3rd Annual Oscar Preview with Grant Pearson

Summary

Laugh With Me – 3rd Annual Oscar Preview with Grant Pearson

Podcast: Laugh With Me (iHeartPodcasts)
Host: Jeremy Odem (aka "Bradley Hall" in recording)
Guest: Grant Pearson
Release Date: February 25, 2026
Episode Theme: An in-depth and comedic preview of the 98th Academy Awards, including a ranked rundown of Best Picture nominees, notable performances, hot takes on Oscars trends, and predictions for the winners. The conversation celebrates both film-making highlights and the lighter side of moviegoing, including bad movies and Razzie nominees.

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Episode Overview

This annual Oscar Preview episode brings together host Jeremy Odem and returning guest Grant Pearson – a highly dedicated film fan and self-confessed Letterboxd addict – to dissect the 2026 Academy Award races. The duo delivers energetic banter, honest reviews (ranging from glowing to savage), hot takes on this year's films, actors, and industry trends, plus a healthy dose of inside jokes and pop culture references.

"The man who watches more movies than Robert Ebert himself... He does watch every movie that's nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. So who else would we talk to?" – Bradley Hall (02:48)

The episode also touches on family moments, meme-worthy movie quotes, and ends with shoutouts and recommendations for overlooked films and personal projects.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Catching Up: New Jobs, Family Life, and Obscure Talents

Time: 05:00–10:20

• Grant shares updates on his busy family life (notably, his son Dez's acting role as Professor Plum in Clue at Des Moines Young Artist Theater).
• Grant bought a Super Nintendo to celebrate his new job: "Super Mario World, because it's the best game that's ever been made." (08:07)
• Jeremy jokes about the never-created grocery store simulation game, showing his lifelong nerd cred: "There was a period where...I would search up grocery store tycoon...because I'm a nerd." (09:26)

2. Grant’s Movie Watch Stats and Letterboxd Review Style

Time: 10:31–13:43

• Grant watched around 220 movies in 2025, logging over 2,400 films on Letterboxd as "BuyThisVacuum."
• His review style is often one-liner jokes: "I really need to start writing good reviews...usually I just write a one-line joke." (13:08)
• Sample review for Iron Lung: "It's how a girl becomes a woman. There is so much blood, just nonstop blood." (13:46)

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3. Best Picture Nominees: Grant’s Ranking and Deep-Dive Reviews

Time: 14:43–42:50

• Grant ranks all 10 Best Picture nominees, from least to most favorite, sharing his reasoning and side commentary for each.

Grant's Best Picture Rankings & Highlights

(Timestamps for each begin with his ranking intro; discussion often continues for several minutes)

| Rank | Film | Highlights / Quotes | Timestamp | |------|-------------------------|----------------------------------|----------| | 10 | Train Dreams | "The movie...just in comparison to the other ones up there did not hit me." (15:31) | 15:12 | | 9 | The Secret Agent | "It just didn't pull me in...best part was probably the popcorn." (17:12–18:01) | 17:12 | | 8 | Frankenstein | "Would've been better on the big screen...didn't get a casting nomination but should have." (18:37–19:21) | 18:37 | | 7 | F1 | "The crowd-pleaser...I didn't think it'd be nominated." (20:36–21:45) | 20:36 | | 6 | Sentimental Value | "It's an acting movie...amazing performances, didn't care about story sometimes." (25:07–25:58) | 25:07 | | 5 | Begonia | "Jesse Plemons put on one of the greatest performances of the year...but got snubbed." (26:46–28:38) | 26:46 | | 4 | Sinners | "Immediately after I was done, I wanted to watch it again...one scene probably one of the best things ever put to film." (30:35–32:31) | 30:35 | | 3 | Hamnet | "I was not expecting a whole lot going in...This is one of my favorite movies that came out for the year." (32:46–33:38) | 32:46 | | 2 | Marty Supreme | "There are people that absolutely do not like the movie...I think everything about it was great." (39:37–40:20) | 39:37 | | 1 | One Battle After Another| "This is the movie of [PTA's] career...the one that really got out to the most people. I think this is the one that's going to win Best Picture." (42:04) | 42:04 |

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4. Noteworthy Discussion: Actors, Performances, and Industry Trends

Breakout and Underrated Performers

• Emma Stone: "Our generation's Meryl Streep...challenges herself, different roles, always great." (29:43)
• Jesse Plemons: "Deserves to be nominated every single year as long as he's still working." (28:04)
• Jacob Elordi: "He can't lose right now...waiting for something to happen." (19:42)
• Glenn Powell: "He's been in a ton of stuff recently...needs more selectivity." (24:53)
• Will Poulter: "In Death of a Unicorn, his comic timing was spot on...better than Glenn Powell's movies." (79:30)

Career Oscar Wins and Directing Styles

• [Paul Thomas Anderson] "He's made such amazing movies...I think this is his year to do that. There is some of that 'career win' going on." (44:41)
• [Ryan Coogler] "Made movies that are successful, people want to watch, and have great stories behind them." (46:13)

Controversial Snubs and Surprises

• Jesse Plemons (snubbed), Glenn Powell getting "everything he wants," but not the hits.
• Animated films rarely get Best Picture nods, despite box office (e.g., K-Pop Demon Hunters).

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5. Oscars Category Predictions & Deep Dives

Time: 42:50–58:33

Best Director

• Prediction: Paul Thomas Anderson ("One Battle After Another") considered the frontrunner for both art and career recognition.
  "I think this is his year...I think he also deserves it for One Battle After Another." (44:41)

Original Song

• Prediction: "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters (48:05)
• "K-Pop Demon Hunters is going to end up with two Academy Awards on the night, and best animated feature with that takes Zootopia 2." (48:05)

Acting Awards

| Award/Category | Prediction/Comment | Timestamp | |-----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Best Actress | Jesse Buckley for Hamnet: "Her performance...was amazing. There's no way she doesn't." | 50:14 | | Best Actor | Timothee Chalamet or Leonardo DiCaprio, edge to Leo: "Would rather see Leo get another Oscar." | 52:36 | | Best Supporting Actress| Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another), but wants Amy Madigan (Weapons) to win. | 56:01 | | Best Supporting Actor | Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value): "He tied the whole thing together." | 57:28 |

Screenplay

• Sinners predicted for Original Screenplay, One Battle After Another for Adapted. (58:33)

Technical Awards

• Sinners and One Battle After Another expected to outpace others on technical categories.

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6. The Razzies: Worst of the Year

Time: 61:28–72:47

• Worst Picture frontrunner: War of the Worlds 2025, praised as "one of the worst things I've ever seen – I can't wait to watch it again." (63:17)
• Ice Cube singled out for Worst Actor for "just reacting to computer screens for an hour and a half." (63:50)
• Dave Bautista's Razzie nod seen as unfair, targeted more at the film's quality than his performance. (66:32)
• Worst Screen Combo nomination lauded: "Ice Cube and his Zoom camera." (70:45)
• Rebel Wilson likely for Worst Actress, but commentator notes the infamous tradition of Razzies targeting big names and embarrassing career lows.
• Extra-worst picks: Love Hurts, Electric State, Playdate ("Do not make playdates the destination for you."). (73:22)

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7. Celebrating the Overlooked, Recommendations & Favorites

Time: 74:42–83:46

• Best overlooked films (not nominated or under-recognized):

  • Wake Up Dead Man (the third Knives Out, better than F1, deserved BP nom)
  • The Naked Gun (best comedy of the year, pure slapstick delight)
  • Is This Thing On? (Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, Laura Dern – "best stand-up comedy film about relationships you'd ever see")
  • Weapons (should have replaced Frankenstein for BP nod)
  • Fight or Flight (Josh Hartnett – "best action movie nobody saw...Crank meets Bullet Train on a plane")
  • Friendship (Paul Rudd, Tim Robinson, A24 sleeper hit: "What a fun movie that was.")
  • Death of a Unicorn (Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega: "Will Poulter's comic timing is spot on.")

• Most rewatched/favorite of the year:

  • "I've watched The Naked Gun more than I have One Battle After Another. Maybe that's my favorite?"

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8. Memorable Quotes & Funniest Moments

• On Razzies:
  • "James Corden and Rihanna is...one of the best-selling, most streamed artists of all time and then you have the guy who does carpool karaoke in a Smurfs movie together." (71:13)
  • "Ice Cube and his Zoom camera for War of the Worlds...he like rubs his chin and then takes his glasses off and puts them back on." (70:45, 71:03)
• On Emma Stone:
  • "She'll do fun projects just to remind everyone she has a sense of humor, she'll go do SNL and just absolutely crush." (30:05)
• On Oscar snubs and 'bad' movies:
  • "Jonah Hill, there was a time...I felt the same way about saying Academy Award nominee Jonah hill. And I'm 100% on the other side of it now." (60:13)
• On Will Poulter:
  • "He's in his Glenn Powell phase...movies are better than Glenn Powell's movies." (80:41)
• On Peyton Manning:
  • "I've been jumping around on Wikipedia pages...I had to scroll and scroll and scroll until you get past the picture of his forehead." (85:02)

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9. Closing: Personal Plugs and Local Shoutouts

• Grant invites listeners to see his son play Professor Plum in Clue at Des Moines Young Artist Theater, end of April/beginning of May (87:20).
• After Midnight (the show) canceled yet again: "Let's bring back After Midnight. Can we do that?" (86:20)
• Letterboxd plug: Find Grant at "BuyThisVacuum" for all his one-line reviews.

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Useful Timestamps (Selected Major Segments)

• 05:00 – Family/personal life, new Super Nintendo
• 10:31 – Grant's movie stats/Letterboxd habits
• 14:43 – Best Picture discussion begins
• 20:36 – F1 and blockbuster crowd-pleasers
• 29:43 – Emma Stone as "our generation's Meryl Streep"
• 39:37 – Marty Supreme as controversial pick
• 42:04 – One Battle After Another and Paul Thomas Anderson
• 50:13 – Acting awards deep dive
• 61:28 – Razzie nominations and bad movie love
• 74:53 – Overlooked favorites and recommendations
• 83:13 – Favorite movie of the year discussion
• 87:20 – Show-plugs and finale

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Tone and Style Notes

• Conversational, irreverent, but deeply appreciative of film as art and pop culture.
• Plenty of witty asides ("He can't lose right now"; "He was hoping for...dead body"), running gags, meta-commentary about the podcasting process, and references to guest and hosts' families/friends.
• Knowledgeable detours (Oscar voting trends, Letterboxd culture, niche movie references) make for lively, nerdy, and inclusive fandom listening.
• Natural chemistry between Jeremy and Grant gives this awards preview a playful, inviting feel for both cinephiles and casual movie fans.

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Final Takeaways

This episode is a layered, affectionate roast and reset of the 2025 movie year. Grant Pearson's encyclopedic (and slightly chaotic) memory fuels fast-paced reviews, sharp hot-takes, and broad recommendations. If you want a comprehensive, up-to-date, and entertaining Oscars preview, this is the episode for you—from Best Picture shoo-ins to cult flops you'll can't help but hate-watch, all delivered with puns, honest sentiment, and running jokes that make each insight stick.

For more, follow Grant on Letterboxd at BuyThisVacuum, catch Clue in Des Moines for his son's stage debut, and keep an eye out for his return next year, win or lose, at the movies.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Bradley Hall]

This is Special Agent Riegel, Special Agent Bradley Hall.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

In 2018, the FBI took down a ring of spies working for China's Ministry of State Security, one of the most mysterious intelligence agencies in the world.

[Bradley Hall]

The Sixth Bureau podcast is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its vault of secrets.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

Listen to the 6th Bureau on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Podcasts.

[Ben Higgins]

You can scroll the headlines all day and still feel empty. I'm Ben Higgins, and if you can hear me is where culture meets the soul. Honest conversations about identity, loss, purpose, peace, faith, and everything in between. Celebrities, thinkers, everyday people. Some have answers. Most are still figuring it out. And if you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to if you can hear me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Amanda Knox]

I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, the Case of Lucy Letby, we unpack the story of an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the UK in 2023. But what if we didn't get the whole story?

[Grant Pearson]

Evidence has been made to fit. The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed.

[Amanda Knox]

What if the truth was disguised by a story we chose to believe?

[Podcast Announcer]

Oh, my God. I think she might be innocent.

[Amanda Knox]

Listen to Doubt the Case of Lucy Letby on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Announcer]

When segregation was a law, one mysterious black club owner Charlie Fitzgerald had his own rules.

[Grant Pearson]

Segregation in the day, integration at night.

[Bradley Hall]

It was like stepping in another world.

[Podcast Announcer]

Was he a businessman? A criminal? A hero?

[Bradley Hall]

Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him.

[Podcast Announcer]

Charlie's place from Atlas Obscura and visit Myrtle Beach. Listen to Charlie's place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

Hello?

[Grant Pearson]

Hello. Hey, how's it going?

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, man, I was just fighting for my life just a second ago.

[Grant Pearson]

Fighting for your life? Why?

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah. Oh, just me in the toilet.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, one of those situations.

[Bradley Hall]

Doing what we do. Foreign. Welcome back. It's a brand new episode. This is Laugh With Me podcast. Jeremy Odom.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

I'm your host.

[Bradley Hall]

Hey, it's Jo. And this is one of my favorite episodes that we do every single year here at Laugh With Me. We get the movie expert. The man who watches more movies than Robert Ebert himself. Is he. Is Ebert alive still? Johnny, will you look that up because then we all do if. If he's dead. But this band watches more movies than anybody else that I know. In fact, he does watch every movie that is nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards. So who else would we talk to when we're looking at best picture of the year and who is going to win at the Oscars? It is two time guest of the year nominee Grant Pearson on Laugh With Me. You ready then?

[Grant Pearson]

I am ready. Am I coming through good?

[Bradley Hall]

Okay. Oh, yeah. You know, sound great.

[Grant Pearson]

Good.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

Better than Eric sounds most of the time, right?

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, Eric sounds like he's in the bottom of a lake most of the time. Which, depending on what he's saying, that's where I want to put him. So I don't know.

[Grant Pearson]

Todd, we need to save this for the show.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, this is it. We're. We're recording now.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, good.

[Bradley Hall]

So what? Dude, you stuck it, Eric. It's. Suck it, Eric. I think the last time you were on the show, it was our 100th episode.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes.

[Bradley Hall]

With Dez.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes.

[Bradley Hall]

And that was a super fun segment. Apparently. I mean, DEZ stole the year. I think kinda with his two appearances.

[Grant Pearson]

He had a. He had a good time.

[Bradley Hall]

Good, good, good, good. Yeah, we're certainly gonna. I know he's like a super busy guy now, but we, we gotta get him, we gotta get him back on at some point.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, you have no idea how busy he is anymore.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, I can tell.

[Grant Pearson]

He's got, he's got the show choir, he's got jazz band, he's got regular band, he's got honor choir. And now he is starring as Professor Plum and Clue, which will open at the end of April, beginning of May, at the Des Moines Young Artist Theater here in Des Moines. Everyone should come.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, that's legit. Wow. Professor Plume.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes.

[Bradley Hall]

Wow. So did he do it? I mean, can you give us a spoiler? Did he in Clue? It's, you know, he did it with the. Did he do it?

[Grant Pearson]

I have not read the script yet. I. I can't give any spoilers out, but he was, he was kind of bummed. He was hoping for the role of Dead Body.

[Bradley Hall]

Dead Body would be a good one.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, he was really hoping for that. But then they're like, well, we're gonna give you a bigger part that people will remember. And it's like, okay, I guess.

[Bradley Hall]

So how. How does a guy, I mean, he just move around too much? How does a guy fail at not getting Dead Body?

[Grant Pearson]

Well, it's. Yeah, I think he's He's. He's definitely got some energy going on. So, you know, he's. He breathes and stuff, you know, all those types of things. But I think they liked him for Dead Body, but they loved him for Professor Plum. His. His audition, though. I can tell you about his audition. He did one dramatic reading, which, you know, dramatic. Who cares about that stuff? And then have you seen the hot rod movie?

[Bradley Hall]

And let me just tell you, I watched it for the first time last year.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. After he recommended it.

[Bradley Hall]

Yes, I did. Yes, I did.

[Grant Pearson]

Did you enjoy it?

[Bradley Hall]

Yes, I did. It's hilarious.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. You know the. The too legit to quit scene.

[Bradley Hall]

Yep.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. That was his monologue.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, that's amazing. Okay.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, yeah, he went up there, so, yeah, that's. That's what happened there.

[Bradley Hall]

Nobody else is doing that stuff. Like, he's not rolling in there against his peers and they're doing to that. That kind of monologue.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, it's.

[Bradley Hall]

He.

[Grant Pearson]

He definitely stole the show with that one. You know, they're. They immediately were like, this is great. And here's the funny part. He had no idea that that was referencing an MC Hammer song.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, that's even better.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. Like, I had to play him the song. I just, like, a couple weeks ago. I'm like, you do realize that this is referencing this. He's like, what?

[Bradley Hall]

He just thought it was a scene from a movie.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, he just thought it was funny.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, that's great. That levels.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. And now it's. Now it's even funnier now that he knows that it's a song and that's what it's coming from. But, yeah, he had no idea.

[Bradley Hall]

That's awesome. Well, that's. That's. What does that. What have you been up to?

[Grant Pearson]

I've been driving DEs around to places I've been working. I got a new job this year.

[Bradley Hall]

Very nice. Congratulations.

[Grant Pearson]

Thank you. I'm very excited about it. It seems to be going well so far. I bought a Super Nintendo because I got a new job, and I'm like, I'm gonna splurge on something. And I decided the Super Nintendo was it.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay, so what games did you get?

[Grant Pearson]

Super Mario World, because it's the best game that's ever been made.

[Bradley Hall]

That's true.

[Grant Pearson]

Spider man and the X Men. Arcade's revenge.

[Bradley Hall]

Whoa.

[Grant Pearson]

Classic SimCity.

[Bradley Hall]

Perfect.

[Grant Pearson]

And then Uni Racers.

[Bradley Hall]

I'm not familiar with that one, but is it. So it's like Unicycle Racers.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, except there's no, like, people. It's just the Unicycles and they go through crazy courses and. Yeah, so those. Those are what I got. That's excited to get through all of them. Yeah.

[Bradley Hall]

Have you beaten Super Mario World before?

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay.

[Grant Pearson]

Numerous times.

[Bradley Hall]

All right.

[Grant Pearson]

But I will go back and I will play that game over and over again. I love it. I think it is one of the best games that's ever been made. It introduced so many different things. Just. Yeah, it's fantastic.

[Bradley Hall]

That's awesome. I. I saw Roller Coaster Tycoon at the store yesterday. He got my blood pump and I'm like, I haven't played that. I couldn't even tell you the last time I thought about Roller Coaster Tycoon.

[Grant Pearson]

No. Yeah, it doesn't. I will do some Roller Coaster Tycoon stuff here and there.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, I love that.

[Grant Pearson]

And then. Yeah, there's a lot of those types of video games out there, if you didn't know. There's a lot of theme park building games.

[Bradley Hall]

There was a period where probably once a week for I don't know how many years, I would search up, like, grocery store tycoon, supermarket tycoon, to see if anybody had built an awesome, like, game where you build a grocery store. Because I'm a nerd. And.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, they.

[Bradley Hall]

They did not. There is. There is a game, but it likes it. Like, it sucks. It's for. It's. It's not quite what I was looking for. Like, I, you know, I'm looking for, like, roller coaster and I'm building a grocery store. Sim City, something similar to that. And it's not. I mean, it's just child's play. So I did not get one. You should.

[Grant Pearson]

You should get with somebody and make it.

[Bradley Hall]

Well, that's a great idea.

[Grant Pearson]

Be the next video game developer out there. Because you don't have enough going on.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, we doing nothing around here. We do nothing around here. Well, sweet. Yeah. So good. Good stuff. Obviously, I mean, it goes without saying you've also been watching many, many movies.

[Grant Pearson]

I have been. I definitely have watched a few movies here and there.

[Bradley Hall]

Safe to say. All 10 pictures that are nominated for Best Picture in the 98th annual Academy Awards, you had seen.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes, I have.

[Bradley Hall]

And that's probably just a fraction of the films that you've seen in total of the year, I'm assuming.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, last year I watched somewhere around like, 220 movies.

[Bradley Hall]

Wow, that's nearly a movie a day. I mean.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, I was on top of things last year.

[Bradley Hall]

Well, I guess there's days, because I know you do. You know, you do like the days where it's a movie marathon. And that's not just like those, the days where you do the bad movies, like you do like a movie marathon, like with your family. Like, I know you guys, you, you guys will knock some out. So it's not like you're watching a movie every day. Sometimes you'll knock out three, four in a day.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes. Yeah, that'll happen. Where there's, there's days where there'll be definitely more than one that happen.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah. Okay. Well, if you, I mean, without, without talking about the films quite yet, would you say 2025 was a banner year for motion pictures?

[Grant Pearson]

You know, there was, there were a lot of movies that I enjoyed. Like there's, there's the three and a half star rating on letterboxd that I use a lot. And to me that, that is something that I would watch again is when it's at three and a half stars. And I give a lot of things three and a half stars and I give more four stars than I think sometimes. But yeah, it's, it's one of those things where I just. Yeah, I think that there was a lot of good rewatchable movies last year.

[Bradley Hall]

Well, go ahead and plug your letterbox too, while we're at it.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, letterboxd. You can find me by this vacuum.

[Bradley Hall]

Buy this vacuum. That's where you'll get it. And yeah, you'll see 240 some films from last year and years prior.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, there was, let's see, I meant 2,437 films logged on letterboxd.

[Bradley Hall]

That's quite the collection. And that's the thing, now that you've built this kind of resume, I mean, people, if they really want to know, like your thoughts of a movie or rating of a movie like this makes sense because you've seen them, you've seen them all.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, I really need to start writing like good reviews about them because usually I just write a one line joke about it and that's about it. So I need to start actually reviewing them. And so that way if I go back and I'm like, why did I give this three and a half stars? And I can actually remember, but instead I just. Yeah, I just don't even know. I just give it the worst reviews. Like I saw the Iron Lung. Have you heard? Iron Lung? Yeah, yeah. Have you seen it?

[Bradley Hall]

No, I have not.

[Grant Pearson]

It's in my opinion, it's How a Girl Becomes a Woman is what the movie is about. There is so much blood, just non stop blood.

[Bradley Hall]

Just so Much blood.

[Grant Pearson]

I mean, it's ridiculous. There's one person in the movie, and there's enough blood for everyone in the world.

[Bradley Hall]

I love. It's how a girl becomes a woman. There is just so much blood. That's. Yeah, I mean, that. That tells everything you need to know right there.

[Grant Pearson]

That's everything I need to know. I'll go back in 10 years and look at that review and be like, I remember this.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, yeah, great film.

[Grant Pearson]

So. But, yeah, no but, yeah, there was a lot of great movies that came out last year. And if we're going to talk Academy Awards, I think that. That we can. We can get through this. I have some ideas, I have some thoughts. I have some feelings.

[Bradley Hall]

Very nice. Well, the Academy Awards, the 90th annual, is happening March 15 in LA with host Conan O'. Brien. And as always, we come to you to know about your thoughts on the best of the best of Hollywood this year. So let's start with best Pictures. Man. Let's. Let's run through it.

[Grant Pearson]

Okay, well, I'm gonna do. So I tried to rank them out of the 10 movies that are nominated. I ranked them, so I figured we could go from the bottom up.

[Bradley Hall]

Perfect.

[Grant Pearson]

So number 10. And here's the thing is all these movies actually this year, I really liked all the movies that came out this year. Usually there' couple of ones that are nominated for best picture that I. That I'm just like, how did that even happen? This year I enjoyed all the movies, but at number 10, I have to put Train Dreams.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay. Train Dreams.

[Grant Pearson]

I don't know if anybody has actually watched was available or. It is available on Netflix. It has Joel Edgerton in it. He does fantastic. When we get to best Actor, we'll talk about him a little bit. But overall, the movie just in comparison to the other ones up there did not hit me.

[Bradley Hall]

So Train Dreams, you said it's on Netflix. That's not a. Is that a Netflix movie? Did Netflix make that movie?

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, I think so. And they released it in theaters for, like, two days so that it would be eligible for Academy Awards. What are your thoughts on that on Netflix, doing that? Yeah, I like to see movies in the theater. Like Frankenstein is on this list. I would have loved to have seen that one in the theater. I think that would have been fantastic. I think the only chance that I'm gonna get to do that is if it shows in an appropriate time during, like, Oscar week at the movie theater. But in order to watch it, in this case, I had to go to Netflix.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay. Yeah, I'm. If there's a movie I really, really want to see, certainly the theater is the way to do it. Otherwise, most movies I watch just from the comfort of my own home, but. Yeah, but I get it. They're made to be seen.

[Grant Pearson]

Well, something like Train Dreams, I think, is fine on Netflix. It's not a big, massive spectacle, you know, it's. It's a movie about just. It's a. It's a simple story kind of, but it just. It's. It's a drama about loss and other things, and it just. It was fine on Netflix.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay.

[Grant Pearson]

All right, moving into number nine, we're going with the Secret Agent, which is nominated for best international feature. It's from Brazil. I think it's just one of those movies that I didn't. I did get a chance to see that in the theater, and it just didn't pull me in. I liked a lot of parts of it. The main actor for the movie, Wagner Mora, I don't know if that's pronounced correctly or not. He did a great job, but it just. It just didn't pull me in. So, once again, unfortunately, a foreign language feature falls to the bottom of my list.

[Bradley Hall]

So that's probably one of those movies where you're like, the best part of it was probably the popcorn.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes. The theater that I went to watch it at has excellent popcorn. Shout out to Fleur Cinema here in Des Moines. They have. Yeah, they have great popcorn.

[Bradley Hall]

They do anything special with it.

[Grant Pearson]

They pop it and put some butter on it.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay.

[Grant Pearson]

That's all I know is that it's better than the massive chain popcorn.

[Bradley Hall]

Do you add. You go with whatever butter they already put in it, or you add butter?

[Grant Pearson]

Nope, they. They do it just right there.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay. Hey, Shout out, Floor drive. All right, number eight.

[Grant Pearson]

Number eight. We're going Frankenstein. Like I said, I would have liked to have seen this on the big screen. I think it might have pulled itself higher if I did, but as it was watching on Netflix, it was okay. It didn't. Like I said, I wish I could have seen it in full spectacle because there's a lot of that happened in the movie. Just. It just was harder to watch on a smaller screen than going to the theater. So a big shout out to everyone that's in that cast there. I think they did a fantastic job. They didn't get the casting nomination because it was very. There's a lot of good casts out there, but I think it should have got a casting nomination.

[Bradley Hall]

So that one was probably one of those Deals where the ensemble together was more of a star than any one individual role.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes. In my opinion. Yes. I know that Jacob Ellerty got nominated for supporting actor for the movie, which he did a good job, but I think it was just altogether well rounded cast.

[Bradley Hall]

That guy's on fire.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. To be him these days would be.

[Bradley Hall]

He can't blue. Like, he can't lose right now. You know, that kind of catch up to him. But right now, boy, he can't do any wrong.

[Grant Pearson]

No. I'm waiting for something to happen where he ends up, like, you know, being, you know. I don't know. I don't want to come. No. I don't want to wish anything on him. I hope he continues to have a successful career. We'll just leave it at that.

[Bradley Hall]

Let's leave it at that. Yeah. He's. I love how you were trying to think of something terrible to happen to him, but then you're like, wait.

[Grant Pearson]

I'm like, no, no, I don't want anything to happen to him. He already started in a bunch of kissing booth movies. So that's. That's gonna be. I've never seen them, but I have no desire to. So I'll just say he's. He's worked his way up. Yeah.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah. Good for you. Okay.

[Grant Pearson]

Good for him.

[Bradley Hall]

Number seven.

[Grant Pearson]

Number seven goes to my biggest surprise on here is F1. F1 was the crowd pleaser. It's the Top Gun. It's, you know, that movie that really just. It was a good movie. I didn't think it'd be nominated for best picture, but it was. I'm kind of happy about that just because I like to see something big that people actually saw get nominated. I don't think it has a chance to win anything, but it is something that I've recommended to people and they have enjoyed. I definitely think that that is the surprise of the nominations.

[Bradley Hall]

So I saw F1 in theaters.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah.

[Bradley Hall]

Incredible. That's the way to watch it, I think.

[Grant Pearson]

I told you to see it in theaters.

[Bradley Hall]

Yes, you did. And so we made my son Braden, so we went and made a point to go see it in theaters. It was incredible. Just watched it again on t. On streaming, like last week, and I don't know, it's. It's just what a fun movie. Like, just a fun.

[Grant Pearson]

Exactly. It's not going to go down into history as one of the best movies that's ever been made, but it's one of those movies that you can pop in, you can put on, and it's it's enjoyable. It's. It's not a bad movie by any means.

[Bradley Hall]

So Braden declared Brad Pitt the greatest actor that's been. Ever been.

[Grant Pearson]

Brad Pitt is a fantastic actor. He doesn't get the accolades that he should. He stars in a lot of these types of movies where, you know, the crowd pleaser type of movie, or sometimes he's in a darker movie. That is hard to. To judge an acting roll off of. You know, he does a lot of different things, but I don't know if he's the greatest act. But I think. I think your son is. Is on to something.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, he's been what. He's been really into a Brad Pitt kick right now. But here's the. Going to be the surprising one. Here's Hattie's favorite actor of all time. This is who she thinks is the best in the business. It is Glenn Powell.

[Grant Pearson]

Glen Powell is one of those guys that I wish made better movies.

[Bradley Hall]

Couldn't agree more.

[Grant Pearson]

He's very likable. He does a good job when he's in there. Like, I just watched how to Make a Killing that he's in, and, I mean, it was okay. Would I watch it again? Maybe? Was it something that I'm gonna remember at the end of the year? I don't. I don't think so. I mean, I think it's going to get lost in history.

[Bradley Hall]

So we just watched the Running man last night.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah.

[Bradley Hall]

And another fun movie.

[Grant Pearson]

Absolutely.

[Bradley Hall]

Braden read the book. He had actually just finished the book literally minutes before we watched them. We're kind of waiting on him to finish the book and. And what kind of pressure is that? He was sitting in the living room. We were staring at him to finish the book so that we could watch a movie. But, yeah, no, he finishes the book. We watched the movie. It was a fun ride. It's just. I don't know it to your point. I wish he'd pick better projects for him like that. I don't know.

[Grant Pearson]

Like, I thought he was good in the Running Man. I have nothing against the Running Man. It's not Edgar Wright's best, but it's still, you know, something. Yeah. It just. Glenn Powell is so likable and charming in everything he does. But the problem is, is that those movies are not great. Yes. I mean, he was in the Top Gun, Maverick, which is probably like his best movie. Incredible movie, you know, but then, like, Twisters, it's like Twisters was fine.

[Bradley Hall]

It was fun, but.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, I mean, it was fun, but it's not a Great film by any means. And then he's just kind of struggled since then, in my opinion.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, the guy, he fell into that spot where he could get any project he wanted, and it seemed like he was just taking every project coming his way.

[Grant Pearson]

He's been in a ton of stuff recently. I mean, he just kind of continues making movies, which is great, but just some selectivity for him would be fantastic.

[Bradley Hall]

That would be fantastic. All right, number six.

[Grant Pearson]

Number six goes to Sentimental Value. This is from Norway, and it is mostly in Norwegian, but they do speak in English here and there because they've got Elle Fanning in that, which I don't believe she speaks any Norwegian, so. But it's an acting movie is what it is. It's a drama. It's with these very strong performances from everybody involved. It's one of those movies that you watch for the acting. The story is fine. I have nothing wrong with the story. It just. The acting in it was incredible. And I didn't really even care about the story sometimes because I was just watching these amazing performances.

[Bradley Hall]

Now, Norway. Shout out. Norway. They just absolutely manhandled the world at the Winter Olympics, so that now they're parlaying that into a movie for best picture. So they're on a roll right now.

[Grant Pearson]

They are. I mean, it's up for best picture. It's up for best international feature. So, yeah, it'll be interesting to see if. If Norway can pull away with some things for the Oscars. And, yeah, I think that they might have a couple coming their way now.

[Bradley Hall]

And to remind the audience, this isn't the list in which you're thinking they would place in. In the voting for this. This is you. You've watched the films and kind of how you've ranking them.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes, this is how I'm ranking them.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay, perfect.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. Number five then goes to Begonia. Begonia. I'm not even gonna pretend like I can pronounce the director's name. Yorgo something, something, something, something. But he makes. He makes great movies. He makes great movies with Emma Stone in them. I thought that Jesse Plemons put on just one of the greatest performances of the year. Unfortunately, he did not get nominated for actor or supporting act. He just kind of got pushed to the side. But Jesse Plemons is. I mean, it's Landry.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, Landry. And that's the thing. He's. His performance in Friday Night Lights and. And how people, like, still attach him to that and love him. No, no different than Eric Chandler, you know, as coach Eric Taylor or Is that Kyle Chandler? Kyle Chandler, Coach Taylor. Yeah, he. I mean, they'll forever be those characters, and we love them because they were so good and they've gone on to other projects and they've been amazing in those. Jesse Plemons deserves to be nominated every single year as long as he's still working.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, no, he. I mean, we really saw the first time that he was going to do something cool was, in my opinion, in Breaking Bad.

[Bradley Hall]

Yes. Yes.

[Grant Pearson]

He came out and was like, oh, that's a different character for you. And he's been great since then. But Begonia, watch for his performance. Everything about the movie is good. I'm. When it comes to the top five movies that I. That I ranked, I had a hard time determining them because I actually really, really like all five of the top five.

[Bradley Hall]

Now I will say, though, I mean, it was a different role for Jesse Plemons in Breaking Bad, but he was no stranger to killing other people. He did that in Friday Night Lights. He took a life.

[Grant Pearson]

There was no second season. What are you talking about?

[Bradley Hall]

Forgetting that ever happened.

[Grant Pearson]

The second season was. Was an interesting season for Friday Night Lights. They got cut off for the writers strike, and then they came back and it's like, everything's great. And it's like, okay, I'm fine with that.

[Bradley Hall]

Yep. I love it. I love it.

[Grant Pearson]

It's like everything. Everything was resolved in the downtime. We didn't have to watch it.

[Bradley Hall]

Yep. Emma Stone, just amazing in anything that she does. I mean, she's. I've seen who. Who did I see she was compared to? They were like, this is our generations. This actress. Who's the. The actress that whenever she does any project, she's nominated for an Academy Award or a Globe or.

[Grant Pearson]

Is she Meryl Streep?

[Bradley Hall]

Yes, she's our generation's Meryl Streep is what. What I saw, and I thought that was a pretty fair comparison.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, she's. I mean, she gets out there. She does roles that are different. She challenges herself. Yeah, I think she does a great job. When. I mean, ever since she really broke onto the scene with what, Superbad.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, that's the thing. She'll do fun projects from time to time just to remind everybody that she has sense of humor. Like, she'll go do SNL and just absolutely crush.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. All right, so moral of the story here is that Emma Stone deserves a nomination. Jesse Plemons, disturbed or deserved the nomination more. He didn't get it. It's very much a bummer, but these things Happen and hopefully we'll have something in the future.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

Which takes us to number four, which, at the beginning of the year, when this came out, immediately, it was amazing. Everybody loved it. We knew it was gonna get nominated for a whole bunch of stuff. And that is Sinners.

[Bradley Hall]

Yes. I knew you were gonna say Sinners when you started that way.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. Is it really the number four movie of the year? Is it the number one movie of the year? Like I said, I had a really hard time with these top five mo. Sinners. Just immediately after I was done watching it, I wanted to watch it again. I wanted to own it. I wanted to tell people to go see it, which I didn't have to because everyone. To go see it anyway. Sinners was fantastic. It deserves everything that it got. As far as nominations and any awards it's won so far. Sinners just it. Like I said, this could easily be the number one movie. It's just the other three. I decided to rank higher. I don't have a good reason. It just was one of those things where I was just like, okay, fine, I'm gonna throw darts at this one.

[Bradley Hall]

I thought Sinners was freaking fantastic, and it's everything you just said it was. But then again, is it the best movie of the year? I guess it may be.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. That's the thing. And it's. It's such a great movie. But there is that one scene with the music where they're going through history. Just that whole scene just was probably one of the best thing that's ever been put to film. You know, it's. Not to disparage the rest of the movie by any means, but that one scene, just you watching that and you're like, okay, this is amazing. The filmmaking part of it was just. Just amazing. I don't know. I don't have another word for it.

[Bradley Hall]

When. When that other crew starts rolling up outside of the barn, I. That's. I don't know. Just the tension built. It was the same time as the music, and it's just like the tension built so high that. Yeah. You just. It was undeniable.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. So Sinners makes it into the top four at number four, but, like I said, can switch things around. But moving on to number three, that is hamnet.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes. It's nothing about somebody going fishing for pigs. It is a retelling of the story of how Hamlet came to be. And it sounds like it's super boring because it's Shakespeare stuff. I was not expecting a whole lot going into it because I Am not a Shakespeare person. And in the long run, it made it into my top three movies of the year.

[Bradley Hall]

Wow. Just because of the acting or you thought the story was just that captivating?

[Grant Pearson]

The story was great. The acting was phenomenal. You know, this isn't just a top three as far as Oscar movies. This is one of my favorite movies that came out for the year.

[Bradley Hall]

Love it.

[Grant Pearson]

So, yeah, I highly suggest everyone to see ham that even if you're like Shakespeare, it's. It's not Shakespeare. It's. It's. It's loosely based on Shakespeare and it's. Yeah, Jesse Buckley. And that is beyond amazing. And when we get to the awards section for actors and actresses, I will be bringing up her name again.

[Bradley Hall]

I know. I know a little bit of Shakespeare. Primarily the E2 brute.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes, that's an important one.

[Bradley Hall]

That's a good one.

[Grant Pearson]

But that's a good one.

[Bradley Hall]

Definitely not this.

[Grant Pearson]

So, no, it is one of those movies that is moving. It is. There's sad stuff, there's funny stuff. There's just a lot going on, but the performances sell the movie. And yeah, there we go.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

From Chicago, this is film spotting. I'm Adam Kempenaar. And I'm Josh Larson. I went to larsononfilm.com two stars for Josh Larson has the stale, stifling air of a hospital waiting room.

[Bradley Hall]

Yikes.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

Any ideas yet? Man, sounds like I was having a

[Grant Pearson]

bad day, I can tell you that.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

That was from our Top 25 Films of the Century show in 2025, my number five film of the 21st century. You still don't know what it is, do you? I just don't want to guess incorrectly.

[Bradley Hall]

Exactly.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

Film spotting in depth reviews of films new and old, top five lists, movie marathons, and the occasional actor or director interview with a show archive that goes all the way back to 2005. Listen to films spotting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Friday. More about the [e-mail] Never let me go, Josh. Number five. China's Ministry of State Security is one of the most mysterious and powerful spy agencies in the world. But in 2017, the FBI got inside.

[Bradley Hall]

This is Special Agent Riegel, Special Agent Bradley Hall. This MSS officer has no idea the US Government is onto him. But the FBI has his chats, texts, emails, even his personal diary. Hear how they got it on the Sixth Bureau podcast.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

I now have several terabytes of an MSS officer, no doubt, no question of his life. And that's a unicorn.

[Grant Pearson]

No one had ever seen anything like that. It was unbelievable.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

This is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its vault of secrets.

[Bradley Hall]

Listen to the 6th Bureau on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Amanda Knox]

In 2023, a story gripped the UK evoking horror and disbelief.

[Grant Pearson]

The nurse who should have been in charge of caring for tiny babies is now the most prolific child killer in modern British history.

[Amanda Knox]

Everyone thought they knew how it ended. A verdict. A villain. A nurse named Lucy Letby.

[Grant Pearson]

Lucy Letby has been found guilty.

[Amanda Knox]

But what if we didn't get the whole story?

[Grant Pearson]

The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapses.

[Amanda Knox]

I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast the Case of Lucy Letby, we follow the evidence and hear from the people that lived it. To ask what really happened when the world decided who Lucy Letby was.

[Podcast Announcer]

No voicing of any skepticism or doubt.

[Grant Pearson]

It'll cause so much harm at every

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

single level of the British establishment of this is wrong.

[Amanda Knox]

Listen to Doubt the Case of Lucy Letby on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ben Higgins]

What do you do when the headlines don't explain what's happening inside of you? I'm Ben Higgins, and if you can hear me is where culture meets the soul. A place for real conversation. Each episode, I sit down with people from all walks of life. Celebrities, thinkers, and everyday folks. And we go deeper than the polished story. We talk about what drives us, what shapes us, and what gives us hope. We get honest about the big stuff. Identity when you don't recognize yourself anymore. Loss that changes you. Purpose when success isn't enough. Peace when your mind won't slow down. Faith when it's complicated. Some guests have answers. Most are still figuring it out. If you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to if you can hear me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Grant Pearson]

Segregation in the day, Integration at night.

[Podcast Announcer]

When segregation was the law, one mysterious black club owner had his own.

[Bradley Hall]

We didn't worry about what went on outside. It was like stepping in another world.

[Podcast Announcer]

Inside Charlie's place, black and white people danced together. But not everyone was happy about it.

[Grant Pearson]

You saw the kkk. Yeah. They was dressed up in their uniform. The KKK set out to raid Charlie, take him away from here.

[Bradley Hall]

Charlie was an example, a power they

[Podcast Announcer]

had to crush him from Atlas Obscura, Rococo Punch. And visit Myrtle beach comes Charlie's Place, a story that was nearly lost to time until now. Listen to Charlie's place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bradley Hall]

All right, number two, we're getting down the end here.

[Grant Pearson]

Number two, this is a controversial pick to some degree, but for me, it was Marty Supr.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay, why would you say that's controversial?

[Grant Pearson]

There are people that absolutely do not like the movie out there. There are movie fans who just think that it was kind of boring. And Timothee Chalamet. Playing Timothee Chalamet, I think that it was. I think that everything about it was great. Even Kevin o' Leary from Shark Tank was good in. Was a bizarre thing to see him on the screen, acting, but, you know, it worked. He was kind of a giant asshole, but, you know, that's. That's what we're used to from him.

[Bradley Hall]

So now people say he did a great job of playing himself.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah.

[Bradley Hall]

Josh Safdie, the director, he's. He's a different cat with how he casts. So this. This is. That kind of makes sense of what you're saying.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, no, he. He definitely does some interesting things with his casting. I mean, he did what, uncover cut gems when he cast Adam Sandler. Yeah, that was perfect. Adam Sandler once again got robbed of an Academy Award nomination. I don't know if he would have won it, but he should have been nominated. That was such a fantastic movie. One of the most stressful experiences of my life.

[Bradley Hall]

He's Was. He's doing those. He's doing incredible roles that are different for him, and he's knocking him out of the park.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes.

[Bradley Hall]

And he's doing the work to, like, try to build good graces with the Academy. I feel like he's still getting held down because he'll put out a Happy Gilmore, too.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes. But he also. He was in Jay Kelly. I don't know if you saw J. Kelly this year. It's with George Clooney.

[Bradley Hall]

Yes. Very good movie.

[Grant Pearson]

Very good movie. And Adam Sandler does a great job in it. I don't know if he necessarily needed to be nominated for an Academy Award for this one, but it was good. He got some or some looks at him from. From other people, other awards shows.

[Bradley Hall]

Well, I mean, he's racking up trophies. He's just not getting the big dog.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes. Which then takes us kind of coincidentally into the number one movie for me, which was one battle after another.

[Bradley Hall]

Incredible movie.

[Grant Pearson]

Incredible movie. And Paul Thomas Anderson, who has worked with Adam Sandler in the past, has never won an Academy Award.

[Bradley Hall]

That's why this is probably his year.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes. This is the movie of his career, as far as I'm concerned. This is, you know, I don't necessarily know if it is his best movie, but it's the one that really got out to the most amount of people. It had the box office behind it, and I think this will be his. Kind of like, hey, you've done a lot of good stuff. We're gonna award you for this movie sort of thing going on. I think that is the one that is going to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

[Bradley Hall]

I'd agree with that. And it was the one I enjoyed the most, particularly of the movies, you know, listed here. But do you agree with the. The sentiment that. Because you're talking about he's gonna win best Director for maybe like a career. Best career award type deal?

[Grant Pearson]

Yes.

[Bradley Hall]

Do you agree with that? Because that does happen. I mean, do you think that that's fair?

[Grant Pearson]

It happened with Scorsese. You know, it's one of those things where, you know, I. If we want to talk about director, let's look. Do you want to move on? We can talk about director.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, yeah, we're. Yeah, we're doing best picture. We can move on. Director.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. So director. I believe Paul Thomas Anderson will win for one battle after another. But honestly, any of them that were nominated would easily be a winner. Ryan Coogler for Sinners did an amazing job. Chloe Zhao for Hamnet, Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, Joaquin Freer. I don't know if I'm pronouncing that right for sentimental value. All of them did a fantastic job, and if any one of them won, I would not be sad. But I think that this. This is Paul Thomas Anderson as far as it being a career one. Yeah, I think that there is some of that going on. I mean, he's been doing this for 30 years now and hasn't won. He's made Punch Drunk Love Magnolia, Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood. Did I say that? He's just made such amazing movies and he hasn't been able to pull in the top awards yet. And I think this is his year to do that. I think there's a little bit of, you know, hey, you should have won for something so far, but I think that he also deserves it for one battle after another.

[Bradley Hall]

So Paul Thomas Anderson, he has a particular style about him. I mean, every single movie you just listed, you watch that and you go, okay, It's a Paul Thomas Anderson movie. Ryan Coogler, I don't know if he has, like, a specific style, but I will say, watching Sinners, there were moments of that movie where just the way it was constructed had my heart pumping and, you know, good movie, but it had those moments. Now, one battle after another, great story, begin to end, twists and turns, incredible acting, just awesome. It to me, it was like, okay, I'm watching a Paul Tom Sanders movie. And that's not a bad thing. It's just. No, that's what it was. Right. Man, it just sucks that, like, sure, he should have won for Boogie Nights, you know, I mean, like, there's better movies he's put out there. And then Ryan Coogler, who just crushes it with Sinners, is probably gonna lose.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. So he crushed it on Centers. I mean, his. His career so far, he hasn't had a super long career with a lot of movies going on. But, you know, he did Creed, he did the Two Black Fruitville Station to start off his career as a director there. I mean, then he's done, you know, other things here and there. But with those, I mean, you. You look at what he has done with his movies. He's made movies that are successful.

[Bradley Hall]

Yes.

[Grant Pearson]

That people want to watch and have just great stories behind them. You know, I know that. I think he's. Is he working on the new X Files? I think, yeah, I think he is. Yeah. So, I mean, he's got ideas of what he wants to do. He really can pick what he wants to do at this point. And. And yeah, I think that. That if he were to win for Sinners, I would be just as happy as if Paul Thomas Anderson won for one battle after another.

[Bradley Hall]

Now, Paul Thomas Anderson, I think he's. He's friends with the Lonely island guys.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, he. Yes, he is friends. He's. One of the things for Paul Thomas Anderson is that he's directed like, a thousand videos for the band Haim, and Haim has done work with the Lonely island before for some things.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

Okay.

[Bradley Hall]

That's just. It's just one of those, like, connections. I don't think a lot of people would.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah.

[Bradley Hall]

Have known. All right, so you, Paul Thomas Anderson, likely winner, one battle after another for director.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes, that's what I would go with.

[Bradley Hall]

I gotta ask you about original song because it's probably gonna be a slam dunk. Although I Lied to you from Sinners. Pretty incredible. Pretty incredible.

[Grant Pearson]

It is. I mean, when you come to the original songs, you know, the, The Sinner song I lied to you is Fantastic. Train Dreams from the movie Train Dreams. And I'm completely blanking on the artist's name now.

[Bradley Hall]

Trainer. It's. It's just. Yeah. Train Dreams from Train Dreams. Yeah. I don't know who the artist is. Yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

But I believe it's Nick Cave. That was a great song, but golden.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

From K Pop Demon Hunters. There's no way that that is going to lose. K Pop Demon Hunters is going to end up with two Academy Awards on the night with that. And then Best Animated Feature with the

[Bradley Hall]

take Utopia 2, which. Which is a big deal.

[Grant Pearson]

It is a big deal. Zootopia 2 was huge. Became what, the highest grossing Disney film.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

Huge movie. Which fun fact says Utopia 2 is nominated. So as a movie called Arco. And both of those movies have Andy Samberg in them.

[Bradley Hall]

Really?

[Grant Pearson]

From the Lonely Island.

[Bradley Hall]

I did not know he was in arco. Okay.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. So Andy Samberg is nominated twice this year for animated feature. And unfortunately, we'll probably lose for both the movies he's in. But yeah, K Pop Demon Hunters, there's no way that that's. That's a runaway favorite right there. If anything else were to win, it would be Zootopia 2, just because of the box office for it. But K Pop, I mean, I think it's still in the top 10 on Netflix.

[Bradley Hall]

How did K Pop Demon Hunters not get nominated for best Film?

[Grant Pearson]

You know, that's a fantastic question. I think that it's probably just a little animated. Featured rarely gets nominated for Best Picture. They're kind of seen as two completely separate ideas. It's very rare for an animated one to make it into Best Picture.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah. But when one transcends and this one transcended.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. I mean, I think what Beauty and the Beast made it in there back in the day.

[Bradley Hall]

Other than that, the Toy Story.

[Grant Pearson]

I don't even know if Toy Story did.

[Bradley Hall]

But I do remember Beauty and the Beast because Beauty and the Beast, I think. Wonderful.

[Grant Pearson]

I didn't win Best Picture, I don't think.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay, well, it was for sure nominated.

[Grant Pearson]

It was. Yeah. As far as Toy Story, I mean, if it didn't get nominated. Yeah, you would think so.

[Bradley Hall]

All right, so let's get to some of the best Actor awards. Yeah. What do you want to start with?

[Grant Pearson]

Let's start with actress.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay.

[Grant Pearson]

Jesse Buckley for Hamnet is going to get that one. There's no way. She doesn't. Her performance in Hamnet was amazing. It was one of those things that doesn't happen for an actor. Very often to have that good of a performance in something, that's not to say anything less about the other people nominated. I think Rose Byrne did great. If in the movie, if I had legs, I'd kick you. She did fantastic in there. But Jessie Buckley is far and away gonna be the winner in my. In my book.

[Bradley Hall]

I know you told me, if I had legs, I'd kick you. I need to watch it.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes. It's got.

[Bradley Hall]

Have not watched it yet.

[Grant Pearson]

It's got Roseburn and it's got a very dark Conan o'. Brien. I love it. It's kind of. It's kind of weird to see, you know, those two people play off each other and act off each other, because Conan o' Brien isn't really known for his acting roles.

[Bradley Hall]

Very, very true.

[Grant Pearson]

You know, he's. He's known for. For a lot of other things, but he. He does a good job. I'm not trying to say he doesn't. I think he does a great job in the movie, but it's not quite an Adam Sandler sort of comedy. Guy makes. Makes a great film. You know, you're watching it, you're like, why is Conan o' Brien's hair combed so weird? It is. You know what happens in there. It pulls you away from the movie a little bit when you see him.

[Bradley Hall]

I think the best that he's not known for his acting, that's for sure. And one of the ways to describe it, Kevin Nealon did it best. He was on Conan's podcast recently, and he said, conan, you have done okay for yourself with what you have. I thought that was a good way of explaining it.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes, yes.

[Bradley Hall]

And that's two guys that love Conan o'. Brien. Like, we're big fans of Conan o'. Brien.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, yeah, Yeah. I. I watched Conan back when he was on after. Or at, you know, well, 12:30 at night or whatever. I. I remember staying up and watching it and then being super tired for school the next day. But, yeah, I've been with Conan for a long time, and it was just. It was a little weird to see that.

[Bradley Hall]

All right, well, that's best actress, Best Actor. It's stacked.

[Grant Pearson]

It is stacked. Timothy Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan Wagner, Mora. This one I honestly had some hard time with. I don't know if it's Timothy Chalamet or Leo. I'd be happy with either one of them. I lean a little bit more towards Leonardo DiCaprio, even though I think Timothee Chalamet will Pull it out. But I would like to see Leo get another Oscar. I think that he. He did a great job in that movie. He pulled off some great comedic bits throughout the movie, which from Wolf of Wall Street. We know he can do some comedy stuff. He can be funny and, you know, we know that from Catch Me if youf Can. And it's just not a sight of him, though, that he brings out a whole lot. You. The Revenant's not really a laugh fest, but, you know, I think he showed a little bit more of his. His range in this movie that he deserves to get some recognition for. But like I said, there's a part of me that thinks Timothee Chalamet is going to take it. I would just. Would rather see Leo.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, me too. I'm with you there.

[Grant Pearson]

Michael B. Jordan and Sinners, though, if he were to pull that off, I think that would be fantastic. And I think your dark horse candidate on that one is going to be Wagner Mora for the Secret Agent. I still feel like I'm pronouncing his name wrong, but hopefully that's it. But I think he might be kind of, you know, one of those things that could slip in. I just don't know if enough of the members have seen it to really vote for it.

[Bradley Hall]

Ethan Hawke, not nominated for Black Phone. Right. This is.

[Grant Pearson]

No, no. Blue Moon. Yes. His other colorful object movie from the year that I have not seen. I can't really rate that one. I don't know where I can watch it right now. I don't know. Yeah, I just. I wasn't able to get to that one.

[Bradley Hall]

Just making it clear. Not Black Phone two.

[Grant Pearson]

Not Black Phone two.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay.

[Grant Pearson]

Which was a fine movie on its own.

[Bradley Hall]

Yes.

[Grant Pearson]

Don't get me wrong.

[Bradley Hall]

Yes. It was incredible. One battle after another. And then to your point about the comedy, I think he's a classic, classically trained actor that doesn't necessarily view comedy the same. Is that fair?

[Grant Pearson]

I think that'd be fair. Yeah. You know, it. Like, I. I think it's. You see, comedians do dramatic work and be so successful at it, and sometimes it's hard for a dramatic actor to do comedy and be successful at it, but when they are, it's like, amazing.

[Bradley Hall]

Yes. Like the Naked Gun.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, yes. Liam Neeson.

[Bradley Hall]

Liam Neeson. Yes. Just. I mean.

[Grant Pearson]

Or Leslie Nielsen back in the old ones. Either one of them are fit. Yeah.

[Bradley Hall]

Also O.J. simpson. I mean, just guys from those films.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, that guy. He was killer in that movie.

[Bradley Hall]

Hey, all right.

[Grant Pearson]

Hey.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah. All right. So best Actor. You think it could be Timothee Chalamet? He might sneak it out. But Leo, probably Leo is who I

[Grant Pearson]

would like to see.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay, sounds good. All right, Best supporting Actress. Let's hit that one.

[Grant Pearson]

Supporting actress. This one I have a lot of trouble with. I think Tiana Taylor from One Battle After Another is the favorite. I would love more than anything to see Amy Madigan win for Weapons. Yes, I think it would be because just horror doesn't get the respect it deserves. And she did an amazing job in there, you know, and if she wins, I think it would be one of those things where they're like, yeah, well, we. We fucked up with Toni Collette and Hereditary, so we're going to give this one to Amy Madigan.

[Bradley Hall]

And that's fair.

[Grant Pearson]

That's fair.

[Bradley Hall]

Amy Madigan was lights out and just downright scary in Weapons.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, she. She did fantastic, and so I would love to see her win. I just think Tiana is going to edge it out because One Battle After Another is going to be the big winner for the night. So I think that that's going to be where her play comes in, is just being a part of this fantastic movie. Not that she did bad by any means. I just think that Amy Madigan had more to do with weapons success and everything, that it did more than Siana Taylor did for One Battle After Another.

[Bradley Hall]

Very fair. Best Supporting Actor. I mean, to your point about One Battle After Another, two nominations in this category. Do you think that works against them?

[Grant Pearson]

I think it does. I think that it's hard to pick which one of the two of them did better for a lot of people. I think Sean 10 would be my pick out of the two of them. But with that being said, I think that Stellan Skarsgard for Sentimental Value is going to pull this one off.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay. Wow. I was thinking maybe Sean Penn or Jacob Elardi from Frankenstein, but, yeah, I could see that.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. I think in a movie filled with just amazing performances, he tied the whole thing together and deserves the recognition for it. So that would be where I put everything is on Stellan Skarsgard. If it doesn't, I would think Sean Penn might be the second one, but, yeah, yeah, I think that this is Sentimental Values win for the night.

[Bradley Hall]

Very nice. All right, well, we did director, we did original song, we did animated film. Is there any other category that you're looking at and you're going, here's. Here's something I'm passionate about, and these. These films are going to win?

[Grant Pearson]

You know, I think that I think Sinners is going to take home original screenplay. I think that's going to be one of its. Its awards for the night. I think it's going to take up a bunch of the different technical awards. Adapted screenplay, I think, goes to one battle after another. But yeah, I think that Sinners ends up with a lot of technical awards, and original screenplay will be its kind of big one for the night. You know, despite being nominated more than any other movie in history, I don't think it takes home the big ones. Just. Just the screenplay.

[Bradley Hall]

Now you are famously on the record as being completely against Suicide Squad being nominated and. And winning an Academy Award.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes.

[Bradley Hall]

Is. Is there a movie this year that you're looking at? And you go, they kind of fall in that category. Like, I don't know, like, maybe the Smashing Machine or Jurassic World Rebirth. Like, are you seeing anything? Because these movies are nominated.

[Grant Pearson]

What's the Jurassic World Rebirth? I think it got, what, one thing for visual effects correct?

[Bradley Hall]

Visual effects, yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

Here's the thing. I'm a Jurassic park fan. I've seen all the movies. I own all the movies. I've seen them multiple times. Rebirth was better than the last two, but it was not a great movie. And to be nominated for an Academy Award seems a little bit far fetched for it. You know, that's one of those movies where it'd be like, Academy Award winner, Jurassic World. Rebirth would be a very interesting string of things to hear someone say.

[Bradley Hall]

There was a time where I felt the same way about saying Academy Award nominee Jonah hill. And I'm 100% on the other side of it now. I think he's incredible actor.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. He's. He's done. He done well in the acting category for. For recent Moneyball and Wolf of Wall Street. It's just one of those things where he comes out and does amazing things these days. There is. There's a couple of other things he's done recently that aren't quite as great. There was the you people with Eddie Murphy.

[Bradley Hall]

It was bad. I was excited because I'm an Eddie Murphy fan. I love Jonah Hill now. I was like, this is gonna be good. No, it's absolute trash.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, he. I don't know if it's his fault or not. I think it's a combination of everybody involved just kind of made this movie that. Yeah.

[Bradley Hall]

Costume design. I mean, just his hair and what he wore. It was bad.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. Yeah. You people definitely deserve some razzies. I don't know if we want to go into razzies. Or if we want to talk about a couple other things first.

[Bradley Hall]

No, let's get. Let's hit right into the Razzies. That's a perfect segue.

[Narrator / Adam Kempenaar]

We.

[Bradley Hall]

The Razzies is as if people don't know they are the worst of the worst of the year. And it's generally announced. What's it generally announced? The night before, two days before or something like that. The Academy Awards.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. Yeah. They. They submit their nominations, I think the day after the Academy Award nominations. And then they give out the awards the night before the Academy Awards.

[Bradley Hall]

Very nice. And their website is absolutely trash. I mean, and the way I can explain that, like I had it pulled up the. Their nominations on their website and it was. It's so bad that since we've started, it's now, okay, I have found it again. It's. It's wild. But is the 46th annual Golden Raspberry Nominations Worst Picture. And I don't know. I don't think I've seen any of these movies, but I've heard a lot

[Grant Pearson]

about one of them, so. And honestly for me, a lot of these movies I have not seen, which is surprising because I am famously love bad movies. Yes. But there are certain things, like Snow White. I'm sorry, I'm not seeing Snow White. It's just not gonna happen. Star Trek, Section 31. I don't even know what that is.

[Bradley Hall]

Well, my thing was I hadn't seen section one through 30, so I was like, I'm not gonna get caught up. Yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

Hurry up tomorrow with the weekend and Jenna Ortega. I missed that one. So already three of the five worst picture nominees I haven't seen. And I'm okay with that. The Electric State with. With Millie, Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt was. It was a mess.

[Bradley Hall]

They made it.

[Grant Pearson]

Such potential.

[Bradley Hall]

They made it.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. And War of the Worlds 2025 with Ice Cube is honestly one of the worst things I've ever seen. I can't wait to watch it again. But it is one of those things that. I can't believe that somebody put this together and thought it was a good idea. I know they sat on releasing it for a while, but it's just. It's Ice Cube reacting to computer screens for an hour and a half and it's terrible.

[Bradley Hall]

That movie, that's the one I've heard a lot about and the one I want to see the most. And knowing it's going to be an absolute train wreck.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. And it is definitely watch it with some other people or watch it with a lot of Alcohol to just numb yourself during parts of it. But, yeah, the War of the World should win or lose or whatever you want to call it, every category it's in, because it is by far my. My worst movie of the year is

[Bradley Hall]

War of the Worlds, and worst Actor Ice Cube is up for this for War of the Worlds, and that makes a lot of sense.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes.

[Bradley Hall]

Jared Leto being nominated for Tron, Is that just because the Razzies hate Jared Leto?

[Grant Pearson]

Well, I think it's because everybody hates Jared Leto. Except for you.

[Bradley Hall]

Except for me. I'm a big Jared Leto joker truther.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. Jared Leto, for me, has been. It's hard to even get into what I don't like about him. But the. So Suicide Squad was incredible. Was just a mess. I think it had the potential to be good. And then there was studio involvement, and things just kind of fell apart, and he was not good. It as Joker. I am sorry.

[Bradley Hall]

You know, that movie, it's like two different movies. So I totally get the studio being involved part because you could see it. I mean, the first half is one thing, and then the second half's a whole other movie. It's. It's kind of odd in that way.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. But, I mean, you have Tron Aries, that. He was in Haunted Mansion, the remake, Morbius, House of Gucci. He wasn't that. That was, in my opinion, a mess. I mean, he's just had a bunch of bad movies in a. Yeah. I can't do it with Jared Leto, and I think it's his ego that he has. He has a little bit of an ego issue, and I just. I can't do it with Jared Leto.

[Bradley Hall]

So. So Brayden asked me, like, why do. Why does everybody hate Jared Leto? And I'm like. I'm like, well, I think he's just. He's just different. He's just a different type of actor. He.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, it's. It's. I. I don't like to sit here and hate on people for a long period of time, but Jared Leto will be the one that I can make an exception to.

[Bradley Hall]

Very nice. I do have a problem with Dave Bautista being nominated because. And again, I didn't watch that movie in the Lost Lands, but he has turned into an okay actor.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, he's not a bad actor. He was in what the. The Blade Runner with. With Jared Leto, and I believe that was him, right?

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, I think so. I think.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, he was.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

Yep. I mean, Dave Bautista does a lot of. A lot of good things. He's had a couple of Questionable things here and there. Stuber wasn't necessarily a great career choice for him, but. But in Lost Lands, I did not see. I was tempted to watch it just because of how much of a bomb it was. Once again, one of those things that I do, but I just focused on watching something, I don't know, better.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah. Yeah. That's a good way to explain it.

[Grant Pearson]

But, yeah, I think him being nominated is more the case of the quality of the movie than it is the quality of the acting.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, that's fair. So, like, Worst Actress, if I. And I haven't watched either. None of these movies. Okay. But if I had to guess, just based on Razzie tradition, like, kind of how they go, I'm gonna guess Rebel Wilson is gonna win for Bright Hard.

[Grant Pearson]

I would think Rebel Wilson as well. She's. She has an interesting career right now, and I think that they're gonna play that as a part of their worst Actress push. I would. You know, not that I want to see them win these awards, but Natalie Portman or Michelle Yeoh would be funny to see just because they've had such flooded careers that they end up with that Sandra Bullock, Halle Berry Razzie on their name. I think that would be fun to see. Although Ariana debose for Love Hurts, I did see Love Hurts. And Love Hurts is also one of my least favorite movies of the last year. It was awful. I don't know how she was the romantic interest for Key or, hey, Ken, is that how you pronounce his name?

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah. That's the movie on Netflix, right?

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. Well, no, it wasn't even on Netflix. It was. It was in theaters.

[Bradley Hall]

It was in theaters, okay.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, it might be on Netflix now, but it was in theaters for a couple of weeks on Valentine's Day, I believe. And it was. Yeah, there's. There was no chemistry between them. And it was just such a bizarre thing for her to be the love interest. I don't know. It was a mess of a movie.

[Bradley Hall]

Some of what was. What makes this great is some move the grassy will bring up a movie I totally forgot even came out. The worst supporting actress, Emma Horvath is up for the Strangers Chapter two now. I love the original the Strangers. Great movie. Just all time, and then they wanted to remake it and they go to Strangers Chapter 1. Didn't watch it because I heard it was awful.

[Grant Pearson]

Don't forget about Pray at Night being in there.

[Bradley Hall]

I did watch that, and that was bad. I did watch that. Yes.

[Grant Pearson]

The Strangers doesn't really have a good track record of making good movies. The first one is what it is. It's. It's, you know, has its place in horror classics and everything since then has been trash as far as I can tell. I have not watched any of the new Strangers, the chapter one, two or three. Yeah. And apparently they're gonna put them together into one long cut and it's like, I don't think anybody asked for that. You know, nobody was wanting the Kill Bill Whole Bloody Affair version of the Strangers trilogy.

[Bradley Hall]

Now I do want to see that. I do want to see the Kill Bill all together, the four and a half hours of it.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, yeah, I saw that in theaters. That was great.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, I'm looking forward to seeing it.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, I definitely pick it up when it comes out or stream somewhere or whatever. I would recommend that to anyone. Except for the post credit thing. That's like a Fortnite thing or something. That was bizarre and terrible.

[Bradley Hall]

It's not good.

[Grant Pearson]

Okay, so just don't watch that part because you'll be like, what is this? It almost ruins the movie.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, well, I. One of my favorite nominations here is for worst screen combo, and it's Ice Cube and his zoom camera for War of the Worlds.

[Grant Pearson]

It's. It's just him reacting terribly to things. It's like, oh, somebody died. And he's like, oh. And you're like. He like rubs his chin and then takes his glasses off and puts them back on and then takes them off again and puts them back on here. Yeah. Ice Cube. I'm sorry, he's got a win for that one.

[Bradley Hall]

I mean, and he's up against James Corden and Rihanna from Smurfs. I mean, that's, there's. He's going up against some heavy hitters, but I'm sure Ice Cube is going to win.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. And it's James Corden and Rihanna is. How do you get the two of them doing something together? You have one of the best selling, most streamed artists of all time, and then you have the guy who does carpool karaoke and they're in a Smurfs movie together.

[Bradley Hall]

Yes. And then you have. And then those. And then they're up against the Weeknd and his colossal ego for Hurry Up Tomorrow. I mean, there should be just. This category is incredible.

[Grant Pearson]

It's always a great category to see what they do because it's, it's never, it's never like, here's the two leads from in the Lost Lands. It's, it's. It's about an actor and something usually.

[Bradley Hall]

And something Yep. Yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. So, yeah, I would say War of the Worlds is one of my least favorite movies that has probably ever been made. Definitely the worst movie of the year. Love Hurts was not good. Electric State was not good. Also, there's a movie that came out called Playdate. I don't know if anybody has seen that movie. It is an Amazon exclusive, I believe. Trying to find where it's out. But, yeah, it's Kevin James and then Alan Ritchson. Alan Richardson's Richardson plays Jack Reacher on the Reacher show.

[Bradley Hall]

Wild.

[Grant Pearson]

And it has to do with these kids that are cloned at some point. And I don't know, it's this action movie sort of thing where Kevin James is there to be the comedy side, but he's not funny. And Alan Ritchson is crazy and he's supposed to be funny, but he's not funny. And then there's things blowing up and they beat up these kids and a lot of people die. And you're just like, oh, this is kind of dark. But they're trying to play it off as funny, which sometimes work.

[Bradley Hall]

Sometimes that works.

[Grant Pearson]

It does not work in this case. I do not recommend anybody watch this film, even for just shits and giggles. Do not make playdates the destination for you. Go watch War of the Worlds instead.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, that makes sense. And I am looking forward to seeing that one.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah.

[Bradley Hall]

All right, well, that's. I mean, you got anything else with the Razzies? I think if I was gonna say, all right, here's the movie that was my worst that I watched, one I enjoyed the least would be Megan 2.0.

[Grant Pearson]

Megan 2.0. I will actually be one of the few people that says I like it better than the first.

[Bradley Hall]

Really?

[Grant Pearson]

I did not care for the first movie and I went to the second one and I think I enjoyed it more because it wasn' so, like, hyped.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay, that's fair.

[Grant Pearson]

So I actually. I actually enjoyed the second one more than the first one. And this is going to lose me a lot of credibility, but I do think that. That it was. I mean, it was definitely a misfire. Don't get me wrong, it shouldn't have been made the way it was made, but it was, to me, better than the first.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, I did not like the first one. Went into it in my own personal hype machine thinking, well, they'll do it better. They got a sequel, they'll do it better. And I. I don't know, I just couldn't do it.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, yeah, it was still a mess, but it was it was what it is. Do we have some time to talk about movies that I did like from 2025 that did not get awards?

[Bradley Hall]

100%.

[Grant Pearson]

Okay. Gotta start with Wake Up Dead man, the third Knives out movie.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, Knives Out. Okay. Are you into that? Are you into those movies?

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, absolutely. And this one might have been the best of the three, and it definitely should have got something for, like, original screenplay. If I were to have nominated it for best picture, I would have taken out F1 and put in Wake Up Dead man as kind of the crowd pleaser one.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

But it didn't get anything. And that's kind of sad. But the Naked Gun was the best comedy movie that came out last year.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh. Just joke after joke after joke and jokes on jokes and. And it was just a classic, like, slapstick type comedy you don't see anymore. It was so good.

[Grant Pearson]

No, it was fantastic. I don't think it necessarily deserves Oscar nominations, but I know it won like, a critics choice for best comedy movie or something like that. And I'm. I'm down with that. I think it was. Yeah, like I said, best comedy movie of the year. Not that there was a lot to compete with, but it was there.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah. No, my favorite as well.

[Grant Pearson]

Weapons to put in over Frankenstein for best movie. Thunderbolts, I think, was the best superhero movie of the year. Not that there was a lot of competition, but I think Thunderbolts did some great things. Is this thing on with Bradley Cooper directing it? Nobody went to go see this one. I enjoyed it. Bradley Cooper is good at movies. Minus Maestro. I did not care for Maestro. But is this thing on Everybody involved with that? It had Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Bradley Cooper, bunch of other people. It came together very well, in my opinion.

[Bradley Hall]

That's the movie that I wanted to watch last night. And then instead I end up staring at Braden finishing the Running man in order to watch the Running man. So.

[Grant Pearson]

And then the last one that I'm gonna bring up is the best action movie of the year that nobody saw. And that is a movie called Fight or Flight with Josh Hartnett.

[Bradley Hall]

Okay, I've heard of.

[Grant Pearson]

Is insane. It is Crank meets Bullet train on a plane. It has so much violence in it and comedy. And it's just. To me, it was the best action movie probably of the year, if you're not counting one battle after another being more of a drama, things like that. But to me, Fight or Flight is something that any person that likes just ridiculous action should watch. It was better than nobody.

[Bradley Hall]

2.

[Grant Pearson]

It was better than most of the things that came out. That just is somebody's name usually, and then they go out and they somehow are the, you know, secret. Love Hurts, essentially, is what I'm trying to make fun of here is that Love Hurts was terrible. It's not that kind of movie. It's. It's actually enjoyable. So, yeah, definitely find that. I don't know if it's streaming anywhere, but that'd be my recommendation.

[Bradley Hall]

Now, Fight or Flight sounds like it's right up my alley, so I really do want to watch that now. Nobody, too. I enjoyed Nobody Too.

[Grant Pearson]

I didn't have any problem with Nobody two, but Fight or Flight was definitely better.

[Bradley Hall]

I'm with you on naked gun. I'm 100% with you on Weapons. I thought Weapons should have been nominated, and it was not. But a movie you did not mention that was. I mean, it so much has a place in my heart that the movie posters hanging on my wall right now. The movie Friendship, Paul Rudd, Friendship, Tim Robinson.

[Grant Pearson]

I didn't forget about Friendship. Friendship was great.

[Bradley Hall]

What a fun movie that was. Was.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, I know that. So that's a. That's an A24 movie, right?

[Bradley Hall]

Yes.

[Grant Pearson]

And A24 had kind of interesting year at the box office. They had Death of a Unicorn come out, which underperformed. I loved it, but it definitely had its detractors. I don't know if you saw that one.

[Bradley Hall]

I. It's on my list of movies I want to see. Paul Rudd, right?

[Grant Pearson]

Paul Rudd. Jenna Ortega. It's. Yeah, yeah, that one. I'm trying.

[Bradley Hall]

I was like, I really want to see that movie, but it's not, like, urgent. It didn't do well at the box office. It's a. It's readily available on hbo. Max. I'm like, well, I'll just. I'll hit it up when I hit it up.

[Grant Pearson]

It's got Will Poulter in it now. Will Poulter, his. I don't know what he's got, but he. His comic timing in that movie is spot on. He is hilarious. He knew the assignment from the beginning and got it. He was also in Warfare, which was an A24 movie that came out last year, and he was fantastic in that as well. Will Poulter is one of those guys that really is. Is putting together a nice resume and should have. Should have a good, successful career as long as he makes movies that people see. He's. He's kind of in a Glenn Powell phase right now, where he's making movies that people aren't watching. But I think his movies are better than. Than Glenn Powell's movies.

[Bradley Hall]

Well, don't forget, I mean, Hattie said that he's the greatest actor of our time right now, Glen Powell. So he's. Yeah, he's up there.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, he's up there. I would not disagree that. That Glenn Powell has got some ability and some charm, but I put Will Poulter above him.

[Bradley Hall]

There you go.

[Grant Pearson]

So sorry, Hattie.

[Bradley Hall]

A24, though, like you were saying, interesting year they did have. I mean, Smashing Machine didn't perform as well as they'd hoped. But yeah, it, you know, it did do some things as far as, like, storytelling that people liked and, and the rock. What he could do, you know, that's a little different than just straight up action. I don't know. I thought that was a movie that maybe it will be underrated a little bit.

[Grant Pearson]

I didn't get a chance to see Smashing Machine. I have it on my list. I. You know, there is a Taylor Swift movie that came out this or the album release that came out the same weekend. So can you blame me?

[Bradley Hall]

Well, yeah, you spent your time diving into the lyrics looking for Easter eggs, I'm sure.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes. No, but I mean, they, they had, yeah. Death of a Unicorn and Warfare. They had the Legend of Ochi, which was kind of their family friendly movie that bombed. Friendship did well. Yeah, I think Friendship was good. Bring Her Back was amazing.

[Bradley Hall]

Oh, I forgot about that one. What a crazy movie.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. You know, but then they had like editing Eddington, which didn't do very well. Smashing Machine didn't do what it was supposed to. But then, of course, you end the movie or the end of the year with Marty supreme, which became their highest grossing movie. So they, they made up for it at the end. But for me, yeah, a 24 kind of had a difficult year even with

[Bradley Hall]

Marty supreme, the powerhouse. That is because that movie.

[Grant Pearson]

Yes.

[Bradley Hall]

You know, they're gonna be getting hype from that movie all the way through probably April because of the Academy Awards.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, yeah, it'll. It'll. Because right now it's sitting. I'm looking up the box office. It's sitting at 94 million. So it'd be really nice to see that hit 100 million just so that a 24 finally has one.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, I think that'll be the one.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. So, yeah, that's. So, yeah, that's where. Where I'm at.

[Bradley Hall]

Well, favorite movie of the year. All right. What would you say, Would you say One Battle After Another is your favorite movie of the Year or just of the nominees or is there another mov that's probably your favorite of 2025.

[Grant Pearson]

That is such a hard question because I did put one battle after another at number one on my rankings. I don't know if I have. I've watched the Naked Gun more than I have One battle after another. I don't know if that means anything.

[Bradley Hall]

Could be Naked Gun then.

[Grant Pearson]

Is this Thing On? Honestly, I loved. I thought that it was a fantastic film. Not getting nominated for me was kind of a slam to it because I think it deserved it. But is this Thing On? Would definitely make it into my top movies of the year.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah. Now you're making me really need to go watch that movie right away.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. I mean, it's. It's about stand up comedy, but it's not. It's about relationships and stand up comedy and all kinds of things. But Will Arnett is terrific in it. Laura Dern, she usually is terrific in anything she does and she was there. Bradley Cooper was supporting character and was great in it as well.

[Bradley Hall]

Did you know he was in a movie once with Lady Gaga?

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, I've heard about that.

[Bradley Hall]

Big time movie. Big time movie,

[Grant Pearson]

yeah. No, it's. It's good. Bradley Cooper, by the way. I had to look this up because I wanted to make sure I was right in. Is this thing on? His character's name is. Is Balls.

[Bradley Hall]

Balls. That's perfect.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, he doesn't. He's not credited as anything else. Just balls.

[Bradley Hall]

Just balls. It's almost like he did it as a joke.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah. Peyton Manning is in the movie.

[Bradley Hall]

Really?

[Grant Pearson]

I don't know if you knew that. Yeah, he acts in the movie. He's actually an actor in the movie.

[Bradley Hall]

Is his forehead credited as well or just.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, geez. Peyton Manning's forehead. Oh, that's a stuff of legend.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, it's a good one.

[Grant Pearson]

It is a good one. Peyton Manning. I'm just looking at a picture of him now. I've been. Just to be completely transparent, I have been jumping around on Wikipedia pages all over the place during this, but now I'm on Peyton Manning's and I had to scroll down for a little while before I hit the text because of the picture being there. You have to just scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll down and scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll. Is it funny yet? And scroll and scroll until you get past the picture of his forehead.

[Bradley Hall]

It's a big forehead. And another note, you need to get yourself a producer to type all this stuff up. That's why I Got Johnny. I got Johnny here just taking care of all this for me.

[Grant Pearson]

Oh, no, I have papers laid out in front of me as well. Don't worry, I prepared for this one. There are just certain things where I need to look it up and I'm like, what's his name? Balls. I have to remember that.

[Bradley Hall]

Well, Grant, you've done it again. The Academy Awards. You've. You've laid out the favorites, you've seen all the movies. You're letterboxed. You can find it at Buy this vacuum. What else you got to promote? I ask you every time at the end, what do you got to promote? And you never have anything.

[Grant Pearson]

No, After Midnight got canceled.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah.

[Grant Pearson]

So I don't have that to promote anymore, which is kind of sad. So, yeah, let's bring back After Midnight. Can we do that?

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, I think we can. I think we can start a movie.

[Grant Pearson]

Or do you think this is a good time to start plugging Stephen Colbert, he has this late night show. It's. It's pretty good. I think it's going to catch on in the next couple of years. I think it might be bigger than the Tonight Show.

[Bradley Hall]

You know, honestly, I think he's got a good couple of months ahead of him. And it's going to be big. Let's just say that it's gonna be big.

[Grant Pearson]

Let's see, what other canceled things can I promote, sir? Stuff that's gonna be cancelled or that people don't like. That's. That's what I. That's what I'm here for.

[Bradley Hall]

Affordable groceries. Let's see what else. What else has been canceled.

[Grant Pearson]

Yeah, yeah, you gotta get that game made.

[Bradley Hall]

Ain't that the truth. Ain't that the truth?

[Grant Pearson]

That's full circle otherwise. Yeah, it is. And a great place to end it besides me saying, hey, if you want to come to. To Des Moines, Iowa, and watch Clue with my son as Professor Plum, you can do that.

[Bradley Hall]

Yeah, and why wouldn't you? And when was the dates. Was that April?

[Grant Pearson]

End of April, Beginning of May?

[Bradley Hall]

End of April will be in May. And you can search that up on. I know, I. I follow him on Facebook, so I see all the. The dates and everything on Facebook, but

[Grant Pearson]

it's the Des Moines Young Artist Theater.

[Bradley Hall]

Very nice. All right, well, Grant, I'll plug them. You did it again. Thank you, sir. You are the movie expert officially of Laugh With Me. I. And I got a feeling. I mean, we have plans, so I have a feeling we're gonna hear from you very soon again on Laugh With Me.

[Grant Pearson]

Yep. I've got it. I've got to put some stuff together. I think that we. I think that we've got. Got some things.

[Bradley Hall]

Very nice. All right, Sam.