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 101–200 of 1,576 claims.
career (career):
Panic Room → Zodiac.
Five years between Panic Room and Zodiac; the effect on Fincher shows in how he tells stories afterward.
career (career):
Jodie Foster → Mel Gibson.
In the last decade Foster has directed Mel Gibson and worked with Polanski, taking on complicated collaborators.
“Like in the last 10 years, she directed Mel Gibson in a movie.”
what-if (what-if):
Nicole Kidman → Panic Room.
Kidman was cast as Meg, then injured her knee (aggravated from Moulin Rouge) and was replaced by Foster.
“Nicole Kidman was cast as the role in the role of Meg.”
contrast (contrast):
The Ice Storm → Michael Clayton.
Michael Clayton has several standalone scenes you watch when it airs; The Ice Storm must be seen as a whole.
“The ice storm kind of needs to be seen as a total package.”
lineage (lineage):
The Ice Storm → Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.
Fennessey pairs the 1969 Mazursky satire of the early sexual revolution with Ice Storm, which comes at the end of that era.
“I think there's a really interesting movie to pair this movie with that's called Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice.”
theme (theme):
The Ice Storm → The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Fennessey places the film between Deep Throat (1972) and Texas Chain Saw (1974) as culture coarsened after Watergate.
“This movie takes place right in between those 2 things.”
theme (theme):
The Ice Storm → Brokeback Mountain.
The shared superpower is what is unsaid between characters; in both, characters feel lonely even with their partners.
“This movie is all about what is unsaid between characters.”
programming (programming):
The Ice Storm → The Squid and the Whale.
Fennessey says Squid and the Whale was the biggest near-miss for Fucked Up Family February.
“I think was probably the biggest one that could have made it.”
industry (Oscar context):
The Color of Money → The Verdict.
Newman lost for The Verdict in a brutal year (Hoffman in Tootsie, Kingsley in Gandhi) then won in 1987 against a weaker slate.
“In 87 when they give out the 86 Oscars. You know, it's it's a much weaker slate”
people (writer-director fusion):
Richard Price → The Color of Money.
Price, Scorsese and Newman each count as authors; Newman hired the director and badgered Price to keep fixing the script.
“He hired the director. He badgered Richard Price to fix stuff, make stuff better”
career (career context):
The Color of Money → Absence of Malice.
Newman's early-80s over-the-hill roles (The Verdict, Absence of Malice) led into choosing this role.
“he had already been doing over the hill parts for like 5 or 6 years.”
theme (movie-star persona):
Tom Cruise → Cocktail.
Cruise in Top Gun, Cocktail, and this film plays with no wink or self-awareness, unlike later movie stars.
“In all 3 of those movies that you just mentioned, cocktail, Top Gun, and this movie. There's no self-awareness.”
craft (directorial style):
The Color of Money → The Departed.
The fast-cutting montage with a blues soundtrack explosion in the Grady Seasons scene is a Scorsese move they also discussed on The Departed and Wolf of Wall Street.
“This like super fast cutting montage blues soundtrack explosion thing that he does”
craft (craft):
Eric Clapton → The Color of Money.
A host says the Clapton song playing before Werewolves of London is great and gets the audience hyped, even if 80s Clapton has aged unevenly.
“that song is when they're playing that before werewolves of London, you're just like getting so hype.”
lineage (sequel/continuation):
The Color of Money → The Hustler.
Newman's Eddie Felson in 1986 becomes the George C. Scott hustler-mentor character of the original, and the sequel answers rather than remakes it.
“the Newman character in the color of money becomes the George C. Scott character in the Hustler.”
lineage (callback):
The Color of Money → The Hustler.
Newman getting drunk and hustled by Amos is the first time he plays the Jackie Gleason role of the original, drunk and overconfident.
“it's basically the 1st time he plays Jackie Gleason and the hustler where he's just like wasted and thinks he's going to win and then gets gets hustled.”
lineage (source material):
The Color of Money → The Hustler.
The film is theoretically based on Walter Tevis's follow-up novel to The Hustler but has almost nothing to do with it; Minnesota Fats was in the novel.
“this is theoretically based on Walter Tevis's follow-up novel to the Hustler, but the movie has almost nothing to do with the novel”
career (career):
Eric Clapton → The Color of Money.
A host says the film's use of Clapton was about as good as his comeback got after the drug years, before MTV Unplugged.
“Clapton, comeback, Clapton, I think this is about as good as it got for him after he'd gotten through all the drug stuff.”
career (career phase):
Bill Murray → Rushmore.
Sean splits Murray's career into pre-Rushmore (1980-1995, star vehicles) and post-Rushmore (character actor).
unmapped (straight man / crazy man):
What About Bob? → The Odd Couple.
The premise is another straight-guy-vs-crazy-guy movie like The Odd Couple and The In-Laws, but Murray makes it special.
“We've seen movies like this before, the odd couple, the in-laws.”
theme (talent on silly premise):
What About Bob? → Analyze This.
Both are silly-seeming comedies staffed by hugely accomplished crews, which makes them better.
“a ton of people that are incredibly accomplished working on a movie that seems really silly and it makes the movie that much better.”
craft (craft):
Anne V. Coates → Lawrence of Arabia.
Sean notes the editor of What About Bob? is the woman who cut Lawrence of Arabia, part of an unexpectedly accomplished crew on a silly comedy.
“It's got Ann Coates as the editor, the woman who cut Lawrence of Arabia.”
people (actor persona):
Richard Dreyfuss → Jaws.
In the 70s Dreyfuss was the audience POV for nerdy filmmakers (Close Encounters, Jaws), a nice-guy hero, before becoming a true asshole in What About Bob?
“He was this like POV character for all of these nerdy filmmakers, right?”
unmapped (age check):
Kathryn Erbe → Kiss of Death.
Three years later Erbe plays David Caruso's wife in Kiss of Death, so she reads as an adult, supporting Sean's post-college theory for Anna.
“Catherine Erb, 3 years later, plays David Caruso's wife in Kiss of Death.”
craft (craft):
Michael Ballhaus → What About Bob?.
Sean says Ballhaus shoots the scene of Siggy scaring Bob like a horror scene, with two heads in the frame, one in back and one in front.
“that's Michael Bauhaus. He's shooting that scene like it's a horror scene, you know, like the 2 heads in the frame, like one in the back and one in the front.”
lineage (comedy-mom lineage):
Julie Hagerty → Lost in America.
Hagerty has been a consistent comedy presence from Airplane! to Lost in America to this film to Marriage Story.
“the mom of our lives from airplane to Lost in America to this movie”
people (shared writer):
What About Bob? → Ordinary People.
Alvin Sargent, who wrote Ordinary People, provided the story for What About Bob?, which signals respect for therapy.
“the story for the movie comes from Alvin Sargent. Alvin Sargent was the writer of ordinary people.”
lineage (genre lineage):
What About Bob? → Pacific Heights.
Sean calls What About Bob? a logical successor to Pacific Heights, part of the late-80s/early-90s 'from hell' subgenre where a transactional acquaintance won't leave your life.
“Think of this movie as a logical successor to Pacific Heights. It is it is the same thing.”
unmapped (friendship / Muppets):
Fran Brill → Frank Oz.
Fran Brill, a Sesame Street/Muppets puppeteer, is in the movie because she is friends with Frank Oz.
industry (Oscar year):
Bugsy → What About Bob?.
The loaded 1992 Oscars (Hopkins, De Niro, Nolte, Williams, Beatty) explain Murray's lack of a nomination for Bob.
“we've talked in previous episodes about how loaded the 1992 Oscars was.”
lineage (lineage):
Seven → Alfred Hitchcock.
Se7en is a Hitchcock movie in its pulling-your-chain structure of mystery, reveal and anxiety, and Hitchcock is Fincher's biggest influence.
“I think as much as this seems like a modern movie, it's also just completely a Hitchcock movie in so many ways.”
career (career):
Brad Pitt → Inglourious Basterds.
Pitt does better work once writers like Tarantino give him funnier material that suits his twitchiness.
“I think later on when Pitt starts working with writers who are a little bit funnier, he does better work in some ways”
career (career):
Morgan Freeman → Driving Miss Daisy.
Freeman's 1989 trio of Glory, Driving Miss Daisy and Lean on Me made him a star after Street Smart.
contrast (contrast):
Seven → Copycat.
Copycat, a similar thriller one month later, is fine but forgettable; Se7en persists because of the people involved.
“There was a movie that came out one month after this movie called Copycat with Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter.”
people (people):
Darius Khondji → Seven.
A Se7en revival without Fincher, Pitt, or Darius Khondji would not interest the host, because the film persists on the strength of those people.
“if you're telling me that we're bringing 7 back, and Fincher's not a part of it, and Pitt's not a part of it, and Darius Kanji's not a part of it.”
theme (persona aspiration):
Chevy Chase → Cary Grant.
Early on Chase seemed to think he was Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart in lighthearted mystery and mix-up movies, a miscasting of himself.
“It kind of seems like he thinks he's like Carrie Grant or Jimmy Stewart”
what-if (career what-if):
Chevy Chase → Johnny Carson.
A sideways comment about not wanting a nightly TV job and Carson's jab back may have cost Chase the Tonight Show path; a Carson clip shows tension between them.
“you can sense that Johnny just thinks that Chevy Chase is an asshole”
fun, about
Bohemian Rhapsody:
Queen's opening felt like a Jones Beach concert you'd see with your mom; and there were as many cutaways to Brian May in the show as in the film.
“It was just sort of like a concert you'd see at Jones Beach, like with your mom.”
fun, about
Die Hard / Red Desert:
His list runs from Fellini and Antonioni to Predator and Die Hard; Fennessey sums it up as Die Hard 8 or a Red Desert remake.
fun, about
Close Encounters of the Third Kind:
Chris moved it up the list mid-conversation after realizing how many ideas are in it; the Lucas/Spielberg wager story.
fun, about
Peter Sellers:
Sellers received a best actor nomination for what are effectively three supporting roles; the speakers think it may be the only such nomination.
“It is such a unique nomination to be like, this guy is the lead of the film because he plays 3 supporting characters in an ensemble.”