Loves movie-star, over-the-top, kinetic filmmaking (JFK, The Verdict, A Few Good Men) and old-school craft; favors Paul Newman. Willing to admire films he doesn't believe in. Sucker for big speeches and taste-making directors.
Stances
Courtroom drama must be in the courtroom: no legal thrillers, no 12 Angry Men
JFK is a masterpiece despite being hogwash
Winner of the A Few Good Men scene is Tom Cruise
Humor: Mock-legalistic framing and affectionate hyperbole.
Loves the theatrical culture of places like Alamo Drafthouse, pedigreed auteurs (Fincher, Nolan, the Coens), and deep film-history binges. Can't stand corporate pettiness dressed as principle, and thinks The King's Speech beating The Social Network should die in a fire. A sucker for trivia glory and big awards-season structure (wants 75 awards).
Stances
Theaters will survive as a boutique business but wide-scale moviegoing will not last five years
Netflix's lead of finished movies makes it well positioned for the Oscars
Windowing will change and studios will test higher VOD price points
Humor: Mock-grandiose and self-aware, with bits like hosting a five-day awards festival and running out of frame during trivia.
In their words
“There should be 75 awards.” (0:50:42)
“I'm just trying to have a cinematic experience at all times.” (1:06:36)
Loves big, noisy, auteur and genre-bending work: The Lighthouse, Midsommar's ending, Alita and 6 Underground action, Gemini Man, Triple Frontier. Wants more categories and a nine-hour ceremony; adores Paul Walter Hauser and Uncut Gems. Can't stand news-anchor cameos in fiction and Oscar-bait homogeneity.
Stances
Wants more Oscar categories, not fewer
Spider-Man's post-credits scene counts as an ending
Defends Midsommar and The Lighthouse
Wants a casting Oscar and a best first feature
Humor: Cheerfully obsessive and self-mocking about his hobby-horse enthusiasms (the minute-by-minute Lighthouse podcast), with mock-legalistic rule enforcement.
In their words
“I will be starting one of those for the lighthouse.” (0:52:43)
“I personally would like there to be a 9 hours Oscar ceremony.” (0:12:22)
“Have you ever been sewn inside of a bear skin and lit on fire in a giant triangle.” (0:45:39)
Loves Parasite, Marriage Story, Little Women, Uncut Gems and champions Toy Story 4. Prickly toward Joker-style noisy awards bait, wants more fun and weirdness at the Oscars. Sucker for Hark segments and sporting analogies.
Stances
Academy has a taste gap against pop culture and women's stories
He loves The Cabin in the Woods, It Follows and The Witch and likes discussion-making horror like Get Out, but he distrusts elevated-horror branding. He wants to be physically dominated by a horror film, and says he is dead inside and cynical, so he is impressed when a film makes him feel something.
Stances
Get Out is the best horror film of the decade
Elevated horror is an ugly phrase
Horror needs something supernatural or extraordinarily visceral to qualify
Wingard is creative but ultimately disappointing
Humor: Deadpan needler of his guest who takes bits to their end, like the Tim Apple joke.
In their words
“I tend to think there has to be something either supernatural or extraordinarily visceral about the movie to qualify.” (0:10:18)
“I think I'm pretty dead inside and very cynical.” (0:11:46)
Loves big, event-level filmmaking and prizes one great movie over a great season of TV; he is a champion of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and of Tarantino and Anderson. Likes working through discourse and being a guide who tells friends what to see or skip. Has a soft spot for old-fashioned Hollywood comedy and for Mike Nichols.
Stances
One great movie beats prestige TV
Disney's dominance is overwhelming but not to be underestimated (Cameron)
Streaming may hollow out comedies made without theatrical money
Was surprised and moved by Luce
Humor: Dry deadpan teasing of co-hosts with running bits and impressions, such as PTA at D23.
In their words
“I still would always, always, always rather have one great movie than an experience like that.” (0:52:42)
“And that's why this is the big picture and not the watch.” (0:52:43)
Loves long things, big-tent Oscar movies (Ford v Ferrari, Once Upon a Time) and the business and career-arc angle of franchises. Skeptical of Tom Hooper and unclear streaming strategies; cares about artists controlling their image. As interviewer he probes how Garfield picks directors.
Stances
Homecoming is long, not boring, and great because of Beyonce the performer
Guava Island lacks a strategic purpose and sits outside Glover's mission
Under the Silver Lake has been slightly mischaracterized in the press
Humor: Self-deprecating wonk who plays his own wounded vanity for laughs and teases Amanda with Star Wars archetypes.
In their words
“I'm a big fan of long things.” (0:05:20)
“I am confused about what the strategic purpose of something like that is.” (0:11:33)
“This is upsetting how you have targeted my feelings.” (1:07:11)
Fennessey likes fun, audience-pleasing superhero movies that do something different and cares about tone and the business of the DCEU. He is curious about process, and is a fan of the filmmakers he interviews. He enjoyed Shazam!, though he found the final fight less effective.
Stances
DC's turn from interconnection to standalone movies is interesting and lower-risk
Shazam!'s first half works better than its punch-up ending
Wants to know how directors communicate what is in their heads
Humor: Dry and teasing, as in his mock-eager 'Can't wait for the trench.'
In their words
“I thought Shazam was a very fun and entertaining movie” (0:01:41)
“I don't think that part was as effective.” (0:05:55)
Loves origin-story craft done efficiently, Ben Mendelsohn, indie directors like Boden and Fleck, and Annette Bening. Bothered by surface-level 90s nostalgia, a rickety Marvel mythology load, and a character too powerful for stakes. Sucker for comic lore and for character actors.
Stances
Captain Marvel is rickety, overstuffed, and does too many jobs
Boden and Fleck taking a big-studio job is understandable, not a sellout
Captain Marvel is too powerful to build tension around
Wonder Woman did the origin story better
Humor: Dry teasing of Amanda's comic-book blind spots and deadpan asides about names like Yon-Rogg.
In their words
“I can't believe Jan Rag is the name of a character that I'm talking about on a podcast.” (0:07:03)
“he is one of my favorite living people.” (0:35:58)
“it's funny to see, you know, the McDonald's Happy Meal version of those movies in a lot of ways.” (0:25:50)
Defends Roma as a masterpiece worth reclaiming, loves Spider-Verse (the self-declared devotee), and takes Avengers: Infinity War seriously. Likes craft people with a through-line (Libatique, Corwin). Cannot stand the Oscars' song performances and the Green Book result.
Stances
Green Book winning is a farce
Bohemian Rhapsody should not be taken as great cinema
Spider-Verse beats Sense and Sensibility
Humor: Deadpan and bit-driven, with running gags like the Close Zone and the jar of cold fusion.
In their words
“I am putting my money down right now that says Spider-Verse better than Sense and Sensibility.” (1:00:25)
“green book winning best picture is a farce.” (0:22:56)
Loves GLOW and big, sincere genre movies, and is a hardcore former WWE kid who still lights up at Beyond the Mat. Treats wrestling movies as an industry phenomenon worth tracking. Is a sucker for lists and double features.
Stances
Fighting with My Family signals a more refined era of movies and wrestling
Rocky is the template for sports films
Wants guests' favorite lists (loves the 500-movie idea)
Humor: Dry, quick teasing, such as his joke about Michael B. Jordan in a Junkyard Dog biopic and Die Hard 8 or a Red Desert remake.
In their words
“I'm a huge fan of that show.” (0:03:35)
“I remember being a such such a hardcore WWE fan when that came out” (0:15:27)
“This is exactly my sort of thing.” (0:51:34)
“imagine Michael B. Jordan signing up for, you know, the junkyard dog biopic right now.” (0:09:47)
Loves a clear narrative and critics' consensus picks; Roma, Beale Street and Spider-Verse are his side. Cannot stand the HFPA and films that claim truth while drawing criticism. Sucker for Queen songs and Mahershala Ali.
Stances
Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody are not the best of the year
Globes versus critics is a problem for Roma and Star
Academy is lost without a plan
Humor: Mock-outrage escalation and self-aware yelling about a meaningless award show.
In their words
“I don't hate green book.” (0:10:42)
“We have to be able as a society and also as people who freaking vote on awards” (0:14:47)
Loves films that are sincere, meta and inventive, and praises vocal performance and rap on a soundtrack. Quick to dismiss the generic superhero origin slog and the lowered bar of Aquaman. A sucker for comic-book feel and a good casting parlor game.
Stances
Spider-Verse is extraordinary and unlike any animated movie
Origin stories are overdone, but the film subverts the trope
Rooting for it to win best animated feature
Having several Spider-Man continuities is a lot for a weekly film writer
Humor: Dry, self-deprecating, acting the aging man and the adult who tucks in his shirt.
In their words
“It's absolutely fantastic.” (0:01:29)
“I now find myself rooting for it for this strange silly award.” (0:29:24)
Loves Oscar-season contenders and deep conversations with filmmakers; says he just really loved Eighth Grade. Little else is stated in this trailer.
Stances
The Big Picture is moving out of the channel 33 feed into its own feed
Will cover more Oscar contenders and filmmaker interviews
Humor: Brief and promotional; no real jokes in the trailer.
In their words
“We're going to keep bringing you more banter about this year's Oscar contenders and more deep conversations with the filmmakers behind them” (0:00:17)
Loves the lean, tightly-told Spielberg entertainments like Jurassic Park and Raiders, and rates Close Encounters and Schindler's List highly. Is lukewarm on E.T. and Munich and a skeptic of the long-form Spielberg-as-prestige push. A sucker for Tom Cruise talk and Day-Lewis.
Stances
Jaws is the perfect movie
Munich is overrated
E.T. is fine but not a favorite
Close Encounters deserved a higher spot than he gave it
Humor: Dry, needling, and self-aware about the show's habits (Tom Cruise riffs, 'safe space').
In their words
“The more I look at my list, the more boring it feels to me.” (0:18:42)
“Will there ever be a podcast where you and I don't talk about what Tom Cruise should do next?” (1:02:21)
Admires the craft of this film and wants to know how directors build rhythm and performance. Interested in awards, box office and streaming. Ends interviews with a last-great-thing question.
Stances
Curious about how a chamber piece becomes propulsive
Presses on awards and box office
Humor: Dry and light; teases with a superhero question and the Friday sing-along.
In their words
“So no superhero movies coming from you anytime soon?” (0:22:54)
“I will start applying the Friday sing-along.” (0:19:03)
Loves the MCU best and thinks it is the most important film business now. Frames everything in industry terms: genre cycles, infrastructure, risk. Skeptical of DC's lack of voice and Snyder.
Stances
Superhero movies are the only movies of consequence in studios
Marvel's strength is infrastructure and filmmaker choice
Genres are most vulnerable when they seem strongest
Humor: Dry host asides and self-deprecation, like claiming empathy for Scott Summers.
In their words
“what matters is the infrastructure.” (0:55:28)
“are never more vulnerable than when they seem strongest.” (0:55:31)
Loves uncomfortable, unusual comedy and says he really loved Lemon. Draws lines from film to TV (Curb, Atlanta) and reaches for Twin Peaks as a tonal comparison. Likes ending interviews on what people are watching.
Stances
Lemon is awkward, fascinating and deeply unusual
Awkward comedy has evolved from Curb
Humor: Dry, teasing; jabs at the guests and himself.
Interested in directors' careers and the industry's shape; pushes on obsession, failure and reception. Notes how many filmmakers now pitch TV. Knows his jungle-film canon.
Stances
Frames Gray as a great American filmmaker deserving more notice
Curious how the Amazon release and streaming change moviegoing
Humor: Dry and light; mostly a straight interviewer.
In their words
“Yeah, Bird of Dream, sure.” (0:07:04)
“You have resisted the urge to make a TV project.” (0:30:24)
“I'm curious that you've partnered with Amazon to release the movie.” (0:26:31)
Calls himself one of America's preeminent Mank defenders and watched it four times in the 2020 Oscar season. Loves Citizen Kane, Paramount in the 70s, and the studio-hand-as-auteur idea. Dislikes Mank-mid takes that he thinks are phony and a Welles-defense posture he calls bullying.
Stances
Mank is a summation of Fincher's worldview and his father's influence
Welles defenders are bullying, not bullied
The Offer is compellingly bad but he finished all ten episodes
Netflix should not be Fincher's only home
Humor: Dry film-critic asides and confessions of excess, like watching Saw X at ten in the morning.
In their words
“I watched it 4 times in the Oscar season of 2020 to 2021.” (0:17:23)
“I don't do drugs.” (0:14:39)
“I not only watched it but I completed it.” (1:06:08)
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 601–700 of 1,576 claims.
unmapped (globalization start):
Jaws → Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
Movie globalization began in the 1970s when Jaws went wide and Star Wars became a phenomenon.
“which started in the 1970s when Jaws went wide and Star Wars became a phenomenon”
industry (Chinese box office):
Marvel movies → Ne Zha 2.
This franchise is among the wordless spectacle brands that played in China and pushed out mid-budget movies (target is the China-box-office counterexample).
“And what played in China was Marvel, Jurassic World, the Fast and the Furious, Avatar, et cetera, et cetera.”
industry (Chinese box office):
Jurassic World → Ne Zha 2.
This franchise is among the wordless spectacle brands that played in China and pushed out mid-budget movies (target is the China-box-office counterexample).
“And what played in China was Marvel, Jurassic World, the Fast and the Furious, Avatar, et cetera, et cetera.”
industry (Chinese box office):
The Fast and the Furious (franchise) → Ne Zha 2.
This franchise is among the wordless spectacle brands that played in China and pushed out mid-budget movies (target is the China-box-office counterexample).
“And what played in China was Marvel, Jurassic World, the Fast and the Furious, Avatar, et cetera, et cetera.”
industry (Chinese box office):
Avatar → Ne Zha 2.
This franchise is among the wordless spectacle brands that played in China and pushed out mid-budget movies (target is the China-box-office counterexample).
“And what played in China was Marvel, Jurassic World, the Fast and the Furious, Avatar, et cetera, et cetera.”
unmapped (counterexample):
Ne Zha 2 → A Minecraft Movie.
Ne Zha 2, a Chinese animation, is now the world's top grosser, almost all from China, showing China no longer needs Hollywood.
“Niza 2 is the highest grossing movie in the world right now.”
industry (streaming vs theatrical):
Black Bag → A Minecraft Movie.
Movies like Black Bag go to streaming; Minecraft or Sonic are needed to revive theaters.
“appetites lost interest in going out to a movie theater for a movie like Black Bag”
unmapped (generational analog):
A Minecraft Movie → Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Minecraft is Gen Alpha's TMNT: adults despaired at the Turtles film but it opened a pathway for storytelling.
unmapped (healthy model):
Nosferatu → A Minecraft Movie.
A $50M gamble on an interesting filmmaker turning $200M is the healthy middle, versus a $18M comedy hoping for $700M.
“I hope there are more Nosperatus, where they're like, we're going to give a really interesting filmmaker $50 million, because we think it can make $200 million.”
unmapped (mixed-feelings precedent):
A Minecraft Movie → Barbie.
Barbie wasn't Sean's favorite that year, but he's glad it happened; same attitude to Minecraft.
“Barbie wasn't my favorite movie of that year, but I liked it.”
unmapped (Soderbergh exercise):
Black Bag → The Good German.
Soderbergh is the king of the exercise; The Good German is an earlier, reclaimed exercise film.
“the movie that is being reclaimed of his right now and is being released on 4K is a good German.”
people (tell-tale casting):
Black Bag → Vincent Price.
Brosnan and Page show their hand early, like seeing Vincent Price in a movie and knowing he will do bad things.
“sometimes you're watching a Vincent Price movie and you're like, well, Vincent Price is in this movie.”
people (same director lineage):
Misericordia → Stranger by the Lake.
Misericordia is in the same lineage as Guiraudie's Stranger by the Lake: eerie, upsetting, queer serial-killer thriller.
“This is very much in the same lineage as that movie.”
theme (theme):
Babygirl → The Substance.
Same year as The Substance; both are women-made films confronting an actress's aging, one literal, one metaphorical.
“it's an interesting time for this movie to come along in the same year as the substance where that movie makes the metaphorical literal.”
industry (industry):
A24 → Civil War.
A24's year: hit lots of doubles and a home run with Civil War, then Heretic, We Live in Time, Babygirl, The Brutalist.
“They had a home run with Civil War, but, you know, you had, we live in time, we had heretic, now this movie, then the brutalist,”
career (career):
Nicole Kidman → The Golden Compass.
Kidman dots her ambitious work with supporting parts in popcorn movies like The Golden Compass and Aquaman.
“And then she tends to dot it with, I think, pretty smart supporting work in popcorn movies.”
contrast (contrast):
Nicole Kidman → Jennifer Lopez.
Jennifer Lopez longs for Kidman's stature as an elevated celebrity who is also celebrated as an artist.
“That's the thing is when you see Jennifer Lopez longing, what she really longs for is Nicole Kidman's stature.”
people (people):
Dead Calm → Phillip Noyce.
A small thriller directed by Phillip Noyce with Sam Neill and Billy Zane, her big breakthrough performance.
“This is her big breakthrough performance in a very small thriller, directed by Philip Noyes, co-starring Sam Neil and Billy Zane.”
career (career):
Happy Feet → Prince.
Prince's 'Kiss' in the opening minutes of Happy Feet is how the speaker first realized Prince was cool.
“I think that this might actually be the 1st time that I realized Prince was cool was because they sing Kiss in the opening like 5 minutes of this movie.”
verdict (verdict):
Nicole Kidman → Dead Calm.
Thirteen yellows read aloud, starting with Dead Calm and Days of Thunder.
“Dead calm, days of thunder, malice, practical magic, the hours, dogville, rabbit hole, the paper boy, Paddington, the killing of a sacred deer, destroyer, the Northman, and baby girl.”
craft (craft):
Halina Reijn → Paul Verhoeven.
Intense tension blended with absurdist humor that pierces it is a Verhoeven idea Reijn shares, partly as Dutch humor.
craft (scene mirror):
Babylon → Singin' in the Rain.
Babylon's walk-on bar scene mirrors the flashback that opens Singin' in the Rain, where Don Lockwood gets a walk-on.
“Um, Don Lockwood gets a walk on part in a bar in that like in that flashback to start the movie.”
unmapped (self-commentary):
Babylon → Damien Chazelle.
A speaker reads the film as possibly Chazelle commenting on himself as a holdout against blockbusterization, after its box-office failure.
“Damien Chisel gets propped up as one of the, like, the, the, last filmmakers to, who was trying to make movies like this in the face of, DIP blockbusterization of cinema.”
people (shared cinematographer):
Linus Sandgren → Saltburn.
Babylon's cinematographer also shot Saltburn, No Time to Die and True Detective: Night Country.
“You know whose name we didn't mention is Lena Sangren, the cinematographer of this film who also shot Saltburn?”
unmapped (could become):
Con Air → Hardcore.
Con Air could become the Rolling Thunder or Hardcore of 2047, a once-obscure film needing care and restoration.
“Conair could become the rolling thunder or hardcore of 2047.”
unmapped (restoration):
Wings of Desire → Wim Wenders.
Wenders says the negative was wrong and he and his DP and editor always knew; the restoration is the intended version.
what-if (recut):
Black Hat → Michael Mann.
Arrow's Black Hat 4K includes a recut that moves a significant sequence to the front, making it more coherent.
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.”