The Big Picture - The Ringer

Latest Episodes:

The 21st-Century (American) British Movie Canon, ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,’ and ‘Paddington in Peru’ Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda are joined by ‘Bandsplain’ host Yasi Salek to discuss ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,’ the fourth installment in the franchise (1:00), before breaking down ‘Paddington in Peru,’ the third film in the beloved ‘Paddington’ series (35:00). Then, they sketch out a loose American vision of the British film canon for the 21st century (50:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Yasi Salek

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Is Marvel’s Rock Bottom. Now What? Feb 14, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to review the utter mess that is ‘Captain America: Brave New World.’ They discuss its various rewrites, the ways the movie shows its seams, why Harrison Ford is even interested in taking roles like this, and what it means for the end of Phase 5 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Chris Ryan

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The Mega-Mailbag Is Here, and the New Best Picture Front-Runner Is … Feb 10, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda react to the movie trailers that ran during the Super Bowl and give their broader thoughts about cinema’s role in football’s biggest broadcast (1:00). Then, they dig into the PGA and DGA Awards, including what they portend for the front-running films at the Oscars, like ‘Anora,’ ‘The Brutalist,’ and ‘Emilia Pérez’ (11:00). Finally, they open up the mailbag: Listeners sent in over 1,000 questions about watching habits, the state of theater-going, auteur theory, work-life-movie balance, and much more (37:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The Top 10 Garbage Love Movies, ‘Companion,’ and ‘You’re Cordially Invited’ Feb 07, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda react to the ‘Fantastic Four’ and ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ trailers (1:00) before discussing the slate of movies being released that are tied to Valentine’s Day, including Drew Hancock’s ‘Companion’ (15:15), ‘You’re Cordially Invited’ (29:30), ‘Love Me’, and ‘Heart Eyes’ (40:00). Then, they mint a new bespoke subgenre called “garbage love”—romance movies that use genre as a vehicle to deliver their love stories (55:00). Then, Sean is joined by Hancock to discuss his circuitous journey to directing his first feature, ‘Companion’; casting Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher in the lead roles; working alongside ‘Barbarian’ producer Zach Cregger; the themes of the film; the difficultly of promoting a movie that relies so much on the tension in its script; and more (1:24:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Drew Hancock

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The 10 Best Movies at Sundance, and the Astonishing ‘Nickel Boys’ Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda discuss the evolving story of Karla Sofía Gascón’s old tweets (1:00) and what it might portend for the ‘Emilia Pérez’ Oscar hopes. Then, they discuss an underwhelming Sundance 2025 (12:00) before diving deep into one of the best movies of 2024, ‘Nickel Boys’ (44:00), and discussing the excellent Michael Keaton performance at the center of ‘Goodrich’ (1:01:00). Finally, Sean is joined by director Tim Fehlbaum to discuss ‘September 5,’ how he became interested in the story that it depicts, casting the film, and the ascendant run it’s been on this awards season (1:15:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Tim Fehlbaum

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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Best Picture Power Rankings and Brutal Honesty About ‘The Brutalist’ Jan 31, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda dig into ‘The Brutalist’ (with spoilers!)—the text, the reception, the performances, the score, its awards chances, its lasting presence in the American film canon, and everything in between (1:00). Then, they’re joined by Joanna Robinson to weigh in on the Best Picture race and rank all 10 films nominated for the award based on their current chances to win the race (1:31:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Joanna Robinson

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The 2025 Dumpuary Extravaganza. Plus: Steven Soderbergh Returns! Jan 27, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda are joined by Yasi Salek to discuss ‘Better Man,’ the bizarro Robbie Williams biopic in which he is rendered as a CGI chimpanzee (1:00) and ‘One of Them Days,’ the Keke Palmer and SZA action comedy produced by Issa Rae and directed by Lawrence Lamont (29:00). Then, Yasi departs and Sean and Amanda explore ‘Back In Action,’ the spy-action-comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx that jumped up to number one on Netflix (53:00). Next, Chris Ryan joins to weigh in on ‘Wolf Man,’ ‘Flight’ Risk,' and ‘Presence,’ a trio of movies of wildly different quality from three accomplished directors (1:06:00). Finally, Sean is joined by Steven Soderbergh to discuss his 35th feature film ‘Presence,’ a tense thriller experimenting with point-of-view and form (1:40:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Yasi Salek, Chris Ryan, and Steven Soderbergh

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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2025 Oscar Nominations: Snubs, Surprises, and WTFs Jan 23, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda give their instant reactions to the Oscar nominations announced this morning, including their takes on what films are running hot and which ones seem to have cooled off over the past few months (1:00). Is ‘Emilia Pérez’ the full-on front-runner? Will recent stories about the use of AI in ‘The Brutalist’ sour its chances in the big categories? Plus: They check in on the state of the Big Oscar Bet from September, when they attempted to predict the nominations and winners in 11 categories (1:07:00). Then, Sean is joined by the director of ‘Flow,’ Gints Zilbalodis, to discuss his nontraditional path to the director’s chair, the unexpected mass appeal of the film, how he found his particular animation style, and more (1:16:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Gints Zilbalodis

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The 2025 Movie Auction Jan 20, 2025

Show notes

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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The Loss of David Lynch. Plus, Our Oscar Nomination Predictions. Jan 17, 2025

Show notes

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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