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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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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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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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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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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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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Sean is joined by Adam Nayman for an extensive examination of the themes, production, and style of Brady Corbet’s ‘The Brutalist,’ one of the most anticipated and audacious movies of the year (1:00). They discuss the idea of a new movie aiming at the canon, Corbet’s filmmaking style and the marketing associated with it, the chapterized structure of the storytelling, the performances both at the center and on the edges of the frame, and more. Sean is then joined by Corbet (1:17:00) to discuss the circuitous route to getting the film on the big screen; how he sees a director’s job; writing with his partner, Mona Fastvold; working with Adrien Brody; and more. Finally, Brody joins the show to talk about what was so appealing about the 'Brutalist’ script, how he accessed the personal themes of the character he plays, the different technological hurdles of shooting in the long-dormant VistaVision format, and more (2:08:00).

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Adam Nayman, Brady Corbet, and Adrien Brody

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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Sean is joined by Chris Ryan and Rob Mahoney to discuss the new Robert Eggers vampire film, ‘Nosferatu,’ releasing on Christmas and starring Lily-Rose Depp, Bill Skarsgard, and Nicholas Hoult (1:00). They discuss the original ‘Nosferatu,’ now more than 100 years old, Eggers’s vision of the character and story, and the long history of vampires in cinema, before ultimately each sharing their five favorite vampire movies (43:00). Then, Sean is joined by Eggers to talk about the production of the movie, why vampires persist in storytelling, the themes of the film, and more (1:11:00).

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Chris Ryan, Rob Mahoney, and Robert Eggers

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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Sean is joined by Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin to dig all the way into ‘A Complete Unknown,’ James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. They discuss, among other things, the musical performances of Chalamet and his costar Monica Barbaro, the supporting performances around the edges of the movie, Mangold’s ability to tackle one of the most central pop cultural figures in American history, the moment the film is trying to capture, and more.

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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Sean starts the episode with a monologue about the up-and-down state of the movie release calendar after a handful of extremely disappointing movies like ‘Kraven the Hunter,’ ‘Mufasa: The Lion King,’ and ‘Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim’ hit theaters recently, before they give way to stronger films like ‘The Brutalist,’ ‘Nosferatu,’ ‘A Complete Unknown,’ ‘Babygirl,’ and more (1:00). Then, he’s joined by Joanna Robinson to talk about the winners and losers, broadly, of the year in movies (6:00). They then share their latest Best Picture power rankings (1:08:00). Finally, Sean is joined by ‘Nickel Boys’ director RaMell Ross to discuss the revolutionary style and vision of the film, adapting Colson Whitehead’s novel, his path to becoming an artist, and more (1:25:00).

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Joanna Robinson and RaMell Ross

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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