The Big Picture

The Ringer

  • 2 hours 10 minutes
    The Top 10 Garbage Love Movies, ‘Companion,’ and ‘You’re Cordially Invited’

    Sean and Amanda react to the ‘Fantastic Four’ and ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ trailers (1:00) before discussing the slate of movies being released that are tied to Valentine’s Day, including Drew Hancock’s ‘Companion’ (15:15), ‘You’re Cordially Invited’ (29:30), ‘Love Me’, and ‘Heart Eyes’ (40:00). Then, they mint a new bespoke subgenre called “garbage love”—romance movies that use genre as a vehicle to deliver their love stories (55:00). Then, Sean is joined by Hancock to discuss his circuitous journey to directing his first feature, ‘Companion’; casting Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher in the lead roles; working alongside ‘Barbarian’ producer Zach Cregger; the themes of the film; the difficultly of promoting a movie that relies so much on the tension in its script; and more (1:24:00).


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guest: Drew Hancock

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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    7 February 2025, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 44 minutes
    The 10 Best Movies at Sundance, and the Astonishing ‘Nickel Boys’

    Sean and Amanda discuss the evolving story of Karla Sofía Gascón’s old tweets (1:00) and what it might portend for the ‘Emilia Pérez’ Oscar hopes. Then, they discuss an underwhelming Sundance 2025 (12:00) before diving deep into one of the best movies of 2024, ‘Nickel Boys’ (44:00), and discussing the excellent Michael Keaton performance at the center of ‘Goodrich’ (1:01:00). Finally, Sean is joined by director Tim Fehlbaum to discuss ‘September 5,’ how he became interested in the story that it depicts, casting the film, and the ascendant run it’s been on this awards season (1:15:00).


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guest: Tim Fehlbaum

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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    4 February 2025, 11:00 am
  • 2 hours 28 minutes
    Best Picture Power Rankings and Brutal Honesty About ‘The Brutalist’

    Sean and Amanda dig into ‘The Brutalist’ (with spoilers!)—the text, the reception, the performances, the score, its awards chances, its lasting presence in the American film canon, and everything in between (1:00). Then, they’re joined by Joanna Robinson to weigh in on the Best Picture race and rank all 10 films nominated for the award based on their current chances to win the race (1:31:00).


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guest: Joanna Robinson

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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    31 January 2025, 3:56 am
  • 2 hours 15 minutes
    The 2025 Dumpuary Extravaganza. Plus: Steven Soderbergh Returns!

    Sean and Amanda are joined by Yasi Salek to discuss ‘Better Man,’ the bizarro Robbie Williams biopic in which he is rendered as a CGI chimpanzee (1:00) and ‘One of Them Days,’ the Keke Palmer and SZA action comedy produced by Issa Rae and directed by Lawrence Lamont (29:00). Then, Yasi departs and Sean and Amanda explore ‘Back In Action,’ the spy-action-comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx that jumped up to number one on Netflix (53:00). Next, Chris Ryan joins to weigh in on ‘Wolf Man,’ ‘Flight’ Risk,' and ‘Presence,’ a trio of movies of wildly different quality from three accomplished directors (1:06:00). Finally, Sean is joined by Steven Soderbergh to discuss his 35th feature film ‘Presence,’ a tense thriller experimenting with point-of-view and form (1:40:00).


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guests: Yasi Salek, Chris Ryan, and Steven Soderbergh

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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    27 January 2025, 7:44 pm
  • 1 hour 41 minutes
    2025 Oscar Nominations: Snubs, Surprises, and WTFs

    Sean and Amanda give their instant reactions to the Oscar nominations announced this morning, including their takes on what films are running hot and which ones seem to have cooled off over the past few months (1:00). Is ‘Emilia Pérez’ the full-on front-runner? Will recent stories about the use of AI in ‘The Brutalist’ sour its chances in the big categories? Plus: They check in on the state of the Big Oscar Bet from September, when they attempted to predict the nominations and winners in 11 categories (1:07:00). Then, Sean is joined by the director of ‘Flow,’ Gints Zilbalodis, to discuss his nontraditional path to the director’s chair, the unexpected mass appeal of the film, how he found his particular animation style, and more (1:16:00).


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guest: Gints Zilbalodis

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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    23 January 2025, 7:03 pm
  • 1 hour 57 minutes
    The 2025 Movie Auction

    Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to draft, in auction format, some of the movies they’re most excited for this year. They review the results and the rules from last year’s two auctions before launching into this year’s slate, including some mega-blockbusters like ‘Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning,’ ‘Jurassic World Rebirth,’ and ‘F1,’ as well as some smaller but still exciting indies like ‘Marty Supreme’ and ‘The Phoenician Scheme.’


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guest: Chris Ryan

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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    20 January 2025, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 40 minutes
    The Loss of David Lynch. Plus, Our Oscar Nomination Predictions.

    Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to reflect on the monumental loss of David Lynch, and try to take measure of the impact his films have made on them personally and the film culture at large (1:00). Then, they run through a number of guild nominations and assess the relative strength of the awards contenders (21:00). Finally, they review ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’ and discuss its star Gerard Butler’s essential performance at the center and whether the overall movie lives up to the first in the franchise (1:08:00).


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guest: Chris Ryan

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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    17 January 2025, 5:51 am
  • 1 hour 50 minutes
    The 25 Most Anticipated Movies of 2025

    Sean and Amanda discuss the latest out of the guild award nominations and what it portends for Oscar chances (1:00). They then look ahead to the rest of 2025 and share their 25 collectively most anticipated movies of the year (31:00), including new films from favorites of the show like Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Bong Joon-Ho, Steven Soderbergh, and Luca Guadagnino, as well as long awaited follow-ups from exciting young directors like Chloe Zhao, Celine Song, Joseph Kosinski, and more.


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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    14 January 2025, 12:04 am
  • 2 hours 41 minutes
    The Nicole Kidman Hall of Fame, and ‘Babygirl’

    Sean and Amanda discuss the successes, shortcomings, themes, and performances of Halina Reijn’s ‘Babygirl,’ an erotic thriller/black comedy starring Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, and Antonio Banderas (1:00). Then, they build the Kidman Hall of Fame, choosing 10 installations in her film career that best represent her full body of work (41:00). Finally, Sean is joined by Reijn to discuss making the movie, building chemistry between the stars, why she was so interested in exploring the sexual themes and power dynamics in the movie, the importance of humor, and more (2:01:00).


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guest: Halina Reijn

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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    8 January 2025, 11:17 am
  • 1 hour 33 minutes
    The 2025 Golden Globes: ‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Emilia Pérez’ Usher in a New Era

    Sean and Amanda are joined by ‘House of R’ host Joanna Robinson to react to the 2025 Golden Globes, an up-and-down award show highlighted by strong performances from Brady Corbet’s ‘The Brutalist’ and Jacques Audiard’s ‘Emilia Pérez.’ They also discuss the movies they were surprised performed weaker on the evening, like ‘Anora,’ ‘Conclave,’ and ‘Wicked.’ Finally, they evaluate the entertainment of the broadcast and host Nikki Glaser.


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Guest: Joanna Robinson

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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    6 January 2025, 7:50 am
  • 2 hours 4 minutes
    Our Golden Globe Predictions. Plus: Introducing 25 for ’25!

    In her triumphant return, Amanda shares her overarching thoughts on the movies and shows from the past few months that she’s been out on parental leave (1:00). Then, Sean and Amanda predict the winners of each film category for Sunday’s Golden Globes (52:00. Plus: they introduce a new yearlong project for 2025 in which they count down their collective favorite films of the century so far.


    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Video Producer: Chia Hao Tat

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    3 January 2025, 12:40 am
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