Sean loves collecting boutique Blu-rays, a Michael Mann completist, drawn to cult and exploitation titles, and a heavy supporter of Criterion and Arrow. He worries about space and cost, buys sale titles, and hates streaming's impermanence. He is a sucker for beautiful box sets and for completism by director.
Stances
Physical media matters as streaming becomes unreliable
Buy only what carries emotional weight
Be completist about core directors
Humor: Self-mocking addict bits about plastic, black tar heroin, and an ethical non-monogamy riff.
In their words
“I'm a little bit like teetering on the brink of like black tar heroin” (0:07:25)
“Really focus in on things that have emotional weight” (1:11:06)
Loves author-driven art cinema and international films (Fallen Leaves, Perfect Days, Taste of Things) and is moved by sincere, vulnerable movies like All of Us Strangers, though he stops short of calling it a five-star masterpiece. Respects Andrew Haigh's directness. Can be a sucker for the Rewatchables and Ringer in-jokes. Disdains flat, obviously written films like Rustin and the Oscars' short-term thinking about moments and speeches.
Stances
Predicts via chalk plus a few contrarian bets (Glazer over Payne)
Argues the director, not the producer-spouse, should give the final acceptance speech
Believes All of Us Strangers works only if you stay with the feeling and do not dissect it
Reluctant remake critic: gives IP echoing a pass for a new generation
Humor: Dry, deadpan banter with Amanda, running bits (7 AM garage pod, Yasi Salix promise) and mock-promos.
In their words
“It's not, it's not a sunbeam.” (1:04:29)
“I think if you, if you, like see the movie and respect the movie in its totality, I find it to be very effective.” (1:10:17)
“I have a dead mom and a weird relationship with my dad.” (1:10:38)
Loves auteurs and the desolate, we-are-all-alone Lanthimos films like The Lobster and Sacred Deer, ranks Killers of the Flower Moon a masterpiece, and is a big PTA, Haynes and Past Lives fan. Prefers stars with old-school physicality and wants Ruffalo and Sterling K. Brown honored. Gets irritated at shifts away from what he loves, e.g. Payne and Lanthimos pivoting.
Stances
Poor Things is excellent but 'lags' on second watch and the ship section is stuck in neutral
Zone of Interest is a borderline masterpiece but under-seen
Oppenheimer's third hour is the weak point
Questions the Oppenheimer frontrunner status: 'noted skeptic' of the clipboard
Humor: Deadpan, self-mocking bits about his own ego, fitness ignorance, and ranking-rule disputes with Amanda.
In their words
“I think it's a borderline masterpiece that like 180 people.” (1:34:15)
“It's very, very unusual for an American movie star to be in like 14 sex scenes in a movie” (0:36:57)
Loves the Mann of Thief and The Insider, and the dialogue-rich classical side. Has struggled with Mann's last 15 years, calling Miami Vice and Ferrari kin. Sucker for lists and the Mann mythology.
Stances
Thief is Mann's best
Ferrari is good, in the same zone as Miami Vice
Mann is in a late-career box office squeeze
Humor: Dry, needling and fond, especially at Chris's expense.
In their words
“I think Miami Vice and Ferrari are kind of right in the same zone.” (0:48:14)
“this is the last time he feels like young.” (0:51:55)
Loves Fincher fiercely and Fincher's control-freak process; reads The Killer as a repressed-emotion thesis statement. Delights in jokes, set pieces and filmmaking mechanics, and gets nervous about getting a beloved movie wrong. Can't stand cynical dismissals of the film as slight.
Stances
The Killer is an emotional movie about a man avenging a wounded loved one
It is his favorite film of the year and a complete piece of movie-making
Fincher's work is thematically coherent around people who repress feelings
Humor: Self-deprecating and performative, riffing on being compared to Fincher the control freak.
In their words
“I think this might be my favorite movie of the year.” (0:04:39)
“the second time I was like, this is the thesis statement for all of his repressed feelings” (0:07:07)
Loves Scorsese's big, immersive late-period epics and long historical megadramas (The English Patient is one of his favorites, he says); thinks Goodfellas will always outrank Silence or Killers for him. Wants studios to spend on practical craft such as Jack Fisk's sets instead of VFX. Can't stand excuses about runtime and Oppenheimer as a rival to Killers.
Stances
Killers of the Flower Moon is a masterpiece after two viewings
Runtime complaints are a non-argument
Making Ernest a conflicted figure is what makes it great Scorsese
Picks Killers' ambiguity about love as the central question
Humor: Dry needling of Amanda, mock-pompous pronouncements, and a running Oppenheimer bit.
In their words
“I think it's a masterpiece.” (0:02:23)
“It's a complete non-argument.” (1:19:03)
“So do you not want a Martin Scorsese movie?” (1:19:06)
Loves ambitious, big swings and craft: Nope at number one, Babylon, Tar, and big engineered blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick. Responds to blunt, shocking horror (he has recommended Speak No Evil repeatedly) and is wary of Park Chan-wook and Chazelle's La La Land. Less taken with quiet interregnum films like The Eternal Daughter. Sucker for theater experiences and auteurs spending studio money on something personal.
Stances
Nope is his number one and a better movie than Top Gun: Maverick in terms of what it asks of the viewer
Babylon is bold and bravura despite flaws
Top Gun: Maverick is a beautifully engineered vehicle he does not need to overthink
Tar is a Rorschach test film
Humor: Dry, self-aware; builds comic set pieces around his own mood and cocktail-party logistics and pretends to circle Nope like Mav circling a MiG.
In their words
“Okay, I don't know how I can match the energy of Top Gun Maverick, but my number one is nope.” (1:29:39)
“This film has that. It was really bad, though.” (0:40:57)
He loves Ryan Coogler's movies and rated the first Black Panther a major accomplishment inside a Marvel structure. He wants real-world themes and a clear sense of place, and gets disappointed when Marvel films feel contorted or overstaffed. He's a sucker for the idea of a leaner movie that says one thing well.
Stances
Wakanda Forever felt like it had a Chadwick Boseman shaped hole and was contorting itself
Strong bookends but a muddled middle
Ironheart felt like a cynical Kevin Feige insertion
Would rather a narrower film about Shuri, Wakanda succession and Namor
Humor: Dry host who needles his guest and co-host while conducting the show.
In their words
“I felt that there was a Chadwick Boseman shaped hole in the movie” (0:05:05)
“we're like an hour and 40 minutes into the movie before I'm like, oh, wow, this is actually about this” (0:19:18)
“Game of Thrones was very good at posing who should be the heir.” (1:06:00)
Sean loves Cameron the schemer who wins and is a Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar believer who rewatched Avatar in theaters. He is a box-office and awards-season nerd, dubious that the long tail Avatar had in 2009 can repeat. He is a sucker for a movie that simply works and for director talk.
Stances
Avatar is good and it works because its single story is engineered like machinery
Hollywood misread Avatar
The sequels' success depends on the long tail and not on franchise homework
Humor: Dry host banter, nicknaming Cameron 'Big Jim' and teasing Griffin and David about stealing material.
In their words
“Like, he is the ultimate, like, con artist whose con is real.” (0:30:08)
“I'm always so interested in high-level schemers who actually win.” (0:30:00)
“Okay, this leads me to the most important question of this podcast.” (0:56:49)
A music-journalist-turned-film-critic who loves Elvis's music as a skeleton key to American pop and loves Steven Soderbergh and Todd Haynes. He finds Luhrmann's maximalism overwhelming and Parker framing a failure, prefers biopics that skip the rise, and is a sucker for the performance-forward, auteur-driven ones.
Stances
Elvis is a mess, with Tom Hanks's Parker a baffling failure
Rises in biopics are dull; wants more Fat Elvis
Likes cerebral, conceptual deconstructions of musicians (I'm Not There)
Walk Hard is a five-star movie
Humor: Dry and exasperated, deflating pretension with throwaway one-liners and affectionate teasing of co-hosts.
In their words
“I do think of it more as that, you know, image deconstruction” (1:15:13)
“I wish there was a little bit more Fat Elvis in the film Elvis.” (0:47:24)
“I really didn't love the movie at all.” (0:05:00)
Loves Tom Cruise as movie star above all, and the old-style entertaining Hollywood movie. Pushes Scorsese, Kubrick and PTA, and pulls for Collateral and Magnolia. Can't stand Cruise coasting or being too reserved; sentimental about Legend.
Stances
Cruise is the movie star of his lifetime, not necessarily a great actor
Hall of Fame should combine importance, relevance, achievement and idiosyncratic love
Fallout must be in because it makes Maverick possible
Humor: Mock-politician bits about running the draft, and absurd cultural references.
In their words
“I think that there's probably 5 films in his career that are like locked down the greenest green you've ever seen in your life” (0:52:04)
Loves doom and bleakness in his movies and has a taste for cynical noir. Initially lukewarm on Nightmare Alley, he rewatched it four times and became a champion. Likes 70s noir revisionism and under-the-radar modern noir such as Under the Silver Lake.
Stances
Nightmare Alley is bigger, bolder and better than the 1947 version
Del Toro's visual excess is the point, not a flaw
Noir is coming back into vogue
Great movies often flop and get rediscovered
Humor: Dry and conversational; he teases Patton's range and drops film trivia as a quick aside.
In their words
“As listeners of the show know, I absolutely love doom in my movies.” (0:05:01)
“I watched it again. And then I watched a 3rd time.” (0:02:57)
Loves the 80s comedies, Ivan Reitman movies, Local Hero, Totoro and Pee-wee, and deeply moving small family films like Come On, Come On. Can't stand nostalgia strip-mined into product placement. Sucker for movies tied to when he saw them and for parent-child stories.
Stances
Afterlife betrays what made the original special
Feel-good movies are about when you see them
Come On, Come On is a highest recommendation
Humor: Wry, nerdy asides about production credits and mock-grandiose declarations.
In their words
“I feel very bent out of shape about it.” (0:03:14)
“this is like my highest possible recommendation.” (0:35:37)
Admires craft, spectacle and set pieces but is not a car guy or a Vin Diesel fan. Likes tonal wit and context from filmmaker careers. Can't stand needless world-building homework.
Stances
Fast is as good as its set pieces
Fast & Furious is not built for him
Hobbs & Shaw is last
Humor: Dry and ringmaster-ish, jokes about ruling the show with an iron fist.
Loves tightly engineered, kinetic filmmaking and sharp dialogue (Reservoir Dogs reorganized his brain chemistry) and filmmakers who arrive fully formed. Respects Soderbergh and Aronofsky. Quick to see craft lineage between directors and enthusiastic about unfussy, carefully built genre.
Stances
Reservoir Dogs is #1 despite it being a second feature
Sees Hard Eight as a great but harder first film
Glazer, Coppola, Singleton belong near the top
Oscars should try something weird this year
Humor: Dry and quick: sets up bits with Amanda and teases Brian for forgetting Soderbergh was born in the 60s.
In their words
“I probably would certainly not be doing it.” (1:17:53)
“I choose darkness.” (0:10:19)
“I wish that there was a movie like Mother coming out this year, honestly.” (1:06:59)
Loves canonical 1970s American cinema (Network, All the President's Men), the Hitchcock and Kubrick end of the dial, Japanese cinema (Mifune), and golf and sports documentaries as an avowed golf fan. He rewatches movies as comfort food even when they are not comforting (True Romance, Clerks, 12 Monkeys). He is a sucker for classic stars like Jimmy Stewart, Burt Lancaster, Ingrid Bergman and for rediscovering neglected directors like Preston Sturges.
Stances
The Academy is wrong more often than not, and it is the show's animating force
Classic filmmakers like Sturges are slipping through the cracks of the canon
Great actors should get their Oscars in their time
Unauthorized documentaries like Tiger trade access for candor
Humor: Mock-grandiose and self-aggrandizing, deadpan about his own obsessiveness (fact-checking Scorsese, threatening to lie on the floor).
In their words
“I think we're all agreed that more often than not, the academy is wrong.” (0:40:47)
“I have a poisoned brain.” (1:00:45)
“We need to reward the actors in their time for their great performances.” (0:44:17)
Prefers Sorkin on the big screen over the West Wing and ranks by sheer entertainment and rewatchability; loves Fincher-era Sorkin, A Few Good Men, Moneyball and Steve Jobs, and thinks Sorkin shines when paired with a dark-hearted collaborator. Skeptical of Sorkin's politics and of Chicago 7's smallness; wants the filmmaking sharper.
Stances
Sorkin is at his best with darker directors like Fincher and Bennett Miller
Chicago 7 is entertaining but politically small and Sorkin is not yet a filmmaker for action scenes
Social Network is the best movie of the decade and possibly Sorkin's best script
Humor: Dry and self-deprecating, with mock-grievance about not being invited on The Rewatchables.
In their words
“I would not put it in the top tier.” (1:29:59)
“He's an interesting counterweight, I think, to Oliver Stone” (0:30:43)
“he's he's not quite there yet as a filmmaker.” (1:42:37)
Sean wants command of everything: he watches about three movies a night, keeps a Netflix DVD queue and a 1000-plus film list, and treats director filmographies (Hitchcock, De Palma, Wachowskis) as projects. He champions unloved movies he thinks are secretly good (Last Action Hero, Mother!, A Cure for Wellness, Marie Antoinette), likes Garland over Nolan on a hypothetical budget, and admires effortless, tasteful careers like Paul Newman's. Not into 'so bad it's good' cult culture or into talking down animated films.
Stances
Bad movies worth loving are rescued reputations, not wrecks like Battleship
Would take another Alex Garland film over another Nolan film
Movie business as it was is over and will restart; theaters will come back
Streaming democratizes criticism but lowers the floor
Will not do a top five movies of all time
Humor: Dry, self-mocking obsessiveness: explains his absurd systems and then insists he is right, and trades jabs at Amanda and Chris.
In their words
“I'm a member of every significant streaming service.” (0:21:45)
“my version of a bad movies podcast is not me reveling in the badness, the shittiness of battleship.” (1:08:32)
“I'm never doing top 5 movies of all time.” (0:40:57)
“I'm always kind of obsessed with the Palma” (0:18:37)
Loves a charming 90s Disney musical and the music-driven storytelling he finds in them, big Christopher Nolan and The Last Jedi defender. Cannot stand tonal mush or movies made for everybody and nobody. Sucker for Donnie Yen and film business context like the Chinese box office.
Stances
The remake does not know what was good about the original
Magic and wuxia trappings read as a bid for the Chinese box office
Wishes the film were more grounded and historical
Interested in the business and politics around the release
Humor: Dry and self-deprecating, leaning on bits like 'a 38-year-old man' watching Mulan and Amanda's Tenet claim.
In their words
“I'm a 38-year-old man and I probably shouldn't be watching Mulan 1998 version at this stage of my life.” (0:17:57)
“I think Mulan is kind of what happens when you don't really know what's good about your movie.” (0:26:03)
Loves inventive, maximalist filmmaking where rhythm and music drive the staging, and film as a time capsule of future stars. Cares about directors' careers as a whole. Allergic to studio flattening of weird ideas.
Stances
Scott Pilgrim predicted a lot of pop culture
Baby Driver does not exist without it
A sequel should center Knives
Humor: Dry and wry, mostly through overstatement and tongue-in-cheek asides like comparing the sequence to a 2x podcast speed.
In their words
“I've never really seen that before, something that saw the future in this way.” (0:03:36)
“there is no baby driver without this movie in terms of like the rhythm and the pacing and the way that he uses music.” (0:39:06)
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 301–400 of 1,576 claims.
career (career):
Kevin Costner → Dances with Wolves.
Costner, fresh off Dances with Wolves, could make any film; his blessing and Buena Vista deal shaped Tombstone.
“Costner was coming off dancing with wolves and could make any movie he wanted and that he bowed out of this.”
people (same director, different register):
Mission: Impossible → Body Double.
Body Double puts De Palma's sexual obsessions on the surface; Mission: Impossible keeps them under it for a mass audience.
industry (franchise template):
Mission: Impossible → Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
Every MI film reuses the same three-set-piece structure plus a McGuffin, which is why the franchise is elastic.
“they used the same exact structure in every single movie that came forward.”
industry (franchise turning point):
Mission: Impossible → Mission: Impossible II.
Hiring John Woo for MI2 is when Cruise's brand became 'I did that stunt myself'; the cliff image set the template.
“that image of him hanging off the cliff at the cold open of that movie. basically sets the template for what 0 shit thing will he do next?”
lineage (franchise influence):
Mission: Impossible → The Fast and the Furious.
The modern MI films combine Bourne-style hand-to-hand combat with Fast and the Furious over-the-top action.
“the 2 biggest influences on Mission Impossible are born in the Fast and the Furious.”
theme (image echo):
Mission: Impossible → The Departed.
The rat in the air duct at Langley recalls The Departed's final shot, the hunt for a betraying rat.
“the rat in the air air duct in Langley, like a little bit of like the departed final shot”
people (typecasting):
Henry Czerny → Clear and Present Danger.
Czerny built a 90s career on the office-infighter archetype, with Clear and Present Danger his iconic turn.
“after clear and present danger, which is, to me, the iconic Henry's or any performance”
theme (joke comparison):
Mission: Impossible → Tropic Thunder.
Joked that Cruise's transformation as an old senator deserved the praise given to Tropic Thunder.
“Why were we so praiseworthy of Tom Cruise's performance? His transformation in Tropic Thunder?”
career (career):
Stephen Burum → The Untouchables.
Asked to pick the apex of De Palma's cinematographer Stephen Burum, the panel runs his filmography (The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, St. Elmo's Fire, 8 Million Ways to Die) and lands on The Untouchables.
unmapped (negotiations):
Noah Baumbach → Barbie.
Baumbach and Gerwig are reportedly negotiating a payday to return to Barbie, while Baumbach goes to Warner's Clockwork.
“Bombach and Gerwig are currently mired into negotiations to get a really good payday to come back to Barbie.”
craft (craft):
Resident Evil → The Crow.
Fennessey says DP Darius Wolski is working in his The Crow / Dark City register on Resident Evil.
“the director of photography of this movie is 70-year-old Darius Wolski, who is best known, I think, recently for his work with Ridley Scott, but who is really in his The Crow Dark City bag in this movie.”
people (people):
Resident Evil → Ryan Hayes Holladay.
The Holladays return to score, implying a repeat collaboration with the earlier Cregger films; Fennessey loves the score.
“Ryan and Hayes Holiday are back doing the score.”
lineage (tonal influence):
Resident Evil → Evil Dead II.
Cregger said he wanted an Evil Dead 2 style rock-em sock-em movie and got crazy with the camera.
“I'm doing it because I think this movie is going to be fucking awesome.”
theme (character comp):
Resident Evil → Die Hard.
Abrams's Brian reminded the speaker of John McClane, with humor built from the experience; the elevator shoe-melting is a Die Hard nod.
“He's not as cool and he's not as accomplished with a gun, but he kind of reminded me a little John McClain at times.”
unmapped (rewatchability):
Resident Evil → Boogie Nights.
Listing the film's scenes reminded the speaker of prepping the Boogie Nights Rewatchables: every scene is the best scene.
unmapped (creature/set-piece comp):
Resident Evil → Aliens.
The elevator ascent and maternity ward pods recall Alien and Aliens; xenomorphs coming out of the wall.
“this is really where a lot of the alien and aliens stuff starts to come in”
career (career comp):
Zach Cregger → Paul Thomas Anderson.
Early-career PTA was a comp for Cregger, but Resident Evil would be his Punch-Drunk Love (a simpler follow-up after the bigger film).
“I had been thinking about his career in terms of PTA's early career.”
career (career comp):
Resident Evil → Punch-Drunk Love.
The film is Cregger's Punch-Drunk Love: a more direct follow-up after a bigger film, though Punch-Drunk Love feels more weighed down by feelings.
unmapped (horror-comedy short list):
Resident Evil → Fright Night.
Gore plus comedy that works is an extremely short list: Fright Night, American Werewolf, Shaun of the Dead.
“Like, it's like fright night, an American werewolf in London.”
lineage (lineage):
X → Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
After X, Pearl and MaXXXine the self-referential riffing on rape revenge and slasher films hit a dead end, and Miasma rebuilds the bridge.
“we have kind of gotten to the conclusive point of self-referential riffing on rape revenge and slasher films”
people (people):
John Carpenter → Halloween.
Carpenter told the speaker he did not know what a 'final girl' was, until told it came from a Carol Clover essay.
career (career-launch comp):
Obsession → The Sixth Sense.
Obsession might be like The Sixth Sense, a breakout that puts a new filmmaker on the map and starts a brand.
“is it more like maybe a 6th sense kind of thing where that kind of puts Shamalan on the map and then there's like a Curry Barker brand?”
lineage (handmade lineage):
Obsession → The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Foundational horror films like Night of the Living Dead and Chain Saw were handmade and unpolished, an essential quality Obsession shares in kind though not in quality.
“But so if you look back at Night of the Living Dead or, um, Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Last House on the Left or even Halloween to some extent.”
unmapped (emotional comp):
Masters of the Universe → Ghost World.
Watching it as a fan-turned-commentator, the speaker thought of Seymour in Ghost World saying he hates his interest.
“I kept thinking of the Sibu semi-character in Ghost World when Thor Burch recommends that he meets a woman his age, who shares his interest, and he goes, I hate my interest.”
unmapped (end-credit tease):
Masters of the Universe → Evil Dead.
Orko's three-second end-credits cameo feels like Bruce Campbell saying groovy in the Alvarez Evil Dead credits.
“the end of the Fede Alvarez evil dead reboot where in the end credits, it just inserts a shot of old Bruce Campbell saying groovy.”
verdict (ranking):
The Dark Crystal → The NeverEnding Story.
Sean would add Dark Crystal and Excalibur to Griffin's fantasy list as the two worthy of sitting alongside it.
“Yeah, I would I would throw Dark Crystal and Excalibur into that cannon.”
lineage (lineage):
Conan the Barbarian → Dragonslayer.
Conan kicked off the 80s fantasy wave; before it, Weissmuller Tarzan films evolved into things like Dragonslayer.
“that's sort of the Johnny Wart Mueller Tarzan films are sort of what evolved into things like Dragon Slayer and things like that.”
programming (recommendation):
Mike Flanagan → Ouija: Origin of Evil.
The second Ouija film, directed by Flanagan, is really good, as is the Daley-Goldstein D&D film.
“I mean, I do think the 2nd Mike Flanagan Ouija movie is really good.”
unmapped (movie kink):
Clue → Transformers (Michael Bay films).
Clue and Transformers touch something personal in the speaker beyond critical distance.
theme (theme):
The Strangers → Mamma Mia!.
Amanda argues the two 2008 films share a theme of knowing thyself and what can't be known; later both end by withholding the answer.
“And I would, I'll argue, has some things in common with Mama Mia.”
programming (programming):
Mamma Mia! → Shrek.
Reflecting on their movie swaps, Sean ties Shrek, the earlier one-way swap, to Bobby Wagner's last episode.
“Bob's last episode was like a one-way movie swap, which was Shrek.”
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.”