Sean and Amanda open today’s show with a long list of movie news headlines, including Luca Guadagnino’s Sam Altman movie ‘Artificial’ being dropped by Amazon following their OpenAI partnership, and Curry Barker inking a 10-figure deal with Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster for his next original project. Then, they cover a new release with Michael Sarnoski’s ‘The Death of Robin Hood’ starring Hugh Jackman. They highlight its impressively gnarly filmmaking, explain why its big flaw is in the concept of the film itself, and take a look at the history of ‘Robin Hood’ movies and discuss what makes them successful. Next, they discuss ‘Toy Story 5’, a film which Sean and Amanda had vastly different reactions to. After debating what did and didn’t work for them, they rank every film from the ‘Toy Story’ franchise.

(0:00) Intro

(0:36) Movie news

(19:03) ‘The Death of Robin Hood’

(27:04) What makes a good ‘Robin Hood’ movie?

(42:18) ‘Toy Story 5’

(1:15:19) What is Pixar now?

(1:21:07) The ‘Toy Story’ movie rankings

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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On today’s show, Sean and Amanda dive deep into legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s filmography throughout the 21st century. Before discussing those movies, they celebrate the New York Knicks becoming NBA champions, a feat so magnificent that Sean swears he’s become a changed man. Next, they briefly touch on the overperformance of ‘Disclosure Day’ at the box office on opening weekend and cover two wildly different recent releases: ‘Office Romance’ and ‘The Furious.’ Then, they share some secondary thoughts about ‘Disclosure Day’ and react to the divisive response to the film thus far. Finally, they explore Spielberg’s 21st-century filmography and identify some key touchpoints and ideas before ranking every film he’s made this century.

(0:00) Intro

(0:36) The New York Knicks are NBA champions

(9:10) ‘Disclosure Day’ box office performance

(12:08) ‘Office Romance’

(24:05) ‘The Furious’

(26:53) Secondary ‘Disclosure Day’ thoughts and the divisive audience response

(43:17) Steven Spielberg’s 21st-century filmography

(1:15:34) The 21st-Century Steven Spielberg Rankings

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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On today’s show, Sean and Amanda cover one of their most anticipated movies of the year: Steven Spielberg’s alien thriller ‘Disclosure Day,’ starring Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt. Before diving in, Sean revels in the glory of an all-time New York Knicks victory that extended their NBA Finals lead over the San Antonio Spurs to 3-1 (0:43). Then, they hit myriad movie news headlines and, most importantly, react to the first trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Social Reckoning’ (12:47). Next, they have a wide-ranging conversation about ‘Disclosure Day,’ which they found to be an incredibly fascinating movie, not without flaws, and an amazing platform for Emily Blunt, who delivers the best performance of her career (38:05). Finally, they go into full spoilers and break down specific plot points, character motivations, and the final shot of the film (1:05:29).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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Sean and Amanda kick off the show with some movie news, including the remarkable box office surge that shows no signs of slowing down (0:45). Next, they discuss why the new Scary Movie doesn't work and why audiences are showing up for it anyway (8:48). Then, they are joined by Yasi Salek and Adam Nayman to celebrate Mel Brooks as he approaches his 100th birthday (16:57). Together, they comb through his legendary filmography, rank his films (55:24), discuss his lasting influence on comedy, and explore how his work helped shape generations of filmmakers. Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Yasi Salek and Adam Nayman

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh, Sarah Reddy, and Jamie Yukich

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Sean joins forces with Griffin Newman of the Blank Check podcast. Together, they discuss the recent run of box-office successes and what it says about the current state of movies (2:16), before answering the call of Grayskull and journeying to Eternia to unpack the latest adaptation of 'Masters of the Universe' (21:25). While there, they discuss the best high-fantasy films of all time (1:15:40), and Griffin unveils his Toy Movie Hall of Fame (1:25:58). Later, Sean sits down with Samara Weaving and Adam Rehmeier, the star and director of the new crime romance 'Carolina Caroline,' to discuss making the film and the winding paths that led them there (1:45:20).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Griffin Newman, Samara Weaving, and Adam Rehmeier

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh, Sarah Reddy, and Jamie Yukich

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Movies are so back! Sean and Amanda break down the remarkable success of 'Obsession' and 'Backrooms' and discuss the larger phenomenon currently unfolding in Hollywood (3:00). Then, they revisit their predictions in the Summer Movie Preview Game, examining where they were surprisingly spot-on and where they missed the mark entirely (33:00). Next, they catch up on 10 new releases they missed while traveling last month (39:45).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh, Sarah Reddy and Jamie Yukich

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Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to explore some liminal spaces and figure out what really scares them. They open the show by reacting to some brief movie news (3:20) before diving deep into one of the most highly anticipated directorial debuts this decade: Kane Parsons’s ‘Backrooms,’ starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve (11:14). They break down how the movie pushes the filmmaking medium, discuss why it works on its own without any prior knowledge of the original material, and debate whether this type of success is a blip or whether it represents what the future of film will look like. Finally, Parsons joins Sean to discuss his new film and explain what the process was like shifting from making stuff for YouTube to making something for the big screen (1:02:02).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Kane Parsons and Chris Ryan

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … we used to have good ‘Star Wars’ movies. Before diving into ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’, Sean and Amanda give a final recap of their trip to the Cannes Film Festival, and cover a handful of movie news headlines they missed while they were overseas (2:28). Then, they are joined by ‘Star Wars’ superfan Van Lathan to discuss who the movie was actually made for, why it doesn’t feel special for one of cinema’s biggest movie franchises, and how this film marks an end of an era for ‘Star Wars’ at large (32:02). Finally, Sean is joined by Daniel Roher to discuss why he felt his new film ‘Tuner’ was an exercise to prove to himself that he could broaden his horizons outside of the documentary genre (1:28:33).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Daniel Roher and Van Lathan

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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Bonjour! Sean and Amanda recap their first trip to the legendary Cannes Film Festival, which has become an incredible bellwether for the Best Picture race over the last five to 10 years. First, they talk through what the actual experience at the festival is like, including how it logistically works, what the vibes are like, and how to survive (0:39). Then, they dive into the slate of films they’ve seen and categorize them into the good, the bad, and the WTF (24:29). Finally, they share their final predictions for all of the main prizes at the festival and briefly cover some potential Oscar implications (1:40:54).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh and Sarah Reddy

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We’re drafting again! Sean and Amanda are joined by potential third chairs Chris Ryan and Tracy Letts to draft their favorite movies from 1976. 

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Chris Ryan and Tracy Letts

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh and Sarah Reddy

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