The Big Picture

By The Ringer

TV & Film

What's The Big Picture about?

Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins review the movies you need to see. Plus: Top 5s, Movie Drafts, Oscars analysis, and more, featuring a rotating cast of Ringer colleagues like Chris Ryan, Van Lathan, and Bill Simmons.

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The Keanu Reeves Hall of Fa...

03.24.2023

To celebrate the fourth installment of the 'John Wick' franchise, Sean and Amanda build Keanu Reeves’s hall of fame (9:00) before breaking down the new action epic (55:30). Then, Sean is joined by the director of ‘JW4,’ Chad Stahelski, to ...

The Big Picture episodes:

03.24.2023 The Keanu Reeves Hall of Fame and ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ To celebrate the fourth installment of the 'John Wick' franchise, Sean and Amanda build Keanu Reeves’s hall of fame (9:00) before breaking down the new action epic (55:30). Then, Sean is joined by the director of ‘JW4,’ Chad Stahelski, to ...
03.21.2023 The Movie Star Playbook: Adam Driver Edition. Plus: Did the Superhero Era Just Die? Sean and Amanda look at the disappointing box office for ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ and discuss the perilous future of superhero movies (1:00). Then, they dig deep into ‘65’ and the fascinating career arc of Adam Driver, discussing his ...
03.17.2023 ‘Scream VI’ and the Scream Movie Rankings Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan and Sean’s sister Grace to dive deep into ‘Scream VI’ and break down the entire franchise. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan and Grace Fennessey Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn ...
03.14.2023 The Oscar Hangover Mailbag: An Unrealistic 2024 Preview and How to Improve the Show Sean and Amanda are joined by Joanna Robinson to dig deeper into the telecast and answer your questions about the past and future of the Academy Awards. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Joanna Robinson Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn ...
03.13.2023 The 2023 Oscars: Everything Everywhere All the Academy Awards Sean and Amanda break down the 95th Academy Awards, from Jimmy Kimmel’s take-no-prisoners monologue to the dominant performance of ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
03.09.2023 Oscar Predictions: Who Will and Should Win at the Academy Awards Sean and Amanda dig into what to expect from the Academy Awards, including prop bets for the telecast and predictions for every category. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03.07.2023 The ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Watch-Along It’s time to wonder what will break first—your spirit … or your body. Chris Ryan joins Sean and Amanda to watch and discuss the final chapter in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The movie is now available on HBO Max, so ...
03.03.2023 ‘Creed III’ and the Top 10 Boxing Movies The third film in the Adonis Creed story, and the directorial debut of its star Michael B. Jordan, is here. Sean and Amanda dive deep into the movie before rope-a-doping their way through the definitive list of the top 10 ...
02.28.2023 The 2023 Alternative Oscars, A.K.A the Big Picks! That’s right, after a one-year hiatus, the Alternative Oscars are back, and that means Wesley Morris is back! He joins Sean and Amanda to hand out the only awards that matter. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Wesley Morris ...
02.24.2023 ‘Cocaine Bear’ and the Top Five Cocaine Movies That’s right, folks, ‘Cocaine Bear’ is here. It’s a movie about a bear on cocaine. That’s the movie. Sean and Amanda break it down and then share their favorite cocaine movies (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by ‘Turning Red’ writer ...
02.21.2023 Diving Deep Into ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and ‘Triangle of Sadness’ Sean and Amanda are joined by Van Lathan to plumb the depths of two nautically inclined films that happen to be nominated for Best Picture at next month’s ceremony, 'Avatar: The Way of Water' and 'Triangle of Sadness.’ Hosts: Sean ...
02.17.2023 ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Is Here! But Is Marvel’s Future Here Too? Sean and Amanda are joined by 'Ringer-Verse' cohost Mallory Rubin to measure the successes and shortcomings of the first film in Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Peyton Reed’s 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ (1:00). Then, they take stock ...
02.14.2023 The 1993 Mega Movie Draft We are drafting again! And this time, the roster is growing. Van Lathan and Rob Mahoney join Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan for a draft of one of the greatest years in movie history: 1993. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda ...
02.10.2023 ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ and the Top Five Dance Movies With this latest installment, Steven Soderbergh concludes his ‘Magic Mike’ trilogy. So, Sean and Amanda are celebrating by breaking down the new film (5:00), taking a long look at the filmmaker’s annual media diary, and sharing their five favorite dance ...
02.07.2023 Best Picture Power Rankings and a Deeply Weird Best Actress Investigation With less than five weeks until the Academy Awards, Joanna Robinson joins Sean and Amanda to dive deep into the Andrea Riseborough nomination controversy (1:00), sort an unpredictable pair of Best Actor and Best Actress races, and power rank the ...
02.03.2023 ‘Knock at the Cabin’ and Shyamalan Double Features, With M. Night Shyamalan! Elric Kane and Brian Saur, hosts of the ‘Pure Cinema Podcast,’ join Sean to talk about ‘Knock at the Cabin’ and provide some double-feature recommendations for our favorite M. Night Shyamalan films (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by Shyamalan himself ...
02.01.2023 ‘Plane’ and the Top 10 Sky Trash Movies From the boys who brought you Garbage Crime, Junk Sci-Fi, and Trash Special Ops, comes: Sky Trash. Sean and Chris Ryan break down the latest entrant, ‘Plane' (1:00), and share their favorite examples of the subgenre (45:00). Host: Sean Fennessey ...
01.27.2023 The Oscar Nominations Hangover and the Top 10 Movies at Sundance Sean and Amanda take a closer look at the Academy’s 2023 picks (1:00) before digging into their experience with a virtual Sundance Film Festival, discussing the sales, the trends, and their favorite movies. Then, writer-director Brandon Cronenberg joins to discuss ...
01.24.2023 The 2023 Oscar Nominations: Snubs, Surprises, and WTFs The Oscar nominations are here! Sean and Amanda break 'em all down, including the big surprises and the final tally for the Best Picture race (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by Belgian writer-director and newly minted Oscar nominee Lukas Dhont ...
01.20.2023 The 2023 Movie Auction. Plus: Damien Chazelle on ‘Babylon’! An action-packed episode! Chris Ryan joins Sean and Amanda to share some final Oscar nomination predictions (1:00) before engaging in a truly chaotic 2023 movie auction. Then, the team from ‘Babylon’—writer-director Damien Chazelle, actor-producer Olivia Hamilton, and producer Matthew Plouffe—talk ...
01.17.2023 Top Five War Movies and ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to discuss the dark horse Oscar contender ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ and their favorite films about war. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn ...
01.13.2023 ‘M3GAN,’ Plus Five Shocking Awards Season Twists With the SAG, PGA, and DGA nominations out, Amanda and Sean analyze the results and what they mean for an increasingly confusing awards season (1:00). Then, they dig deep into the first box-office hit of 2023, the hilarious killer doll ...
01.11.2023 The 2023 Golden Globes: Hollywood’s Messiest Night Returns The 80th annual Golden Globes returned to the airwaves and carved a path for the next two months of this awards season. Sean and Amanda break down a big night for ‘The Fabelmans,’ ‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ Angela Bassett, and ...
01.06.2023 Best Picture Power Rankings: An ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Surge and a Surprise No. 1 We’re back to power rank! With the release of Sarah Polley’s ‘Women Talking,’ Sean and Amanda are joined by Joanna Robinson to discuss the new film (1:00) and see where it stands in the Best Picture race (44:00). Then, Polley ...
01.03.2023 The 23 Most Anticipated Movies of 2023 Happy New Year! Amanda and Sean are gearing up for 2023 at the movies. On this episode, they talk about what happened at the box office over the holidays (1:00) and pick their most eagerly awaited films of the year ...
01.01.2023 The Top 10 Animated Movies of 2022 and ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ Sean is joined by Charles Holmes to talk about the amazing stop-motion achievement ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ and the best animated movies of 2022. Host: Sean Fennessey Guest: Charles Holmes Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
12.30.2022 ‘Babylon,’ ‘White Noise,’ and 10 Oscars Contenders to Stream Now Sean and Amanda double dip into two maximal extravaganzas from two of our most exciting auteurs. First up: Damien Chazelle’s Silent Era Hollywood bacchanalia ‘Babylon’ and then their top 5 movies about Hollywood (1:00). Then, they discuss Noah Baumbach’s adaptation ...
12.27.2022 ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ and the Top Five Puzzle Movies Sean and Amanda dive deep into Rian Johnson’s ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,’ the delightful sequel to his smash murder mystery (1:00). Then, they share their five favorite puzzle movies (50:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Bobby ...
12.23.2022 The 2019 Movie Draft We are drafting again! And Amanda is back! She and Sean are joined by Chris Ryan to pick their faves and foil their pals in a draft of the movies from 2019. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris ...
12.20.2022 The 10 Actors Who Won 2022. Plus: ‘Bardo’! Sean and Amanda share their 10 favorite performances of the year (1:00). Then, Adam Nayman joins the show to discuss Alejandro González Iñárritu’s new Netflix film ‘Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths’ (33:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda ...
12.16.2022 ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and the James Cameron Rankings Big Jim! We’re goin’ back to Pandora, baby! James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is here, 13 years after the original dominated the movie world. Sean and Amanda discuss the film in depth, from the extraordinary technological achievements to ...
12.13.2022 James Cameron: An Oral History Alan Siegel interviews some of James Cameron's creative collaborators to find out the secrets of the blockbuster director's success. You can read the written version of this feature at TheRinger.com. Host: Alan Siegel Edited by Andrew Gruttadaro Produced by Steve ...
12.12.2022 The Snubs and Surprises of the Golden Globe Noms, ‘The Whale,’ and the Brendan Fraser Hall of Fame Zach Baron joins Sean and Amanda for an action-packed episode that hits on the Golden Globe nominations; Will Smith’s new movie, ‘Emancipation’; and the new Brendan Fraser film, ‘The Whale.’ Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Zach Baron Producer: ...
12.09.2022 A 'Big Pic' Gift Guide: 10 Blu-rays Every Human Needs. Plus: Park Chan-wook! Happy holidays! Actor Timothy Simons joins Sean for the ultimate gift: a conversation about how to build a Blu-ray collection—how to shop for them, what to play them on, the best ones to buy, whether it’s an addiction or not, ...
12.06.2022 The Top Five Movies of 2022 It’s here—time for year-end lists! Adam Nayman and Chris Ryan join Sean and Amanda to discuss Sight and Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time poll before diving into 2022 and sharing their top five movies of the year. Hosts: Sean ...
12.02.2022 Best Picture Power Rankings: Let the Games Begin Oscar season is … here? Sean and Amanda briefly dig into the 2022 Sight and Sound poll before discussing the touching new Robert Downey Jr. family documentary 'Sr.' (1:00) . Then, they run through their first power ranking of the ...
11.29.2022 ‘The Menu,’ ‘Bones and All,’ and 20 Movies We Missed From 2022 It’s been a long year at the movies. We’ve covered almost everything on the show. But a few titles slipped through the cracks. Sean and Amanda run through a list of recent releases and 2022 titles they missed (1:00). Then, ...
11.23.2022 The Steven Spielberg Rankings and ‘The Fabelmans’ ‘The Fabelmans,’ Spielberg’s deeply personal new film, opens wide this holiday weekend. To celebrate, Joanna Robinson joins Sean and Amanda to break down the movie and rank all 35 of his films. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Joanna ...
11.21.2022 How to Direct a Movie, With Sam Esmail ‘Mr. Robot’ creator and filmmaker Sam Esmail returns to the show for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of movies and how he made his forthcoming 2023 film, ‘Leave the World Behind,’ from conception to completion. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and ...
11.18.2022 Mega Mailbag: ‘She Said,’ Best Journalism Movies, and an Oscars Power Ranking ‘She Said,’ a new installment in the long history of journalism films, premieres this weekend. Bryan Curtis, the host of the 'Press Box' podcast, joins Sean and Amanda to dig into the film, break down its Oscar chances, and answer ...
11.15.2022 The 1997 Movie Draft We are drafting again! And Amanda is back! She and Sean are joined by Chris Ryan to pick their faves and foil their pals in a draft of the movies from 1997. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris ...
11.11.2022 ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Is Here! The sequel to Ryan Coogler’s box office–dominating, culture-shifting, Oscar-nominated 2018 film is here. Van Lathan joins Sean and Amanda to break it all down. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Van Lathan Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ...
11.08.2022 The 2022 Movie Star Ranking: 35 Under 35, Revisited More than 20 months ago, Sean and Amanda embarked on their first-ever Movie Star Ranking. It's become a yearly tradition, and with the streaming release of two under-35 star-led vehicles, Harry Styles's 'My Policeman' and Jennifer Lawrence's 'Causeway,' we're running ...
11.05.2022 ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ and Top 5 Movie Friendships Chris Ryan joins Sean and Amanda to dive into Martin McDonagh’s new film, ‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ a reunion of Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell from McDonagh’s 2008 cult classic, ‘In Bruges,’ (1:00) before sharing their top 5 movie friendships ...
11.01.2022 Ten Movies to See Right Now. Plus, James Gray Returns! It’s a tremendously hectic period at the movies right now, with award season picking up pace, the Streaming Wars in high gear, and some major-event movies right around the corner. Sean and Amanda break down 10-plus new releases now streaming ...
10.28.2022 'TÁR' Is the Movie of 2022. Here’s Why. Sean and Amanda dive deep into one of the year’s most exciting and resonant movies, Todd Field’s ‘Tár' (1:00). Then, Field joins Sean to discuss the world of classical music, Cate Blanchett, and how he made the film (1:27:00). Hosts: ...
10.25.2022 ‘Black Adam’: The Worst Movie of the Decade? The hierarchy of power has changed and Sean is depressed about it. Charles Holmes and Rob Mahoney join Sean to talk about ‘Black Adam,’ the no. 1 movie at the box office, the latest installment in the DCEU, and yet ...
10.21.2022 The Julia Roberts Hall of Fame and ‘Ticket to Paradise’ Julia Roberts, the once (and maybe future) queen of the box office returns to movie theaters this weekend with ‘Ticket to Paradise,’ a rom-com reunion of sorts with George Clooney—her first starring role on the big screen in four years. ...
10.18.2022 ‘Halloween Ends’ and the 'Halloween' Movie Rankings ‘Halloween Ends,’ the third and allegedly final installment of David Gordon Green’s legacy sequel 'Halloween' trilogy, debuted this weekend in theaters and streaming on Peacock. Chris Ryan joins Sean to talk about the new film, the year in horror, and ...
10.14.2022 The Horror Movie Draft We are drafting again and since it’s Halloween season, we needed to bring in a big gun. Six-time 'Big Picture' returning champion Alex Ross Perry is live and in studio to parse through the horror canon. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and ...

Older episodes

The Big Picture

What's The Big Picture about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Big Picture episodes:

The Keanu Reeves Hall of Fame and ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’

The Movie Star Playbook: Adam Driver Edition. Plus: Did the Superhero Era Just Die?

‘Scream VI’ and the Scream Movie Rankings

The Oscar Hangover Mailbag: An Unrealistic 2024 Preview and How to Improve the Show

The 2023 Oscars: Everything Everywhere All the Academy Awards

Oscar Predictions: Who Will and Should Win at the Academy Awards

The ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Watch-Along

‘Creed III’ and the Top 10 Boxing Movies

The 2023 Alternative Oscars, A.K.A the Big Picks!

‘Cocaine Bear’ and the Top Five Cocaine Movies

Diving Deep Into ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and ‘Triangle of Sadness’

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Is Here! But Is Marvel’s Future Here Too?

The 1993 Mega Movie Draft

‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ and the Top Five Dance Movies

Best Picture Power Rankings and a Deeply Weird Best Actress Investigation

‘Knock at the Cabin’ and Shyamalan Double Features, With M. Night Shyamalan!

‘Plane’ and the Top 10 Sky Trash Movies

The Oscar Nominations Hangover and the Top 10 Movies at Sundance

The 2023 Oscar Nominations: Snubs, Surprises, and WTFs

The 2023 Movie Auction. Plus: Damien Chazelle on ‘Babylon’!

Top Five War Movies and ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’

‘M3GAN,’ Plus Five Shocking Awards Season Twists

The 2023 Golden Globes: Hollywood’s Messiest Night Returns

Best Picture Power Rankings: An ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Surge and a Surprise No. 1

The 23 Most Anticipated Movies of 2023

The Top 10 Animated Movies of 2022 and ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’

‘Babylon,’ ‘White Noise,’ and 10 Oscars Contenders to Stream Now

‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ and the Top Five Puzzle Movies

The 2019 Movie Draft

The 10 Actors Who Won 2022. Plus: ‘Bardo’!

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and the James Cameron Rankings

James Cameron: An Oral History

The Snubs and Surprises of the Golden Globe Noms, ‘The Whale,’ and the Brendan Fraser Hall of Fame

A 'Big Pic' Gift Guide: 10 Blu-rays Every Human Needs. Plus: Park Chan-wook!

The Top Five Movies of 2022

Best Picture Power Rankings: Let the Games Begin

‘The Menu,’ ‘Bones and All,’ and 20 Movies We Missed From 2022

The Steven Spielberg Rankings and ‘The Fabelmans’

How to Direct a Movie, With Sam Esmail

Mega Mailbag: ‘She Said,’ Best Journalism Movies, and an Oscars Power Ranking

The 1997 Movie Draft

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Is Here!

The 2022 Movie Star Ranking: 35 Under 35, Revisited

‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ and Top 5 Movie Friendships

Ten Movies to See Right Now. Plus, James Gray Returns!

'TÁR' Is the Movie of 2022. Here’s Why.

‘Black Adam’: The Worst Movie of the Decade?

The Julia Roberts Hall of Fame and ‘Ticket to Paradise’

‘Halloween Ends’ and the 'Halloween' Movie Rankings

The Horror Movie Draft

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