand over-explained text. A sucker for Joan Allen and small observed behavior.
Stances
Lee has the most varied filmography of any major director in 30 years
The film is more satire than bum-out
Joan Allen is the apex pick
Humor: Earnest and precise, then undercuts with a deadpan aside.
In their words
“He probably has the most varied filmography of any major director in the last 30 years.” (0:09:07)
“Joan wins out of all the actors.” (1:23:11)
“I thought that movie was good, and that kind of came and went, and it was almost in the wrong decade.” (1:12:00)
Film-history lens: loves the Method actors versus movie-star divide, Scorsese's visual flourishes, and Newman's integrity. Dislikes the idea that Ebert missed the ending's point. A sucker for Grady Seasons and Amos scenes.
Stances
It's a torch-passing movie in both business and story
Ending ambiguity is the point, not a flaw
Newman integrity explains the forfeit
Scorsese is great at making a small movie feel big
Humor: Dry film-nerd asides, like claiming he will be 'young and vital forever.'
In their words
“Just that I'm going to be young and vital forever, so I still don't relate to any of that stuff, you know?” (0:21:09)
“it's one of the most exciting and entertaining movies he ever made.” (0:16:10)
“Newman is one of the few guys who basically fused both disciplines.” (0:05:48)
Proud Bill Murray devotee who frames careers in eras; loves the 'from hell' genre and craft details like cinematographer and editor credentials. A champion of Julie Hagerty and Dr. Melfi. Gets a kick out of deep trivia and the Muppets.
Stances
Murray has two phases, pre- and post-Rushmore
The film is a successor to Pacific Heights
Anna may be a post-college adult
Dreyfuss finally plays the character he was destined for
Humor: Confident, nerdy deep cuts and theory-building that makes the others groan, such as the post-college Anna reading.
In their words
“Think of this movie as a logical successor to Pacific Heights.” (0:46:51)
“Sean, you're a Bill Murray guy. Proudly. Proudly.” (0:03:35)
Admires Mann's themes and the rich cinematic lineage; calls himself a weed smoker for Heat but loves Thief. Fond of Caan's volatile nuance, finds Weld and Nelson fascinating.
Admires Fincher as a control-freak craftsman and sees Hitchcock behind Se7en. Can't stand when the Academy rewards uplift over difficult genre filmmaking. A sucker for the Freeman-as-lead reading.
Stances
Se7en is the darkest mainstream American movie ever made.
Pitt is not top-tier here; it is Freeman's movie.
Fincher won the movie.
Humor: Dry and precise, deadpan asides.
In their words
“this is just about the darkest mainstream American movie ever made.” (0:05:59)
“it's also just completely a Hitchcock movie in so many ways.” (0:14:30)
Critic-minded and history-minded: loves the real SNL oral histories, Siskel, Ritchie and Chandler-style noir. Cannot stand weak acting, especially Dana Wheeler-Nicholson here, and defends Siskel over Ebert. A sucker for HBO Max old movies.
Stances
You have to get Chevy Chase to get Fletch
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson is a bad actress
Ebert missed the point
Humor: Dry, authoritative asides and long rants framed as scholarship.
In their words
“I think if you don't get Chevy Chase, you will never get this movie.” (0:02:14)
“You may recall from the Tombstone podcast that I noted that she is a bad actress and she's not good in flutch.” (0:51:31)
Loves the Cameron-Ferris friendship, Hughes's relationships, and the film as a closed system of perfection. Cannot stand overthinking about why it works; a sucker for people who keep it together while coiled. Defends innocent fun and Cameron.
Stances
Ferris is the movie but audiences relate to Cameron
The film works as an unreplicable perfect moment
Jeffrey Jones was the right choice over Paul Gleason
Hughes is a rare writer who channels all kinds of characters
Humor: Dry, deadpan, quick to drop a zinger; the host who delivers the Silent Judge side-eye.
In their words
“It's like a, this is a very closed system of perfection.” (0:19:12)
“Your dirtbag ethics have nothing to do with what makes Ferris Bueller beautiful.” (1:26:08)
Treats Tarantino as the central author, loves Leo DiCaprio's work here, and defends the movie's themes against online complaints. Loves the Bruce Lee roof scene. Can't stand criticism that misses the point about beginnings and endings of careers.
Stances
Quentin wins every Tarantino movie
Leo's performance is the best of his career
The Margot Robbie criticism missed the point
Humor: Dry, deflecting, and gets teased about Equinox and Leo.
In their words
“I think Leo decided in like 1992.” (0:15:50)
“I think Quentin wins all of his movies.” (1:17:39)
Self-described not a huge Bond person who finds Skyfall scratches the part of his brain other Bonds do not; loves the Silva rat speech and dialogue scenes. A Peter Morgan disciple and Anglophile who can pick out British character actors.
Stances
Skyfall's action is accessible and legible
Silva dominates the film
Hacking is the worst-aged element
Humor: Deadpan nitpicks and bits about vlogging villains.
In their words
“I am not a huge bond person.” (0:04:20)
Their shows' recurring bits
Running bits, not opinions; a critic read aloud is cited, not present.
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.
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.
Their claims
Showing 1,401–1,500 of 1,576 claims.
career (career):
Ben Mendelsohn → Rogue One.
Mendelsohn played Director Orson Krennic in Rogue One, in a flowing cape.
“He played a character with just a phenomenal name named Director Orson Krenik.”
career (career):
Ben Mendelsohn → Ready Player One.
In Ready Player One he plays Nolan Sorrento, a basic evil corporate villain who still brings flair.
“where he plays a character named Nolan Sorrento, who's just a villain.”
career (career):
Annette Bening → American Beauty.
Bening is a 1990s emblem, star of The Grifters and American Beauty, whose character was compared to Hillary Clinton.
“Star of the Grifters and Star of American Beauty.”
lineage (lineage):
Captain Marvel → Guardians of the Galaxy.
As a prequel, Captain Marvel brings back Guardians characters Ronan (Lee Pace) and Korath (Djimon Hounsou).
“this is, of course, a prequel, so their characters appear in this film again.”
industry (industry):
Captain Marvel → Avengers: Infinity War.
Opening-weekend benchmarks: Infinity War opened at $257 million; under $150 million is called a disappointment for Captain Marvel.
“Avengers Infinity War, naturally, that one's $257000000 opening weekend.”
lineage (lineage):
Wonder Woman → Kingdom Come.
Sean points to Alex Ross's 90s comic Kingdom Come, where an elderly Wonder Woman and Batman had a thing.
“you got the sense that Wonder Woman and Batman had a thing, but they no longer got along anymore.”
theme (theme):
Bohemian Rhapsody → The Pianist.
Rami Malek's win reminds the speaker of Adrien Brody's win for The Pianist, a film by a controversial filmmaker with a sordid past.
“I thought a bit of Adrian Brody winning for the pianist, which was also made by a controversial controversial filmmaker with a sordid past.”
industry (industry):
Roma → The Irishman.
A Netflix ad for The Irishman put 'in theaters' first, which the speaker reads as the new paradigm for how movies are seen.
“There was a notable commercial in the middle of this show for the Irishman, a new film from Netflix, and Martin Scorsese that you pointed out.”
contrast (contrast):
The Shape of Water → Get Out.
Shape of Water won in a soft year because nobody was comfortable giving it to Get Out, Dunkirk, Lady Bird or Three Billboards.
“Nobody feels comfortable giving it to get out or to Dunkirk or to Ladybird, or even a 3 billboards.”
craft (craft):
Bradley Cooper → A Star Is Born.
Says Cooper performed as himself rather than as Jackson Maine, which is a mistake because the character's voice is indelible.
“Bradley Cooper, very notably, did not perform as Jackson Maine.”
industry (industry):
First Man → Avengers: Infinity War.
First Man won visual effects because the most high-toned action movie nominated for best picture tends to win the category.
“basically the most high toned action movie that is also nominated for best picture tends to win.”
industry (industry):
Green Book → Period. End of Sentence..
When women are not honored in big categories the Academy gives the award to the women's empowerment movie; for every Green Book there is a menstruation movie.
“Yes, for every green book, there is a menstruation movie and here we had one.”
verdict (verdict):
Hank Corwin → Bohemian Rhapsody.
The speaker expected Corwin to be honored for editing Vice, but Bohemian Rhapsody won the editing award.
“I thought that he was going to be honored here. And I should have known all along that Bohemian Rhapsody was going to win.”
theme (theme):
Alfonso Cuaron → Groundhog Day.
Cuarón's repeated thanks to the same Roma actors in each speech is compared to the alarm clock in Groundhog Day.
“it was that sort of the alarm clock going off in Groundhog Day.”
contrast (contrast):
Damien Chazelle → Moonlight.
Another split between best director and best picture: Chazelle won director for La La Land and Moonlight won picture.
“We had this a couple of years ago, of course, when Damian Chazelle won best director for La La Land, and then Moonlight went on to win best picture.”
career (career):
Yorgos Lanthimos → Population 1280.
Next project is an adaptation of a Jim Thompson novel, gritty stuff from the writer of The Killer Inside Me.
“adaptation of a Jim Thompson novel called Population 1280”
industry (industry):
Todd Phillips → Hulk Hogan.
Fennessey cites the news of a Todd Phillips and Chris Hemsworth Hogan biopic as evidence movies and wrestling are in the air.
“Todd Phillips and Chris Hemsworth are going to be making a movie about the life of Hulk Hogan, movies and wrestling just seem to be in the air.”
verdict (verdict):
Rocky III → The Wrestler.
Fennessey wonders whether Rocky III counts as a wrestling movie, in which case it might rank with The Wrestler.
“whether or not Rocky 3 actually counted as a wrestling movie because if so, that's obviously like, that might be up there with the wrestler is the best wrestling thing ever made”
what-if (what-if):
Paradise Alley → Michael B. Jordan.
Fennessey compares Stallone making a wrestling movie right after Rocky to Michael B. Jordan making a Junkyard Dog biopic now.
“imagine Michael B. Jordan signing up for, you know, the junkyard dog biopic right now.”
craft (craft):
Jules Dassin → Night and the City.
Fennessey notes Dassin set the tone for a lot of film noir and crime tropes, which is why this is a cool vibe for a pro wrestling film.
“set the tone for a lot of film noir and crime tropes over through his career”
industry (industry):
Fighting with My Family → Ready to Rumble.
Fennessey frames Fighting with My Family as the first stroke of a more refined version of the movie-wrestling crossover that Ready to Rumble attempted.
“fighting with my family feels like the 1st stroke of maybe a slightly more refined vision of how movies and the pro wrestling world intersect.”
theme (comparison):
David Arquette → The Umbrella Academy (TV series).
Fennessey compares seeing shirtless Arquette in spandex to the unbelievable gorilla-bodied character on The Umbrella Academy.
“unbelievable as seeing the guy with the gorilla body and umbrella academy”
career (career):
Fighting with My Family → The Office (TV series).
Fennessey says Paige is positioned not far from David Brent or Merchant's Hello Ladies character, with a presumed sense of accomplishment.
“not so far from David Brent or your character in Hello Ladies”
programming (programming):
Leave No Trace → Fighting with My Family.
Fennessey proposes Leave No Trace as an unlikely but reasonable double feature with Fighting with My Family.
“That would make an unlikely but not unreasonable double feature with fighting with my family.”
career (career):
Mahershala Ali → True Detective.
Ali is about to star in the third season of True Detective, so he can float above Green Book's problems.
“Mohershla is about to be starring in the 3rd season of True Detective on HBO.”
verdict (verdict):
Green Book → Three Billboards.
Asked if Green Book is this year's Three Billboards, the answer is probably yes, and there will be one every year.
“I think we're going to have a 3 billboards every year until we fix a lot of larger problems in Hollywood and the world at large.”
industry (industry):
Bohemian Rhapsody → If Beale Street Could Talk.
PGA nominating Bohemian Rhapsody while omitting Beale Street worries the speakers for Beale Street's Oscar chances.
contrast (contrast):
A Star Is Born → Bohemian Rhapsody.
A Star Is Born came out in October and Bohemian Rhapsody in November and stayed in theaters, so civilians saw one and not the other.
“And Bohemian Rhapsody came out in November and has just been in theaters.”
theme (theme):
A Star Is Born → Bohemian Rhapsody.
Star's schmaltz and old-fashionedness were expected to lift it, but that is what the night rewarded in Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book.
“it's the schmaltiness and old-fashionedness of Bohemian Rhapsody and Green book that we're really discussing tonight.”
what-if (what-if):
Christian Bale → Daniel Day-Lewis.
With Day-Lewis out of the frame, Bale becomes the consensus best actor and a second Oscar would make that official.
“Daniel DeLouis is out of the frame and now everybody's like, this is our best actor”
industry (industry):
Christian Bale → James Franco.
Last year's winner of the same award was James Franco, who was soon blown out of the frame, showing how frivolous the show is.
career (career):
Amy Pascal → Spider-Man: Homecoming.
After leaving Sony she negotiated a producing deal including the Spider-Man rights and made Homecoming with Marvel.
“Her 1st Spider-Man movie, she got to produce in conjunction with Marvel and made Spider-Man Homecoming.”
career (career):
Chuck Lorre → The Kominsky Method.
Lorre, creator of The Big Bang Theory, won for his Netflix show and was emotional, almost forgetting to thank Netflix.
“He's, of course, the creator of the Big Bang Theory”
people (people):
Roma → Alfonso Cuaron.
Cuaron won best director and Roma is bulletproof regardless; best director does not necessarily portend the Oscar.
“I think that no matter what Romo was going to be bulletproof tonight.”
verdict (verdict):
Regina King → If Beale Street Could Talk.
King's win was the one where critics' favorite got rewarded, since she won most of the critics awards.
“Regina King to me was the one person who I was like, this is a small film.”
“Like they're really at home in a world like this, which is kind of rife with meta commentary, but also incredibly sweet and sincere and empathic towards his characters.”
“it doesn't have any of the self-awareness or the, you know, it's not it's self-awareness, but not self-consciousness of Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse.”
“the movie that I kept thinking of, especially as this movie went on and it gets sort of more kaleidoscopic and more strange and more fun and high energy is who framed Roger Rabbit?”
verdict (verdict):
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse → Aquaman.
Aquaman made the speaker dread a sequel; Spider-Verse made him curious about where the story goes.
“unlike Aquaman, which as soon as the movie ended, I was like, I can't believe I have to go do this again 2 years from now”
career (career):
Jurassic Park → Steven Spielberg.
Jurassic Park is the midpoint of Spielberg's career, blending spectacle with childhood and humanity.
“it is kind of the perfect middle ground, the median point of Spielberg's career.”
craft (craft):
Ready Player One → ILM.
ILM artists slipped a gremlin into Ready Player One and Spielberg was annoyed, part of his trimming of self-referential Easter eggs.
“ILM people threw in like a gremlin in some place and like he was just like, god damn it.”
lineage (lineage):
Raiders of the Lost Ark → George Lucas.
Raiders fuses Spielberg's and Lucas's love of 30s-50s serialized hero comic strips.
“it is a neat fusion of his point of view and George Lucas's point of view and their fascination with the serialized hero comic strip stories of the 30s and 40s and 50s”
fun, about
Mission: Impossible:
The Langley vault heist is nearly silent; the digital sound meter goes into the red. It is the pick for most rewatchable scene and has been ripped off numerous times.
“almost all in silence, which is an incredible choice.”
fun, about
Mission: Impossible:
Masks win 'what's aged the worst' over floppy disks, Netscape and Usenet, though one host argues the preposterous masks are the point and the show's legacy.
fun, about
Mission: Impossible:
Unintentional comedy: Senator Waltzer appears on the McLaughlin Group and the team watches it in crystal-clear video in a Prague hotel room.
“being able to watch the McLaughlin group in crystal clear video in a hotel room in Prague.”
fun, about
Mission: Impossible:
Unanswerable question: three theories on Senator Waltzer, including that he is a 65-year-old American citizen played entirely by Cruise for IMF on 60 grand a year.
“Or he is a completely constructed 65-year-old human American citizen played entirely by Tom Cruise when necessary for the IMF.”
fun, about
The Rewatchables:
Recurring Danny Trejo category: asked which character in MI should be Danny Trejo; answer was Steve Buscemi as Estevez or Claire. Said to matter to Bill Simmons.
“This is one of like the 6 or 7 things that matters most to Bill is the evolution of the Danny Trejo category within the real logic.”
fun, about
Resident Evil:
Cregger told Sean the film would be a rock-em sock-em, brain-off Evil Dead 2 style movie, nothing like Barbarian and Weapons. Sean regrets asking him why he was making a franchise film right after Weapons.
fun, about
Resident Evil:
The suicide jumper scene: Brian runs through a canyon of people leaping off tall buildings and exploding near him; Chris calls it operatic but wishes it was not in the trailer.
“So I thought it was just completely operatic and amazing.”
fun, about
Resident Evil:
A voice-note confession by the elevator is undercut by an intercom voice saying come up, take the stairs; he takes the elevator anyway, which becomes the acid-barf, snowball-zombie set piece.
fun, about
Griffin Newman:
Blank Check co-host Griffin Newman and Severance's Zach Cherry play scientists in the final lab; podcasters get extra pixie dust from the scene.
“there's a little bit of extra pixie dust on this sequence”
fun, about
Zach Cregger:
Constantin Film head said Cregger came to them with the idea; Cregger's next film is a big sci-fi action movie, The Flood, for Warner Bros.
“Zach Craiger came to them and was like, I have an idea for a Resident Evil movie.”
fun, about
Video games:
Sean skips cut scenes; Chris likes being controlled by a movie and not controlling a game. GTA 6 arrives in two months and may blot out podcasting.
fun, about
Horror lately:
Both hosts feel horror movies are becoming a drag, heavy on ponderous self-examination; Resident Evil could be a changer-comer back toward fun.
fun, about
Raisinettes in popcorn:
Chris pours Raisinettes into a popcorn bucket, one person's breaking point; the speaker defends it as making popcorn tolerable.
fun, about
Camp Miasma (voyeur and victim):
Chris's confession of wanting to be both voyeur and victim is the film's most critical scene and a double-edged pleasure.
“you're the voyeur and the victim at the same time.”
fun, about
Camp Miasma (the movie-within-movie viewing):
Chris keeps annotating the old film's technique and transphobia while Billy rolls her eyes: the movie asks if you can enjoy something without its externalities.
fun, about
Obsession:
The discourse around Obsession is the most deranged for any American movie since the speaker started; 80 percent the moment, 20 percent the movie.
“about 80% of that is the moment that we're in, and only 20% of it is the movie.”
fun, about
Scarface / Scott Hall:
Story that Scott Hall auditioned for Vince McMahon as Tony Montana and afterwards admitted he didn't know what Scarface was.
fun, about
Alien:
In the original Alien script Ripley was a man, and little changed for Weaver beyond Ridley Scott stripping her to underwear at the end.
fun, about
Obsession:
A tiny indie horror movie made a stunning five million dollars on a Wednesday in its third week, which Griffin says breaks his brain.
“Obsession made $5000000 on a Wednesday in its 3rd week of release”
fun, about
Super Bowl / Jets:
Amanda announces a 12-month hiatus from the NFL after the Jets' pointless season; Sean doesn't believe a word of it.
“the New York Jets are a psyop that have been operated against me and I am publicly announcing that after this year's NFL draft, I am taking a 12 month hiatus from the team.”
fun, about
Movie swap history:
The hosts recap six swaps: Spider-Verse/Sense and Sensibility (2019), Aliens/Four Weddings (2020), Terminator 2/Titanic (2021), Fargo/English Patient (2022), the three-way Casablanca/In-Laws/Spy Kids (2023), and the Shrek one-way swap.
“The 1st one we ever did was in 2019, and we swapped into the Spider-Verse and Sense and Sensibility.”
fun, about
The Strangers:
Sean saw it in theaters knowing only the trailer; the hosts say it was shot in 2006-07 and sat on the shelf a year, which is how it landed in 2008.
“Apparently this movie was shot in 2006, 2007 and just sat on the shelf for a year.”
fun, about
The Strangers:
Bit about the proposal: the ring, the parking lot, the pear-shaped diamond from Sex and the City, and Sean's diamond shaped like Babu Frick.
“The diamond that I got for Eileen when I proposed is in the shape of Babu Frick.”
fun, about
Mamma Mia!:
Sean watched Mamma Mia with Eileen and Alice in a 4:30-to-6:18 window between Lincoln and moderating a One Battle After Another event at Warner Brothers.
“I can watch Mamma Mia from 430 to 618, and then I got to drive to Warner Brothers to go to moderate a conversation for one battle after another.”
fun, about
Mercy:
Mercy has an on-screen countdown clock of 90 minutes that nearly matches the 96-minute runtime, which the hosts call its one real innovation.
fun, about
Send Help:
The film moves from office revenge to survival, and Linda's survival skill comes from reading survival texts and loving Survivor.
“One of the reasons why she's so good at surviving on this island is because she has read survival texts and she loves the show Survivor”
fun, about
Rachel McAdams:
Letterboxd's most popular McAdams films: Mean Girls first, then The Notebook, Midnight in Paris sixth, Spotlight seventh, Game Night eighth, Sherlock Holmes ninth, Red Eye tenth.
“Number 7 is a movie that I always forget that she's in.”
fun, about
Zack Snyder's Justice League:
Sean rarely rewatches films except Zack Snyder's Justice League (ten times); he's seen The Dark Knight Rises six times from channel-flipping for Bane.
“I tend to not go back to films aside from Zack Snyder's Justice League, which I've seen 10 times.”
fun, about
Everything Everywhere All at Once:
Sean picks it as a genre mashup and sincere immigrant-family portrait with a lot of kung fu, despite the awards spin cycle.
fun, about
The Wolf of Wall Street:
Slowed-down blues over the bacchanalia, where lights change and sound drops out until the camera finds Belfort gleeful and regretful, reads as him descending into hell.
“you can almost feel Jordan like descending into hell or like, or he's being portrayed as Satan.”
fun, about
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:
Fennessey says seeing Once Upon a Time at an ArcLight screening made it a forever movie, and says he feels the same hunger now for One Battle After Another.
“as soon as it was over, I was like forever movie.”
fun, about
Bill James:
Great baseball thinker who is weird on other topics; has a lot of feelings about who killed JFK. Joke about Chris Ryan reading the deleted files with Control F, like GMs did with James.
“He's got a lot of feelings about who killed JFK.”
fun, about
Billy Beane:
He has not won a World Series, is no longer GM, and the A's no longer play in Oakland, yet the movie still has a sentimental hold.
fun, about
Moneyball:
The big game is a mid-season winning-streak game, not a playoff; the movie shows mostly failures, only the Hatteberg home run and not the 11 runs.
“the big game is just like a winning streak game in the middle of the season.”
fun, about
Grady Fuson:
The scouts' scene is one of the great scenes of the century; the real Fuson was reportedly supportive of the revolution but the movie took dramatic license.
“another just one of the great scenes of the 21st century.”
fun, about
Chris Pratt:
Hatteberg is invented as a softening character; a joke list of his later movies follows from the audience, ending on Bride Wars.
“it invents the Hatteberg character written, played by Chris Pat in one of his best movie roles.”
fun, about
Steven Soderbergh:
His planned version: Reds-style baseball with real players like Hatteberg and Bradford acting; added more statistics days before production and Amy Pascal asked what the fuck it was and put it in turnaround.
“Amy Pascal, who was running Sony at the time, said, what the fuck is this?”
fun, about
Bennett Miller:
Hired after Sorkin's draft; had only made a documentary and Capote; has not made a movie in over 10 years, which may dim Moneyball's legacy.
“I wonder if like the legacy of this movie is dimmed at all because Bena Miller hasn't made a movie in over 10 years.”
fun, about
A Minecraft Movie:
Sean sat next to a date-night couple; the guy crushed three Sam Adamses and chuckled, all while surrounded by 9-14-year-olds who did not know how to behave.
“I watched a guy crush 3 Sam Adamses during the movie.”
fun, about
A Minecraft Movie:
Participatory movie, compared to Rocky Horror; Sean felt like he had no Amanda to turn to for explanations, as with Marvel.
“This is a participatory movie, the likes of which I haven't seen in a while.”
fun, about
A Minecraft Movie:
The 'chicken jockey' moment: when a baby Frankenstein rides a chicken and fights Momoa and the words are uttered, the whole theater erupts like a World Series win; it happens 5-6 times in the movie.
“The movie theater exploded as though everyone had just won the World Series.”
fun, about
Gabby's Dollhouse:
Eleven seasons on Netflix, from the creator of Blue's Clues; Universal pitched a movie with Kristen Wiig and Gloria Estefan.