The Big Picture

We are drafting again! Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan reunite for a draft of the best movies of 1991 (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by master filmmaker Wim Wenders to discuss his new film, ‘Perfect Days’; his return to a film set in Japan; how he looks back on his long career of making movies; and more (1:31:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Wim Wenders and Chris Ryan Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda discuss the wildly unsuccessful elements of ‘Argylle,’ Matthew Vaughn’s meta spy thriller starring Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell (1:00). Then, they try to contextualize it within what Sean has dubbed "wink action"—a subgenre of action that rose around the turn of the 2010s and has finally started to peter out (44:00)...

Sean is joined by actor and physical media enthusiast Tim Simons to refresh their conversation on the state of Blu-rays and physical media in the world of cinema. Host: Sean Fennessey Guest: Tim Simons Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the 10-year anniversary of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death approaches, Sean pays tribute to his favorite actor with an audio essay highlighting the ways in which Hoffman was sui generis on the screen (1:00). Then, Amanda joins to run through Hoffman’s entire filmography and select 10 movies to make up his hall of fame (10:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda open the mailbag to answer lingering questions about the Oscar nominations, including the growing fervor around Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig’s failure to be nominated for ‘Barbie,’ why ‘The Iron Claw’ received no nominations, which film could surprise at the awards, and more (1:00). Then, Sean gives a quick recap of what he saw at the Sundance Film Festival (1:13:00) before they finally do a full deep dive into Jonathan Glazer’s ‘The Zone of Interest’ (1:22:00)...

Sean and Amanda gather after the announcement of the 2024 Oscar nominations to discuss an ‘Oppenheimer’ runaway train, some disappointing and somewhat surprising snubs for Margot Robbie and ‘Barbie,’ and how the nominations circuit is much more of a known quantity than it used to be. Plus: waning momentum for ‘The Holdovers,’ growing momentum for ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ and ‘The Zone of Interest,’ and how ‘Nyad’ snuck into several big categories...

Sean and Amanda predict the upcoming announcement of the Oscar nominations (1:00), before reviewing ‘Mean Girls’ (49:00)—a musical remake of the 2004 high school classic—and ‘All of Us Strangers’ (1:03:00), a heavily-tipped Oscar movie that is finally being released widely. Finally, Sean talks to ‘All of Us Strangers’ star Andrew Scott about what attracted him to this role, how he selects roles at this stage of his career, and the legwork that goes into building chemistry with costars (1:22:00)...

Sean, Amanda, and Chris gather to auction draft the movies they’re most excited for in 2024, including both Zendaya vehicles ‘Dune Part 2’ and ‘Challengers,’ Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Mickey 17,’ Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis,’ and more (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by first-time feature director Jake Johnson to talk about his movie ‘Self Reliance’ (1:17:00) and how he views it as fitting in the larger arc of his career on and off the screen...

In this special episode audio from our live screening of ‘Oppenheimer’ at IMAX in Los Angeles, Sean is joined by cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, editor Jennifer Lame, and composer Ludwig Göransson to discuss the making of one of the biggest and best movies of the year: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer.’ Host: Sean Fennessey Guests: Hoyte Van Hoytema, Jennifer Lame, and Ludwig Göransson Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda react to a mixed bag of movie and awards nominations news (1:00), before digging into one of the year’s biggest movies not yet discussed on the show: Yorgos Lanthimos’s Emma Stone vehicle ‘Poor Things’ (15:00). They close by refreshing their Best Picture power rankings (:00). Finally, Sean is joined by Julianne Moore and Todd Haynes to discuss ‘May December’—the performances at the movie’s heart, the reception of its satire, rendering the recent past, and more (1:50:00)...