Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a new Box Office champion! Then we discuss Academy News and the Lineups for the Venice, New York and Toronto International Film Festivals, amongst several other pressing industry topics before ending with our thoughts on La Bola Negra’s theatrical release date plan, the Peacock/YouTube update and that WB/Paramount deal.

BOX OFFICE REPORT:

Spider-Man: Brand New Day sets all kinds of records - 1:11

The Odyssey holds strong - 5:36

ACADEMY NEWS: Lynette Howell Taylor is re-elected as President of AMPAS - 8:44

THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP:

Venice has an opening night selection in Ink - 11:09

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Only 1 female directed film lands in the main competition - 12:40

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Main Competition notables from Primetime to Lee Change Dong - 22:05

Werner Herzog calls in to promote Bucking Fastard! - 25:05

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL 64:

Godzilla Minus Zero is the Spotlight Gala - 27:59

Paper Tiger & 14th are the Opening and Closing Nighters - 29:17

Behemoth is the Centerpiece & we review the Teaser Trailer - 32:24

Thoughts on the rest of NYFF 64’s Main Competition - 35:18

TIFF:

I Play Rocky and it’s 1st trailer - 36:05

Misty Green’s first trailer from Chris Rock - 39:28

Other TIFF Galas for potential contenders like Elsinore & Tender Loving Care - 42:23

Intriguing Premieres from Filmmakers like Courtney Cox & Michael Dowse - 50:43

Previously Announced Big Premieres & Crossovers From Sundance - 56:24

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Cannes Crossovers & La Bola Negra’s Theatrical Play + Netflix Questions, YouTube/Peacock Deal Reactions & TIFF People’s Choice Award Speculation - 59:12

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Crossovers from Venice & Deductions for Telluride - 1:08:08

Films Not Going To Any Festivals? - 1:10:22

Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial finds a new home at NEON - 1:17:27

Paramount/WB Thoughts - 1:19:05

OUTRO: Make sure to follow us on social media for daily videos (on tiktok & instagram) +++ written reviews (on Letterboxd). We’re everywhere on the internet, and we’re all over the place in this outro, discussing our future plans for YouTube, etc. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Summer Blockbusters have a new champion as Spider-Man: Brand New Day resets the record books and for good reason. This movie is as fun a crowdpleaser as you’re gonna find, and of course we loved it too. No Spoilers for the first half of the episode until we dive into the plot and the future of the MCU in the 2nd half.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW OF SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY:

Highly rated reception numbers - 3:10

Biggest Box Office Preview Numbers Ever - 4:30

Why Gen Z should be running Hollywood - 7:27

Marvel better learn the right lessons from this - 9:16

Our Theatergoing experiences - 12:08

Destin Daniel Crettin’s Bonafides & Our History w/ Holland - 13:30

Performance Reviews: How Tom & Zendaya are silencing critics - 17:34

The VFX Oscar Category Discussion + Oscar & Globes Talk - 24:58

SPOILER FILLED REVIEW: 34:00

The Big Moment & Best Characters - 34:50

Intrigue Going Forward - 40:03

Some Weaknesses & Nitpicks, but cathartic nonetheless - 47:37

Funny Little Moments Throughout - 56:10

Final Questions, Final Thoughts & Final Grades - 59:32

OUTRO: If you enjoy our podcast, please follow us on social media. M1 has been posting videos like crazy, and M2 just started going wild on Letterboxd. Plus, you can look forward to more Oscar Profile movie reviews in August as well as more Oscar Race Checkpoints, including Box Office Reactions to all of the records being broken by The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Box Office results for The Odyssey and forecasts for Spider-Man: Brand New Day are bliss. But we are finding reasons to worry after San Diego Comic Con announcements for other CBM’s.

BOX OFFICE REPORT:

The Odyssey’s 90M 2nd Weekend - 1:34

Spider-Man Hype & what films benefitted most from having trailers before Odyssey - 10:22

That Other Mommy Trailer & Previewing Upcoming Horror Movies - 18:03

Dune Part Three’s second trailer - 21:53

Moana, Toy Story 5 + Minions & Monsters assessments - 26:09

Evil Dead Burn & other small to mid budget movies are working - 29:24

Retiring an Obsession Take - 31:34

What’s next for Backrooms? - 34:05

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON:

The big Marvel Discussion including Coogler, Gosling & Doomsday thoughts - 36:28

WB/DC takes on Lanterns, Clayface & The Batman II - 48:29

Resident Evil’s latest trailer & worries for Zach Creggar - 54:15

Netflix’s Ray Gunn gets a release date - 59:47

Paramount’s Ebenezer marks a Johnny Depp Hollywood return - 1:01:36

Who’s going to play the next Freddy Krueger? - 1:05:42

OUTRO: we update you on what’s coming next with our coverage of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, our Inarritu rewatch series and future previews of the fall film festivals. Plus, we finally find some optimism about certain things we wrestled with this entire episode. Better late than never! https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

BirdMike: An Inarritu Rewatch begins with our film study of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s feature film debut, the Oscar nominated Amores Perros, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Emilio Echevarria and Goya Toledo.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW OF AMORES PERROS:

Digger’s First Full Trailer Thoughts - 1:35

Production Profile / Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biography - 5:21

General Non-Spoiler Review Thoughts - 12:27

Performances - 18:59

Production Values - 21:49

Oscar Lens - 26:45

SPOILER FILLED REVIEW OF AMORES PERROS: 31:29

Explanation of the BirdMike Fly-In and the Bear Attack! - 32:12

Immediate Carryovers: Toxic Nice Guys 2000 Ed. - 34:04

The Themes: What Is Love? Baby Don’t Hurt Me - 40:14

Key Plot Devices: The Dogs - 47:11

That Ending - 54:17

Worsts - 59:17

Final Thoughts & Grades - 1:03:35

OUTRO: Stay tuned to our feed for more BirdMike: An Inarritu Rewatch as we’ll continue this series with the Oscar nominated 21 Grams next. Plus, you can now subscribe to us on Letterboxd at MikeMikeOscarAM (for “AlsoMike” written reviews and movie lists). https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Jazz Tangcay of Variety joins us to discuss The Odyssey. We talk through the box office and enjoy her review for about 25 minutes more of Non-Spoilers before we dive into each of the film’s major set pieces in our Spoiler Section.

Make sure to follow Jazz Tangcay on social media, on Rotten Tomatoes, and of course, enjoy all of her work at Variety. https://variety.com/author/jazz-tangcay/

And if you want to listen to a much longer Non-Spoiler section, then go back to Part 1 of our Film Study on The Odyssey where we go a full 75 minutes of Non-Spoilers and Oscars Lens discussions.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW SECTION:

Rewatch Experiences - 2:26

Updated Reception Scores - 6:16

Box Office - 9:12

Jazz Tangcay’s Review - 16:38

What’s the early Oscar buzz? - 19:04

Her process and plans to cover the film this season - 22:41

SPOILER FILLED REVIEW:

The Prologue - 26:33

Cyclops Puppets & The Practice Effects Imperative - 31:08

Troy & Popcorn Buckets & Production Design - 36:56

Laestrygonians, Dolphins & Hot Tickets - 42:05

Circe, Dolby Sound Mix Scares & Samantha Morton Hype - 47:36

Hades & His Stylistic Statement - 51:37

The Sirens, Damon Superlatives & A Tom Holland Defense - 54:50

Charbydis & Scylla and Understanding VFX - 58:18

Modern Day Themes & Smart Decisions - 1:01:08

Filming Techniques Used In That Finale - 1:08:21

OUTRO:

Two nitpicks - 1:11:26

Re-Ranking The Acting Performances on Rewatch - 1:13:10

The last few nitpicks - 1:15:20

Final Grades - 1:22:19

The Words of Wisdom today are to follow Jazz Tangcay on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/jazzt21/

Follow her on X/Twitter: https://x.com/jazzt

And make sure to subscribe to her podcast alongside Clayton Davis & Co at Variety’s Awards Circuit. https://variety.com/t/awards-circuit-podcast/

Also please follow us on Letterboxd. We just joined Letterboxd, but we already have 2 reviews and 5 lists posted with a whole lot more coming. https://letterboxd.com/MikeMikeOscarAM/

Non-Spoilers for nearly 75 Mins, we discussed Oscars potential in all categories for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, before we dive into about 20 minutes on the film’s final act. This is Part I of our coverage of The Odyssey, followed by Part II with a very special guest in Variety’s Jazz Tangcay.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW OF THE ODYSSEY:

Critical & Audience Reception Numbers & Box Office Projections - 2:40

Exceeded Expectations and the Plot Premise - 7:36

Best Picture & Discussing Producers Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan - 8:12

Is Best Director over? - 11:44

Adapted Screenplay Thoughts & Should AlsoMom come see this - 17:14

Jennifer Lame’s Film Editing - 24:31

Matt Damon’s Lead Actor Candidacy - 28:34

Anne Hathaway, Casting, Other Supporting Possibilities & Ensemble Awards - 30:46

Sound Design - 42:55

Ludwig Goransson’s Original Score - 44:49

Then Original Song: When I’m Home - 50:03

VFX - 51:52

Ellen Mirojnick’s Costume Design & The MUAH - 54:20

Hoyt van Hoytema’s Cinematography - 1:00:06

Production Design - 1:03:08

The Final Oscar Lens Assessments & Over / Under - 1:07:38

A SHORT SPOILER SECTION ON THE ENDING OF THE ODYSSEY - 1:16:42

OUTRO: Stay tuned for Part II of our coverage of The Odyssey next week when we are joined by a very special guest for a larger spoiler filled discussion. In the meantime, you can read Jazz Tangcay’s coverage at Variety here: https://variety.com/author/jazz-tangcay/

We’ll also be LIVE on Chaz and AJ in the Morning on Monday 7/20 around 8:20am EST to discuss our reactions to the film. Listen here: https://www.wplr.com/listen-live

And finally, you can find links to all our other episodes and social media here: https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Olivia Wilde’s not afraid of Virgina Woolf. That’s for sure. She used the Mike Nichols’ film as her “North Star” in making this film, and it’s very apparent to us as we discuss all of the Oscars implications and awards season possibilities for The Invite, starring Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW OF THE INVITE:

The Production Backstory - 2:01

Reception Scores & Box Office - 6:13

More Reasons Why We’re Rooting For This - 8:30

The Way Too Early Awards Profile - 12:55

The Premise & Our Watch Stories - 13:47

Non-Spoiler Script Thoughts & the Mike Nichols’ Influence - 17:25

Reviewing These Stellar Performances & Why It’s a Gothams Movie - 21:49

The Production Values - 27:24

An Oscars Lens + The Actor Awards speculation - 32:49

SPOILER WARNING // SPOILER FILLED REVIEW OF THE INVITE - 40:23

A SHOCKING CLAYTON DAVIS THEORY CONFIRMED? - 41:01

The Set-Up & Bone Chilling Resemblances to a Mike’s Family - 45:34

Verbal Jousts & The Family Guy joke that’ll be OUR north star for this episode - 47:24

More Superlatives for Olivia Wilde - 49:26

The Most Memorable Scenes & Commentary on Male Thinking - 51:01

A Series of Clever Moves By These Filmmakers - 56:28

Central Conflict & How Our Podcast Is Basically A Marriage - 1:00:35

That Ending - 1:07:28

Final Grades / Final Thoughts - 1:10:22

OUTRO: Stay tuned for upcoming Oscar Profile Reviews for huge new movies like The Odyssey, etc. Stay tuned for upcoming Oscar Race Checkpoints and upcoming special episodes discussing the ever-evolving Oscars Race. And stay tuned to our feed for our upcoming rewatch series on the films of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. But when you get all these, we have no idea and don’t want to jinx it - maybe soon, maybe never. Until then, we thank you for supporting our show with positive ratings, reviews and of course, by telling your friends about us. Thank you. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

We discuss awards from the Midseason Astra’s & Annecy Film Festival + Odyssey first reactions, TIFF first film premieres, the July 4th Box Office downturn and a host of trailers & reviews, including our Top 10 Films of the Year & Top 5 Most Anticipated.

HEADLINES:

The Odyssey first reactions - 0:55

The 9th Midseason Astra Movie Awards - 4:09

OUR BEST OF THE YEAR THUS FAR & MOST ANTICIPATED LISTS:

AlsoMike’s Top 10 Best Films of the Year Thus Far - 6:28

Mike1’s Top 10 Best Films of the Year Thus Far - 11:00

Our Most Anticipated Films still to come + Tarantino Talk - 13:06

OSCAR NEWS: Chief Oscars Officer resigns - 23:50

TIFF NEWS: Being Heumann, Prima Facie & The Assassins announced - 27:01

ANNECY FILM FESTIVAL NEWS: including the Gatto Teaser & Awards - 29:44

BOX OFFICE UPDATE:

Minions & Monsters struggles as July 4th sees a downturn - 36:36

Obsession still progresses well, but did it go to PVOD too soon? - 40:23

The Rest of the Top 13 including AM’s Review of Leviticus - 43:28

TRAILER THOUGHTS:

Werwulf, our worries & way too early Oscar guesses for Eggers - 47:50

Late Fame & M1’s heel turn on one of his favorite filmmakers - 51:16

The Weight, starring Ethan Hawke & Russell Crowe - 55:06

Super Troopers 3 is hopefully better than ST2 - 57:04

Wildwood (Featurette) has us dazzled - 58:42

OUTRO: We try not to jinx what’s coming next, but tell you anyway. Then we blabber on another few minutes about how we were efficient during the recording. Plus, we discuss our excitement for Evil Dead Burn, or lack thereof. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Minions & Monsters is the movie we Mikes NEED right now, and therefore, we are proud to do a film study, especially because of how fun this movie was and what a terrific homage it was to film history.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW:

Reception & Box Office Discussions - 3:11

WHY WE NEED THIS MOVIE SO DESPERATELY - 8:38

A Pierre Coffin & Co-Filmmakers Profile - 10:22

General Thoughts & Rave Reviews - 13:21

Performance Notes & More General Thoughts - 17:50

A Review of the Production Values - 22:17

An Oscar Lens & Overview of the Animated Feature Race - 24:23

SPOILER WARNING - 26:30

SPOILER FILLED REVIEW:

A Tribute To Hollywood History ONLY the Minions could pull off - 27:15

The only legitimate complaint Mike1 has - 30:19

The Framing Device & Why these A & B Storylines work so well together - 32:17

Mike1’s Screenwriting Lesson - 39:25

That Ending & Stinger Scenes - 41:14

What’s Next for the Minions & Despicable Me Franchises? - 47:13

Disney vs Illumination Round 2 - 48:53

Box Office Over/Unders for Moana + Minions & Monsters - 50:24

OUTRO: Stay tuned for more 2026 Film Study Episodes on The Invite, The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, etc. We’re also going to enjoy more episodes of Oscar Race Checkpoint including our Top 10 Films of the Year Thus Far + Fall Festival Lineup Announcements. Plus, we’ll soon be diving into to our Summer Series including our Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Rewatch Series and Mid-Year Oscars Report. Aaaand we discuss Obsession and oh by the way our final grades. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

What Is This Episode - Top of Show + SPOILER WARNING at 40:15

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MMO INTERVIEWS JEFF BARKER OF OBSESSION!

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A Fellow Cinephile and his Mental Health Background - 3:25

Jeff’s Upcoming Short Films: Good Tape + Medium Rare - 9:59

Similarities in Writing Between Jeff and Curry - 13:11

Professor of Chill + Screenplays - 16:32

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Script Consulting on Obsession + Anything But Ghosts - 21:05

Hansel, Gretal, and Jeff - 24:45

A Special Moment for A Special Family - 29:05

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Jeff’s Feelings on an Obsession Oscars - 33:00

Curry an Immediate Horror Comedy Maestro + Hollywood Royalty - 38:07

Texas Chainsaw Talk - 42:55

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Curry as a Storyteller Forever + Dad Advice - 45:12

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SPOILER WARNING at 40:15. Not really, but almost.

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Find Jeff Online/What’s Next From MMO/Leave Us 5 Stars! - 52:05

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https://jeff-barker.com/

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https://x.com/JB_JeffBarker

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https://www.instagram.com/p/DYYFnNPD1D8/?img_index=9

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https://www.youtube.com/@Jeff-Barker