The 2022 Movie Draft

Summary

The Big Picture – The 2022 Movie Draft

Podcast from The Ringer | Host: Sean Fennessey with Amanda Dobbins & Chris Ryan | Aired: December 17, 2025

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Episode Overview

This lively episode reunites Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins, and Chris Ryan for their annual movie draft, looking back at the eclectic cinematic landscape of 2022. With humor, friendly rivalry, and irreverent insights, the trio reminisce about the year’s movies, share personal memories, and—through their friendly competition—offer a snapshot of the changing film industry post-COVID. Along the way, they also reflect on their own lives, the state of Hollywood, and those all-important theatrical comebacks.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: 2022 in Movies

Timestamps: 01:23–07:13

• The panel remembers emerging from pandemic quarantines, noting the “wake” of Project Popcorn (Warner Bros.’ streaming era) and how it reshaped the release landscape (03:02).
• They comment on the overwhelming slate of releases:

  “I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff and also the unbelievable amount of films. I was like, what is that?” – Chris (07:29)

• There’s acknowledgment that the year was marked by dramatic shifts: less middle-tier, more ‘slop’ (mediocre, overlong, poorly executed genre movies), but several standouts that defined the theatrical “we’re back” moment (10:27–11:53).
• The hosts debate the continued dominance of sequels at the box office, citing Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar 2, and Black Panther 2 (12:28–13:22).

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2. The Aftermath of the Pandemic on Cinema

Timestamps: 07:13–12:27

• Chris highlights how the film landscape felt fundamentally different post-COVID, with streaming releases influencing theatrical schedules, noting,

  “Not even the competency, but the foundation of movies that I ordinarily would be like this is pretty cool… Why is this 2 hours and 20 minutes? Looks like it’s been through four reshoots and shot with an iPhone 11.” – Chris (11:02)

• The team discusses the emergence of “meme flops” and the fragmentation of viewing habits, but also the sense that a handful of films stood above the rest—“Five to ten movies that sort of stand above everything else.” – Chris (11:44)

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3. Personal Stories & 2022 Moviegoing

Timestamps: 13:22–17:15

• Amanda recounts returning to theaters post-birth, with Top Gun: Maverick as her celebratory re-entry (15:20).

  “My first back movie in theaters was Top Maverick… it was exciting.” – Amanda (15:20)

• Sean reflects on his own difficult year with a newborn and home issues due to California rain, feeling it was a “very challenging period” (17:41).
• Chris reminisces about traveling post-lockdown and his affinity for working in a record store, which he’s nostalgic about but doesn’t regret leaving (16:59–17:22).

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4. Draft Preparation & The Philosophy of Completionism

Timestamps: 18:22–20:26

• Sean, ever the completist, checked off all 309 theatrically released American films in 2022:

  “I saw all of these movies that are on this list from the release this year... I really do feel lucky to get to do this with you guys… So I see it as a responsibility to try to see as much as I can.” – Sean (19:16)

• He admits to diminishing returns, “...it’s usually diminishing returns, and the ones that you put off… you know you won’t like” (19:41).

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5. Kicking Off the 2022 Movie Draft

Timestamps: 22:09–31:45

The Rules

• Six categories: Drama, Action/Horror/Thriller, Oscar Nominee, Sequel, Blockbuster (>$100M), and Wildcard.
• Each host drafts a movie per category.

Draft Order

1. Chris Ryan (CR)
2. Sean Fennessey
3. Amanda Dobbins

The Picks – Notable Choices & Quotes

1st Overall:

• Chris takes Top Gun: Maverick for Oscar Nominee:

  “Top Gun Maverick was just… the clarion call, the battle cry of ‘we’re so back.’” – Chris (30:30)

• Amanda thanks Chris for comforting her son with “Top Gun” during tough times (30:40).

Sean’s Top Pick:

• Babylon in Drama

  “A movie that I helped construct with many millions of people, a beautiful hive.” – Sean (31:45)

Amanda’s Big Moment:

• Tar (Oscar nominee), her “favorite”:

  “...I started, like, laughing with joy and I can’t believe you’re doing this at the end of this movie. Which is just a feeling that is so rare in movies at all now.” – Amanda (35:04)

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6. Draft Highlights: Debates & Memorable Exchanges

Timestamps: 31:45–84:22

• The Fabelmans is praised as “under-celebrated” and “episodic, but with a lot more going on” (39:48–40:11).
• Sean touts Nope as his favorite of the year, lauding Peele’s “deep and complicated” take on spectacle and race (41:53–43:15).
• Chris’ chess move: The Banshees of Inisherin “... probably his most satisfying film for me since In Bruges.” (44:44)
• The Batman is described as “really good visualization of a world,” with intrigue about future casting and the mythos of Batman villains (45:24–47:44).
• Amanda’s blockbuster wildcard: Minions: The Rise of Gru

  “There’s a Minion Squire that shows up from nowhere, and they just start singing, like, the choral part of ‘you can’t always get what you want’…” (76:51) – which sends her into laughing fits and causes much ribbing from Sean and Chris.

• Wild-card picks range from Jennifer Lopez’s Halftime (“...she thought this was gonna be her moment and she took it so seriously...” – Amanda, 79:34) to the genre-bending crime indie Emily the Criminal.
• Discussion on the legacy of Everything Everywhere All at Once, its awards backlash, and why the hosts still appreciate it amid the discourse:

  “I like that movie, and I always did...I think it hurt the movie’s reputation weirdly. But I really liked the movie as a genre mashup and as a pretty sincere portrait of an immigrant family…” – Sean (82:11)

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7. Meta-Commentary, Podcast Banter, & Reflections

Timestamps: Throughout, esp. 20:26–22:15, 61:35–65:50, 85:16–end

• The team frequently drifts off-topic, discussing everything from the importance of good pants to their supplement/creatine regimes, workout routines, and theoretical podcasts about tubing (e.g., “Just Tubin’”)—all part of the show’s casual, funny tone.
• Amanda’s draft anxiety is met with gentle jokes; Sean tries to console her with, “I need you to perform a good podcast here” (31:28).
• Running gags include the “wellness cliff” (“I think doing Pilates would be helpful for me…” – Sean, 61:48), joking about AI and podcasts with Benjamin Franklin, and whether anyone really cares who wins the drafts (25:27–25:46).
• The hosts remark on the changes in their lives since 2022—how “things start to settle” in your 40s, memories of parenting, and their sense of gratitude for getting to watch and discuss movies for work.
• Final thoughts include gratitude to Minions, the Rolling Stones, and Mia Goth (TI West’s “Pearl”), exemplifying the group’s affection for both highbrow and pop culture.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On 2022’s film glut:
  “There are two DJ Caruso films here—when did those come out?” – Chris (07:29)

• On Top Gun: Maverick as the Re-Entry Film:
  “That was part of the reason that I feel as affectionately toward that movie as I do. But it was also... like, vaccines are in a decent place. We're all done. Let's fucking go.” – Amanda (15:20)

• On completionism as a duty:
  “...I see it as, like, a responsibility to try to see as much as I can.” – Sean (19:16)

• On Pearl & Moviegoing Aftermath:
  “I was really charmed by Pearl... great Mia Goth performance. Even when it gets gnarly, it’s like amusing gnarly instead of freaking me out.” – Amanda (58:01)

• On the “We’re Back” Moment:
  “Top Gun Maverick was just… the clarion call, the battle cry of we’re so back.” – Chris (30:30)

• On the 2022 Draft Mood:
  “There are good films to see.” – Chris (28:44)

• On Wildcards:
  “I’m picking the movie that I've thought about the third most in 2022... Jennifer Lopez Halftime. Because here's the thing…” – Amanda (78:18)

• On Everything Everywhere All at Once Discourse:
  “I think it hurt the movie’s reputation weirdly. But I really liked the movie as a genre mashup and as a pretty sincere portrait of an immigrant family and how the generation gap between people and how they can’t communicate with each other.” – Sean (81:06)

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Draft Recap

Sean:

• Drama: Babylon
• Action/Horror/Thriller: Barbarian
• Oscar Nominee: Avatar: The Way of Water
• Sequel: Prey
• Blockbuster: Nope
• Wild Card: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Amanda:

• Drama: The Fabelmans
• Action/Horror/Thriller: Pearl
• Oscar Nominee: Tar
• Sequel: Downton Abbey: A New Era
• Blockbuster: Minions: The Rise of Gru
• Wild Card: Jennifer Lopez: Halftime

Chris:

• Drama: The Banshees of Inisherin
• Action/Horror/Thriller: Ambulance
• Oscar Nominee: Top Gun: Maverick
• Sequel: Confess, Fletch
• Blockbuster: The Batman
• Wild Card: Emily the Criminal

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Setting up the 2022 Movie Landscape: 00:14–12:27
• Personal Reflections on the Year & Moviegoing: 13:22–17:41
• Draft Introduction & Rules: 22:09–22:47
• Draft Order & First Reactions: 22:53–25:56
• Individual Draft Rounds: 31:45–84:22
• Wild-Card Picks & Final Riffs: 78:00–84:22
• Episode Wind Down & Gratitude: 85:16–87:10

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Closing Thoughts

The episode captures the distinctive humor and camaraderie of The Big Picture crew, blending rigorous (yet loving) film analysis, nostalgia, and refreshing transparency about how film culture is shaped by both industry trends and personal milestones. Whether you’re a cinephile or a casual moviegoer, their 2022 draft offers a roadmap to the year’s best and weirdest, along with a lot of laughs—and maybe a few future ideas for AI-powered podcasting with Benjamin Franklin.

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Memorable Sign-Off:
“Thank you to the Minions and the Rolling Stones. And to Sean and Chris.” – Amanda (87:02)

Transcript

[A]

I'm Sean Fennessy.

[B]

I'm Amanda David.

[A]

And this is the Big Picture, a conversation show about 2022. Chris Ryan is here. Thanks, brother. I've been trying to pierce this guy's heart. I've been trying to get inside the breastplate, figure out who this man really is.

[C]

Doctor, heal thyself. That's what Cameron Winter says. You got to work on what's happening over.

[B]

Were you there last night or was. No, that was Yassi. Sorry, I was just confusing Instagrams. And also this Cameron Winter for the.

[C]

Future, earlier in 2025 with Yassi at the Barnstell Art Center.

[A]

Lovely park. I've been there many times. Cameron Winter, you know, is going to be the subject of a documentary, perhaps co directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and Benny Safdie.

[C]

May we live in interesting times.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Chris Ryan, congratulations.

[B]

This is huge, dude.

[A]

Very exciting.

[B]

This episode of the Big Picture is presented by Amazon Prime. You know how in every great holiday movie, there's that last minute scramble to make it all come together? From gifts to hosting essentials. Prime's fast shipping is always there for you during the holidays, especially when it's last minute and just can't wait. So if you need fast free delivery that saves the day, it's on Prime. Head to Amazon.com prime to shop. Now.

[A]

Let's just get right into 2022, unless there's anything you want to get off your chests.

[C]

I was trying to think about whether or not I had any. Take, uh, Ella McKay.

[A]

No. Did you see that?

[C]

No. But, like, I am interested in the fact that it's been critically revived in just 72 hours.

[A]

Ella McKay.

[B]

Oh, it's been revived?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

No, no, you mean like reclaimed?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

No, it's all irony. Poison millennials who are like, actually, here's why this is good. We'll get into that later this week.

[C]

Did you happen to see either Ethan Hawke interview Sydney Sweeney for actors on Actors or Ethan Hawke and his performance on Rogan?

[B]

I saw a clip of Ethan Hawke on Rogan explaining why the Tarantino Paul Dano thing was actually an amazing gift to Paul Dano because he learned how many people love him.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Ethan Hawke is unstoppable. Ethan Hawke should. I mean, like, he would be wasted as President. Like, let's do more, you know, let's think bigger. Unbelievable.

[A]

And it was like, I would never burden him with the presidency.

[B]

I didn't even click on it as a Rogan clip. You know, it was just fed to me and then suddenly they cut to Joe Rogan just like Trying to look earnest or whatever.

[A]

Nodding.

[B]

And I was like, ye.

[C]

Actually seeing things differently.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Never happens. Yeah.

[A]

He's just been giving a lot of gifts this season. He's a very special person. 2022.

[C]

Yeah, sure.

[A]

We were. We were together.

[B]

We were. We were sort of.

[A]

We were.

[B]

Yeah, we were.

[A]

We had emerged from quarantine just living.

[C]

In the house that Jason Collar built, you know?

[A]

Yeah. It was a. It was a. That wasn't Project popcorn. That was 21.

[C]

No.

[A]

But it kind of bled into 2022.

[C]

But we kind of are in the.

[A]

The.

[C]

What do they call it? The water that comes from the back of the boat?

[B]

The. The. Oh, the wake.

[C]

The wake. The wake of.

[A]

Of.

[C]

Of.

[B]

I got there.

[C]

Popcorn.

[A]

I see.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I noticed you didn't turn to him for that boat question. It's like I knew.

[C]

Yeah. Have you been on a boat of the waves?

[A]

On a boat? I'm from Long Island. How dare you? I was on boats all the time.

[B]

You've never been tubing or jet skiing?

[A]

I haven't been. I have been tubing, but not tubing behind a boat.

[C]

Would you do it so you wouldn't.

[B]

Know about the waves?

[A]

Would I do it?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Like today.

[C]

Watch along. I'll do fire and ash if you go tubing with me.

[A]

I'll consider it. I'll consider it. Just to get you in front of Jake Sully one more time.

[C]

Just toobin would be a good podcast for us to do if, like, Andy ever quits the watch.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And it's just Sean on the. On tv. Just tubin.

[A]

Oh, nice.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Have you ever.

[B]

That was 2021, you know.

[A]

And in 2021, how many pods did you record wearing no pants?

[C]

Yeah. Most of the rewatchables from then. Yeah. Gladiator for sure. At full attention.

[A]

Yeah. Do you like wearing pants? Do you guys like wearing pants?

[C]

Very much so.

[B]

You do?

[A]

You don't like it?

[B]

I mean, I've come back around on it. I mean, you remember there was like a dress phase.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. And now I think for a while when pregnant, it was like, very hard to wear pants because they don't really. This. The technology is not there yet.

[C]

Smock era.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We're gonna get Jim Cameron on this.

[B]

But now I'm back. Oh. On the technology. Honestly, like, if they put Jim Cameron in charge of, like, prenatal and care and like, postpartum technology or whatever, like, our lives would be so much better. I feel like people, like, quite literally, many women's lives would be saved. All of the Medical care. And the experience would be, like, tremendously improved.

[A]

I agree.

[B]

If Jim Cameron could just get to work. Anyway, I wasn't wearing pants for a while, so now I'm like kind of back water births, though, you know? That's true. But, you know, I. Some people like those, and then the babies can swim.

[A]

I feel like we haven't really figured pants out.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Like, there's still something very unfinished to me about this experience.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, like, I get it. We need to cover ourselves, Right. For a variety of reasons. For propriety, for warmth, for safety. But the way that these things fit is just funny.

[C]

I gotta tell you, man, I don't really know where you're coming from on this, because I feel like in 2008, I saw you wear a bape jacket, and since then, you've worn the same outfit every day. Like your pant leg never changed.

[B]

Right.

[C]

All through skinny to. Now we're going back to 501 full leg. Like you never bit.

[B]

He does not. You don't wear 501s, do you?

[C]

No, he never did.

[A]

I know.

[C]

Yeah, he has whatever cut he wears.

[B]

Oh, you mean that we.

[C]

The culture pant or Jean the pant. Sean remains the North Star.

[A]

I have a uniform. I have a uniform.

[B]

All right. Is it still the Slim rag and bones?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Not slim. Whatever. Number three is.

[B]

Okay. I think they're all slim cut, but that's okay. It works for you.

[A]

Thanks.

[B]

It's better.

[A]

They're not all slim cut. That's incorrect.

[B]

Well, on the. And the range of things like comparing compared to Zach's closet, you know, the silhouettes have widened that I've noticed around the. You know.

[A]

Yeah. More brown.

[B]

And that will.

[A]

That will. That will change again.

[C]

First episode of Just Toobin, you wear Diesel bootcut jeans. Who says no?

[A]

Whenever I'm getting dressed in the morning, I think, would this be acceptable if I were to meet Frank Sinatra today? Yeah, that's exactly what crosses my mind. Do you think about it, Things that way? No. No. Should we pivot back to 2022 or just keep going? Sartorial choices. Is that of note to you?

[C]

Is this the year that that slop poison the well? Is this when you went through the list of films?

[A]

Dramatic idea.

[C]

Well, I was just like, my. My process for these drafts in which I'm undefeated for five years, Many people are saying, no. My process for these drafts is to go through chronologically a list of American theatrically released films.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

The definition of theatrically.

[A]

Because you will not watch a Foreign language film.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, like, I don't feel like I'm hearing it in the intended language.

[A]

I'm not here to read.

[B]

I was, except for every single film that I watch with subtitles because I'm old.

[A]

Oh, yeah, every. Yeah, yeah.

[C]

I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff and also the unbelievable amount of films. I was like, what is that? There are two DJ Caruso films here. When did those come out?

[A]

And what.

[C]

What platform or service were they available?

[A]

I see.

[C]

And just the. The kind of. Not the poisoning of the well, but just the changing shape and feel of the film landscape feels very distinct in 2022. Like, we come out on the other side of COVID and everything's different. That was something that really struck me, going through the movies.

[A]

That's an interesting query. We never really talk about it in that context because I just pulled up the average rating of all the films released that year according to the list that I made on letterboxd. And if you look from the bottom up, the lowest rated films of the year. Any guesses? I'm sure you haven't spent much time thinking about these movies because you won't be drafting them.

[C]

No, I mean, like, also, I don't even know how wide the sort of aperture is there. I mean, like, how many movies do you have listed there?

[A]

I think I have over 300 movies here.

[C]

Oh, wow. So a lot. What's the bot like? Yeah, what were you gonna say?

[A]

Morbius is at the bottom.

[B]

Mm, sure.

[A]

Yeah. The Firestarter remake. Judd Apatow's the Bubble.

[B]

Oh, yeah, Yeah. I never saw that.

[A]

Netflix's Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot.

[C]

That's fucking wrong.

[A]

Robert Zemeckis is Pinocchio.

[C]

Never saw it.

[B]

Sure. Not the fascist one.

[A]

No.

[C]

There's a fascist pin.

[B]

Yeah. Guillermo del Toro also made a Pinocchio this year, and he makes.

[A]

Oh, well, you. Well, freemade Frankenstein. Oh, you. In 2022, he made.

[B]

Excuse Me. And he made him fascist. He did, yes.

[A]

He made him a puppet contemporaneous to the rise of fascism in Italy.

[B]

Yeah. But like, in Spain. But, like, Pinocchio is, like, dancing around pretty Fascist Italy.

[A]

In Italy.

[B]

Italy.

[C]

Yeah. I spent some time this weekend watching Joe Wright's Mussolini Son of the Century.

[B]

How is it?

[C]

Very Joe. Righty.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

But it's basically this guy playing Mussolini, being like, I am a fascist. Like, the entire, like, camera. Yes.

[A]

And you did watch it. First time ever watching a subtitled film.

[C]

I'm a citizen of the world.

[A]

Many people are saying that as well. Yes. So now you're finally giving yourself over to this podcast. It only took 20 minutes. Are you wearing pants right now? Also on this list of the lowest rated films of that year, Halloween ends the final in David Gordon Green's trilogy of Halloween reboots.

[C]

4 XD.

[A]

Okay, 4 dx. 4 dx is 4 XD like on Pornhub. Where do you see that?

[C]

A real cultural conversation.

[B]

Yeah. 40x is the one with the sides.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, but like not the whole thing insides. Which was my disappointment.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I actually saw the other film on this list in 40x. Andrew Dominick's blonde was crazy. It was like you felt like you were going through the birth canal. It was wild.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So a little bit of a complicated year. High highs.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Some, some big hitters.

[C]

Sure.

[B]

This year, not unlike 2025 for me. Honestly. This, this movie though, maybe. But were there a couple like all time. I went to the movies and I'll never forget it. Experiences and then just a lot of other stuff, some of which I liked and some of which I didn't really, but there's like a pretty big chasm between the top and the top and the mid and then the low.

[A]

What about for you? Did you like it despite the slope?

[C]

Yeah, no, I mean, I also am a slop connoisseur. You know, I, I, I've been known to tuck in.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

To a big heaping bowl of kale and other crap. You know what I mean? I think that one thing that here's how I would define what I, I think I mean by the slop stuff is where the bottom falls out on the competency. Not even the competency, but the, the foundation of movies that I ordinarily would be like this is pretty cool. Like a cool genre movie. 90 minutes and it's like, why is this 2 hours and 20 minutes? It looks like it's been through four reshoots and it looks like it was shot with like an iPhone 11, you know, like, and that would be a major release. And so I think that you see a little bit of like a loosening of standards maybe on some of that stuff. And I still enjoyed a bunch of, a bunch of stuff from this year. But like Amanda, I do think that there's like five to ten movies that sort of stand above everything else.

[B]

This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. Like an action blockbuster. The holidays move quick, but with prime fast. Free delivery means those last minute gifts arrive right when you need them. Last year, while watching Singin in the Rain with my son, I realized a pair of tap shoes would be a perfect Christmas gift, and I had them under the tree for him on Christmas day. Prime's fast shipping is always there for you during the holidays, especially when it's last minute and just can't wait. Last minute holiday magic. It's on Prime. Head to Amazon.comprime to shop now.

[A]

There's certainly a handful of movies that I absolutely love on the list. Not a ton.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I do think it's interesting to think about the health of the box office at this time coming out of COVID relative to even where we are now. Like when you look at the top of the box office here, the top five movies are Jurassic World, Dominion, which made $375 million, Doctor Strange 2, which made 411. Black Panther 2, which made 450. Avatar 2, which made 680. And Top Gun Maverick, which made 720. This is just domestically, that's pretty healthy. Now those are sequels. They're all sequels. And the movies below them are all sequels. So it's not as though we've kind of dramatically changed where we were, but it does feel like even from this time, things have changed and maybe it's augured in part by what you're describing. I seem to remember having a pretty good time at the movies this year, though. And they're with one big hulking, you know, we are back right in the middle of it.

[C]

Isn't this the invention of we are Back kind of. Isn't it Maverick?

[A]

Sort of like, when did we start doing that? I'm not sure.

[C]

We were literally back.

[A]

We were back. We were quite literally. Well, I think the first movie I was back for was A Quiet Place two. A Quiet Place two.

[B]

I remember that. It was the previous summer.

[A]

Yes. And I felt that that was the greatest film ever made. When I was sitting in the movie theater, even though it's. I'm sure it's fine.

[C]

Was. Was. What's the M. Night Shyamalan on the beach?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Old.

[B]

That was August.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Is that August 22nd?

[B]

No, it was 21.

[C]

Because that was my first time back.

[B]

I was strangers. No, not strangers. A Quiet Place was my first one back. And then I was also there. I was at the La Canada movie theater seeing old in an empty theater by myself. But I had also just told Shawn that I was pregnant for the first time. So I was texting with Shawn from the movie theater, which is really rude. I'm sorry to M. Night Shyamalan about old in the theater.

[A]

Why did you Text me about that during a movie.

[B]

Zach was actually. Zach wanted to tell you as a friend that we were having a kid. And so he called you. But like he didn't really time the call correctly.

[A]

So did you guys end up having the kid?

[C]

Did you see old?

[B]

We did, but so that was also. This was 2022, was when Knox was born. So I was born some of these movies. It was interesting. Like I caught up with a lot of things, but there is some of the slop I just got to take a pass on.

[A]

You got to skip Morbius. I think Morbius came out February 2022.

[B]

It did so not.

[A]

I saw it with Van.

[B]

Yeah, no, I remember you usually do the first podcast after I have a kid with Van. That's. But which is just traditional.

[A]

We just talked about. We did Joker too.

[B]

Yeah. And now. And now we're done. No, so Morbius was his, like around his due date. His due date was actually the day of the Oscar nominations. So we scheduled that Oscar nominations podcast in the morning. And then I went to the hospital. That's a true story.

[C]

You're a true story.

[B]

And then. But my first back movie in theaters was Top Maverick. Like I, you know, I got to go. Finally I was released from postpartum hell. And that's part of the reason that I feel as affectionately toward that movie as I do. But it was also. Everyone was like, okay, we feel good about this. Like, vaccines are in a decent place. We're all done. Let's fucking go. And it was exciting.

[A]

They really did. They went very fast. Do you.

[B]

Do you.

[A]

Do you remember anything distinct about yourself in 2022? Who you were, what you were doing? I know you were doing pods and we were all hanging out, but I.

[C]

Don'T know, I think I was. I have to say I was looking at short lived diary that I was keeping from like two years ago and was very struck by the similarity of like my day to day life. So I think obviously, like, you get to a certain point in your 40s and like, things start to like settle. I traveled a lot in 22, I think obviously relative to the previous two years. So, you know, I'm a little seasoned.

[A]

You know, are you ready for a.

[C]

Change now in my professional life if.

[A]

You could go back to school? We've been joking that Amanda's going to business school because she wants to help us better understand this Warner Brothers situation. So she'll be getting her.

[B]

Did you hear about the network that I pitched also? Nor the studio. Sorry. So if I win Warner Brothers I think I'm giving the studio tour. And then you're just live all the time doing, like business, Chris. Giving people updates on what our new company is going to mean in the msp. Yeah, exactly.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Seems like a good use of your talents.

[C]

Yeah, definitely. Do I want to change? You know, I was talking.

[A]

We.

[C]

We have High Fidelity is going up today on Rewatchables. And I did say that I think I was probably happiest in my life just working in a record store. And if I had been told like, this is it, we'll give you like 5,000 more dollars every year, I'd been like, all right, let's just do that.

[A]

That's interesting.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Did you explore that emotionally or did Bill just go like, thanks for sharing that, Chris, and move on?

[C]

Yeah, without the thanks for sharing that part. I think, you know, I am glad that I moved on with my life and there aren't that many record stores, so it would have been a lot of fun.

[A]

But just so I'm about this. You are unhappy now at this stage of your life?

[C]

I'm not unhappy. I'm not unhappy.

[A]

I'm very happy. I was.

[C]

Are you 2022?

[A]

2022 is hard.

[B]

Yeah. You had.

[A]

I had a very young, very unhappy child. Extremely unhappy. Zero to one year old. And so that was a very challenging period. Remember very vividly, and I can say this out loud now because I've just entirely replaced our roof. Our roof was fucked up because there was so much rain in California in January, February and March of this year. I'll never forget it. It was like world historical rain, or at least it like it was. And then I think 23. We also had a lot of rain. Anyhow. Personally, I remember that very vividly because it was so challenging and it's so different from how I feel now movie wise. Pretty good. Not great. Very interesting draft situation here for us because a couple of hyper hot commodities.

[C]

I did have one question for you. Not to. Not well, I know, but like, I did want to know whether. When you look at a year like this where you say, pretty good, not great, are you like, I'm glad I saw everything, though. I'm still glad I watched it all. I'm still glad I was a pretty big completist.

[A]

Well, why do you ask that? Like what, the end of the years.

[C]

You'Re just like, God damn it, that was a lot of movies. You know what I mean? And I know that it's the project and I know you want to see everything and then say, so funny.

[A]

You bring this up. I was just texting with somebody else about this, about, like, my mania around, trying to see as much as I.

[C]

Can before the year. I'm not psychoanalyzing you. I'm actually, like, I'm wondering. I just did the 10 best of the year for the watch. It's impossible to watch all tv. But, you know, I did ne. I did feel a little bit in the back of my head, like, man, I really feel like I have to watch 20 hours of these three shows or whatever to have, like, a real take on the best of the year. I was like, it's just not doable. But you really do. You go for it. You go for the entire picture.

[A]

Yeah. So you can see here on the list that I've made, it's 309 movies, and it says you've watched 309 of 309. So I saw all of these movies that are on this list from the release this year. Now, at the risk of being corny, I really do feel lucky to get to do this with you guys, to get to be on a show like this. When I was 12, if you had told me that this is how I would spend a huge part of my professional time, I would have lost my mind. I would have been so happy. So I see it as, like, a responsibility to try to see as much as I can. The problem is, and I'm feeling it this time of year, obviously, December 15th, where I'm like, there's still 60 movies I think I should see before the year's out. Yeah, it's usually diminishing returns, and the ones that you put off are usually the ones you put off because you're like, I know I'm not going to like this. Anyway. Sometimes you get surprised, but most of the time you don't. So it does. There is a feeling of wasted effort, but I don't feel like my life is passing me by, because the only things that I'm really interested in doing are being here, doing these shows, being a part of this company, and being with my family and friends. So I've kind of found a way to make it all work together, so I don't regret it. To answer your question, is this what.

[C]

You dreamed of when you were 12?

[A]

I don't think I could have dreamed that this would be a thing.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. No, I couldn't have either. No, it's. I mean, I.

[A]

What did you dream of?

[B]

What did I dream of?

[A]

You dreamed of being a ballerina in the Bolshoi Ballet.

[B]

I Believe that had aged up the first female president. Yeah.

[A]

You dreamed of being first clarinet in Lydia Tarr's orchestra.

[B]

I don't. Yeah. Not a woodwinds person.

[A]

No kidding. You don't like how they sound?

[B]

No, I do. The La Phil did a kids show focused on woodwinds recently and we went and it was a lovely time and they played Rhapsody in Blue and that, you know what?

[A]

Gershwin.

[B]

There you go. But no, I would be more in the string section, I think.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Recently learned that Rob Mahoney played the viola. Checks out, which I thought was cool. Just wanted to share that with everyone. Some crossover stuff.

[A]

What did you play as a child?

[C]

Recorder when I was young. Quarter, a little bit of violin and.

[B]

Then like every parent dreads the day when the child comes home with the recorder. But I really tiny you with a recorder. I can't imagine.

[C]

Play some Hanukkah song. I can't remember. And then violin. Briefly.

[B]

How briefly?

[C]

And then guitar, you know?

[B]

Sure.

[A]

You were also a vocalist, right?

[C]

Yes. That was more in college though. Thank you, Jack. I mean, I'm not ashamed of it. That was a fun game. There was no shame coming from my way. We've talked.

[A]

Sing a tune.

[C]

No, my music would fucking scare your middle class, middle brow audience. Only Zack Baron understands it.

[A]

Are you implying that the watch does not have a middle class, middle brow audience?

[C]

Well, half of us do, yeah.

[A]

Okay, well, probably time to. Is there anything we want to say about the awards that year? Would you rather.

[B]

Save it, Save it.

[A]

Okay. There's of course a very potent film at the Academy Awards in this year. This movie draft is brought to us by State Farm. And now we're back with a new one. And life is all about choices. Like deciding whether or not to check out the latest release in theaters at State Farm. Their goal is to help you make decisions that you feel good about. Speaking of good decisions, it is time to pick a draft order. Jack Sanders. Crucial, I know, very crucial.

[C]

Maybe like the most no brainer, number.

[A]

One pick in a long time. I feel like. Is it though?

[B]

Well, so here's the real thing. But we need the order first.

[A]

Okay, Coming right up. Here we go.

[C]

Dungeons and Dragons ball.

[B]

Here we go. I'm nervous. This is. This is like.

[A]

This is like who's going to get.

[B]

Wesley America thing, but like for real, you know?

[A]

You know, except you're not being judged on your beauty or intelligence merely by Jack's ability to shake a bag. Selecting first is cr. Wow.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Wow. Okay.

[C]

We did it, Joe.

[B]

All right. But this Is the real one. This is like, who's second? Yeah.

[A]

Selecting second. Sean Fennesee.

[B]

Damn it.

[A]

Third, Amanda Dobbins.

[C]

I want to send. I want to show you something from yesterday. Amanda. I sent this to Sean, like, in the middle of the afternoon.

[A]

Yeah. What does it say?

[C]

It says, Amanda, if she loses out on Tar and Maverick tomorrow, and it's Patrick Bones's tweet that says, don't know why it had to happen. And not going to lie. It hurts. But all we can do now is trust in God and attack every single day. And over and over again.

[A]

We may not know who will dominate this draft, but with the State Farm personal price plan, you can choose the right amount of coverage to help create an affordable price. Talk to a State Farm and today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. Well, Amanda, it's very important that you be a good neighbor right now.

[B]

Have a meeting with myself for a minute and like, maybe you guys, I think. Can I just give you some perspective? Sure.

[A]

I feel like we've had mansplain this.

[C]

For her really, like, lovely way. We've really made space for each other this year on these drafts.

[B]

That's beautiful.

[C]

And don't you think that, like, if you went back historically. Give me a fucking break.

[B]

Here's the thing.

[A]

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande putting their hearts together. Get at it.

[C]

Should we hold it?

[B]

Like I said, like I said, I'm gonna have a meeting with myself. And if you want to help, you can just give me a minute because, like, I'm fucked. And that's fine. But there was not true.

[A]

There were. Well, I think anybody who's going to get Top Gun was going to be in the. In the pole position.

[C]

We ever do the 89 draft results? Do we ever pull that?

[A]

Yeah, I won 100% to zero. Yeah, it's up somewhere. I think it doesn't. There's no centrality where we vote anymore, so there's no way to. Like, it's the streets. It's.

[C]

It's one of the people tell you.

[A]

I do think it's very fun at the live shows when we do the QR code.

[C]

You know what charity is. If we do a draft and then we phone banked afterwards to take like, polls, like, oh, like what people thought.

[A]

Yeah, but what if they're like, super disappointed when I pick up the phone and not you. And they're like, I needed to jerk off with Chris on the other line. Can you please patch me into Chris immediately? Yeah, I don't. Do the results matter? We've been doing drafts since COVID For five years we've been doing movies.

[B]

Yeah, they've never mattered to me.

[A]

Haven't they? Why did you just throw a temper tantrum?

[C]

A full minute you have a meeting.

[A]

With yourself about something that doesn't matter.

[B]

I had to have a meeting with myself about not being a pet shop vigilant brat for the rest of the thing.

[A]

Because you have a meeting with yourself before everybody.

[B]

But I'm like, it's no fun without the two. Because I really only like two movies this year, and I'm not gonna get that.

[A]

You only like two else.

[B]

I'm just like, whatever, I don't care. Like, I. I didn't see that many. And so I remember going to see the big two and being like, this is awesome. Movies are back. Had, like, an incredible experience. Everything. Like, there are some things I like, but, like, interesting. You know, you're shuffling around them, and so it's just not, you know, good outcome.

[A]

You grudgingly taking movies you don't care about is always funny.

[C]

That's always good content.

[A]

People love that. Well, there's six categories. I'm talking through the categories for the listeners at home, so perhaps I should pull up the document in which they're listed.

[C]

I can do the category.

[A]

I was going to do seven, and then I took one off the board. I took comedy off the board.

[C]

Yeah. Well, we're in. In death. Rows of studio comedies here.

[A]

I don't know if we can really do comedy as a category for the.

[C]

Next big LMK narrative. Is this the end of studio around.

[A]

Not in the movie.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Because there are no laughs in the movie. There are not very many.

[B]

Not really.

[A]

No. It's a tough sit.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

How is Albert Brooks in the movie?

[A]

Quite good.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Saving grace.

[B]

Underutilized.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

He's not in very much.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Just nice to see him. Six categories. Drama, Action, horror, thriller, Oscar nominee, sequel, blockbuster. With a $100 million threshold. There are 18 films eligible. And Wildcard. Amanda has forfeit. She is sitting out this entire draft. There are no good films.

[C]

You and me taking ambulance 14 times.

[B]

I remember listening to that one on leave, and I was like, these two found each other. And that's beautiful.

[C]

That was the coolest night of my life.

[A]

Spiritual that we. The movie ended and we turned to each other like two swans who found one another in a giant lake. And we were like, God, this is so beautiful that we can have this.

[C]

We can share this under an ambulance.

[A]

Such a special movie. Fucking bae.

[B]

Does he actually throw it?

[C]

No, I mean, he flies the drone under.

[B]

Nox is really taken with drones. And I'm not excited about it. He's just very interested.

[A]

You know, the best moment in television this year is the drone getting caught on the street. Light and floral. That was incredible. That was so good. Okay, do you want to start?

[C]

I mean. Yeah.

[A]

Well, like. I mean, do you want to. Do you want to riff anymore?

[C]

No, I'm good.

[A]

You got any more gags you want to do?

[B]

No.

[A]

You want to gag?

[B]

Literally, like, my feelings. But it's fine. My connection to cinema. Go ahead.

[C]

There are good films to see.

[B]

Fine, do what you're going to do.

[A]

Is it because there's a movie called Women Talking, and you're like, these women are talking too much. Talk less.

[B]

That's what it is.

[A]

Cr. Go ahead.

[C]

I'll take Top Gun.

[B]

In Oscar.

[A]

In Oscar.

[B]

Interesting. Okay.

[C]

Not my favorite batch of Oscar movies. So while it's, you know, obviously eligible for several categories, including blockbuster, I'm going to take this in Oscar. I think we all believed, we all dreamed that maybe TC would get. Get his big statue here. But, you know, obviously, like, Hollywood has a way of correcting things. But I'm happy that he eventually got, like, what was this, like, the Lifetime achievement award that he received?

[B]

Yeah, it's Governor's Award, honorary.

[C]

But is that part of the Academy?

[A]

It is, yeah.

[B]

I mean, he got an Oscar.

[C]

We don't recognize he has an Oscar.

[B]

In his home now.

[A]

No, that's not true.

[B]

I don't give him in a competitive one. Like, be real.

[A]

It's a real Academy Award.

[B]

You know what I mean?

[A]

Okay.

[C]

This movie still rules. I rewatched it recently, actually, on a streaming service, and it plays, obviously not as bombastically and as involvingly, but, like, just as well as it did in the theater. It's actually like the last. I would say the last 30 minutes up until the last 10 minutes are perfect. Cinema were from when they leave the battleship to go into the coffin run. You know, some of the stuff with the parachuting and rescuing the parachutes and stuff at the very end is a little silly, but the very end is fantastic. I always knew that I would like this movie. I never knew I would love it, you know, and in some ways, I think I agree with you that this is like, kind of like this weird. It's like. It's, like, better than the first one. And it makes you, like, love this character in a way you didn't really in the first one. So.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Top Gun Maverick was just. It was truly the clarion call, the battle cry of we're so back.

[B]

Remember when we came to your house during the fires because we didn't have power?

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And my son was very freaked out. And you sat in the other room with my son watching Top Gun. Top Gun Maverick while we figured out what to do.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Thanks for that moment.

[A]

First he gave it to you, and then he took it from you.

[B]

Yeah. That was. It was very sweet, though.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So thank you for doing that.

[C]

I was just thinking about that the other day.

[B]

Do it. It's fine. I'm deleting it right now.

[A]

December is the season of giving.

[C]

Oh, my God.

[A]

You're addicted to Amanda. I want it because there is a movie that I love more.

[C]

This is. You used to get so mad at me when I would do stuff like this.

[A]

Well, things have changed.

[B]

Almost like I don't trust it. Like, why are you doing that?

[A]

I'm just being myself. Because I love Babylon more than I love tar, and I care more about Babylon than I do about tar. And I know tar means a lot to you.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

And I know that I. Well, frankly, I need you to perform a good podcast here.

[B]

I said I had a meeting with myself so that I would.

[A]

I'll be taking Babylon in, I guess, drama. Yeah, I think drama.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Because to me, this is an interesting Oscar year and kind of middling drama year. And Babylon, of course, Damien Chazelle's near masterpiece about the development of Hollywood, the rise of a certain kind of storytelling. Something that I'm completely obsessed with. A movie that I helped construct with many millions of people, a beautiful hive. We've been living inside that hive for some time.

[C]

Did a watch along on it.

[A]

We did a watch along. Kind of an instant cult classic. Bombed at the box office, but bounced back pretty vigorously. For those who understand and love it. Haven't revisited it since our watch along. I tend to not go back to films, aside from Zack Snyder's Justice League, which I've seen 10 times, but I've.

[C]

Seen Dark Knight Rises, like, six times.

[A]

Is that true?

[C]

It's on a lot, so I will stick around for any Bane nuggets I can.

[B]

On what?

[C]

On hbo.

[A]

Okay, so you are flipping channels when I'm watching basketball.

[C]

When I watch the sports, I'll flip to on the commercial. I go to the movie channels.

[A]

Interesting. Okay.

[B]

Do you feel like you understand the ending of Babylon anymore now that you have seen Avatar? The Way of Water.

[C]

It feels cheap that he would put that movie in the, like, okay. Montage of the greatest film moments ever and whatever.

[A]

It's a horrendous take. That's the most freezing cold take I've ever heard.

[C]

I. Okay. I'm not gonna fight with you about it.

[A]

I understand. It's about the evolution of cinema over time. Avatar was an evolution. Was part of the evolution.

[B]

What Chris is saying is that he didn't feel that the Way of Water was as evolved as maybe we presented it to him, but he didn't see it in 3D. You know, that's right.

[C]

And I never will. So maybe I'll just be blind to that for the rest of my life.

[A]

Frankly, I find your attitude quite poor. So, yeah, I've got Babylon.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

That was very nice.

[C]

Are you excited for the prison movie? The Damien Chazelle prison film?

[A]

I can't wait. Wait, remind me of the cast. It's two actors that I'm very excited about.

[C]

Leo.

[A]

No, this just came out last year.

[B]

Google Damian Chazelle prison drama. Cillian Murphy and Daniel Craig.

[A]

Incredible.

[B]

It is incredible.

[A]

And that's amazing.

[C]

The brutalist guy shooting it and.

[A]

Yeah. Law. Crawley. Crawley. Thank you, Jack. Yes. Come on. No, I like these people.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Do you think that those guys are playing Americans?

[A]

Probably. It'd be better if they weren't.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What's the British and Irish prison system like?

[C]

It's pretty bad. I mean, it's like they haven't really updated those places in a long time.

[A]

So do we think this is a period piece or contemporary prison situation?

[C]

Giselle hasn't made a contemporary film since La La Land. La La Land.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Right. Which is sort of fantasy, but it's.

[A]

Set in the modern world.

[B]

I'm going hard in my home right now.

[A]

La La Land.

[B]

Yeah. Though Knox thinks it's called Gaga Land.

[A]

Close enough.

[C]

It's actually A Star Is Born.

[B]

You know, it's pretty good. He's good at the endings of movies.

[C]

So you took Babylon. Yes, Perhaps as a great peace offering at the end.

[B]

That was really nice. Thank you.

[A]

You're welcome.

[B]

I promised that I would have gotten it together, but I will in Oscar nominee Take Tar, which is, you know, I have two favorites of this year. Top Gun, Maverick for the spectacle of cinema and Tar for just absolutely fucking going for it. Capital C Cinema. I. I started, like, laughing with joy and I Can't believe you're doing this at the end of this movie. Which is just a feeling that is so rare in movies at all now. But especially, it's very, very hard to end things. This is like an amazing, smart, funny, completely discomfiting, like, really naughty, just, like, instant masterpiece. That we had such a nice, like, fun time arguing back and forth about what it means to different people has been so interesting and, like, you know, keeps changing. There are so many, like, small, observed moments that I think about all of the time. You know, just like the. The deleting of the email and all of Cate Blantet's furtive movements and stares. And what did she do with that.

[C]

Kid where she, like, the kid who's, like, bullying.

[B]

Oh, I am Petra's father and I will. Oh, my God.

[C]

It was so incredible.

[A]

Amazing shit. So Todd Field interviewed Noah Baumbach for J. Kelly at the dga, and his questions were so good. I was so jealous of the way that he interviewed Noah Baumbach. You know, Noah is usually. He's a little more restrained in terms of how he answers a question, but it was a reminder recently of just, like, special dude, super. He came on the show for tar. Super cool, really smart. The origins of that movie are so strange where, like, Focus was developing a movie about a conductor, and they kind of gave it to him, and then he ripped it up and started making his own version of the movie. Really? Yeah. It's such a fascinating thing. And, God, he's only made three movies. Like, I just really love to see him.

[C]

Have you heard anything about if he's got something rolling right now?

[A]

I don't know. I'm not sure. I hope soon.

[B]

I mean, now I'm just, like, running scenes through my head. The Juilliard set, you know, confrontation between the student and Lydia Tarr is sort of like an instant time capsule of that whole time period that we lived in. And it's, you know, has been done since less well, including literally putting Julia Roberts in a blazer and having her dress down a college student for, like, being overly simplistic about, you know, cancel culture. But it really is an incredible piece of writing. Incredible performance. Thank you for letting me have this movie, Sean.

[A]

You're welcome. Did you see after the Hunt?

[C]

No.

[A]

It's a good CR. Zag movie because there is.

[C]

Oh, like, I'd be like, you guys. Like, why were you.

[A]

There's a take on it that you could do that's like, this movie knows what it's doing, and it's Actually really smart. Like I wanted to get there after I saw it. I wanted to do that and I just couldn't do it.

[B]

I thought I was gonna be able to do it until I saw the last 35 minutes, but I. And I, I did almost.

[A]

It really botches it.

[B]

Yeah, I did almost put like the first hour and a half of after the Hunt on my like honorable mentions list, but it just, it doesn't really get there.

[A]

You should check it out though.

[C]

It's kind of. Yeah, well, I will over the holidays.

[A]

It's chewy. You'll be. You'll find things to like about it.

[B]

I have another pick. And so in Drama, I'm going to take the Fabelmans.

[A]

Yeah, good pick.

[B]

Which is Steven Spielberg's under celebrated film about his childhood and divorce and creativity and not quite understanding your parents. And also that like nice guy who's hanging around your house all the time. And there are like four movies within it. It's, you know, episodic almost. Even though it is ultimately about his relationship with his father and his mother and coming of age as a filmmaker. But like, you know, the weird. Not weird like the lovely American Graffiti High School, like Interlude in the Middle. Everything is so lovingly and like deceptively complicatedly made, you know, because it, it could just be a guy with a camera and trains, you know, and maybe some people would explain Spielberg that way, but there's a lot more going on. So. I really like this movie. It seemed to really piss a lot of people off. And then I don't really know why. I don't either.

[A]

I guess a super sincere self portrait.

[C]

Was it like the Michelle Williams aspect of it necessarily, or like the depiction of the mother? Like, I don't, I don't really know. I mean, I think it's. It seems to, you know, like all late period Spielberg, like after the up and down of its initial release, just has like kind of like this 100% approval rating in terms of its craft and stuff.

[A]

Like cinephiles tend to pretty quickly just be like west side Story banger, the post banger. Like these movies are just like eminently watchable, incredibly creative given the constraints of the story. And this one's just a little different cause it's so deep. But it's also this act of collaboration. Right. Cause he wrote it with Tony Kushner. Tony Kushner. Thank you. And I think it's a fascinating piece of work. I think it's a good pick.

[B]

Really, really raw and really. And also now that the ending has A extra lovely meaning of labor.

[A]

Gabriel Lebel, fantastic in the movie, but.

[B]

Given David Lynch's passing, so, you know, very, very special movie. So that's in drama. And those are my two picks.

[C]

Interesting moment here for us.

[A]

Easy one for me. Blockbuster, I'm taking note.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

This was my favorite movie of 2022. This is my favorite Jordan Peele movie. This is. I saw it on 70 millimeter this summer with Eileen and she still was like, I don't really understand this movie. But that summer or that summer. We saw it this past summer for my birthday and it was an incredible experience, actually. Jack, you were there, right? I was. What did you think of that screening? Absolutely amazing. Yeah. On 70. It was just. And how loud the movie was projected too is fucking amazing. It was sick. We saw it at the Egyptian and. Yeah, I think a really smart, kind of similar to the Fabelman's exploration of self and what you do in the act of making movies and the way in which certain artists are overlooked historically while others are celebrated. And then also this really deep and kind of complicated and maybe unsorted idea of spectacle and why we're drawn to things that could be dangerous, that could be exploitative, that could kind of corrode us in some way. And for a movie that has a diaphanous UFO in it is really, really thematically rich. Amazing performances from Kaluuya and Kiki Palmer.

[C]

Great mishmash of genres. Great moments that stay with you. Like the Steven Yeun, like, you know, and. And. And like the. The obviously the sort of childhood tv.

[A]

Yeah. The sitcom sequence with the. With the. With the ape. Yeah.

[C]

I feel like Peele's kind of standing or maybe curating or whatever is diminished a little bit over the years largely because of the ST Production company has been associated with not living up to the promise of. Of get out. And I. I don't know. His movies actually now to me, play better like, the 10th watch than they do on the 1st.

[A]

Totally.

[C]

And nope's a great example of like, something that's like, in the theater. You're like, what the fuck are we. What's going on? Not because it's confusing, but just because you're like, wow, what a big swing.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

What an interesting idea to throw in the middle of this movie or at the end of this movie.

[A]

I totally agree. I do think that we talked about this on 25 for 25. That get. That get out is such a complete statement. Like, it's a movie that is very legible. It's very fun. To watch. Very funny.

[B]

Right. It's pop, but also has a lot of ideas, has depth.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

But us and Nope. Are like, a little messier. Have a lot of strands around them. Like, it does feel. It feels less neat. And I like that. I like when a great filmmaker is trying to stretch some things out and go a little bit deeper. So I hope that this is just another link in a chain of progression for him. But I love, love, love this movie. I probably will watch this movie every couple years till I. So easy pick for me. Okay. Amanda. No, Chris, you've got two.

[C]

Okay. So I will. In drama, I'm going to take Banshees of Inisher. That is because I really like this movie a lot. It is also a little bit of a chess move on the Oscar category for you guys because it takes another one off the board. Martin McDonagh, incredible drama, comedy about friendship in a rural Irish island village. Is an island.

[A]

I think it's an island. Yeah.

[C]

Island. Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleason, Barry Kean and Carrie Condon. And my wife. When you watch the first time through, like, I think you go into it and you're like, this is gonna be like a kind of very snappy, dark, typically McDonough movie about, like, these two guys and their weird forever war. But the underlying plot about Keegan's longing for the Kerry Condon character is the thing that really stayed with me and I think remains Keegan's best performance. And, you know, Kerry Condon obviously got to do this. She's in F1 this year, is one of my favorite sort of unsung performers. And I really love this movie. I think it's probably his most satisfying film for me since In Bruges. So I will take that in Drama.

[A]

Great movie. That was a fun. That was a fun pod we did when you came back.

[B]

Yes. Yeah. We talked about movie friendships.

[A]

I mean.

[B]

I mean, I felt like the Kerry Condon in that particular podcast, but that's okay.

[A]

And we were both Barry Keoghan, Right? Yeah.

[C]

Chop each other's fingers off.

[A]

There goes that dream.

[C]

Okay, so I do that in drama.

[B]

Have you taken a blockbuster? No.

[C]

Have you taken a blockbuster?

[A]

I have.

[C]

You took. Nope. In Blockbuster. I don't like these blockbusters that much. And I feel like I gotta take the Batman here.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. Good pick. Good movie. Good movie.

[C]

And now I just stand with Paul Dano.

[A]

Well, this was a gift to him.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

That he received.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. What do you mean?

[B]

That's what.

[A]

That's what he thought. This was a Gift to him. Right.

[C]

This whole experience is a gift.

[A]

Yeah, I picked up your.

[C]

I didn't know if you meant like, getting the Riddler was a gift to him.

[A]

Well, no, but this is my. As I've said before, one of my favorite memes of the century is. No, no, like him losing his mind behind the Arkham jail cell.

[C]

This is good. This is if the. The prisoner's guy grew up and moved to Gotham, you know, very much. And he's. He's a fantastic villain in it. Pattinson, a really solid Batman, really good visualization of a world. Reeves kind of came to this and had a fully fleshed out, like, landscape of characters that he obviously wanted to put out there.

[A]

Did you. Did you see the rumor that Brad Pitt is going to be the villain in the. He's not going to be in it.

[C]

But yes, he was going to be either. Dr. Arkham.

[A]

Dr. Arkham. The proprietor of Arkham Asylum.

[B]

Okay. Which is a. I'm guessing it's not. Best practices there.

[C]

I have gone deeper into Rumorville with that one.

[A]

And you've learned that it is not true.

[C]

I've learned that that is not happening. That apparently he cannot make that work with the. What was the movie that he's going to make? Driving All Over. Oh, Everburger.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Movie that he's making. But it does seem like ScarJo might be the villain of this movie.

[A]

Okay, well, who would she be?

[C]

She would be Harvey Dent's wife.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Are you breaking that here on this pause.

[B]

Can I ask you something? So when you're, you know, you're doing the work on the message boards, are you ever posting?

[C]

No.

[B]

Never.

[C]

Never.

[B]

You're a 100 lurker.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Have you thought about posting in 2026?

[C]

Do you think I should post?

[B]

I think. But you should never be like. You shouldn't be cr.

[C]

You want me to do, you know, burners of.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And getting involved. But don't be spoilers.

[B]

Well, I just. I feel like you could bring a lot of joy. Okay. Don't you think.

[C]

Don't. Don't run with this as if it's like I didn't report this at all. I just read it on Reddit that she is playing that there is a specific Batman run that this is being drawn from.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

What's Harvey Dent's wife's name? Does she have a name? She is a woman, after all. You could give her some names, but.

[C]

I can't remember what the nickname that she has of a super villain.

[A]

Isn't Scarlett Johansson doing something Else she's.

[C]

Doing the Exorcist, right?

[B]

No, but she also joined another franchise.

[A]

No, it was the Exorcist. That was the big one that she joined.

[C]

She's got Jurassic Park World.

[A]

Was there another one that she joined?

[C]

The Batman?

[B]

I thought so. I'm going to look right now. You guys can keep talking.

[A]

She's just a survivor. She was like, I'll go from lily pad to lily pad. Yeah, fuck you. Pay me.

[C]

You like it?

[A]

I mean, I have to respect it.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

You know, she's not suggesting that she's some sort of great artist when she makes Jurassic World Rebirth.

[C]

Did she direct her own movie with June Squibb, Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Eleanor the Great. Did you see it?

[C]

I didn't.

[A]

Why'd you skip it? This is a movie for adults.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because I only watch Taylor Sheridan TV shows. Yeah.

[A]

You can't find it.

[B]

Oh, no. It was the Batman, according to Batman and the Exorcist.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But. So I think that the DC rumor was what? I was thinking about Gilda Gold. Yeah. Gilda Golda dent, but also Gilda Gold, according to this AI.

[A]

Oh, and is that inspired by the. By the 1940s noir?

[C]

I don't know. I haven't. Never heard of that. What?

[A]

Gilda.

[C]

Gilda. Gilda, yeah, yeah, I've heard of it, but I haven't watched. I don't have it at my fingertips.

[A]

Okay. It's a great film.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

You should consider it.

[B]

Yeah, it's really good. The hair flip, you know?

[C]

Oh, is that the movie where she.

[B]

No, it's Rita Hayworth.

[C]

Oh, Rita Hayworth. When is Marlene Dietrich do a hair flip? No, she just goes.

[B]

She doesn't really do a hair flip. Yeah, that hair doesn't move.

[C]

My bad.

[A]

Yeah, you should check out Gilda. I feel like you would enjoy it.

[B]

It's kind of.

[A]

It's pretty firmly in your zone. And then you'll be able to understand the Batman, too.

[B]

What's the song she performs like? What's the.

[A]

Something I forget.

[B]

Okay. Being a Hayward with Gilda song.

[A]

It's on the criteria.

[C]

Do you think we'll start drafting movies from, like, the 1940s?

[B]

I want to put the blame on Mame.

[A]

Put the blame on Mame.

[C]

Yeah, it's really good.

[B]

Gilda.

[A]

I want to do the 1939 movie draft.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

We can do it November 2026.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

If we need to prep.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

But it's, you know, considered among many, the greatest movie year of all time. I think it would be kind of a tough sell for the Audience. Once you get past the first five, grow up.

[C]

But 20, 29, Michael Curtis draft.

[A]

Michael Curtis, hall of Fame. Yeah. That's a hard one. Okay. You pick both. You picked the Batman and you picked the Banshees of Inisherin.

[C]

I did.

[A]

And now I have a pick.

[C]

I think.

[B]

I think.

[A]

In sequel, I will take no. In Oscar nominee, I will take Avatar, the Way of Water.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Which is, of course, a film that I love.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And brings you to tears.

[A]

It moved me. No tears were shed on the podcast. People can watch it at home that there's not a single tear.

[C]

It's as close as you've ever got to crying that I've ever seen.

[A]

You can. Is that true?

[C]

I think so.

[A]

That can't be true. The.

[C]

If the Mets win the World Series, I'm assuming you're gonna burst into tears.

[B]

I've seen you tear up a couple other times on this podcast. Yeah, but like in all other situations, it's when we're talking about children dying and then. And then we both are crying. And that was just him crying about a whale, I guess.

[A]

Or.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I will not be slandered on this podcast. I was. I was moved, thinking about Jake Sully and his family.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And Pycon. And Pycon's pain and being cast aside is.

[C]

Pikon got a big role in Fire and Ash.

[A]

He sure does. Good. Really important role. His majesty is on display. This, of course, is Jim Cameron's thunderous return to feature filmmaking. Thirteen years after the original Avatar. He came back and he showed us what his powers can really conjure. We, I guess, in two days are going to record an episode about the third film.

[C]

Just the two of you.

[B]

Yeah, I guess so.

[A]

Yeah. Pikon not available.

[B]

No spoiler.

[C]

Didn't know if you were gonna be bringing in, like, another Avatar head.

[A]

Well, you hate it. Joanna hates it. Van loved it.

[B]

I was wondering whether we should see if he's.

[A]

Van stood and applauded the conclusion of the film. Yes. Dan also hit us with a similar to Part two, like a God damn in the middle of the movie, which is really exciting.

[C]

Oh, can I just say something really quick to our listeners?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

I have been doing other research about Dune.

[A]

I think you're gonna say Vaccines Part.

[C]

Three, and I feel bad because I have been, like, fake spoiling it for a while, and I've kept it like, this is gonna happen in Dune three, and that doesn't happen for, like, three books. So. Okay, never mind what I was saying about Dune Part 3, but I did.

[A]

Find so that was a message for the listeners.

[C]

Yeah, I think.

[A]

To whom you've spoiled the film Dune 3.

[C]

But don't worry about it.

[B]

If I did spoil it, because he hasn't spoiled it.

[C]

Don't sweat it. It doesn't. That doesn't happen until way later.

[A]

Anytime you started Talking about Dune 3, either one of you, I just immediately checked out mentally.

[C]

So you don't like Dune 3. You're like, no, you just don't want.

[A]

I don't want to know what happens.

[C]

Okay, good. So you have no. You don't have any memories of what I've said about Dune 3.

[A]

I know that there's some worm situations in play, but that's all I really know. Everything else I don't know. I kind of want to read the books, to be honest, but I know I'll never do that.

[B]

No, you won't do it. Would you listen to them? Are you an audiobook person for fiction?

[A]

I've never done it for fiction.

[B]

I can't do it for fiction.

[A]

Will you do it if I've done it for nonfiction? Many times.

[C]

Chalamet reads them, but as the Liverpool rapper that he supposedly is, SD Kid.

[A]

The answer is yes. The answer is yes.

[B]

This episode of the Big Picture is brought to you by State Farm. Having people in your corner to help you makes all the difference. For example, I'm usually loath to trust Sean and his movie recommendations, but after many months of him waxing rhapsodic about train dreams, I finally watched it. And I have to be honest, he was right. It was wonderful.

[A]

And like those people, State Farm is there to help you feel supported by helping you choose the coverage you need. Go [e-mail] or use the award winning app app to get help from one of their local agents. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. So, Amanda, you have a pick?

[B]

I do. I. In fact, I have two picks. I was very nervous there for a second in sequel that you were going to take my pick. So in sequel, I will be taking Down Abbey a New Era, which is the best of the down era movies. It's really good. He'll tell you.

[A]

Yeah, it's incredible, the films. Have you not seen the movie?

[C]

I don't think so. I never finished.

[B]

The first one is like, fine, but it's just two TV shows stitched together.

[A]

Solid. But.

[B]

Yeah, but it's like there's like a plot, you know, at exactly at one hour they wrap up the first one and then they move on to the second one. It's okay, this one fully realized. There's a whole new cast of characters who live on the French Riviera, who the Crawleys have to go visit.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Meanwhile, this is the one where Hugh Dancy shows up and is making a film. And Lady Mary has to sing it in the Rain it.

[A]

Because he wants to. Want to shoot the film at Downton.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

While the whole family is out killing it in the American Revolution, by the way.

[A]

Oh, no kidding.

[B]

I didn't know he was on Law and Order until Saturday Night Football. Sunday Night Football, yeah.

[A]

Hugh Dancy, a loyalist. Who is he portraying?

[C]

A loyalist? Yeah, he's portraying, like, I think a British general or something. British colonel.

[A]

Got it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Sorry.

[B]

So he's the film producer, and then it turns out that so. And it's just pure crib from Singing it in the Rain. But it starts as a silent film, and then, you know, they go to see the Jazz Singer and then they're like, oh, no, we have to make this. But the woman actress doesn't have a proper speaking voice, so Lady Mary steps in and dubs it for her. And then, you know who writes the script? Oh, my God. I thought if I kept talking that I would be able to. To remember.

[C]

You were vamping just now.

[B]

What his name is. No, what's his name? That is all that happens. That's true. What's his name? The guy, the valet, you know, who writes the script.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Who becomes the screenwriter. Come on. Listen, and I'm not even telling you. They go to the French Riviera because Lady Violet, AKA the Dowager Countess, had a torn love affair and she got left a house. A whole house. Really? Yeah.

[C]

That's great.

[B]

This is a great film. This is definitely the best of the three.

[C]

Do you feel like I need to be current on Doubt in the series to watch?

[B]

No, but just put that on and you're gonna have a great time.

[A]

Mosley.

[B]

Moseley. Of course. Yeah.

[C]

Does it ever suggest.

[A]

Did you mention Dominic west is like. No.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

And he's fake, like Errol Flynn. And he comes in and he's an actor, but he's also a gay man. And he fought behind the scenes. He fought. Who does he fall in the scenes? Thomas. Yeah. And he and Thomas have an affair. Honestly, these movies, I think, are genuinely good.

[B]

Yeah, it's really, really fun.

[C]

Did you see Katie Baker did a really good piece for the Ringer where she interviewed a bunch of showrunners about their favorite episodes of the last 25 years? And Julian Fellowes was for Presumed Innocent the pilot.

[A]

Pretty good pilot.

[B]

Yeah, awesome pilot. It was a great.

[A]

That was tough finale.

[B]

Yeah. I was also like, tough, tough last three episodes where you knew what was going to happen. Anyway, sequel, Downton Abbey, a new era. Great job to everyone involved. And then look at her.

[C]

She's got so much pep in her step because she walked out with tar and Downton.

[B]

I did. I did.

[A]

This is friendship.

[B]

It was. It was really nice. And I. I will. I'll always remember it. Sean. Here's what I'm gonna do. In action horror thriller, the student has become the appreciator. I will take Pearl, which I saw because I promised to watch Maxine.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And then I was like, well, I gotta watch the first two. And I was really charmed by Pearl.

[A]

Excellent film.

[B]

Which did you like?

[A]

X. This completes the trilogy of silent film transition in movies this year between Babylon, Downton Abbey and New Era. And Pearl.

[C]

Oh, you could teach a seminar.

[B]

Yeah, there you go. You know, but. But it is a horror movie at some point, but for a while it is just Mia Goth being very weird and charming in the Midwest.

[C]

The analogy of Pearl is a little.

[B]

Bit and doing some inappropriate things at a movie theater. And David Coren Sweat is there.

[A]

Okay, So I thought it was Texas. Cause X takes place in Texas. That's where the house is.

[B]

Oh, yeah, that would make sense. It is Texas. I just. I like, was very charmed by this great Mia Goth performance. Even when it gets gnarly, I think her best performance, it's like amusing, gnarly instead of freaking me out.

[A]

David Corn Sweat.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Did you like X?

[B]

Oh, yeah, I liked that one. But Pearl was definitely my favorite. And then Maxine, I was insulted by them being like, this is Bates Motel. This is where Psycho happened. You know, I was like, thanks. Thanks so much.

[C]

I also just. I'll never forget watching Maxine on a plane and just being like, this is so inappropriate.

[A]

Yeah, the stomping of the balls is really quite powerful. Pearl being a movie that Ti west and Mia Goth just cooked up because they were stuck in, I think Australia or maybe New Zealand during the production of X is also one of those. Really a weirdly positive outcome of the struggles of 2020 and 2020.

[C]

There was a lot of like, we had to go to some far flung place to shoot a movie that could have just as easily been shot in Plano.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right, right. Okay, Good pick. I love Pearl. I will stay in Thriller, Action, horror, and I'll be taking Barbarian.

[B]

Yeah, I was waiting.

[C]

I took Banshees in Drama because It's a thin category.

[A]

You want us to take Barbarian?

[C]

Are you taking an open. Barbarian hurts.

[A]

Well, Barbarian also in my top 10 that year. The minute it was over, I was like, we have another guy. We have another person whose movies I will be seeing for the next 25 years. And that's very exciting. And that really just came to fruition with weapons and the success that Zach Kreger had with that movie Barbarian. We recorded an episode about the film, Very Normal episode, in which Chris and I, in extraordinary detail, talked minute by minute through the film off of memory to Amanda. Yeah, we. That was before I was getting close to the 44 cliff, and I could still do things like that.

[C]

I think I wasn't. I. That this would have been me at 47. 6.

[B]

See, he's proof that we're going to be okay.

[C]

But I just procreate.

[B]

Well, that's so part of my program for you. We are going to start doing some weightlifting, some strength training.

[A]

Okay. Okay. Who's we?

[B]

Well, like, together. No, no, no, no. Unless I did think it would be funny if you guys came to Pilates with me sometimes.

[A]

Time.

[B]

I just. I'd like to watch you fall into the machine.

[A]

I think doing Pilates would be helpful for me. Yeah, I don't think I want to do anything with you.

[B]

That's fine.

[A]

I don't want to be short.

[B]

There's like a. There's always one man in the Pilates class, and I. I love the one man in the Pilates class and I.

[C]

Like, salute him specifically or like, is he like a. Generally speaking, no.

[B]

There's just like always, like. There's like, one guy.

[A]

Steve is always there in any class you're in. No, except that may be a man who's haunting you.

[B]

Except for the time that there was a Shrek soundtrack themed Pilates class after me and there was more than one man going, which says a lot. But the one man in the Pilates class. I have respect for this man. He's always trying his best and he just, like, always comes up against the moment where he can't. He can go no further.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But it keeps trying. And I.

[C]

He can go no further. But all the women in the class can.

[B]

Yeah, that's right. Because it's some tough shit. Which is why I want you to come because I think it would be fun, but also it would be good for you.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Anyway, I'm open to anything. Pilates strength training. That'll help you with your wellness. Cliff.

[A]

I was talking about Barbarian. I think Barbarian's Great. And I need it on 4K.

[C]

Yeah, what's up with that?

[A]

Zach said he's working on it. Okay, we'll see.

[C]

It's been three years.

[A]

Bob Iger, if you're listening, your movie studio produced Barbarian. I'd like to say thank you. Thank you for contributing the funds and the distribution power for that film. I'm glad I was able to see it on a movie theater screen. Put it on 4K.

[C]

Now, Bob, in return for putting it on 4K, I, on behalf of Sean, consent for his likeness to be available in Sora AI training videos.

[A]

I will have tea with Minnie Mouse on Sore.

[C]

Oh, if you think that's what I'm.

[A]

Doing with you on sore, what would you do?

[C]

I would have you wearing a Chase Utley uniform, crying at his hall of Fame induction.

[A]

Well, now someone's just going to go on me.

[C]

You are the most beautiful big boy in my life.

[A]

Now I have to make Chase Utley AI to combat that. Like, you're going to make me make slop so that all the people in my mentions making slopes. See, this is the problem.

[C]

We could go to Pilates, but instead we're going to send each other videos of Jason.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, putting it all together, I think would be really the ideal execution. I had a funny conversation about chatgpt over the weekend at your house where someone was telling me that they. Someone was telling Eileen and I that they use it. And we were asking questions about what they use it for and why they use it. And then this guy who was explaining it to us was like, yeah, and, you know, it's like. Like, you got to pay the monthly fee. And Eileen almost lost her mind. She was like, you have to pay for this. Like, how much do you have to pay? And I was like, I don't know, was it 7.99 or something? And she. She was like, I will get a pitchfork and take it to the. To the door of. Of OpenAI.

[C]

Was the guy using it for more than just like, a slightly elevated Google? Was he using it as, like, companionship.

[A]

Or what was it was as a companion to raise his son? No. Okay, Chris, you have a pick.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Right, Chris's pick.

[B]

Yeah, I think so. Because I just got to do.

[C]

Just review what we got here. I have a drama, I have a Oscar nominee, and I have a blockbuster. So I need a sequel. Wild Card and a action horror thriller.

[B]

Do you still take, like, the green supplements in the morning?

[C]

No.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

I do.

[B]

I don't really do that either, but.

[C]

Vitamin C. Goop I've been kind of on for the last couple of months.

[B]

Oh, I. I tried that, like, the.

[C]

Honey one, but I have immersion blender thingy that Phoebe got that I use.

[B]

Yeah, I'm not allowed to use those.

[C]

I just crush those.

[B]

Yeah, the finger. But I was thinking some sort of, like, you know, vitamins or powder type thing that you can just put in tea or coffee or whatever. For me? Yeah, for you to make sure that you're getting the creatine that you need.

[A]

I want to have creatine in everything.

[B]

Do you want the girl creatine?

[A]

Do I want the girl creatine?

[B]

Yeah. They have special girl creatine. Let's say.

[A]

Let's go back. Let's go back to the exact second before you asked me the question. Was there ever a moment when you thought to yourself, he's going to say yes. He's going to say, I want girl creatine?

[B]

No, but I thought you might ask some more questions.

[C]

I will now be making AI slop of Sean being like, yes, Mommy, give me girl creatine. Nothing makes me appreciate Chase Utley's beauty like girl creatine.

[B]

Chase Utley really was quite handsome. Sorry. And, like, better as he aged. Honestly, when you said it, I Google it to make sure. But, like, Chase Uttley could get it. Sorry.

[A]

Disgusting. The way that he played indicated a real fragile ego. A weak baby. Somebody who had to stomp on defenseless people because he was bullied as a child. What a weak bitch. Fuck him. That's how I really feel.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

All right, Amanda, you're up.

[C]

No, I'm up.

[B]

No, he's up. He didn't take it.

[A]

We're skipping your pace. Chase Utley is suspended and you're out in.

[C]

Action. Horror thriller. I'll take Ambulance.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

Michael Bayes.

[B]

See? And then there was Healing One Crazy Day in la.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

With Yaya Abdul Mateen and. And Jake Gyllenhaal as brothers.

[A]

I think actually Gyllenhaal's character was inspired by Chase Utley, now that I think about it. Coked out of his mind, robbing people.

[C]

It's very Hunter Biden as brothers. Right.

[A]

They're brothers.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Why would they not be brothers?

[C]

Of course. And they are.

[A]

Are you suggesting there is a reason they would not be brothers?

[C]

And there's the first half of this film skipped right past that. Well, because they. They don't seem like they would be from the same mother. Right. But they're adoptive brothers.

[A]

Why?

[C]

Because one is black and one is white.

[A]

Okay. I guess that's how it works.

[C]

The first half of this movie is basically like Michael Bay being like, I want to make Heat.

[A]

Yep.

[C]

And then the second half of this movie is a. One of the best chase movies that you will see this century.

[A]

Some of the greatest work with defibrillators you'll ever see in a film.

[C]

So good I can't remember how it ends specifically, like, where it, like, what happens.

[A]

Everyone survives and everyone is not in jail.

[C]

It's just like we're actually. We are blood brothers now.

[A]

Yep. No. Aiza Gonzalez.

[C]

Isaac Gonzalez.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Sorry.

[B]

I'm not even laughing at you. Keep going. I was just thinking about a scene into my blockbuster and I started laughing.

[A]

Does she know we're doing a podcast on camera?

[B]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Keep going.

[A]

Can we have like a, like a full time Amanda cam, but then don't publish it on Amanda's YouTube channel again.

[C]

Were you just fucking like.

[B]

Sorry. Yeah.

[A]

Did you choose your blockbuster?

[B]

No, I just.

[A]

I was the block or. You're going to choose.

[C]

You're laughing about something that's about to happen in the future.

[B]

You were talking.

[A]

But that you've already seen.

[B]

Yeah, no, I was just laughing, thinking about a thing. You just. You were talking about Ambulance for a long time. So I was just trying to multitask.

[A]

And then what scene could possibly have happened in Black Adam that made you so happy?

[C]

Seriously.

[B]

Anyway, and then. And then I just. And then I lost it. But I know that Ambulance meant a lot to you guys. I listened to you talk about it for like 90 minutes.

[A]

Minutes wasn't the highest rated episode of the show.

[C]

Ambulance is my action horror thriller and then my sequel. May I take Confess, Fletch?

[A]

You may.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I'll take that. Greg Motola's riff on, you know, a movie, a franchise that has long been promised to get rebooted at some point. Chevy Chase did an iconic turn as. As a fletched character, a journalist come detective in Los Angeles. And, you know, I think several actors have circled the idea of reviving it over the years. I think Kevin Smith was involved at some point, but they finally settled on Greg Mottolo, who's one of like the most accomplished undersung directors out there. And he made this with Jon Hamm taking on the Fletch role. And it's just like a really, really charming comedy mystery that I loved. It was, I think, kind of street streaming Paramount plus and it just went really overlooked. But if anybody is listening to these pods and is like, I'm looking for something I didn't see. I think Confess Fletch is awesome.

[B]

I do think that was the other half of the Barbarian episode.

[C]

It might have been that discussion.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I can't recall.

[C]

Do I Confess Fletch?

[A]

I do quite a bit. I would love similarly to just have three or four more of these with Jon Hamm as Fletch. I also would have liked to have seen it in a movie theater. Yes, definitely watched it at home and didn't quite feel the same.

[D]

This episode is brought to you by McAfee. You want to live your online life worry free. But with all those identity thefts and data leaks we all keep hearing about, it's not easy. Choose McAfee's award winning protection to keep those scammers away. Keep your data and identity safe. Plans start at just $39.99 for your first year. All you have to do is find out [e-mail] keepitreal cancel anytime terms apply. This episode is brought to you by EA Sports FC 26. Play your way this holiday season with an overhauled gameplay experience powered by community feedback. Enjoy festive upgrades and ultimate team with winter wild cards. Take on holiday themed challenges and manage your career like navigating the busy Christmas period. And team up with friends and clubs with new tournaments and live events. The club is yours. Give the gift of football with EA Sports FC 26. Rated E for everyone. Includes in game purchases. Includes random items.

[A]

So I have a pick. We got sequel and wild card left.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Interesting, interesting situation here. In sequel, I will take Prey.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And I'm quite stunned that Chris did not take Prey.

[C]

I like Prey a lot, but as we learned, not as much as predators.

[A]

35 years after you've logged. Yeah, Predators. Yeah. Several more times. I think I had two. Yeah, Predator 2.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You would watch more times than the rest of your life.

[C]

I like Prey. I don't know if Prey is a rewatchable film for me. I like Prey a lot.

[A]

Because it centers a woman in the story?

[C]

No, because it's largely silent and it's like I love to have the chatter.

[A]

I see. This is so no foreign films and no silent films. Just want to be clear about this.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And no pants when you're recording podcasts.

[C]

Just a Chase Utley Jersey. Pray.

[A]

Dan Trachtenberg's first crack at the Predator franchise. He's made two subsequent films, including the most recent Predator Badlands, which. Why were we just talking about Predator Badlands? Oh, Charlie XCX watched.

[B]

Oh, yeah, sure. Yeah.

[A]

Didn't leave Any note on it? No. Heart didn't put any stars on it. You think she got it? You think she was into it?

[C]

I think, honestly, she probably had the similar reaction to us. I'm glad I saw that.

[A]

You see Predator Badlands?

[B]

No, But I again listened to your podcast.

[C]

You would enjoy it.

[B]

Yeah. And you were like, I'm really glad I get to go to the theater. I really only listened and watch movies like this. I. I really only experience the Predator films through you podcasting about them and. Or acting them out for me.

[C]

Does it sound like something you're interested in?

[B]

I think that everyone should have access to your live reenactments. A Predator. I think that the next one they do. You should be hired as the TikTok correspondent. And you just. And then this. And then a guy comes this way. They're really good.

[C]

Well, there are no guys in the most recent Predator.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Right. Well, there's no dudes, but the Yautja is a male.

[C]

Yeah, but there's no. Just like. There's no Boyd Holbrook. You know, there's no guy who's just like, I'm walking across the screen. Straight Talk Express.

[A]

Just, Just. I'm gonna underline this again. Predators, which features several men Chrissy loves.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Badlands. And Prey, which features primarily female characters.

[C]

What's your popular ranking?

[A]

I believe I did it on the pod.

[C]

Yeah, but, like, what? Like, did you just stand by it?

[A]

It's Prey and then nothing else. This is the only one I've seen and the only one I like. Okay. No. Predator 1. Strong case for prey 2. Strong case from a pure filmmaking perspective. Has nothing to do with my gender politics. Yeah.

[C]

Your allyship.

[A]

I'm not sure I'd have to think about it. Predator two is probably number two.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Prey is probably three.

[C]

Okay, so Predator's four.

[A]

Predator four, Predator Bad.

[C]

I just did this podcast. I can't believe we're doing it again.

[A]

Yeah, I think that's right. I think Prey is really good. Is it a sequel?

[C]

Prey is chronologically a prequel, but I will accept it as part of a franchise just because you were so benevolent to let me have Confess Fletch, which is just a reboot boot.

[A]

Good point. I hadn't thought of that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, you're up, Amanda.

[B]

I am.

[A]

You have two picks, Your final two picks.

[B]

My last two picks. I have Blockbuster and Wild Card yet left in Blockbuster. It's. As Chris identified. It's. It's not a great list. And I saw more of this slop than you would think for someone who. Who was out for six months this year. But I don't want to pick most of it. Even some of the quote unquote original stuff, such as the Lost City and Bullet Train, which are sliding in under the wires. So I will instead take the film that made me crack up just now, remembering a scene in it that I was going to try to explain to Chris, which is, of course, the rise of Chris, Which I saw by myself.

[C]

Kind of just feels like, did you. Do you almost feel like you should take back Tar? Because if that's what she's gonna do.

[A]

Is this exact thought I had in my head. It's like you would blaspheme Tar's reputation.

[B]

Listen, I was originally. If I had first pick, I was gonna do Top Gun, Maverick and Blockbuster, but someone made that impossible. So now I need to tell you. So do you know about the Minions? Okay, so another yellow. So, yeah, so there's this guy. There's this guy grew, and he wants to be a villain. And so he has all of these minions who are like, you know, they are his minions, and they, like, help him, but they are. They're instead of, like, the Three Stooges, they're like the 85,000 Stooges. They multiply and they're just, like, stupid and funny.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

And there's a lot with David Bordwell explaining the theory of film.

[B]

So they keep. You know, they get stuck in vending machines and stuff. That's funny.

[C]

I've actually seen that scene.

[A]

That is.

[B]

Yeah, it's good. And they. And they just always, like, sprout new hair. You know, there's always a new one. There's a lot of room for innovation anyway. But what made me laugh was I saw this movie by myself at my childhood theater, Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia, because I was home visiting my parents, and I was able to secure some babysitting at 11am and I went, what was Zach doing? He was golfing with you, you jackass. So now you have to hear about. So the Minions. There are, like, three main Minions. One of them's named Bob. I don't remember the other two. But, like, more Minions show up, and at the end, I guess he makes it into the.

[C]

What made you laugh?

[A]

Spend more time on the rise of Gru than Tar.

[B]

There's a Minion Squire that shows up from nowhere, and they just start. Start singing, like, the choral part of you can't always get what you want. And they're all swaying like this. It makes me laugh. She also took Pearl. It's really funny. I told you. It's a weird year. There are two movies I wanted. I. There's going to be a new Minions movie the next year that I'm going to take Knox to. Okay. Minions. Rise of Groove is my blockbuster and made a lot of money. Remember when all the children were wearing their suits?

[C]

Gentle Minions.

[B]

Yeah. And then. Were you a gentleman, Jack?

[A]

I was not a gentleman. I think I aged out just a little bit.

[C]

Okay, that's good.

[B]

And then I have a lot of like, serious movies that I could take in Wild Card, but I don't really think I'm in that headspace right now.

[A]

So I'm gonna surprised to learn that what would be the hardest Armageddon time.

[B]

You'd. It's on my list, but I'm not.

[A]

Yeah, after Sun.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That would be all time if Amanda did like an 8 minute minions recap and then was like after Sun. Wild Card. Think about that.

[B]

No ins. I'm. I'm picking the movie that I've thought about the third most in 2022 after Tar and Top Gun, Maverick, which is, I swear to you, Jennifer Lopez Halftimes. Because here's the thing. Here's what happens. Yes. It's a documentary that was released in 2022.

[A]

Jennifer Lopez halftimes.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And this is the name of the.

[B]

Movie and this is the one where she's nominated for a Golden Globe for Hustlers, but not.

[A]

It's just Halftime.

[B]

Oh, okay. Well, according to. Okay. Halftime. Right. Because she's also doing the super bowl halftime show.

[C]

Did you watch this?

[A]

Pretty sure I did. I'm going to look it up.

[B]

So here's the thing. It's. She does the halftime show with Shakira. And you know, there's some. There's some feedback from people and they do a good job.

[A]

But I did two and a half stars.

[B]

She's nominated for a Golden Globe for Hustlers for this and she doesn't win. And the cameras are with her backstage as she doesn't win the Golden Globe and is like the most defeated, disappointed. Like, I can't believe I let you guys all down for a fucking Golden Globe.

[C]

To whom?

[B]

To her team. To the camera. Like, she thought this was gonna be her moment and she took it so seriously.

[C]

Who did she lose to that year?

[B]

She wasn't even nominated ultimately for an Oscar. I don't remember.

[C]

So this would have been Blanchett musical.

[B]

That's probably Michelle Yeoh.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Musical comedy, I think.

[A]

Everything. Every role at once.

[B]

And then she didn't even get an Oscar nomination. But every time we talk about, I.

[A]

Can'T believe I gave you tar. This is outrageous.

[B]

Every time we talk about awards season, every time I like. And you and I are very glib, and we're like, we think these people, you know, it's a machine. Like, it's all made up, blah, blah, blah. And there is this woman having a breakdown because she didn't win a Golden Globe. I think it's fascinating. I think that. I can't believe she allowed it to be filmed. I think that everyone should watch this as an example not to behave after the Golden Globes and also not to take the Golden Globes seriously.

[A]

My advice would be don't have a camera follow you around if you're nominated for a Golden Globe. Food for thought.

[B]

But she did. And then she let another camera follow her around while she was married to Ben Affleck. And that was also wonderful. She's an important documentary subject to me.

[A]

Okay, I have a wild card pick.

[C]

How can you match that? I can't believe you also logged Halftime. I was hoping that maybe you were going to pick a wild card that he hadn't seen.

[A]

I saw all 309 films released in 2022. Just something that I do. It was on Netflix, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm going to take everything everywhere all at once in Wildcard. So here's the thing.

[B]

Were you going to.

[A]

No.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Here's the thing.

[B]

All right. That's fine.

[A]

Revisionist history. I like that movie, and I always did.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

The pod that we did on it, I think I did it with Joanna. You were still on leave when the movie came out.

[B]

Yeah, well, it was March.

[A]

I had just started, and the movie went through the spin cycle in the same way. We just had a conversation on the last episode about Green Book. Whereas, like, Green Book came out, and we were like, this is kind of funny. This is, like, fun and a crowd pleaser. You know, it's like a Farrelly brothers.

[C]

Put into the, like, then it went.

[A]

Into the spin cycle of, like. That movie was more problematic, I would say, than everything ever wants. Like, the origins of how it was made and who made it it. But this is the same thing where this movie, like, probably. I'm not. I would not have chosen it for best Picture that year. I. It's still kind of fascinating that it became. It's really strange, this, like, centerpiece of awards conversation, and everybody just got behind it. You know, Jamie Lee Curtis won in addition to Michelle Yeoh, and the whole thing was just Very strange. And it was, like, a fun moment in the moment, but it didn't. I think it hurt the movie's reputation weirdly. But I really liked the movie as a genre mashup and as a pretty sincere portrait of an immigrant family and how the generation gap between people and how they can't communicate with each other. And it has a lot of fucking kung fu in it. And that's all stuff I like. So I'm not gonna shy away. I'm gonna take a movie that I like in this space.

[B]

Yeah, Okay.

[C]

I think that's okay. And it's a useful note to remember that, you know, these movies live on beyond their awards campaigns.

[A]

They do.

[C]

They should be viewed as their own pieces of art, not part of, like.

[A]

A Minions, the Rise of Gru. Out of the Spin Cycle, the Take Cycle. We can see it clearly as a special film.

[C]

There are a bunch of small films from 2022 that I would highlight or that I would think about taking for my wild card. I'm gonna pick Emily the Criminal, which is a very cool John Patton Ford movie. He's got. He's the director of this upcoming Glenn Glen Powell movie, which is called.

[A]

Called.

[C]

It was called Huntington. What's it called now?

[A]

It is how to Rob. What?

[B]

How to Make a Killing.

[A]

How to Make a Killing.

[C]

Thank you, John Patton.

[A]

How to Rob is a great song by 50 Cent.

[C]

That's right is a film with Aubrey Plaza and a really, really cool turn by Theo Rossi in this film. It's just a really good contemporary crime movie about the slippery slope someone can find themselves on when they're in debt get. And they're looking for answers, and they're running out of. They're running out of moves. And it's about Aubrey Plaza's character in the titular Emily becomes basically a petty thief fraudster, and rather than shying away from that lifestyle, continues to embrace it and embrace it. Kind of has, like, a little bit of a vibe. I'm not saying it's the same thing, but a little bit of a vibe of, like, 70s movies, like straight Time, where it's just, like, a very, very cool character portrait. And Plaza gives, like, a really great. Probably at that point, uncharacteristic for her kind of role and a really great performance. And this is a movie that I've strangely gone back to and not strangely, I have gone back to and I think is one of the better crime films of the decade.

[A]

Great pick.

[B]

Yeah. Really. It was also on my wild card list. But, you know, I thought the Minions Rise of Gru, too. Yeah. Emily the Criminal. Segue.

[A]

Okay, let's recap. I'll go first.

[B]

Great.

[A]

In drama, I selected Babylon. In action horror thriller Barbarian. In Oscar nominee the Way of Water. In sequel, Prey. In blockbuster. Nope. In Wild Card, everything everywhere, all at once. Amanda.

[B]

In drama, I have the Fabelmans. In action horror thriller Pearl. In Oscar nominee Tar. Thank you, Sean Fennesee. In sequel, I have Downton Abbey, A New Era Blockbuster, the Rise of Gru, and Wildcard, Jennifer Lopez, Halftime.

[C]

I love your recap voice.

[B]

Thank you so much.

[C]

Kind of reminds me of the voice message in Pluribus, like, where it's like, hello, Carol. In drama, I took Banshees of Inisherin. In action horror thriller, I took Ambulance. In Oscar nominee, I took Top Gun, Maverick. In sequel, I took Confess, Fletch. In Blockbuster, I took the Batman. And in Wild Card, I took Emily the Criminal.

[A]

That's it. Last draft of the year. Last CR Appearance of the year.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

What else? Last what? Last appearance period.

[C]

Yeah. I'm moving on.

[A]

Where are you moving to?

[C]

Sora. Digitizing myself so I can podcast with some of my idols.

[A]

Who among them?

[C]

Like Benjamin Franklin and Slaymona.

[A]

So will you be moving on or are you sticking around?

[B]

I've committed to at least five more episodes of this podcast this year. How many are left at this point, Jack? What's the count?

[A]

I know exactly how many. It's six.

[B]

It's six.

[C]

Okay, six left to record.

[A]

And Monday?

[B]

Next Monday and next week. Okay, six more episodes. We just have to hold it together till then.

[A]

Friday's episode is about Avatar, Fire and Ash. It's going to be seven hours long.

[C]

When are you doing Ellen McKay? And is this thing on?

[A]

We'll be recording that on Friday.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Where will you be?

[C]

Hanging out with Bradley Cooper.

[A]

You're welcome to join us if you want.

[C]

Maybe getting a tight 15 up at the Cellar. You know, thinking about my wife.

[A]

Well, I mean, that POD records at 11:30am on Friday.

[B]

Yeah, let us know.

[A]

Give it some thought.

[C]

I will.

[A]

Thanks to Jack Sanders for his last in person recording of 2025. It's been a hell of a year.

[C]

Indeed it has.

[A]

How do you feel?

[C]

I feel great.

[A]

Never better.

[B]

What's the positivity we're looking for?

[C]

Who's going to step in for Jack?

[A]

No one. Just. I'll be engineering while recording my hands on. No, that's not true. We have a crack team here at the Ringer of people who will be filling in. Any final thoughts, Amanda?

[B]

Thank you to the Minions and the Rolling Stones. And to Sean and Chris.

[C]

And to me, a goth.

[A]

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