Sean and Amanda react to the surprise box office hit of the weekend, ‘Godzilla Minus One’ (1:00); share preliminary thoughts about ‘Poor Things’ and why it’s seemingly losing steam in the awards races (18:00); and then open up the mailbag to answer your questions on all things Oscar season (32:00). Finally, they update their Best Picture power rankings (1:30:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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The Power of ‘Godzilla Minus One’ and an Awards Season Mega-Mailbag

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan and Adam Nayman to share their respective lists of the five best movies released in 2023, including titanic works from master filmmakers, blockbuster hits that captured the zeitgeist, and smaller movies that challenged viewers to consider their artistry deeply.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Chris Ryan and Adam Nayman
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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The Top Five Movies of 2023

Sean and Amanda are joined by Wesley Morris to unpack their feelings about Todd Haynes's ‘May December.’ They discuss the complicated nature of the performances, hypothesize its potential for awards season, and much more (1:19). Later, they talk about their shared love for the newest concert film, ‘Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,’ and highlight their appreciation for its impressive technical feats (55:13).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Wesley Morris
Producers: Jack Sanders and Bobby Wagner
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The Aggressive Majesty of ‘May December’ and Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’

Sean and Amanda briefly share thoughts on Disney’s ‘Wish’ (1:00), before digging deep into Emerald Fennell’s ‘Saltburn,’ including its cast, its spotty plot, its relation to Fennell’s first feature, and more (5:00). Then, they share their top five “big swing” movies (1:07:00). Finally, Sean is joined by ‘Holdovers’ director Alexander Payne to discuss reuniting with Paul Giamatti, casting an actor in their first role, the filmmaking style of the movie, and more (1:20:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Alexander Payne
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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‘Saltburn’: Iconic or Disastrous? Plus: Alexander Payne!

Sean, Amanda, and Chris explore the high highs of Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’—in particular the battle scenes—while trying to sort through their feelings on why the movie doesn’t come together as a whole quite how they hoped it would (1:00). Then, they try to place ‘Napoleon’ in the historical context of “great men” movies and share their top five in the genre (40:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Chris Ryan
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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‘Napoleon’ and the Top Five "Great Men" Movies

Sean and Amanda review two divergent releases from this past weekend—a continuation of the Hunger Games intellectual property, ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ (1:00), and Alexander Payne's latest feature, ‘The Holdovers’ (30:00). Then, Sean is joined by writer, director, and actor Eli Roth (1:07:00) to talk about ‘Thanksgiving,’ his feature-length follow-up to the fictional trailer of the same name, which first appeared in the 2007 film ‘Grindhouse.’ Sean and Eli discuss Roth’s particular interests within the horror genre, the state of modern IP horror, and what he’s interested in doing next.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Eli Roth
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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‘The Holdovers’ and ‘The Hunger Games.’ Plus: Eli Roth!

With Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ hitting theaters, Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to build the Ridley Hall of Fame, selecting his 10 films most worthy of preservation (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by filmmaker Errol Morris to talk about his new John le Carré documentary, ‘The Pigeon Tunnel,’ Morris’s interviewing style, how he chooses subjects, the overlap between documentary and drama filmmaking, and more (1:27:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Chris Ryan and Errol Morris
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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The Ridley Scott Hall of Fame. Plus: Errol Morris!

Sean and Amanda are joined by The Ringer’s Joanna Robinson to discuss the successes and failures of ‘The Marvels’ and what it portends for Marvel’s hopes to pull out of their relative recent tailspin (1:00). Then, Sean talks with ‘Dream Scenario’ writer and director Kristoffer Borgli about how he get his career kick-started, making films in the United States vs. Europe, and working with Nic Cage (1:15:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Joanna Robinson and Kristoffer Borgli
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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‘The Marvels’ Is Here. Is It Too Late for the MCU?

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to discuss the trio’s collective favorite movie of 2023, David Fincher’s ‘The Killer’ (1:00). Then, Adam Nayman joins the show to give his take on ‘The Killer,’ the state of American auteur directors in 2023, and where the film fits into Fincher’s larger project (48:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Chris Ryan and Adam Nayman
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More

Sean and Amanda review Sofia Coppola’s ‘Priscilla’ (1:00), including the performances of its leads, Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny, its set and costume design, where it slots in with her film canon, and more. Then, they take stock of the Best Picture Oscars race (47:00) and share the 10 movies they think are most likely to be nominated (1:02:00). Finally, Sean is joined by Coppola to talk about what she saw in Priscilla Presley’s memoir that made her want to adapt it, the process of recreating extremely famous figures, and the scale and scope that she likes to make her movies at (1:09:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Sofia Coppola
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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Best Picture Power Rankings and ‘Priscilla’ With Sofia Coppola!

We are drafting again! Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan reunite for a draft of the work of acclaimed director David Fincher.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Chris Ryan
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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The David Fincher Movie Draft

Sean and Amanda discuss the somewhat surprising dominant movie at the box office, ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s,’ a horror adaptation of a popular video game series (1:00). Then, they review ‘Pain Hustlers,’ the David Yates–directed drama about the opioid crisis starring Chris Evans and Emily Blunt (27:00), before running through Blunt’s career to this point and laying out her “movie star playbook” (36:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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Did ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Just Save Movies? Plus: The Emily Blunt Movie Star Playbook.

Sean and Amanda debut a predictions-based game surrounding this year’s Oscars ceremony (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by frequent guest Alex Ross Perry to open the mailbag and answer questions about the current state of horror, how the WGA strike and new agreement affects filmmakers and writers like him, the state of physical media, and more (57:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Alex Ross Perry
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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Introducing the Big Oscar Bet. Plus, A Halloween Mega-Mailbag.

Sean, Amanda, and Chris are joined by David Sims and Griffin Newman of ‘Blank Check’ to draft their favorite lawyer movies—a broadening of the courtroom drama and legal thriller genre that gets contentious with two new guests involved in the draft.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Chris Ryan, Griffin Newman, and David Sims
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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The Lawyer Movie Draft With Griffin Newman and David Sims of 'Blank Check’

Sean and Amanda discuss Martin Scorsese’s three-and-a-half hour epic ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ and everything that it entails. They explore the adaptation of the David Grann book and how Scorsese and screenwriter Eric Roth shifted the perspective in the film (10:00), Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro’s repeated collaborations with Scorsese (23:00), the spellbinding performance of Lily Gladstone (48:00), the ways the film reflects on themes Scorsese has explored repeatedly (38:00), how it slots into the late Scorsese oeuvre (1:27:00), its chances at the Oscars (1:30:00), and more.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is Astounding

Sean and Amanda discuss the surprise box office smash hit of the year, ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’—what it means for the movie industry, whether any other artists are powerful enough to follow in Swift’s footsteps, and the ripples her music dominance has had on larger pop culture.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ Is Here. Is It Worthy of the Hype?

Sean and Amanda review a trio of movies—‘Fair Play’ (1:00), ‘The Royal Hotel’ (30:00), and ‘Cat Person’ (40:00)—before having a wider conversation about the current role of sex in cinema (52:00). Then, Sean is joined by ‘Fair Play’ writer-director Chloe Domont to discuss her debut feature, the process of having a movie acquired out of Sundance, and the kinds of projects she’s interested in tackling next (1:20:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Chloe Domont
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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Why We Need Sex Scenes in Movies and ‘Fair Play’

Sean and Amanda discuss the quartet of Wes Anderson short films that dropped on Netflix and the trend of established auteurs exploring the short film genre (1:00). Then, they run through a long list of the films they think have a chance at getting a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars and rank the 10 they think are most likely to garner that nomination (35:00). Finally, Sean is joined by Grant Singer to discuss his new crime thriller, ‘Reptile’ (1:21:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Grant Singer
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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Best Picture Power Rankings and Wes Anderson’s Oscar Chances

Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to review the latest film in the ‘Exorcist’ universe, ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ (1:00). Then, they discuss the ways that horror franchise filmmaking has enveloped David Gordon Green’s career (23:00), before zooming out to take stock of the last five years in horror by awarding "horror Oscars" to one film per year (40:00).

Host: Sean Fennessey
Guest: Chris Ryan
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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The Horror Oscars and ‘The Exorcist: Believer’

With ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ just weeks away, Sean, Amanda, and Chris gather to run through the long list of films that Martin Scorsese has made and build a 10-movie Hall of Fame to Marty’s career.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Chris Ryan
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
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