After the directors of Goodfellas and Fargo won Oscars for their bleakest movies to that point, Danny Boyle won over the Academy with something basically uplifting: the story of a poor Indian youth chasing his fairytale ending via a western game show in Slumdog Millionaire. First time viewers Erin and Claire ponder Jamal's journey, while on his third viewing Dan finds some grace for Jamal's dirtbag brother. But the people's champion became a snub that changed everything, as Christopher Nolan's Batman saga reached its apex in The Dark Knight. A billion dollars later, it changed the very face of the Oscars going forward, and we have some takes. Lock in your final answer: listening in.

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In the wake of Martin Scorsese getting nominated for his bleakest movie (pre-Silence), the Coen Brothers deliver their bleakest effort (pre-A Serious Man) with No Country For Old Men, pitting an opportunistic hunter Josh Brolin and a pragmatic sheriff Tommy Lee Jones against human Terminator Javier Bardem. Audiences, however, are torn between two threequels that fail to live up to the originals, as Jack Sparrow and Spider-Man face off. Is At World's End a better Pirates movie than it gets credit for? Which Spider-Man villain should have been cut our? Recovered's Keith Kollee returns to help Erin, Claire, and Dan break it down. Join in, lest Anton Chigurh hunt you down for refusing.

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It's 2006, and get ready for the most thrilling, action packed, high quality bummers of a movie. The Oscar finally found its way to Martin Scorsese, with his tense remake of Hong Kong flick Infernal Affairs, The Departed. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon go head to head in the Battle of the Snitches, and nobody walks away clean. Speaking of nobody being clean, audiences flocked back to Tortuga for the long awaited return of Jack Sparrow and the gang, as the Pirates of the Caribbean seek the Dead Man's Chest. Fish Monster Pirates and colonizing capitalists pursue our heroes while they all manage to scheme against each other. Claire, Erin, and Dan dissect both, while getting flummoxed by which actor got an Oscar nomination. Join in!

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While schedules align, Dan presents a one-man crossover between us and Recovered by asking the question... do the Best Pictures of the 20th century need or warrant a remake? From Wings to American Beauty (at which point they're all so recent it's a hard no), Dan skims through 72 years of Oscars darlings to sum up potential remakes: which could be, which should be, which must not, which already have been, and some fancasts along the way. Do we need a 2020s take on Gone With the Wind? Marty? Platoon? Dan assumes you asked, and he has the answers.

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It's 2005, and Munsi Parker-Munroe rejoins Erin, Claire, and Dan to discuss what is often called one of if not the worst Best Picture winner ever... by people who have not seen The Broadway Melody. It's Crash time, and Paul Haggis is trying to say something about racism but not managing more than "Racism, boy I dunno." Will the box office champ improve the viewing experience? It's Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, often called the best of the Star Wars prequels, which to some is a badge of honour and to others akin to Roman Scandals being the best Eddie Cantor vehicle. Which side do our co-hosts and guest fall on? Find out!

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In the wake of Lord of the Rings dominating the Oscars the previous year, the Academy decided to go small and serious again, while the audience remain here for fantasy good times. The Oscar went to Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood's story of three broken people bonding over boxing until boxing breaks them all the further. Meanwhile, audiences around the world had a relapse of Shrek Fever, flocking to Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey in greater numbers than they had for multiple pop culture icons that year. One has too many subplots and a 40 minute epilogue engineered to ruin your day, one has a high-energy needle-drop every time the escapades pause. Which do Claire, Erin, and Dan prefer? Find out!

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It's 2003, and we reach our final Joint Champion, as after two years of being Best Picture nominees and lurking near the top of the box office, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy reached its grand finale with The Return of the King. Gina Stewart is back to help Erin, Claire, and Dan break down the full Lord of the Rings experience, novel and movie versions, as we follow Frodo and the Fellowship past the Two Towers and all the way to Mount Doom. Who's the real king of our trilogy? What was Peter Jackson right to cut from the books, and what was he wrong to cut from the theatrical releases? We tackle it all, join us!

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It's 2002, and Hollywood is swinging, be it to all that jazz, or by webs through the city. The Academy, still waiting to see if Lord of the Rings could stick the landing, gave the big prize to musical adaptation Chicago, which managed the singular achievement of blending the gritty realism Hollywood thinks prestige pictures need with the glitzy, showy song and dance numbers musicals thrive on. Meanwhile, only one man could triumph over Frodo, Star Wars, AND the boy wizard in one year...a SPIDER-Man. Erin, Claire, and Dan dissect the year that Academy and Audience decided not to think too hard and just have a good time. Have a good time with us!

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While we align schedules, Erin gives us a sneak peek at next episode and beyond as she breaks down the first entries of all three live-action Spider-Man eras, from someone who never read the comics and only knows these as movies. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Sam Raimi's first go-round with the character? How does Amazing Spider-Man reassess the origin in a post-Nolan/Iron Man landscape? And when Spidey comes to the MCU, what's working and not? Who's Erin's favourite Man of Spider? Find out in our special Spider-Sode.

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In 2001, the question on the mind of Academy voters was "Well we can't risk just awarding Lord of the Rings three years in a row, can we?" and thus an alternate Best Picture was needed: Ron Howard's call-it-a-biopic of John Nash, genius mathematician struggling through schizophrenia, with Russell Crowe taking us from coming-of-age to espionage thriller to one man's battle with his own mind in maybe too little time for all three of those. The audience, however, was all about high fantasy, and of the three beloved franchises that kicked off in 2001, we present the timeless tale of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, both boy and girl are ogres, also there is a donkey, as Dreamworks cracks their Pixar-fighting code with Shrek. Crank some Smash Mouth and come on the journey!

Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com