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 1–100 of 1,576 claims.
lineage (lineage):
Disturbia → Rear Window.
Disturbia, the best of the decade's thrillers in the cycle, is a Rear Window remake.
craft (craft):
Domestic Disturbance → Swingers.
Vaughn's Rick in the first half echoes his Swingers character Trent: constant performing, false energy, bravado.
“He's always, you know, he's always got this like false energy, this bravado, and he's kind of doing that in the 1st half of this movie where he's trying to connect with Danny.”
unmapped (stylistic seed):
After Hours → Goodfellas.
Sean says the fast cutting, whip-pans and close-ups in After Hours are the seeds of Goodfellas' look, via cinematographer Michael Ballhaus.
“just seeing all the seeds of Goodfellas and all these little edits and camera shots.”
lineage (homage):
After Hours → The Wizard of Oz.
Dark-side-of-the-yellow-brick-road version; Dorothy walks into black and white instead of color, with 'surrender Dorothy' graffiti and Marcy's Seconal tie to Judy Garland.
“it is like very much a Wizard of Oz kind of homage, and it's like if Dorothy instead walked into the black and white darkness”
unmapped (same-year cycle):
After Hours → Desperately Seeking Susan.
Hosts group After Hours, Into the Night, Desperately Seeking Susan and Something Wild as 1985 cokey-screwball-paranoia New York-night movies.
unmapped (sliding door):
The Last Temptation of Christ → After Hours.
Paramount cancelling Last Temptation sent Scorsese to a small fast job; one of movie history's sliding doors.
“it is one of the massive sliding doors in movie history because him not making it leads to him making this movie”
career (career hinge):
After Hours → Goodfellas.
Bill says Goodfellas does not happen if After Hours does not happen first; the cancelled Last Temptation is the sliding door.
contrast (Oscar contrast):
Out of Africa → After Hours.
1985 Best Picture went to respectable, stuffy Out of Africa while the new-Hollywood audacity lived in films like this.
“the movie that won best picture in 1985 is out of Africa.”
unmapped (slower religious cut):
The Last Temptation of Christ → Kundun.
Scorsese's religious movies are slower and more painterly than the fast style of After Hours.
“His religious movies are more slower paced and more painterly, I would say.”
contrast (contrast):
Steven Soderbergh → Ryan Coogler.
Soderbergh can bang out movies fast because he shoots and cuts them himself, unlike Coogler's big-crew, big-star productions.
“Like Soderberg shoots and edits his movies. He holds the camera when he makes the movie.”
unmapped (tonal shift):
After Hours → Raging Bull.
Raging Bull is realistic, documentary-like black and white; After Hours is a surreal fever-nightmare with a moving camera, a shift for Scorsese.
“Raging Bull, shot in black and white, almost feels like documentaries.”
career (career bridge):
After Hours → The Color of Money.
The camera moves of After Hours carry into Color of Money's pool table, tied to Ballhaus; both lead to Goodfellas.
“that same thing, that camera is flying across the pool table.”
people (cinematographer lineage):
Michael Ballhaus → Goodfellas.
Ballhaus, with Schoonmaker's editing, built the new Scorsese look; seven films together.
“with Thelma Scoonmaker's editing style, they built this kind of new version of the Scorsese movie.”
lineage (stealth homage):
After Hours → Rear Window.
The neighborhood shooting seen through a window is a Hitchcock rear-window moment never mentioned again; Hitchcock and Fritz Lang noir are influences.
“there's Hitchcock and Fritz Lange Noir movies are a huge influence on this movie, and that's like such a perfect rear window moment”
lineage (production lineage):
After Hours → Baby It's You.
Without Baby It's You (Dunn/Robinson, Arquette, Ballhaus) there is no After Hours, since it brought Ballhaus to Scorsese.
“without that movie, we don't have after hours either because they bring Michael Bauhaus to Scorsese.”
what-if (casting what-if):
Griffin Dunn → Michael Keaton.
Keaton's 'I just blew a line' energy might beat Dunn for Paul Hackett; they played brothers in Johnny Dangerously.
“Michael Keaton does have that like, I just blew a line energy.”
career (personal projection):
After Hours → The Last Temptation of Christ.
Scorsese worked Kafka's Before the Law into the club doorman scene to reflect his frustration over Last Temptation.
“inspired by Franz Kafka's before the law. And Scorsese said the short story reflected his frustration toward the production of the Last Temptation of Christ.”
unmapped (late-night NYC exclusion):
After Hours → Dog Day Afternoon.
Every Lumet film is a night movie except Dog Day Afternoon, which takes place by day.
“except for Dog Day afternoon, because it only takes place during the day.”
people (people):
Thelma Schoonmaker → Michael Powell.
Powell, Scorsese's mentor, married Schoonmaker around the time of After Hours, and the two of them helped Scorsese.
“became a huge mentor to Scorsese at this time and married Thelma Scoonmaker right before this movie, I think, or maybe right after.”
unmapped (mentor):
Michael Powell → Martin Scorsese.
Powell, exiled British filmmaker married to Schoonmaker, mentored Scorsese and helped with After Hours' ending and tone.
“he was one of the people who helped him figure out the ending, helped him determine the tone.”
unmapped (lived-in New York):
Francis Ha → After Hours.
Sean says Frances Ha is the closest to his own New York life, as After Hours is to a different era.
“I didn't live through after hours, but what she is doing in that movie, plus Bombach being such a special filmmaker for us.”
lineage (lineage):
Pulp Fiction → Reservoir Dogs.
Pulp's opening two-song credits echo the radio dial concept from Reservoir Dogs.
“Well, the radio, the concept of the radio had been in Reservoir Dogs, but I think switching the songs in the middle, because you hear him change the dial.”
what-if (what-if):
Pulp Fiction → Daniel Day-Lewis.
Weinstein pushed Daniel Day-Lewis for Vincent; the speakers would not trade Travolta but would love one DDL hitman movie.
“Having him play like just one normal hitman having a weird day would be awesome.”
industry (industry):
Alison Jones → Barry (TV).
The famous casting director Alison Jones is in Barry season two, in the scene where Bill Hader auditions for Jay Roach.
“And Alison Jones, the very famous casting director.”
lineage (lineage):
Spotlight → All the President's Men.
Spotlight was closer to the spirit of the conclusions of All the President's Men, if not its style.
“it was closer to the spirit of the conclusions of all the president's men, if not the style.”
contrast (contrast):
The Insider → Spotlight.
Spotlight was a hit because it is a satisfying bad-guys-get-caught story, while The Insider is meditative and ambivalent.
“Spotlight is just like, let's get the bad guys with our reporting.”
craft (craft):
The Insider → Miami Vice.
Mann's pop-abstract music choices, such as the Linkin Park and Jay-Z cues in Miami Vice, are a recurring misfire for some.
“Is this your, is this a subtle dig at Lincoln Park, Jay-Z being used in Miami Vice?”
craft (craft):
The Rolling Stones → The Big Chill.
The Stones song at the reception, with Karen playing it on the organ, is called as well used as a song ever is in a movie.
“And then the fucking Rolling Stones come in and it's used as well as you're gonna ever use a song in a movie.”
career (career arc):
Robert De Niro → Midnight Run.
From Midnight Run through Goodfellas, This Boy's Life, Cape Fear and this film, De Niro played different parts each time.
“This is such a great De Niro stretch, basically, from Midnight Run.”
verdict (Apex Mountain: crap scenes / Italian):
A Bronx Tale → Goodfellas.
Apex for crap scenes and for father-son: Goodfellas and Casino are the competition.
verdict (Apex Mountain: racists burned alive):
A Bronx Tale → Django Unchained.
Apex Mountain for racists getting burned alive: this or the end of Django Unchained.
“Isn't Django unchained, really more the, you know, the end of Django unchained?”
lineage (homage question):
A Bronx Tale → Goodfellas.
Fennessey wonders whether the needle drops and the Pesci cameo are purposeful homage or accident.
“I just want to know how much of what he was doing was a purposeful homage to Goodfellas”
verdict (Apex Mountain: Palminteri):
A Bronx Tale → The Usual Suspects.
Apex Mountain for Palminteri: A Bronx Tale or The Usual Suspects, with Suspects bigger but this his whole life.
people (counterfactual director):
Robert De Niro → Martin Scorsese.
If Scorsese directed, the film would be more thrilling but less breezy and easy to rewatch.
“If Martin Scorsese shoots the movie, it's fucking exciting.”
programming (double feature):
A Bronx Tale → Rocco and His Brothers.
A Visconti-style Italian neorealist film is suggested as the other double feature.
lineage (lineage):
The Player → Singin' in the Rain.
Sean says movies about movies go back long before The Player, e.g. Singin' in the Rain, but this one is far more inside the joke.
career (career):
The Player → Short Cuts.
The Player put Altman back among world-class directors: a best director nomination here and another the next year for Short Cuts.
“he gets nominated for best director here and then gets nominated the following year for his next film, Shortcuts”
lineage (lineage):
Robert Altman → Tanner '88.
Tanner '88 is where Altman found the satirical tone he carried into The Player, using politics as the way into mocking egomaniacs.
“that's where he figures out this satirical tone that he's then going to follow into the player.”
lineage (lineage):
Robert Altman → Richard Linklater.
Sean lists Linklater with PTA among 90s directors who took Altman's interest in communities and worlds.
craft (craft):
Robert Altman → Michael Tolkin.
Altman changed Tolkin's screenplay and was unkind about it; the film's ending differs greatly from the book.
“And Altman was a little unkind about Tolkien's screenplay.”
craft (craft):
The Player → Touch of Evil.
The Player's opening nods to Touch of Evil's tracking shot by having Fred Ward's character talk about it, then reveal he never watches foreign films.
“Fred Ward talking about the tracking shot and touch of evil, but then revealing that he never watches foreign films.”
theme (theme):
The Player → The Larry Sanders Show.
Both treat agents and executives as the villains; Odenkirk's Larry Sanders finale line calls back to Griffin's wish to eliminate the writer and actors.
“So then in Larry Sanders, in the last episode, Bob Odenkirk, who plays, um, Sander's agent”
career (career):
Whoopi Goldberg → Ghost.
Whoopi's few scenes land as an Apex Mountain moment: Ghost was just before, and she holds an Oscar prop a year after winning one.
“And Ghost is right before this, and it's just, you drop her in a movie like a grenade for 15 minutes.”
career (career):
Randall Batinkoff → Ben Affleck.
Batinkoff was the odds-on favorite to be the biggest star of the Affleck/Damon/O'Donnell/Fraser class and peaked in 1992.
“Batenkoff was probably like the odds on favorite to be the biggest star of all of them.”
career (career):
Brion James → 48 Hrs..
Sean corrects the Blade Runner guess: Brion James is the Ice Pick/Iceman villain in 48 Hrs. and Another 48 Hrs.
“He turns out to be the Iceman at the end of 48 hours too, another 48 hours.”
career (career):
Sydney Pollack → Eyes Wide Shut.
Pollack's Player cameo ended an acting drought since Tootsie and set off a chain that led to Eyes Wide Shut.
“this sets off a chain of movies culminating in Him in the leather sleeveless vest and knives wide shut”
career (career):
Julia Roberts → Sandra Bullock.
After the Pretty Woman era Julia Roberts outran every actress for years, until Meg Ryan and Sandra Bullock got a foothold.
“And then Meg Ryan and Sandra Bullock finally like clawed their way in at least a tiny bit.”
what-if (what-if):
John Travolta → Pulp Fiction.
If Travolta had starred in The Player, the Pulp Fiction comeback might have gone differently, and Bill is glad it did not happen.
“It's a really interesting Travolta sliding doors.”
lineage (lineage):
The Player → Network.
In the meta-Hollywood movies discussion, Network, Argo, Tropic Thunder and Bamboozled are floated as the nearest cousins, none as acidic.
“But you have never seen a movie this acidic about, you know, the, and also involving the, the level of fit.”
career (later career):
Franco Nero → John Wick: Chapter 2.
Nero later reappears in John Wick 2, and in Django Unchained because he played the original Django.
“he shows up in Django and Chain because he played the original Django in the Italian movies.”
verdict (favorite of director):
Renny Harlin → The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Fennessey's favorite Harlin is Long Kiss Goodnight, though Die Hard 2 is his Apex Mountain.
lineage (lineage):
Panic Room → Psycho.
Panic Room is to Fight Club as Psycho is to North by Northwest: a small, single-location B movie after a big sprawling one.
“But really it's like, it's Hitchcock doing Psycho right after North by Northwest.”
contrast (contrast):
Panic Room → North by Northwest.
North by Northwest is the big cross-country picture; Fight Club plays that role for Fincher before Panic Room shrinks things down.
contrast (contrast):
Zodiac → Panic Room.
Zodiac is deep (obsession, meaning through someone else's experience) where Panic Room is a well-made B movie.
“It's one of those things where like zodiac is deep.”
fun, about
Brendan Fraser and John Lithgow:
They show up as lawyers in the last 30 minutes in what feels like a different movie, with Fraser cut to erupt thunderously.
“They're doing an old timey lawyer thing. There's like this thundering explanatory.”
fun, about
Killers of the Flower Moon:
The Masonic Hall spanking scene, a Jack Fisk construction with a checkerboard floor, is called funny and strange.
fun, about
Killers of the Flower Moon:
Awards forecast: nominated for lots (Leo, Gladstone, Scorsese, production design, costume, adapted screenplay, maybe score and editing) but no real shot at Best Picture.
“I just don't think it really has any chance to win best picture.”
fun, about
Sight and Sound poll:
Sean notes that the Sight and Sound poll ballots include a Looney Tune and a 14-minute film on Adam's list, which includes Duck Amuck and Meshes of the Afternoon.
“I mean, Adam had a had a had a looney tune and a 14 minute film on his list.”
fun, about
The Eternal Daughter:
Sean saw it at the New York Film Festival about five feet from Tilda Swinton and bumped it half a star for it. Amanda had slept on it because Sean did not respond to it at the festival.
“the movie was bumped up half a star for me by seeing it in the front row and then being less than 5 feet away from Tilda Swinton.”
fun, about
Babylon:
Sean's backstory: he left a holiday party at Amanda's, in a bad mood, to drive to Century City for a three-hour-eight-minute screening, and was blown away anyway. He relays a Letterboxd review asking if it's a love letter to cinema or a suicide note.
“Is this a love letter to cinema or a suicide note?”
fun, about
Babylon:
Sean says Margot Robbie is one of the only truly fearless young stars, glorious and disgusting at times, and might deserve a best actress nod.
“She is one of the only truly fearless young stars we have.”
fun, about
The Fabelmans:
Amanda asks if she would trade having her son be as successful as Spielberg for the movie he'd make about her; Sean says to take the Jurassic Park money.
“But could you be sitting on Jurassic Park money?”
fun, about
Tár:
Sean says the opening Q&A scene with the New Yorker interviewer is how to use Blanchett: ten minutes of her talking about things she likes. A hosts' joke imagines a Todd Field and Adam Sandler pairing.
“that opening scene, as I wrote in the Ringer piece, where she's taking questions from Gopnik, from the New Yorkers, like, that is how you use Cape Blanchett.”
fun, about
Nope:
Sean admires the premise: an invented family that may be descended from the Black jockey in Muybridge's film strip, launching 100 years of film history and people whose names we don't know.
“that's a genius idea for a drama, let alone a UFO movie.”
fun, about
Clash of the Titans:
Argument over Clash of the Titans, the Harry Hamlin original versus the Sam Worthington remake, with a side note that Hamlin is Lisa Rinna's husband.
fun, about
Elvis:
Sean's contrast: Elvis was shot with one camera on Ed Sullivan; the movie cuts a hundred times in two minutes to match his magnetism.
“it literally cuts a 100 times in a 2 minute period of performance because that's almost sort of what it takes to match the Elvis Presley magnetism.”
fun, about
Love and Mercy:
Director Bill Pohlad is the son of Twins owner Carl Pohlad; he produced Brokeback Mountain, 12 Years a Slave and Tree of Life, a benefactor for filmmakers.
“a guy named Bill Polad, who is the son of Carl Polad, the billionaire owner of the Minnesota Twins.”
fun, about
Bird:
Warner Bros. and Columbia traded Revenge for the Charlie Parker rights, and Adam jokes Revenge is a gift to history that social media should avoid.
“Revenge and Bird would be quite a double feature.”
fun, about
Mission: Impossible – Fallout:
Henry Cavill and Cruise punch each other in the bathroom and later on a cliff after a helicopter chase; the Henry Cavill speech about being disavowed is remembered.
“how many times can a man be disavowed, discarded and ignored by his government?”
fun, about
The Firm:
Chris loves The Firm for Hackman, Wilford Brimley and Holly Hunter, a Hollywood movie aspiring to nothing but entertainment; Sean calls his Wilford imitation the best Rewatchables bit.
“That might be the best episode of the rewatchables ever, in my opinion.”
fun, about
The Mummy:
The Dark Universe cast photo (Russell Crowe, Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Angelina Jolie) was taken and then no more movies were made because The Mummy was so bad; Chris says it is the only non-festival movie he walked out of.
“I think this is the only non-festival movie I've ever walked out of.”
fun, about
Errol Morris:
Idea for the Oscars: hire people like Morris to make short documentaries, like the one with Donald Trump misreading Citizen Kane.
“he completely misreads Citizen Kane and misunderstands it”
fun, about
Oscars 2021:
The hosts catalogue the thirteen awards movies not yet widely seen and where to stream them, with Nomadland the clear frontrunner.
“There are 13 more movies that most people have not seen that I think are going to be meaningful to the Oscar conversation.”
fun, about
Pretend It's a City:
Scorsese's on-screen role is mostly laughing at Lebowitz; the one time he talks over 20 seconds, he corrects her Penny Arcade into Penny Serenade and explains Grant's career.
“Martin Scorsese's role on the show, his physical role, is largely just to laugh at the things that friend Leboitt says.”
fun, about
Penny Serenade:
Sean fact-checks Scorsese on air: Cary Grant was nominated twice, for None but the Lonely Heart and Penny Serenade, not once; Amanda dubs it very un-Cary Grant energy.
“And when a person says a fact about a movie that I know to be not correct, even if it is perhaps the greatest living filmmaker, I just have to note that.”
fun, about
A Muppet Christmas Carol:
Sean's wife Eileen, who will never appear on the podcast, has an unhealthy addiction to the film, and also yells Heat Miser at dinner.
“she has like an unhealthy addiction to a Muppet Christmas carol.”
fun, about
Eyes Wide Shut:
Sean's pick for a day on a historic set: a long shoot, one of the greatest filmmakers, two stars in the midst of a marriage, and some of the wildest scenes ever shot.
“just some of the wildest scenes ever shot in the history of movies occur in that film.”
fun, about
Aaron Sorkin:
The 'I'm never, ever sick at sea' line turns up in Malice and again in Charlie Wilson's War; the references are like a drinking game.
“I'm never, ever sick at sea, shows up in malice, and then it shows up in Charlie Wilson's war”
fun, about
Transformers:
Sean's first adult LA trip was a Transformers premiere, driving an Escalade supplied by the film's car sponsor; it hooked him on movies.
“going to a movie premiere as an adult with a VIP ticket talking to the people that were in the movie”