Admires Eddie's subtlety in the film and the Detroit-set opening that sets it apart from other 80s blockbusters. Appreciates sly craft details like pop songs turning down for a scene. He is a sucker for the rival-duo moments and the soundtrack.
Stances
The opening feels like Mean Streets rather than an 80s blockbuster
Eddie's performance is quiet and sly, not stuck in a persona
Humor: Understated, pop-culture-reference humor.
In their words
“he's really sly in this movie” (0:06:13)
“Also, a secret trope of the 80s movie making is pop song playing over montage.” (0:35:52)
Loves big-picture film history and awards lore, brings printed research and Roger Ebert quotes, and likes comfort rewatches (Wedding Crashers, Beverly Hills Cop). Bad on moral outrage as a critical starting point. A sucker for pizza as a holy deity and for New York.
Stances
Do the Right Thing is a perfect screenplay and Spike's fiction apex
The Denby, Klein, and Crouch criticism missed the film
Tarantino lifted things from this movie
The worst New York pizza beats California food
Humor: Deadpan and procedural; reads 'half-assed Internet research' with mock apology, and picks fights over pizza.
In their words
“Half-assed internet research.” (1:06:03)
“Pizza is a holy deity to me.” (1:35:53)
“I have thought about this movie every day of my life since 1989, so ask away.” (1:32:24)
Sean is the one who treats Reservoir Dogs as a film education: the Melville and The Killing recommendations, the 10-year-old rewatcher who rented it. He loves the sound-and-image craft of the opening, Buscemi as the ideal Buscemi, and the commode story. Cannot let a bad accent go.
Stances
Reservoir Dogs is the film that shaped how he related to pop culture
Roth's accent is a pet peeve
Madonna's refutation is why the tipping theory wins the Ewing Award
Humor: Dry and unbothered, undercutting Bill's categories.
In their words
“Go rent the killing if you haven't seen it.” (0:47:22)
Cinephile with filmmaker-career knowledge (Todd Phillips' documentaries, Phillips-Cooper partnership). Loves Wayne's World 2 and rewards deep-cut details. Not a fan of The Hangover sequels or the Godfather compound mistake.
Stances
Todd Phillips won the movie
Hangover 2 and 3 are not worth revisiting
Fuck the South Shore, North Shore forever
Never said Frank Sinatra wasn't cool
Humor: Mock-wounded pride about his Godfather misses and hometown loyalty.
In their words
“I am from the northern shore of Long Island, and I'm north shore till I die.” (1:09:30)
“it's Todd Phillips for me because of everything I said.” (1:05:58)
Cares about behind-the-scenes lore and fair historical context; likes Kurt Russell's career arc and Westerns. Dislikes stereotypical bad takes. Provides the lore breakdown.
Stances
Tombstone is better than Wyatt Earp
Russell's apex is 1982-83
Ghost director story is the soul of the film
Kurt Russell wins spiritually
Humor: Dry, knowing asides, calls out cohosts' takes.
In their words
“The miracle of this movie is that so it was basically, let's just say it's directed by 3 people.” (0:09:03)
“He was nominated for best supporting actor, four, Silkwood” (0:48:04)
Obsessed with Brian De Palma and sees this as his last great movie; loves Carlito's Way, The Untouchables, Blow Out, and heist movies like Rififi. Dislikes masks that break the rules. A sucker for Henry Czerny and the Langley vault.
Stances
This is De Palma's last great movie
Langley heist is the most rewatchable scene
Villains' goals in the MI series are always vague
Humor: Enthusiastic, tangents about Usenet confessions and hypothetical senator IP.
In their words
“I love I love Brian De Palma's movie making.” (0:07:34)
“I realized that this is his last great movie” (0:06:56)
Loves gory, funny, fast genre movies with craft and confidence, especially 87-minute films that never overstay. Can't stand ponderous elevated horror that fills out its runtime with introspection and sad family history. A sucker for the Carpenter-era lineage, Die Hard homages, and directors who break studio dogma.
Stances
Resident Evil is one of the best films of the year
Horror movies have become a drag; fun genre experiences are needed
Short running times are a virtue
Video-game films work best when great filmmakers get creative license
Humor: Dry, self-deprecating banter and bit-building (mouse in Boston, Dion Waiters riff, cardigan mouse).
Loves slashers and the final-girl canon, and writes about them; holds Miasma up as an A-plus and Obsession as incomplete but provocative. Uses Smile 2 as a reference. Is a sucker for tonal gear-shifts and sincere-yet-silly filmmaking.
Stances
Miasma is sweet and sincere, not scary
Obsession is incomplete but its reaction is unusual
Horror is more mainstream than ever
Final-girl trope has run to the end of the road
Humor: Dry teasing, running gags with Adam about the Blue Jays and podcasting.
In their words
“as a certified slasherologist,” (0:30:16)
“I like camping miasma exponentially more, you know, like much, much more.” (0:39:49)
“Okay, Adam, one thing, one movie that I revisited this week in writing about Final Girls was Smile 2.” (0:44:06)
A lifelong He-Man collector who admits the film has his number even when he thinks it is flawed. He loves Henson fantasy, Excalibur, and unvarnished, handmade movie moments, and prizes sincere emotional entry points. He is allergic to Marvel-style end-credit teases and sequel bait, and is a sucker for Hensonian creature work and toy nostalgia.
Stances
The film is wildly flawed and too long but tonally interesting
Handmade, unpolished horror like Obsession is what the fandom wants
Fantasy canon is mostly the five things everyone says
Tired of sequel-bait end credits
Humor: Self-deprecating about being a broken fan critic, riffing on his own 'film critic or not' persona.
In their words
“I'm a bizarre broken person and this silly thing means a lot to me, right?” (0:42:31)
“I want to watch a movie finish itself.” (1:12:44)
“Yeah, I would I would throw Dark Crystal and Excalibur into that cannon.” (1:18:46)
Likes lean, formally controlled genre movies, prefers Sondheim to Lloyd Webber-era musicals, and respects cult phenomena once he understands them. He doesn't care for modern movie musicals, bad-good irony, or over-psychologized horror. He is a sucker for movie stars and celebrity mystique and for a good Letterboxd rating.
Stances
Mamma Mia is both very good and very bad and he's willing to join the cult
Camera work and direction in Mamma Mia are poor
Dislikes modern musicals like Wicked and over-performative choreography
Not fond of 'so bad it's good'
The Strangers is richer than its 81 minutes suggest
Humor: Dry, digressive and self-deprecating, building long riffs on sports fandom, marriage and Meryl Streep's filmography.
In their words
“I've never seen a film be so good and so bad simultaneously.” (0:52:28)
“I'm actually willing to join the cult, but it is extremely important to talk about the myriad ways in which this movie also kind of stinks.” (0:52:38)
“It's just not a bad idea for a movie and maybe there should be other movies like this.” (1:26:26)
Loves genre craft and auteur signatures: devoted to Sam Raimi, delighted by Send Help as exactly what he wants from any month, and fond of movie stars with range. Detests mean-spirited, incoherent studio product like Mercy, and likes making lists of underused stars. A sucker for Beatles, Chris Pine and scenes that feel like real fights.
Stances
Mercy is ugly, mean, immoral and structurally confused
Send Help is the model fun genre movie, and Rachel McAdams should be in more
Hollywood misuses stars, especially women over 40
Amy Adams is partly responsible for her own bad roles (low confidence in attribution)
Humor: Dry compliment-sandwich deadpan, with dramatic mock hosting and running bits like the list of 22 stars.
Loves ambitious, Hollywood-about-Hollywood spectacle and big-swing auteur messiness: Babylon, Nope, Avatar: The Way of Water, Barbarian, EEAAO. Likes genre mashups with sincere hearts, rewatches Zack Snyder's Justice League, and wants theatrical formats (70mm). Will follow a filmmaker for decades after one great film.
Stances
Babylon is a near masterpiece and he is obsessed with it
Peele's messier movies reward rewatching
Avatar: The Way of Water is a film he loves and was moved by
Awards campaigns should not define a movie's reputation afterward
Humor: Dry, performative magnanimity, grandly generous gestures, and teasing his co-hosts about pants.
In their words
“I love Babylon more than I love tar.” (0:31:21)
“I love, love, love this movie.” (0:43:31)
“I tend to not go back to films aside from Zack Snyder's Justice League, which I've seen 10 times.” (0:32:25)
“I think it's probably his most satisfying film for me since in Bruges.” (0:44:50)
Loves the apotheosis of Scorsese's style and long, ambitious movies, and champions Leo, blues-drenched needle drops and big Hollywood events. He is bothered by audiences who misread excess as celebration and by passion projects that take decades. He is a sucker for personal connections, like Long Island details, and for a rankable list.
Stances
Wolf is the culmination of Scorsese's hyperkinetic 21st-century style
Leo's performance may be his best of the century
Audiences who read Wolf as a celebration are misreading it
Silence is a serious rival pick
Humor: Dry and self-deprecating, deflating moments with a deadpan aside and teasing his co-host.
In their words
“it's like the final boss of a thing he developed in the 21st century as a director.” (0:03:29)
“So we continue to make mistakes throughout this experience.” (0:02:06)
Loves Wes Anderson's Rushmore best and treats Tenenbaums as the calling card. Responds to its imaginative-Texan, literary-pop sensibility, and to sad comedy. Admires showy camera moves and needle drops. (Attribution of individual remarks is low confidence.)
Stances
Tenenbaums is the right Anderson pick as a bridge from indie to institution
Hackman's resistance to the Anderson style makes the film
Humor: Self-deprecating banter about fantasy football punishment and eyeliner.
In their words
“I will wear the Richie Tenbaum headband.” (0:26:06)
Loves Moneyball as one of his favorite movies of the decade, a baseball obsessive, a fan of Pitt's movie-star presence and Sorkin's writing. Drawn to character studies about unfulfilled promise and process movies. Allergic to self-serious later Miller and to Oscar logic.
Stances
Moneyball is the best sports movie of the decade
Pitt's best performance
Bennett Miller is interested in characters, not sports
Oscars miss the right role
Humor: Deadpan, self-deprecating banter, running gags about Chris Ryan and pants.
In their words
“The best sports movie of the decade, one of the, for my money, the best performance by one of the great movie stars of our generation.” (0:02:37)
Loves tilted, genre-mixing movies (Wild at Heart, Gremlins 2) and mainstream crowd-pleasers he grew up with (Home Alone, Ghost, Total Recall). He kept the draft's logic and also took the Spike Lee Mo' Better Blues as a heartfelt late pick. A sucker for sequels with a point of view and for the Rewatchables tie-in.
Stances
Gremlins 2 is among the cleverest movies about the scary future of America
Wild at Heart is great but not top Lynch
Chose to skip five sequels to New Hollywood classics in the sequel slot
Humor: Dry, deadpan teasing, especially of his co-hosts' drafting mistakes and the Braves.
In their words
“I'm taking David Lynch's Wild at Heart.” (1:11:00)
“one of the cleverest, if not the most clever movie about like the scary future of America” (1:15:14)
“I think misery is the best movie of the bunch.” (0:57:28)
Sean is the Minecraft-business optimist who still admits it is a mediocre movie; he loves a theatrical crowd losing its mind, auteur exercises (Soderbergh), music movies, queer European arthouse thrillers and Canadian cinema (Egoyan). He recommends in bulk, with caveats ('mixed on this, but I want to recommend it'). He's a sucker for the macro story: globalization, China, IP, and the studio math.
Stances
A Minecraft Movie is not a good movie but is an important, essential one
Kids deserve their own movies; chicken jockey gave him life
Theatrical revival needs IP and eventization right now
Film critics (incl. himself) share blame for the superhero glut
Optimistic about April and the studio year despite a bad Q1
Humor: Deadpan thesis-mongering and self-mocking melodrama ('movie bleed out'), with a constant needle for Amanda's habits.
In their words
“I'm excited about what's happened over the weekend and I have so many reasons why.” (0:01:58)
“I'm ove indexed on caring about movies.” (0:52:38)
“But you're right that I am kind of paying a penance because my enthusiasm contributed to leading us to this place.” (0:46:09)
Saw Babygirl three months before the episode and again with his wife, and the second viewing made him want a dog. Names The Brutalist his favorite movie of the year and conducts the Halina Reijn interview. Attribution inside the Hall of Fame draft is uncertain, but the draft voice that reads the filmography, champions Dead Calm and wants to hold a listener vote is probably his.
Stances
Babygirl works best as set pieces, a comedy of manners played straight, not Basic Instinct
The Brutalist is the best film of the year
Pushes Dead Calm into the Hall of Fame (low confidence)
Humor: Dry and needling, prone to pretending to be wounded.
In their words
“I think we should get a dog.” (0:12:02)
“I'm very curious about, uh, the big needle drops.” (2:32:14)
Loves spectacle done with craft and the practical heft of the original Gladiator; counts it just under his top tier of Ridley Scott. Can't stand sloppy CGI animals, soft scripts and legacy sequels that merely restate the original. A sucker for actors committing, a big Mad Max: Fury Road partisan.
Stances
Gladiator II is a huge disappointment and also incredibly entertaining
Denzel Washington is the best thing in it, but Macrinus's villainy was telegraphed
CGI baboons and sharks pull him out of the film; real animals would be better
Wants Ridley Scott to finally win Best Director
Humor: Dry, ringleader-style needling of his co-hosts, with absurd escalations (method-acting baboons, Bitcoin vs. cranking it).
In their words
“how do you communicate that this movie is a huge disappointment to me and also incredibly entertaining.” (0:16:31)
A fan of Chazelle's showy, homage-heavy filmmaking and a self-declared proud member of the Babylon hive. Loves Singin' in the Rain, physical media, genre like Suspiria, and the Immaculate theatrical experience. Can't stand long bad blockbusters, though long ambitious films do not bother him. Hunts movie-night rituals and bits.
Stances
Babylon is a maligned masterpiece and the middle and ending montage hold up
Long movies are fine when they are good; the problem is long bad blockbusters
Movies are best with a crowd and a ritual of focus
Humor: Deadpan tangents and mock-solemn setups (snack lists, bridge-dog theory, fake complaints about the golf scandal) that pull the room off the film and back.
In their words
“Now, listen, I am a proud member of the Babylon Hive.” (2:57:53)
“who's going to show this kid? Suspiria, you know, if not me.” (1:52:01)
“Tell you what, I think I'm a pretty normal guy.” (1:09:04)
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”