The 2022 Movie Draft

27:21Okay. He's not in very much. Yeah. 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. You and me taking ambulance 14 times. I remember listening to that one on leave. And I was like, these two found each other. And that's beautiful. That was the coolest night of my life. Spiritual that we, the movie ended and we turned to each other. Like, like two swans who found one another in a giant lake.

28:05And we were like, God, this is so beautiful that we can have this. We can share this. Under an ambulance. such a special movie fucking bae does he actually throw it no I mean he flies the drone underneath Knox is like really taken with drones and I'm not excited about it he's just like very interested the best moment in television this year is the drone getting caught on the street light and plurus that was incredible that was so good okay do you want to start I mean yeah but do you want to riff anymore no I'm good you got any more gags you want to do no I didn't do you want to get literally They're just like my feelings, but it's fine.

28:43My connection to cinema. Go ahead. There are good films this year. It's fine. Do what you're going to do. Is it because there's a movie called Women Talking? Yeah. These women are talking too much. Talk less. That's what it is. CR, go ahead. I'll take Top Gun and Oscar. In Oscar. Interesting. Okay. 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 yes Governor's Award Governor's Award honorary but is that part of the academy it is yeah I mean he got an Oscar but we don't recognize it on this podcast no that's not true I don't give him a competitive one like be real it's a real academy award you know what I mean 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 of perfect cinema 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 um i always knew that i would like this movie i never knew i would love it you know um 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 yeah top gun maverick It was truly the clarion call, the battle cry of we're so back.

30:37Remember when we came to your house during the fires because we didn't have power? Yes. And my son was very freaked out and you sat in the other room with my son watching Top Gun Maverick while we figured out what to do. Yeah. Thanks for that moment. First he gave it to you and then he took it from you. Yeah. It was very sweet though. Yeah. So thank you for doing that. I was just thinking about that the other day. Do it. It's fine. I'm deleting it right now December is the season of giving oh my god you don't have to do it I don't want it because there is a movie that I love more you used to get so mad at me when I would do stuff like this but it's almost like I don't trust it like why are you doing this 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 and I know that well frankly I need you to perform a good podcast here.

31:33I said I had a meeting with myself so that I would. I'll be taking Babylon in, I guess, drama? Yeah. I think drama. Okay. 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. Did a watch along on it? 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.

32:23Haven'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 seen Dark Knight Rises like six times since our is that true it's on a lot so I will stick around for any Bane nuggets I can get on what on HBO oh okay so you just you like are flipping channels like when I'm watching basketball when I'm watching sports I'll flip to like on the commercial I go to the movie channel interesting okay do you feel like you understand the ending of Babylon anymore now that you have seen Avatar the Way of Water uh it feels cheap that he would put that movie in the montage of the greatest film moments ever and whatever.

33:08It's a horrendous take. It's the most freezing cold take I've ever heard. Okay. I'm not going to fight with you about it. I understand. The whole point is about the evolution of cinema over time. Mm-hmm. Avatar was an evolution, was part of the evolution. What Chris is saying is that he didn't feel that Avatar 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. And I never will. So maybe I'll just be blind to that for the rest of my life. Frankly, I found your attitude quite poor. So yeah, I've got Babylon. Okay. That was very nice.

33:46Are you excited for the prison movie? The Damien Chazelle prison film? I can't wait. Wait, remind me of the cast. It's two actors that I'm very excited about. No. This just came out last week. I just Googled Damien Chazelle prison drama. um Killian Murphy and Daniel Craig incredible it is incredible and that's amazing the brutalist guy shooting it and yeah uh uh Law Crawley Law Crawley thank you Jack yeah yes come on no yeah sure I like those people yes do you think those guys are playing Americans probably it'd be better if they weren't yeah what's the what's the the British and Irish prison system like uh it's pretty bad yeah I mean, it's like they haven't really updated those places in a long time.

34:33Do we think this is a period piece or contemporary prison situation? Giselle hasn't made a contemporary film since... La La Land. La La Land. Yeah. Right. Which is sort of fantasy. But it's set in the modern times. Going hard in my home right now. La La Land. Yeah, though Knox thinks it's called Gaga Land. Close enough. He's actually a star is born. But you know, it's pretty good. He's good at the endings of movies. So you took Babylon. Yes. Perhaps as a great peace offering at the end. That was really nice. Thank you. You're welcome. 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.

35:15Top Gun Maverick for the spectacle of cinema and Tar for just absolutely fucking going for it. Capital C cinema. uh 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 um in movies at all now but especially it's very very hard to end things this is like an an amazing smart funny completely discomforting 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.

36:06There 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 the, the, all of Kate Blanton's like furtive movement movements and stares. And what does she do with that kid? Where she like the kid who's like, oh, I am Petra's father. Like, and I was, oh my God, I was so incredible. Amazing shit. So, uh, Todd field interviewed Noah Baumbach for Jay 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 it was a reminder recently of just like special dude super he came on the show for tar super cool really smart um the origins of that movie are so strange where like focus had the 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 would love to get a few more if he's got something rolling right now?

37:16I don't know. I'm not sure. I hope soon. 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, like, incredible piece of writing, incredible performance. Thank you for letting me have this movie, Sean.

37:55You're welcome. Did you, did you see in the, After the Hun? No. It's a good CR Zag movie. Because there is, Oh, like, I'd be like, you guys, like, why was everybody so mad about this? 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. I thought I was going to be able to do it until I saw the last 35 minutes. But I did almost... It really botches it. Yeah, I did almost put the first hour and a half after the hunt on my honorable mentions list, but it doesn't really get there.

38:24You should check it out, though. It's kind of... I will over the holidays. It's chewy. You'll find things to like about it. I have another pick. And so, in drama, I'm going to take The Fablemans. Yeah, good pick. which is Steven Spielberg's under-celebrated film about his childhood and divorce and creativity and not quite understanding your parents. And also that nice guy who's hanging around your house all the time. And there are like four movies within it. uh it's it's you know episodic almost even though it is ultimately about his relationship with his father and and his mother and coming of age as a filmmaker but like you know the the weird not weird like the lovely american graffiti high school like interlude in the middle everything is so um lovingly and like deceptively uh complicatedly made you know because it it could just be a guy with a camera and trains.

39:36You 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. I guess... It's a super sincere self-portrait. Was it like the Michelle Williams aspect of it necessarily, or like the depiction of the mother? Like, I don't really know. I mean, I think 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 like that.

40:12Cinephiles 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 because it's so deep, but it's also this like act of collaboration, right? because he wrote it with Tony Kushner. Thank you. And I think it's a fascinating piece of work. I think it's a good pick. Really, really raw and really... And also now that the ending has an extra lovely meaning of labor. Gabriel LaBelle, fantastic in the movie. But given David Lynch's passing, so very special movie.

40:49So that's in drama, and those are my two picks. Interesting moment here for us. Easy one for me. Blockbuster, I'm taking note. yeah this was my favorite movie of 2022 this is my favorite Jordan Peele movie this is Preach I saw it on 70mm this summer with Eileen and she still was like I don't really understand this movie but that this 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 to it was fucking amazing it was sick we saw it at the Egyptian and yeah you know I think a really smart kind of similar to the Fablemans like exploration of self and like 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 like why we're drawn to things that could be dangerous that could be exploitative that could be that could kind of corrode us in some way.

41:58And like for a movie that has a diaphanous UFO in it, is really, really thematically rich. Amazing performances from Kaluuya and Kiki Palmer. Great mishmash of genres, great moments that stay with you like the Steven Yeun, and obviously the sort of childhood TV. Yeah, the sitcom sequence with the ape. I feel like Peel's kind of standing or maybe Q rating or whatever is diminished a little bit over the years, largely because of the stuff that his production company has been associated with, not living up to the promise of Get Out. And I don't know, his movies actually now, to me, play better on like the 10th watch than they do on the first.

42:49And Noe'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 what an interesting idea to throw in the middle of this movie or at the end of this movie I totally agree I do think that we talked about this on 25 for 25 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 right it's pop but also has a lot of ideas has depth yeah 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 die so easy pick for me okay Amanda no Chris you've got two okay so I will in drama I'm going to take Banshees of Initiaring 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.

43:58Martin McDonough's incredible drama comedy about friendship in a rural Irish island? Village? Is it an island? I think it's an island, yeah. Island starring Colin Farrell, Brennan Gleeson, Barrackie, and Carrie Condon. My wife. When you watch the first time through, I think you go into it and you're like, This is going to be a kind of very snappy, dark, typically McDonough movie about these two guys and their weird forever war. But the underlying plot about Keegan's longing for the Cary Condon character is the thing that really stayed with me. And I think remains Keegan's best performance. And, you know, Cary Condon obviously got to do this.

44:44She'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. Great movie. That was a fun, we did, that was a fun pod we did when you came back. Yes, yeah, yeah. We talked about movie friendships. I mean, I very much felt like to carry Condon in that particular podcast, but that's okay. And we were both Barry Keoghan. Right. Yeah. We'd chop each other's fingers off. There goes that dream. Okay, so I do that in drama. Hmm. You taking a blockbuster? No. Have you taken a blockbuster?

45:18I have. You took Nope in blockbuster. I don't like these blockbusters that much. And I feel like I got to take the Batman here. Okay. Good pick. Good movie. Good movie. And, you know, I just stand with Paul Dano. Well, this was a gift to him. Yeah. That he received. Yeah. Right? What do you mean? That's what Ethan Hawke said. This was a gift to him. Right. This whole experience was a gift. Yeah. I picked up your... I didn't know if you meant like getting the Riddler was a gift to him. 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.

46:01This is good. This is if the prisoners guy grew up and moved to Gotham, you know, and he's, he's a fantastic villain in it. Um, Pattinson, really solid Batman, really good, uh, 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. Did you see the rumor that Brad Pitt is going to be the villain in the Batman 2? He's not going to be in it, but yes, he was going to be either Dr. Arkham. Dr. Arkham. The proprietor of Arkham Asylum. Okay. I'm guessing it's not best practices there. I have gone deeper into Rumorville with that one.

46:42And you've learned that it is not true. I've learned that that is not happening. Apparently he cannot make that work with the, what was the movie that he's going to make driving all over? Oh, Edward Burger movie that he's making. But it does seem like ScarJo might be the villain of this movie. Okay. Who would she be? She would be Harvey Dent's wife. Wow. Are you breaking that here on this pod? Can I ask you something? So when you're, you know, you're doing the work on the message boards, are you ever posting? No. Never. You're a 100 % lurker. Yes. Have you thought about posting in 2026? Do you think I should post?

47:23I think, but you should never be like, you shouldn't be CR. You want me to do burners of, and getting involved in movie DC spoilers? I just, I feel like you could bring a lot of joy to people. Don't you think? 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. Okay. Yeah. What's Harvey Dent's wife's name? does she have a name she is a woman after all you could give her some life some value the nickname that she has of a super villain isn't Scarlett Johansson doing something else she's doing The Exorcist right but she also joined another franchise no it was The Exorcist that was the big one that she joined she's got Jurassic Park World was there another one that she joined and The Batman I thought so I'm gonna look right now you guys can keep talking she's just a survivor she was like I'll go from lily pad to lily pad yeah fuck you pay me you like it I mean I have to respect it sure you know she's not suggesting that she's some sort of great artist when she makes Jurassic World Rebirth she directed her own movie with June Squibb yeah Eleanor the Great did you see it I didn't why'd you skip it because it's a movie for adults yeah because I only watched Taylor Sheridan TV shows yeah you can't find it oh no it was it was the Batman according to Batman and the Exorcist yeah but so I think that the DC rumor was what I was thinking about.

48:49Gilda. Gilda Gold. Yeah. Gilda Gold. Gilda Dent. But also Gilda Gold according to this AI thing. Oh, and is that inspired by the by the 1940s noir? I don't know. I've never heard of that. What? Gilda? The film Gilda? Yeah. Yeah. I've heard of it but I haven't watched I don't have it at my fingertips. Okay. It's a great film. Okay. You should consider it. It's really good. It's where she does the hair flip, you know? Oh, is that the movie Is that Marlena Dietrich? No. It's Rita Hayworth. Oh, Rita Hayworth. When does Marlena Dietrich do a hair flip? No, she just goes like... She doesn't really do a hair flip, yeah.

49:25That hair doesn't move. My bad. Yeah. You should check out Gilda. I feel like you would enjoy it. Gilda's good, yeah. It's pretty firmly in your zone. And then you'll be able to understand the Batman 2. What's the song she performs? Like, what's the something? I forget. Rita Hayworth-Gilda song. It's on the Criterion Collection. Do people start drafting movies from like the 1940s? Put the blame on Mame. Put the blame on Mame. Yeah. It's really good, Gilda. I want to do the 1939 movie draft. Okay. We can do it November 2026. Okay. If we need to prep. Okay. But it's, you know, considered among many the greatest movie of all time.

50:03I think it would be kind of a tough sell for the audience once you get past the first five. Grow up. 2029 Michael Curtiz draft. Michael Curtiz Hall of Fame. Yeah. It's a hard one. uh okay you picked both you picked the Batman and you picked the Banshees of Inna Sharon I did and now I have a pick hmm I think in sequel mmhmm I will take no in Oscar nominee I will take Avatar The Way of Water okay which is of course a film that I love yeah and brings you to tears it moved me no tears were shut on the podcast people can watch it at home that there's not a single tear it's as close as you've ever got to crying that I've ever seen you you can is that true?

50:54I think so that can't be true if the Mets win the World Series I'm assuming you're gonna burst into tears I've seen you tear up a couple other times on this podcast really? 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. I did not cry. But it looks the same. I will not be slandered on this podcast. I was moved thinking about Jake Sully and his family. Yeah. And PyCon. And PyCon's pain. And being cast aside. Is PyCon got a big role in Fire and Ash? Yeah, he sure does. Good.

51:33It's a really important role. His majesty is on display. This, of course, is Jim Cameron's thunderous return to feature filmmaking 13 years after the original Avatar. Sure. He came back and he showed us what his powers can really conjure. I guess in two days are going to record an episode about the third film. Just the two of you? Yeah, I guess so. Yeah. PyCon not available. Spoiler. Didn't know if you were going to be bringing in like another Avatar head. Well, you hate it. Joanna hates it. Van loved it. I was wondering whether we should see if he's... Van stood and applauded at the conclusion of the film.

52:16Van also hit us with a similar to Dune part two, like a goddamn in the middle of the movie, which is really exciting. Oh, can I just say something really quick to our listeners? Yes. I have been doing other research about Dune. I thought you were going to say vaccines. Part three. And I feel bad because I have been like fake spoiling it for a while. and I kept it like this is going to happen in Dune 3 and that doesn't happen for like three books so never mind what I was saying about Dune part 3 but I did find out So that was a message for the listeners to whom you've spoiled the film Dune 3 But don't worry about it if I did spoil it Because he hasn't spoiled it Don't sweat it that doesn't happen until way later Anytime you started talking about Dune 3 either one of you I just immediately checked out mentally So you don't like Dune 3 You're like I'm out on Dune 3 No, no, no You just don't want to know No, I don't want to know what happens Okay, good So you have no You don't have any memories of what I've said about Dune 3?

53:11I 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. No, you won't do it. Would you listen to them? Are you an audiobook person for fiction? I've never done it for fiction. I can't do it for fiction. Will you do it if... I've done it for nonfiction many times. Chalamet reads them, but as the Liverpool rapper that he supposedly is? SD Kid? The answer is yes. The answer is yes. 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.

53:44For example, I'm usually loathe 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. And like those people, State Farm is there to help you feel supported by helping you choose the coverage you need. Go online at statefarm.com or use the award-winning app to get help from one of their local agents. like a good neighbor State Farm is there so Amanda you have a pick I do 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 Downton Abbey a new era which is the best of the Downton Abbey movies it's really good he'll tell you too I'm a big fan yeah it's incredible the films have you not seen the movies I don't think so I never finished Downton Abbey the series the first one is like fine but it's just two TV shows stitched together.

54:36It's solid. Yeah, but it's like there's like a plot, you know, 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. 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 because... He wants to shoot the film at Downton. Yeah. while the whole family is that Hugh Dancy killing it in the American Revolution by the way oh no kidding I didn't know he was on Law and Order until Saturday Night Football for several years several years is Hugh Dancy a loyalist who is he portraying a loyalist yeah he's portraying like I think a British general or something okay British colonel got it yeah okay sorry so he's the film producer yeah and then it turns out that um so and it's it's just pure crib from Singing 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.

55:42But 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 remember 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 yes 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 sure countess like had a torrid love affair and she got left a house a whole house really yeah that's great this is a great film this is definitely the best of the three do you feel like i need to be current on no in the series to watch no but just put that on and you are gonna have a great time Molesley Molesley of course yeah does it ever suggest did you mention Dominic West is like no oh yeah the 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 name Thomas yeah and he and Thomas have an affair this is honestly these movies I think are genuinely good yeah it was really it's really really fun did you see Katie Baker did a really good piece for The Ringer where she interviewed a bunch of showrunners about their favorite episodes yes of the last 25 years.

57:03And Julian Fellows's was for Presumed Innocent, the pilot. Pretty good pilot. Yeah. Awesome pilot. It was great. That wasn't the problem. Yeah. I was also like tough last three episodes where you knew what was going to happen. Yeah, that wasn't ideal. Anyway, sequel, Downton Abbey, a new era. Great job to everyone involved. And then... Look at her. She's got so much pep in her step because she walked out with Tar and Downton. I did. I did. This is friendship. It was really nice. and I will, I'll always remember it, Sean. Here's what I'm going to do. In action horror thriller, the student has become the appreciator.

57:41I will take Pearl, which I saw because I promised to watch Maxine. Yeah. And then I was like, well, I got to watch the first two. And I was really charmed by Pearl. Excellent film. Which, yes. This completes the trilogy of silent film transition in movies this year between Babylon, Downton Abbey A New Era and Pearl oh you could teach a seminar about that that's really interesting you know 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 mid in the Midwest and doing the chronology of Pearl is a little bit and doing some inappropriate things at a movie theater and David Corrin is there I think Texas she's in okay so I think it's I thought it was Texas because I thought X takes place in Texas that's where the house is 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 that it's like amusing gnarly instead of freaking me out gnarly David Cornswit yeah did you like X oh yeah I liked that one but Pearl was definitely my favorite and then Maxine I was insulted by them being like this is Beats Motel this is where Psycho happened you know I was like thanks thanks so much I also I also just I'll never forget watching Maxine on a plane and just be like, this is so inappropriate.

59:02Yeah. Yeah. The stomping of the balls is really quite powerful.

59:10Pearl being a movie that Ty 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 2021. There's 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. Yeah. Right, right. Okay, good pick. I love Pearl. I will stay in thriller action horror and I'll be taking Barbarian. Yeah, I was waiting. I took Banshees in drama because it's a thin category. You wanted to take Barbarian. Are you taking Nope in Barbarian, Hurts?

59:53Well, 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 Greger 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. That was before I was getting close to the 44 cliff. And I could still do things like that. I think I wasn't.

1:00:29This would have been me at 46. See, he's proof that we're going to be okay. But I just didn't procreate. Well, that's because. So part of my program for you, we are going to start doing some weightlifting, some strength training. Okay, okay. Who's we? Well, I. Like together? No, no, no, no. Unless, I did think it would be funny if you guys came to Pilates with me sometime. I just, I'd like to watch you fall into the machine. I think doing Pilates would be helpful for me. I don't think I want to do anything with you. That's fine. Don't want to be in shorts. There's always one man in the Pilates class.

1:01:05And I love the one man in the Pilates class. And I salute him. Specifically? Or is he a generally speaking? No, there's just always a guy. There's one guy in the Pilates class. It's not like Steve's always there in any class you're in. No, except for the time. That may be a man who's haunting you. 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.

1:01:36Yeah. But he keeps trying and I admire it. Wait, he can go no further but all the women in the class can? 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. Okay. Anyway, so yeah, Pilates strength training, that'll help you. with your Wildness Cliff? I was talking about Barbarian.

1:02:02I think Barbarian's great. Yeah. And I need it on 4K. Yeah, what's up with that? Zach said he's working on it. Okay. We'll see. It's been three years. 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 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. I will have tea with Minnie Mouse on Sora. Oh, if you think that's what I'm doing with you on Sora.

1:02:44What would you do? I would have you wearing a Chase Utley uniform, crying at his Hall of Fame induction. Well, now someone's just going to go and make that. You're the most beautiful big boy in my life. 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 slop. See, this is the problem. We could go to Pilates, but instead we're going to send each other videos of Chase Utley. Yeah, I mean, putting it all together, I think would be really the ideal execution. I had a funny conversation about chat GPT over the weekend at your house where someone was telling me that they someone's telling Eileen and I that they use it.

1:03:27And 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 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 was like I will get a pitchfork and take it to the door of open AI was the guy using it for more than just like a slightly elevated Google was he using it as like companionship or what was it was as a companion to raise his son no

1:04:04okay Chris you have a pick okay right Chris's pick yeah I think so because I just got to do just review what we got here and 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 do you still take like the green supplements in the morning no okay I do I don't really do that either but I'm wondering a vitamin C goop I've been kind of on for the last couple of months oh I tried that like the honey one but I have a immersion blender thingy that Phoebe got that I use yeah I'm not allowed to use those I just crush those 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.

1:04:49Yeah, for you to make sure that you're getting the foods that you need. I want to have creatine in every drink. That's fine. Do you want the girl creatine? Do I want the girl creatine? Yeah, they have special girl creatine. 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. No, but I thought you might ask some more questions. I will now be making AI slop of Sean being like, yes, mommy, give me girl creatine.

1:05:21Nothing makes me appreciate Chase Utley's beauty like girl creatine. Chase Utley really was quite handsome. So that's, I mean, I'm sorry. Get the fuck out of here. That's just sort of like the small player. And like better as he aged. I just, I honestly, when you said it, I Google it just to make sure. But like Chase Utley could get it. Sorry. 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. Okay. All right. Amanda, you're up. No, I'm up.

1:05:55No, he's up. He didn't pick you up. We're skipping your pace. Shay Sutley is suspended and you're out.

1:06:04In action horror thriller, I'll take an ambulance. Yeah. Yeah. Michael Bayes. See? And then there was healing. One crazy day in LA. Yeah. With Yahya Abdul-Mateen and Jake Gyllenhaal as brothers. I think actually Gyllenhaal's character was inspired by Chase Utley, now that I think about it. I think he was coped out of his mind. Inspired by Hunter Biden. Robbing people. It's very Hunter Biden. As brothers, right? They're brothers. Yeah. Why would they not be brothers? Of course. And they are - Are you suggesting there is a reason they would not be brothers? And there's the first half of this film, skipping right past that.

1:06:42Well, because they don't seem like they would be from the same mother, right? But they're adoptive brothers. Why? Because one is black and one is white. Got it. Okay. I guess that's how it works. The first half of this movie is basically like Michael Bay being like, I want to make heat. Yep. And then the second half of this movie is one of the best chase movies that you will see this century. Some of the greatest work with defibrillators you'll ever see in a film. so fucking good I can't remember how it ends specifically like where like what happens everyone survives and everyone is not in jail yeah everybody's just like we're actually we are blood brothers now yep is your arjona doing stuff no Aiza Gonzalez Aiza Gonzalez yeah sorry I'm not even laughing at you keep going I was just thinking about a scene in my blockbuster and I started like does she know we're doing a pod she's got a camera I'm sorry I'm sorry keep going it's like can we do like a like a full time Amanda cam but then don't publish it on Amanda's YouTube channel we're just fucking like I'm sorry yeah did you choose your blockbuster no I just I was thinking it's the blockbuster you're going to choose you're laughing about something that's about to happen in the future you were talking yeah but that you you've already seen yeah no I was just laughing thinking about a thing.

1:08:08You just, you were talking about ambulance for a long time. So I was just trying to multitask. What scene could possibly have happened in Black Adam that made you so happy? 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. Wasn't the highest rated episode of the show. Ambulance is my action horror thriller. And then, my sequel. Hmm. may I take Confess Fletch? You may. Yeah. I'll take that. Greg Mottola's riff on, you know, a movie, a franchise that has long been promised to get rebooted at some point.

1:08:48Chevy Chase did an iconic turn as a Fletch 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 Mottola, 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 straight streaming. Paramount Plus. And it just went really overlooked. But if anybody, you know, is listening to these pods, it was like, I'm looking for something I didn't see.

1:09:28I think Confess Fletch is awesome. I do think that was the other half of the Barbarian episode. It might have been. That discussion? Yes. I can't recall. It was. Do you like Confess Fletch? 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. It didn't quite feel the same. So I have a pick. I've got sequel and wildcard left. Okay. Interesting, interesting situation here. in sequel I will take Prey okay I'm quite stunned that Chris did not take Prey I like Prey a lot but as we learned not as much as Predators in 35 years after you've logged yeah Predators yeah several more times I think I had Prey 4 yeah Predator 2 yeah you would watch more times than the rest of your life I like Prey I don't know if Prey is a rewatchable film for me I like Prey a lot because it centers a woman in the story no because it's largely silent and it's like I love to have the chatter I see this is so no foreign films and no silent films just want to be clear about this yeah and no pants when you're recording podcasts just to chase that New Jersey

1:10:54pray 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 it 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 honestly she probably had a similar reaction to us I'm glad I saw that did you see Predator Badlands no but I again listened to your podcast yeah and you were like I'm really glad I get to go to the theater I really only listened and watched movies like this I really only experienced the Predator films through you podcasting about them and or acting them out for me.

1:11:35Does it sound like something you're interested in? I think that everyone should have access to your live reenactments of 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 this, and then a guy comes this way. They're really good. Well, there are no guys in the most recent Predator. That's right. Well, there's no dudes. But the yautja is a male. 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. Just, I'm going to unwind this again.

1:12:14Predators, which features several men Chris loves. Right. Badlands and Prey, which features primarily female characters. What's your Predator ranking? I believe I did it on the pod. Yeah, but like, did you just stand by it? It's Prey and then nothing else. it's 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 your allyship um I'm not sure I'd have to think about it Predator 2 is probably number 2 yes Prey is probably 3 okay so Predator's 4 Predator's 4 Predator Badland I just did this podcast.

1:13:01I can't believe we're doing it again. Yeah, I think that's right. I think Prey is really good. Is it a sequel? Prey is chronologically a prequel. Okay. But I will accept it as part of a franchise just because you were so benevolent to let me have Confessed Fletch, which is just a reboot. Good point. I hadn't thought of that. Yeah. All right, you're up, Amanda. I am. You have two picks. Your final two picks? My last two picks. I have Blockbuster and Wildcard yet left. In Blockbuster. It's as Chris identified, it's not a great list. And I saw more of this slop than you would think for someone who was out for six months this year.

1:13:48But 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 wire. 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, Minions, The Rising Crew.

1:14:14Which I saw by myself. You know, it kind of just feels like, did you, do you almost feel like you should take back Tara because if that's what she's going to do with it? exact thought I had in my head. It's like, you would blaspheme Tarn's reputation. So listen, I was originally, if I had first pick, I was going to 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... I know they're yellow. So, yeah. So there's this guy... And they loom over the valley. There's this guy, Gru, and he wants to be a villain.

1:14:45And so he has all of these minions who are like, you know, they are his minions and they like help him, But they are, instead of like the three stooges, they're like the 85 ,000 stooges. They multiply and they're just like stupid and funny. Yes. And there's a lot of... It's like sitting with David Bordwell explaining the theory of film. So they keep, you know, they get stuck in vending machines and stuff. I've actually seen that scene. Yeah, it's good. And you can. And they just always like sprout new hair. You know, there's always a new one. There's a lot of renovation 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 11 a.m.

1:15:28And I went. What was Zach doing? He was golfing with you, you jackass. So now you have to hear about.

1:15:43So the minions. There are like three main minions. One of them is 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, I don't. What made you laugh?

1:15:57Spend more time on minions, the rise of Gru than Tar. There's a minions choir that shows up from nowhere and they just start singing like the choral part of, you can't always get what you want. And they're all singing like this.

1:16:18and it makes you laugh she also yeah pearl it's really funny I told you it's a weird year there are two movies I wanted um I there's gonna be a new Minions movie the next year that I'm gonna take Knox to uh okay Minions Rise of Gru is my blockbuster it made a lot of money remember when all the children were wearing their suits gentle minions yeah and then were you a gentle minion John? I was not a gentle minion I think I aged out just a little bit okay that's good And then I have a lot of serious movies that I could take in wildcard. But I don't really think I'm in that headspace right now. So I'm in it.

1:16:55I'm surprised to learn that. What would be the hardest fucking election? Armageddon time. It's on my list, but I'm not. After Sun. Yeah. That would be all time. Amanda did like an eight minute minions recap and then was like, after Sun, wildcard. think about that.

1:17:20No. 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. Is this a movie? Yes, it's a documentary that was released in 2022. Jennifer Lopez Halftimes? Yes. That's the name of the movie? And this is the one where she's nominated for a Golden Globe for Hustlers, but not... It's just halftime. Oh, okay. Well, okay. Halftime, right? Because she's also doing the Super Bowl halftime show. Did you watch this? No. I'm pretty sure I did. I'm going to look it up on Letterboxd.

1:18:00She does the halftime show with Shakira, and there's some feedback from people, and they do a good job. But... I did. Two and a half stars. 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 it's like the most defeated, disappointed. Like, I can't believe I let you guys all down for a fucking Golden Globe. To whom? To her team, to the camera. Like, she thought this was going to be her moment. And she took it so seriously. Who did she lose to that year? She wasn't even nominated, ultimately, for an Oscar.

1:18:41I don't remember. So this would have been musical comedy. Yeah, musical comedy, I think. Michelle Yeoh for everything I've ever rolled at once. And then she didn't even get an Oscar nomination. But every time we talk about... I can't believe I gave you tar. This is outrageous. Every time we talk about award season... Half time. And you and I are very glib and we're like, these people, you know, it's a machine. Like, it's all made up, blah, blah, blah. And there's this woman having a breakdown because she didn't win a Golden Globe. I think it's fascinating. I can't believe she allowed it to be filmed.

1:19:15I 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. My advice would be don't have a camera follow you around if you're nominated for a Golden Globe. Food for thought. 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.

1:19:40Okay. I have a wild card pick.

1:19:44how can you 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 i saw all 309 films released in 2022 you know just something that i do uh it was on netflix right yeah i'm gonna take everything everywhere all at once in wildcard so here's the thing were you going to no yeah here's the thing alright that's fine revisionist history I like that movie and I always did okay the pod that we did on it I think I did it with Joanna you were still on leave when the movie came out yeah well it was March I had just started leave and the movie went through the spin cycle in the same way we were just had a conversation on the last episode about Green Book where it was 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 put into the like then it went into the spin cycle of like that movie was more problematic I would say than everything ever all at once, like the origins of how it was made and who made it.

1:20:40But this is the same thing where this movie, like probably, I would not have chosen it for Best Picture that year. 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 like a pretty sincere portrait of like an immigrant family and how the like 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 yeah okay I think that's okay and it's a useful note to remember that you know these movies live on beyond their awards campaigns they do they should be they should be viewed as their own pieces of art not part of like a Manion's the Rise of Gru, out of the spin cycle, the take cycle, we can see it clearly as a special film.

1:21:41There were a bunch of small films from 2022 that I would highlight or that I would think about taking for my wild card. I'm going to pick Emily the Criminal, which is a very cool John Patton Ford movie. He's the director of this upcoming Glenn Powell movie, which is called Huntington. What's it called now? It is How to Rob... What? How to Make a Killing. How to Make a Killing. Thank you. John Patton Ford. How to Rob is a great song by 50 Cent. That's right. Is a film with Aubrey Plaza and a really, really cool term by Theo Rossi. Yeah, he's so good. 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 and they're looking for answers and they're running out of moves.

1:22:31And it's about Aubrey Plaza's character, 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. it 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 great pick it was also on my wild card list but you know I thought the Minions Rise of Gru too for sure yeah Emily the Criminal segue okay let's recap I'll go first.

1:23:27Great. In drama, I selected Babylon. In action horror thriller, Barbarian. In Oscar nominee, Avatar The Way of Water. In sequel, Prey. In blockbuster, Nope. In wildcard, Everything Everywhere All at Once. Amanda. In drama, I have The Fablements. In action horror thriller, Pearl. In Oscar nominee, Tar. Thank you, Sean Fennessey. In sequel, I have Downton Abbey, A New Era, Blockbuster, Minions, The Rise of Gru, and wildcard, Jennifer Lopez, Halftime. I love your recap voice. Thank you so much. It kind of reminds me of the voice message in Pluribus. Like, hello, Carol. In drama, I took Banshees of Inishirin.

1:24:04In 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 Wildcard, I took Emily the Criminal. That's it. Last draft of the year. Last CR appearance of the year. Yeah. Oh, wow. What else? last what last appearance period yeah I'm moving on where are you moving to Sora digitizing myself so I can podcast with some of my my idols who among them like Benjamin Franklin and will you be moving on are you sticking around I've committed to at least five more episodes of this podcast this year is how How many are left at this point, Jack?

1:24:56What's the count? I know exactly how many. It's six. It's six. We have six left to record. And Monday. Yeah, and next week. Okay, six more episodes. We just have to hold it together till then. Friday's episode is about Avatar, Fire, and Ash. It's going to be seven hours long. When are you doing Ellen McKay and is this thing on? We'll be recording that on Friday. Yeah. Where will you be? Hanging out with Bradley Cooper. more now. You're welcome to join us if you want. Maybe getting a tight 15 up at the cellar. Thinking about my wife. Well, I mean, that pod records at 1130 a.m. on Friday. Yeah. Let us know.

1:25:36Give it some thought. I will. I will. Thanks to Jack Sanders for his last in-person recording of 2025. It's been a hell of a year. Indeed, it has. How do you feel? I feel great. Never better. That's the positivity we're looking for. who's gonna step in for Jack no and just I'll be engineering while recording I have my hands 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 thank you to the minions and the Rolling Stones and to Sean and Chris and to Mia Goth see you next time

1:26:21Thank you.