Episodes
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Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to discuss the flaw in death’s design by covering ‘Final Destination Bloodlines,’ the latest installment in the legendary, violent franchise (2:57). They share why they have such a great affinity for the 'Final Destination' series at large, spoil the movie by highlighting the electrifying kills that define the movie’s success (14:38), and go through every single kill in the entire franchise and rank their personal favorites (31:29).
Host: Sean Fennessey
Guest: Chris Ryan
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda are joined by Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, and Chris Ryan for a very special episode where they draft the best movies of Tom Cruise’s legendary career. They talk about their relationship to Cruise, introduce some new draft categories, and have a whole lot of fun.
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan, and Bobby Wagner
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Missing episodes?
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Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Lars von Trier’s ‘Melancholia,’ the deeply upsetting 2011 science fiction drama, which stars Kirsten Dunst and Kiefer Sutherland and features one of the greatest opening scenes of all time. They discuss Dunst’s astounding performance, explain why this was such a critical project for von Trier’s career, and revisit the infamous controversy at the Cannes Film Festival and consider what it means for the legacy of the film.
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda open up the mailbag once again to answer all of your questions about underrated indie directors they’d like to see get the “Sean Baker treatment” at this year's Oscars, why Amanda majored in classics, recent films that are the most likely to inspire the next generation of filmmakers, and much more (3:05). Then, Alex Ross Perry returns to the show to discuss his new genre-bending music biopic, ‘Pavements.’ They discuss what attracted Perry to making this stylized vision, the complicated and interesting process behind making the movie, and what types of projects he’d like to take on in the future (1:02:33).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Alex Ross Perry and Bobby Wagner
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda briefly tease next week’s mailbag episode and react to the Golden Globes adding a new category for Best Podcast (1:34). Then, they dive into their long-awaited Paul Newman episode, where they unpack who Newman was as a person (7:06), explore what made him such a special actor (16:13), and build his Hall of Fame by selecting the 10 most essential performances of his career (43:47).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda briefly react to the news that President Donald Trump wants to impose a 100 percent tariff on any films produced outside of the United States (1:46). Then, they react to the new trailer for Spike Lee’s film ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ and discuss ‘Another Simple Favor,’ the sequel to ‘A Simple Favor,’ starring Blake Lively (7:41). Later, they create their 2025 Movie Star Rankings, where they select and rank the 35 biggest movie stars over the age of 35 (21:11). Finally, Sean is joined by Nicolas Cage to talk about his new film, ‘The Surfer’; what attracts him to certain projects at this stage of his career; and the actors who have inspired him as a performer (1:51:17).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Nicolas Cage
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda are joined by their superhero correspondent, Mallory Rubin, to cover the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Jake Schreier’s, ‘Thunderbolts*’ (2:04). They praise the strong performances from Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan, and dive deep into some spoilers to project which key characters could play a critical part going forward (18:15). Lastly, they have a big-picture conversation about the MCU and debate whether this return to form is too late to course-correct the state of Marvel (1:17:09).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Mallory Rubin
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss their favorite installment of the beloved Tom Cruise action franchise with ‘Mission: Impossible—Fallout’, which features some of the greatest action filmmaking of all time. They explain why this concretized director Christopher McQuarrie as a legitimate star filmmaker, explore what this film means and represents about Cruise’s movie stardom persona, and share why they went with this film instead of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ as the official late-stage Cruise movie for the list.
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to recap their trip to the mobile Criterion Closet before celebrating the big box-office weekend performances of ‘Sinners’ and ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ and explain why movies are so back (1:09). Then, they cover some recently released mediocre action films: ‘The Accountant 2’ (14:30), ‘Havoc’ (25:39), ‘A Working Man’ (36:33), and ‘The Amateur’ (44:41), and have a big-picture conversation on what these four films mean for the state of action movies (53:32). Finally, they discuss a handful of movie news headlines and share their excitement and concern for some upcoming releases (1:00:35).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Chris Ryan
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda briefly react to some Oscars news, including a rule requiring Academy members to watch the movies and the details surrounding the new Casting and Achievement in Stunt Design award (1:34). Then, for the first time, they play the Summer Movie Preview Game, in which they predict the box office and Metacritic score for every major summer movie release in 2025 (16:27). Later, Sean is joined by Adam Nayman to give a brief “state of the movies” before discussing David Cronenberg’s newest body horror film, ‘The Shrouds.’ They talk about its complicated and moving portrayal of grief, praise Vincent Cassel for his excellent performance, and create a “Cronenberg starter pack” for those who aren’t very familiar with the director’s filmography (1:25:06). Finally, Sean is joined by the great David Cronenberg to discuss ‘The Shrouds.’ They talk about his decision to cast Cassel in an unusual and challenging role, why he hates shooting on film and would never return, and his long-term creative collaboration with composer Howard Shore (2:06:43).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: David Cronenberg and Adam Nayman
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to honor the late Val Kilmer by creating his Hall of Fame. Before creating the list, Chris shares his thoughts on why Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ worked so well, sort through the box office controversy, and consider what kind of award chances the film has (4:18). Then, they build the Val Kilmer Hall of Fame by selecting the 10 most essential performances of his career (34:13).
Host: Sean Fennessey
Guest: Chris Ryan
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Children of Men,’ a deeply upsetting 2006 apocalyptic thriller starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore, which features some of the most emotionally moving image-making of all time. They explore how this film altered the trajectory of Cuarón’s “shapeshifter” filmmaking career, celebrate Owen’s amazing physical performance, and revisit the Academy’s baffling decision not to honor the film with a single Academy Award.
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda are joined by Van Lathan to unpack Ryan Coogler’s highly anticipated vampire horror film, ‘Sinners.’ They applaud the film for its originality and authenticity, debate whether or not this is Michael B. Jordan’s best performance of his career, and unpack one of the film’s most controversial and daring scenes by hypothesizing about whether its boldness will be well received (2:28). Then, Sean is joined by Ryan Coogler to explain why he felt like he needed to make this movie, the importance of shooting on film, and the advice Christopher Nolan gave him for shooting on IMAX film cameras (1:12:03).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Ryan Coogler and Van Lathan
Producer: Jack Sanders
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We are drafting again! Before their draft, Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to briefly discuss Matt Damon’s shredded appearance for Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ and the new trailer for Ari Aster’s ‘Eddington’ (1:03). Then, they talk about who they were in 1990 and draft the best movies from the year (10:37).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Chris Ryan and Bobby Wagner
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda begin the episode with their instant reactions to the official announcement of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival lineup. They share their overall mixed feelings about the slate, attempt to figure out why some notable films missed the cut, and debate whether or not Sean would be capable of taking a three-month movie sabbatical (1:45). Then, Chris Ryan joins the show to cover Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s new combat drama, ‘Warfare,’ to discuss how emotionally affecting the film is and examine its use of differing perspectives (29:22). Finally, Sean is joined by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza to explore the intentions behind ‘Warfare,’ then work through the importance of memory and examine how it plays a critical part in the storytelling of the film (1:02:40).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza, and Chris Ryan
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. They discuss Nancy Meyers’s ‘Something’s Gotta Give,’ the 2003 romantic comedy starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, which featured some of the most realized and developed characters of the century. They highlight and celebrate Meyers’s auteurist vision, argue why it’s the last great studio romantic comedy, and remember one of Jack Nicholson’s final performances that featured an incredible balance of his powerful charisma and uglier, stranger side.
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda cover the absolute box office phenomenon ‘A Minecraft Movie,’ a video game adaptation starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa. They explore the event film of the year and discuss why the theatergoing experience of the film is such a great thing for the industry at large (1:08). Then, they give a Movie State of the Union, where they work through the troubling slate of early 2025 movies and consider whether television is currently “beating” movies (22:05). Finally, in an attempt to end the episode on an optimistic note, they highlight some movies they’ve enjoyed in 2025 and share their list of the best movies of the year so far (54:05).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Producer: Jack Sanders
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Sean and Amanda recap their recent trip to Las Vegas for CinemaCon and catch up on the latest news from around the industry, including some exclusive insight on the ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ sort-of sequel, which will reportedly be directed by David Fincher (0:45). Then, they are joined by Puck’s Matt Belloni to talk about their 15 most anticipated movies from CinemaCon (28:43).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Matthew Belloni
Producers: Jon Jones and Marcelino Ortiz
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Amanda is joined by The Ringer’s very own Jomi Adeniran, Jade Whaley, and Jack Sanders to convey the first (and possibly last) Gen Z Movie Focus Group! They discuss how they watched movies growing up versus today, debate what is the most important movie to Gen Z, and assess whether movies are “so back” or “so over.”Host: Amanda Dobbins
Guests: Jomi Adeniran, Jade Whaley, and Jack Sanders
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
Video Producers: Jack Sanders and Cory McConnell
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Amanda is joined by Yasi Salek to create a new mini-genre called "Garbage Women," a list of mediocre to bad streaming movies starring the greatest actresses of our generation. Before officially forming the canon, they cover some recent releases that fit into the genre, ‘Holland’ (2:54) and ‘Kinda Pregnant’ (20:44). Then, they get into the list, working through the official criteria, discussing what they love and hate about these types of movies, and sharing their notes for future Garbage Women films (32:04).
Host: Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Yasi Salek
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
Video Producer: Jack Sanders
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