The Big Picture - The 10 Best Movies of the Year … So Far

Episode Date: July 3, 2024

Sean and Amanda are joined by a deep bench of Ringer colleagues to share their favorite movies of the year. The selections range from heavy hitters like ‘Dune: Part Two’ and ‘Challengers’ to big swings like ‘Civil War.’ And, of course, Glen Powell will feature. To watch episodes of ‘The Big Picture,’ head to https://www.youtube.com/@RingerMovies. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin, Joanna Robinson, Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Adam Nayman, Rob Mahoney Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, my name is Dave Gonzalez, and I haven't read any of the books in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. I'm Joanna Robinson, and I've read every book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. And I'm Neil Miller, and I have also read those very heavy books. Years ago, we hosted a Game of Thrones podcast called A Storm of Spoilers, and we're thrilled to head back to Westeros to cover the second season of House of the Dragon on the Trial by Content feed. We'll be using our book knowledge to dive deep into each episode and answer your lingering questions so send us a raven every week to trial by content at gmail.com follow and subscribe to trial by content on spotify or wherever you get your podcast to join us on thursdays where these two will explain to me which targaryen is right I'm Sean Fennessy.

I'm Amanda Dobbins. And this is The Big Picture, a conversation show about the best movies of the year so far. We've invited some guests onto the pod today, some guests to share their opinions, to share their takes, to share their favorite movies of 2024. Has it been a good year for movies 2024?

We've made the best of it. I've had a nice time. Have you? Mostly. Okay. I would say it hasn't. No. It hasn't.

And it's also the anticipation of what's to come is also interesting. It's complicated. Yeah. There has been some

really good stuff. I think this is a great opportunity to talk about some smaller movies. Which we're going to do. Which we're going to do. There's been some really good stuff. I think this is a great opportunity to talk about some smaller movies. Which we're going to do. Which we're going to do. There's obviously a few heavy hitters that you and I loved, that some of our guests loved.

Now that we've had all these conversations, I look back at the movies I didn't mention, and then I'm like, oh, I forgot to mention this, and I forgot to mention this. Maybe it's better than I think. But we're not at 2019 or 2007 or 1939 levels of greatness right now. Or even last year. We're not.

We're not. Yeah. And obviously, you know, the strikes contributed to that and a number of other things in the movie business and streaming and all that other bullshit that we talk about all the time. What if the second half is amazing? Listen, you better light a candle. I hope that that's true.

All right. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. We've got that. We've got Conclave. We got a movie full of priests and popes. Yeah, I am looking that's true. All right. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. We've got that. We've got Conclave. We've got a movie full of priests and popes. Yeah, I am looking forward to that. That sounds good. We've got Venom.

Venom, The Last Dance. Are you kidding me? Do your Venom. Venom! We are Venom. I love Venom. Craven the Hunter. Sure, yeah.

I wonder if I'll see that. Nosferatu, you're excited. Wow. Yeah. You know uh we did the auction already but i already got nosferatu i was so excited to see that i already got nosferatu yeah i got it for one dollar six months ago so that's how pumped i've been for that well anything else like what are you what are you like in your heart of hearts you're like this is the movie that i care about the most that's coming out in the second half of the year i honestly can't think of anything right now. Great sign.

All right, let's go to our first guest. I'm surrounded by just a wave, a wall of femininity right now. I don't know if I've ever been on set with three female co-hosts at the same time. Okay, we can tell. That's an indictment of the ringer.

We can tell based on the way you chose to introduce us. Maybe all these women in one room together. I haven't been invited to these shows. This is payback

for Dudes Rock, the podcast. I've never been invited to Jam Session. I've never been invited to every single album. I've never been invited to the house.

I have been invited to the house. You've been on House of R multiple times. I drafted, that's true. Multiple times. But only for drafts, you know? And then usually there was another dude in the room

to make him feel more comfortable. That's true. I have to say, I think the question based on how you chose to introduce this segment is not whether you've ever podcasted with three women,

but whether you've ever been around three women, period. In any circumstance. Well, there's first for everything, you know, so this is a momentous day for a number of reasons. Something Mallory and I decided

is that we're bringing back the Nuzler. It didn't really catch on after the draft the way we wanted it to. It was powerful in the moment, though. Yeah. Imagine how it was for my wife. Nuzler and giggles, yeah.

Nuzler was wonderful. Well, it's not something I'm going to, you know, propagate myself. Yeah, that's on us. It's on us. Yeah, okay. Imagine if I was like,

I'm the Nuzler before every episode. Yeah, really upset. Wags, can you clip that, please? And send it to Steve for the House of Arse's on us. Yeah. Okay. Imagine if I was like, I'm the nuzzler before every episode. Yeah. Really upset. Wags, can you clip that, please? And send it to Steve for the House of R soundbite. Thanks. Appreciate it.

Yeah, I got it. Appreciate it. We'll have the t-shirts soon. Mallory Rubin and Joanna Robinson are here. House of R. Hey. Straight from a House of R recording.

That's right. You guys just clipped eight hours on the Acolyte episode five. You've come straight from the studio to another studio. Do you remember when you said we weren't invited back on the podcast ever again? Did I say that?

Yeah, for the draft. What did you do? It was because of, I believe, I believe if memory serves, it was in reference to the Ringer vs. Podium sweep of the 99 draft. And I can't recall that. Did that happen? Did you repress the memory? I've had the episode deleted.

It's been scrubbed from the archives. And you'll never be able to hear that ever again. But you're here to talk about your favorite movie of the year so far. You know, you were prompted ahead of time by our producer, Bobby Wagner. Mallory jumped on Dune Part 2. Yeah. What I said was, can I pick Dune Part 2? Has anyone picked Dune Part 2?

And no one had yet. And this is, after eight years of the ringer my first real lesson and why it's important to respond to slacks quickly i felt great i was gonna say you no one had because you picked first congratulations on your number one draft pick in this non-draft was it a bobby was it a was it a simultaneous he did i'm not gonna tell i won't reveal publicly what bob Bobby said to me. He did. He responded with candor about who he thought would carry a lifelong vendetta against me

if I did, in fact, stick with my pick. And I said, I will not live in fear. I am going with Dune Part 2. Do you want to name names? Is that person in the room? No. Actually, no. Okay.

Yeah. I would say Bobby doesn't seem sure that Van and I will ever speak again. Oh, wow. I don't know how Bobby chooses. Maybe it's like a random number generator who he asks first, but I was at least fourth, I think, on the ask list this time, which is fine, Bobby.

That's fine. There was no vendettas. I was just asking people based on who Sean put the list in front of me, who was on that list and in what order. He was watching Miller Henderson highlights and he hit me up. I gotta say, like, you know, Mallory and I have been chatting baseball since 2018. So sometimes I give her a little head start. There we go.

Wow. You got preferential treatment. Baseball is back. Okay. So because of that, we got word that you're trying to piggyback on your co-host pick. We believe in partnership and collaboration. Mallory was the one who came up with this idea.

She said, what if we did it together? Well, unfortunately, on this podcast, we believe in round numbers. So you guys teaming up means we're only at nine best movies of the year. We love to share stories. But what if you guys have more than one best movie of the year? Joanna, you have seen a lot of movies this year. You think we're going to be able to come up teaming up. We love to share stories. Joanna, you have seen a lot of movies this year.

You think we're going to be able to come up with two favorites? I do not. Here's what's true. Dune and Challengers went off the board really early. And I think every single person since was like, can I have Dune? Can I have the Zendaya special? No? No Zendaya on the left?

Okay. I do have a backup if needs must. Well, let's let Mal cook on Dune Part 2 a little bit. Even though you have podcasted roughly 14 hours

about Dune Part 2 already, nevertheless. Not as many as we were supposed to. Oh, is this the Paul Atreides Hall of Fame episode at long last? One day,

the bad babies will get their Hall of Fame. One day. What did you like about dune part two i liked everything about dune part two literally everything about it i loved seeing it with all of you i loved shoving my hand into that popcorn bucket yeah it went in so many directions yeah feeling the tingle of those rubbery teeth on my wrist i I loved how long it was. I loved how loud it was.

I loved... This could just really apply to everything. This is just every day on House of Arby's. You're kind of like... There's a charge in you right now. Yeah, I guess.

Dune is one of my favorite stories in the world. It's one of my favorite books ever. It is a formative tale in our universe and in our lives. I thought that Dune Part one of my favorite stories in the world. It's one of my favorite books ever. It is a formative tale in our universe and in our lives. I thought that Dune Part 1 was sensational. I love every Denis Villeneuve movie. And so my expectation for Dune Part 2 could just simply not have been higher.

Like where we left off in Part 1 and what we knew was coming based on the source material in this book. Every interview that Villeneuve had given, the way that he talked about the idea of the Messiah, it was so apparent to us that one of the things that we love about Frank Herbert's mission in the text was going to be like paramount in this film. And it not only did not disappoint,

it's one of those things where you go in with the hype so high, you're like, am I building myself up to be let down? No, it somehow managed to exceed expectations. Every time I saw it, I liked it more. It was visually astonishing. Despite the filmmaker's thoughts and feelings about dialogue, I thought that the script was dynamite.

And when I got to see Timmy stand there and say, I am Paul Atreides, Duke of Arrakis. I felt that my life had meaning and purpose at last. That was what I loved about Dune. Do you guys remember when he called a grandfather worm, when he rode Shia Lune? I thought you were going to say, do you remember in that same scene when he stood in front of everyone and said, Dune, for the title of the movie, very loudly, which was my favorite part. Yeah. That was great. I got to chill when he said Dune for the title of the movie very loudly which was my favorite part yeah that was great yeah i got a chill when he said dune so you like this movie a little bit i love muadib yeah usal it's wonderful stuff yeah it's the best i love spice what is spice spice is a

hallucinogenic no no i know but is it like what's the metaphor what is your take on the metaphor like what is it supposed to be? It's just a genuine question. Are you aware of Frank Herbert's personal penchant toward mushrooms? Yeah, so it's drugs, but not oil. I mean, it's all resources, but it is definitely also drugs. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I mean, yes.

Yeah, so it's a sci-fi allegory and a commentary on our political state, our ecological state. It's all of that. And also Frank Herbert's like, I really like to do mushrooms. That I do. Yeah, I've seen both films. Yeah. And read the plot summaries of everything that happens next. Oh, interesting.

Oh, you're on the way. Look at you. I know what happened. No spoilers. CR. Yeah. But it's actually, every time we talk about Dune Part 3, which I think, like,

will be made, but Sean is just in the dark about some of the challenges that Dune Part 3 might present. There's a lot. Yeah. There's a lot coming. But I know. You're not a Dune Messiah head?

I just don't know what's going to happen and I'm looking forward to learning when I see the film. Interesting. Whenever they decide to make the film. Is there anything you'd like

to add about Dune Part 2? That was a lot of things. As per usual, Mallory has covered most everything exquisitely. I will just share two fond memories from the screening that we all attended together. One was when Mallory shoved her popcorn bucket in Sean's direction. He said, no, thank you. And he had to say it multiple times. That was great. That was great.

That was good. And then in the lobby afterwards, Sean was like, did you like it? And I was like, yeah, I loved it. And you said, isn't it nice that there's a movie that we can all like? Our beloved film snobs. We like drooling IP lovers. We all like it. Charles loved it.

It was 10 ringer people in the same screening. And we all like it Charles loved it it was 10 ringer everyone loved it in the same screening and we all were like yeah I thought you were going to say the moment when we were all watching together

and Paul makes his choice and Van just goes what really loudly and in an English way I think you said god damn yeah

it was really good that was good yeah it's a good movie I like it when they fly you know at the very beginning where are you some months removed from the film Damn! It was really good. That was good. Yeah, it's a good movie. I like it when they fly, you know, at the very beginning. Where are you some months removed from the film on Austin Butler's voice work? This was the conversation we had in the lobby. It was about Austin Butler.

I feel great about everything that Austin Butler has done in 2024. I agree. Including staring at that lady and being like, you have an energy too. Have you guys seen that clip? Yes. Yeah. I wouldn't say I'm like on Twitter these days but even I saw that

and I was riveted. It was a really good moment. Is he if he wanted to if he just wanted to open a business of betting down

divorcees like he could do it today. Like if he he has like a very When you say open a business you mean like is this like a brothel?

Is this like a... If he wanted to be a professional gigolo, yeah. He could be the most highly paid gigolo in the world. Why haven't they made a movie

where Austin Butler is a professional gigolo? Just wait, you know? We're getting there. John Berenthal shit all over that when they remade American Gigolo. God damn it.

Shout out Showtime. Yeah, that was not ideal. Did you watch that show to completion? I mean, completing the series? It's funny when you, when the tables are turned on you. It's good.

It's nice. Mallory, did you finish? Yeah, yeah, yeah. More than once, actually. I've watched it many times. Bill and I had the pleasure of doing a Prestige TV episode. Did you recap the whole show?

Just the premiere. That was enough. That was enough. Memorable experience. That's too bad. of doing Hey Prestige TV did you recap the whole show just the just the premiere that was that was enough that was enough memorable experience that's too bad so you you were good ultimately

with what Austin did in that movie his performance as Stellan Skarsgård's lost son that's an instantly iconic performance the only complaint I have

is that what happens between Austin Butler and Lea Seydoux happens off screen oh you know I think we both could have enjoyed that I agree that could have brought is that what happens between Austin Butler and Lea Seydoux happens off screen. Oh. You know?

I think we both could have enjoyed that. I agree. That could have brought everyone together. That's something for the whole family. Yeah. Something for the whole family.

When canonically we know that it was like he loves to be humiliated. Put your hand in the box. Put your hand in the box. And he did. Something for all of us. Who among us

would not want to be humiliated by Lea Seydoux? Exactly. Any other deep thoughts? So you're claiming this. You don't have a... something for all of us who among us would not want to be humiliated by Lea Seydoux exactly any other deep thoughts Dune Part 2 so you're claiming this you don't have what's your runner up

I'll bring my back you have a runner up just so you guys can have 10 yeah yeah it's exciting we don't know what it is oh really yeah

I'll be keeping secrets I also have no idea well hopefully I'm not anyway it's The Fall Guy okay good oh good okay yeah I've seen this movie good it's The Fall Guy. Okay, good. Oh, good. Yeah. I've seen this movie.

Good. It's The Fall Guy. Very charming movie. Loved it. A movie that The Big Picture likes. A movie that House of R likes. Great movie. I saw this at South By, the premiere.

And I was a little worried that I had gotten South By pilled. Because when you're in the premiere at South By Southwest, and the actors are there, and everyone is all hyped up. And I had the best time. That was one of the best time that was like one of the best screening experiences i've ever had at south by um and so i was like i was like oh no was it just i was high on the room then i saw it again when i when it opened wide and i had an equally wonderful time and i was genuinely baffled by the response to the movie uh both like

critically and commercially. I know that it's had something of a long tail, and that's great, but this was a really charming movie. It reminded me a lot of late 80s, early 90s action-adventure romance, romancing the stone, just fun and sexy and exciting and funny. Great dog performance.

In all of that, in a long, all of that is this genuine love letter to cinema, which I thought was just wonderful. This love letter to the people who don't get credit

for making these movies that we love. And so I just thought, I thought Gosling was great. I thought Blunt was great. I thought Winston Duke was great. I thought Aaron Taylor Johnson's Matthew McConaughey impression

was great. I just had a wonderful time in this movie. Fun, fine time in the movies. I wonder if the movie was just released on like July 19th, if it just would have never become the flashpoint that it did become about what's wrong and how everything is terrible. And now we're on like a month later and everybody's like, we're back. It's fine. The Inside Out 2 opener and then we hit him with Fall Guy. But then we wouldn't have gotten one of the best moments in Ringer history, which was Amanda saying to Charles, take my hand.

Exactly. It was worth it for that. I did actually. The only problem with you taking. That was my concern. Did I steal it from you? Charles, as of this recording, has not yet picked a film because he can't think of one from 2024. He tried to claim one from 2023.

And I was going to make him pick the half of Fall Guy that he enjoyed because he finally did see it and begrudgingly liked half of it. Well, that's a lot for Charles. Right. So I did suggest that, but we'll get to it. Sorry. Don't worry. Sorry, Midnight Boys. Those are both great picks.

Are you feeling down about the state of movies thus far this year? I just don't think it's a deep bench of options. It hasn't been robust. But I think Dune 2 is genuinely a masterpiece. I think Challengers is genuinely a masterpiece. Loved it. If you ask me, is Fall Guy the best movie of the year, I will say no. But I'm happy to champion it, and I think it was really, really fun.

And I'm really, really glad it exists. You loved Dementus? Right, Furiosa happened. And I feel mixed positive about that. And then there's just like a bunch of really interesting things to come, but it is an oddly barren, I mean, you guys know because you

podcast about movies twice a week. I'm trying to figure it out. We're doing it. We're making it work. Under Paris. Do you want my review of that? I would. Yeah, the movie where a week, we're here. Trying to figure it out. We're doing it. We're making it work. Just watched Under Paris. Do you want my review of that? I would. Yeah, the movie where the shark goes under the water.

Is anyone picking it, Bobby? Not so far. Although maybe Adam Neiman will take it. Turns out that's a movie about eco-politics and Paris hosting the Olympics. Oh. Yeah. And who is the send for? You know?

Is it for you? Not currently because it's full of shit, but that's a different story. That doesn't really, in this case, the shark is the metaphor for the alarming amounts of E. coli. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

They're having a real problem. I don't know if they're going to get it sorted out. Not ideal. Watch this space. Thanks for breaking that down. Not ideal. Legal matter. Not ideal.

What a hot take, Mallory. How brave. But yeah, I'm not stressed. I mean, I think all of, I mean, people need their headlines, but I think all of the like alternate like pearl clutching versus like exultating weekend to weekend is exhausting and an overreaction. I think we just need to see how the year as a whole shakes out, right? I agree.

Thank you both for doing this and being here. Thanks for bringing this incredible kinetic energy. Just a thrill to be here with you always. When will we be invited back next? Yeah, to draft. Since you haven't insulted me and forced me to delete this episode, I will find another time. When would you like to be back?

As soon as possible. I would like to make time travel and go back and join you for the Kevin Costner Hall of Fame, which is a regret I'll carry to my grave. Do you have any... Give the feedback right now. Let's go. If you were not in production

on Talk the Thrones, you would have been my first call. I know. I did receive a text message from Adam in the middle of a workday that said, Sean betrayed you. Are you aware?

And I said, no. Sean asked me a couple weeks ago if I would have the time and he was very thoughtful to to uh what's what's your number what's the number one well i know i know yeah but we put it in yeah yeah it's just i wanted to share the experience have you seen mr brooks no it's like one of the big holes you have you seen it yeah you have seen it yeah did you like it? It's fine.

Okay. It's fine. Neither of us could see it. It's not streaming anywhere. Oh, really? It's like almost like he deleted it. So you feel like he deleted it or something. It's fine.

You didn't miss out on anything. It's his 1999 movie draft. You know, it's just it's gone. You can get like a DVD of it at Walmart. But everyone knows. Do you think someone called him the Nuzzler in that episode? Maybe that's why he became a serial killer. You know, he was insulted and he had to take it out on all of his victims.

Well, great job, guys. Thanks so much for bringing your positivity. And you'll be invited back definitely super soon. It's going to be like very, very, very soon. Any second now. Great. Okay, we're here with Chris Ryan. Chris is occasionally on this show.

He's been in search of third chair. Maybe you'll get it after this segment. You're here to talk about... I don't think so, actually. Okay. You're here to talk about your favorite movie of the year so far. Do you have any guesses as to what Chris might pick? Well, I heard him say it. No.

Maybe you will actually get the chair. Because of this? Yeah. I don't know. Do you think it's because you're taking it from him? No. I haven't made a pick.

You're playing to your base right now. So are you two waiting? No, I had to claim mine to take it from Rob Mahoney, which actually proved prescient. Good. So I have mine.

Sean's waiting to... You'll just take whatever the floor... Yeah, I'm in the non-brat division of this show, so I'm happy to wait. I have mine Sean's waiting to you'll just take whatever the like whatever's left I'm in the non-brat division of this show so I'm happy to wait you literally banned

an entire subset of ringer staffers from this podcast only only only only in joking and I was just

you know trying to get to talk about a film I love before that's great wait which subset the ringerverse oh they're not allowed

to like talk about Deadpool versus Wolverine or something? No, after they came in and just kicked the shit out of the three of us in the 99 draft and I was like,

you guys will never be back and then the next week I was like, Charles, I need you on the show when you come on this episode. So should I just tell you what my favorite film of the year is? Please do.

It's Civil War. Good for you. Good for you, Chris. I had a couple other candidates in my head and then some of the films that have been selected already are are very much in the clubhouse uh with me but civil war was probably the most enthralled i was at a movie this year the most thought-provoking movie of the year uh really appreciated the fact that it was very contemporary and while set in an alternative

kind of timeline, not timeline, but like reality, was not like on another planet or, you know, in the past or anything. It's just like, this is what it's like

to be Kirsten Dunst and drive around and take pictures of a Civil War. So I just thought, yeah, this one was the one I think that still stuck with me, even after our divisive conversation about it. I still thought it was just an incredible achievement.

What's your response to that? Chris is allowed to make his own picks and have his own thoughts. And if this movie inspired thoughts from him, make his own picks and have his own thoughts and if if this movie inspired thoughts from him

then I commend him you know because his brain is working overtime yeah see that's the thing is that

we're not as different as we seem you know and it's just if we could all come together are you speaking to him or are you speaking to me

I didn't pick the movie uh has this movie dimmed brightened in i've only seen it once okay so i would like to see it again i was quite taken with it i was even more taken with it as a like a filmmaking exercise than an ideas exercise i would do think it is richer than some people think it is yeah um i find it to be an interesting like stopping point for alex gar where he's like, I need a break because I did something that I don't want to try to do again. And I could sense the difficulty of the production. And to our conversation about movies like Horizon, I'm always going to be like, wow, that was hard.

That feels more interesting to me, which is maybe a simple-minded thought, but it always occurs to me. One thing that I like about that movie is that it was successful. You know? That a movie like that can be successful I find to be very encouraging. And I think even though some of the marketing

drove people absolutely insane, I think that was really smart. I actually also think that it's the sign of a healthy cinematic environment when some of our most revered directors are also disliked by some people. Yorgos, obviously, like we're just joking about. You're just doubling down, huh?

How would you even know? You haven't seen any of his films. You did? Positive feedback. What did they say? Just people being like, I stand with you, CR. Yeah.

You know? That's what they said? Where did they say it? Just in your local eateries? Were you in a diner and a man came up to you and said, sir, thank you for your work standing against Yorgos Lantimos' abstract, odd filmmaking? Eating pancakes. And a man came up to you and said, sir, thank you for your work standing against Yorgos Lanthimos' abstract, odd filmmaking?

I was eating pancakes and a guy came up to me and was like, I heard what you said about poor things. And I too haven't seen it. Thanks for hearing. No, I think it's actually good. It reminds me of like more healthy, fun times when it was like, there's like half of the people think this guy's a fucking genius and half people think

he is completely full of shit. That means we're getting enough good movies to get takes like that off. We're not in a realm where we're like oh we have to protect any like effort

to make a decent movie. So we're recording this discussion on the eve of the first day of the first right. Maybe more like even the hour of the first president the day the first right i mean maybe more like

eve of the hour of the first presidential uh debate of 2024 and i'm just wondering if you think do you think the film civil war will come up and who if so who would quote it okay this is a great question 100 trump would be like i saw it i financed financed it. I loved it. I hated it. I didn't see it. He's right. I love Alex Garland. He's a beautiful man. He's going to build my space force. And then Biden will say.

Biden will just be like, I don't believe in civil wars. I believe in bringing people together. What's so civil about war anyway? No, he would be like, I remember when the Civil War was just the sharks and the jets and the edge of knives. The only problem we had to solve was the problem with Maria. That's not how he talks at all.

Oh my God. I've been podcasting for like three hours now today. Are you okay? Yeah, but I just lost my Biden imitation. Was there anything in second place in terms of... Yeah, you want to know what it was? Can I say I just lost my Biden imitation. Was there anything in second place in terms of... Yeah. You want to know what it was? Yeah.

Can I say it? Snackshack. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I may end up taking Snackshack based on how all this shakes out. In some ways, like, uncomplicated, like, yes. That's like...

It's a fun movie. I love it. Every couple of years, somebody has a great coming of age movie. I'm glad we're still making them. This one's set in 90s Nebraska. And it's fucking awesome. Co-sign that entirely. Chris, thank you.

Any other material you want to work out here? Well, you didn't you didn't give us your your answer about who won the debate. I'm honestly you can have the chair.

It can be yours for the rest of the year. Second chair. There you go. I'm out. Wow. What a glow up. What are you going to do?

TBD. We're going to go canvas for Trump. What do you think? Thanks, CR. The Midnight Boys are here. We're talking about the best movies of 2024 so far. Just quickly, you guys talk about movies

all the time on your show. Has this been a good movie here? Not really. No. I've been on this episode of The Big Pick a couple times now and this was the one

where I'm going back and forth with Bobby. I'm like, dog, is this movie available? Can we put your chyron in? Are you aware of his... Most important culture critic.

Most controversial. Controversial. Most controversial. Important I critic. Most controversial. Controversial. Most controversial culture... Well, important I don't agree with. Controversial, I definitely... What's the guy from Rotten Tomatoes that hates everything? What's his name?

The critic. You guys know him. We don't, actually. I don't. I don't fuck with Rotten Tomatoes. This guy is a very famous... Armand something. Armand White.

He's not from Rotten Tomatoes. I thought he was from Rotten Tomatoes. He wrote for the New York Press for many years. I mean, he's legendary. Oh, he's like, he's a G in this? Yeah, it's really, it's sort of, it's hard to hate on things with the creativity and the passion that he does on a regular basis. It's true. Wow.

You're taking the mantle from Armand White. That's high class. I think Charles is better. That is high class. But let me, would you like to have a chyron on the big picture? What would you like yours to say? I'm just volunteering, Alea and Jack's talents. I'm sorry, guys.

I love you so much. Cuddliest bear ever. Okay, great. There we go. Cuddliest bear ever. Okay, great. There we go. Cuddliest bear ever. When you see me, just fucking hug me. Can you make sure that that isn't

under me as well? That it's like a van only? Yeah, okay. Okay. Well, welcome. Thank you. I always love to be here with you guys.

The cuddliest bear and the most controversial critic in America are here to share their favorite movies. It hasn't been a very good movie year. We've talked about this at the top of the show. The strike, though.

The energy. There's been some very high highs. It's been tricky because a lot of people grabbed two or three of the very most exciting movies from the year so far. Mal got Dune 2 so fast, bro. It was, it, honestly. I felt a way. If I could file a protest, if there was a ringer place where I could file I would have filed a protest. Okay, seen doing 12 times what in theaters

12 times in I saw Dean I saw doing three times here. Okay twice in New York Once in Miami at six once in Austin Were you trying to see different IMAX experiences around the country? Or were you going with different people? Okay, no. Because what happened is, you guys remember I was traveling a lot? Yeah. And I would be traveling a lot and I didn't have anything to do.

And I'm no longer allowed to go to strip clubs. That was negotiated. So when I had downtime, I would ask what the best IMAX... The source of free air conditioning has switched. Yeah, what the best IMAX theater in a town was. I remember I was in Texas and someone said, go to Bob Bradley IMAX or something like that in Texas. I went there and saw it.

Best IMAX, I went there and saw it. I saw the movie a bunch of times, a bunch of times. And the mouth snuck and she took it away from me. Okay, hold on. So seven? When was eight and nine? Wait, I do have to point out, A bunch of times. And the mouse snuck and she took it away from him. Okay, hold on. So seven? Mm-hmm. When was eight and nine? Wait, I do have to point out,

the one thing that movie theaters and strip clubs have in common is never eat the seafood. That's the one thing. Okay, you're right, except for one place. Oh, right. Where they have good shrimp. I was teaming up for this. I've heard this before. This is Tampa.

Yeah, I know where it is. Is it Tampa Landlocked? So this is the thing about Tampa, though. Oh! This is the thing about Tampa. Tampa's an underrated strip club. I mean, it's. Is it Tampa landlocked? So this is the thing about Tampa, though. Oh! This is the thing about Tampa. Tampa's an underrated strip club. I mean, it's not an underrated strip club. It's not.

Excuse me, Magic Mike. It is. Respect applies, please. But, like, there's one place in Tampa, and I really can't talk about that place because it went way too far. But there's one place in Tampa that has great fried shrimp. Oh, sure.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you definitely want it to be cooked. But in general, I mean, I love fried shrimp, as you know. My Southern coming through. Come on. Atlanta.

I saw it once in Atlanta. Twice me steering the boat back in the direction of the pod. No, no, but I wanted him to name all 12. Okay, so... Seven. You saw it seven times in theaters.

No. Was it more than that? 12 times in theaters. Okay, so name eight through 12. Go. So I saw, but these are the cities. This is what I deal with every single time. You to be remembering. Go. So I saw it, but these are the cities. This is what I deal with every single time.

You've already recorded a pod with him this morning. Yeah, these are the cities. Houston and Dallas and Atlanta. That's the 12. Despite seeing it 12 times, you're not allowed to pick Dune Part 2. I can't. Mallory selected it.

Joanna would have selected it too, frankly, if she could have. Everybody would have selected it. I might have selected it. Yeah, it's been great. Would you have selected it? Oh, hell yeah. Yeah.

Bobby said I couldn't pick Ironclaw because that didn't come out this year. I mean, it did. Those are the rules. It came out. I thought we were doing Oscar. I thought we were doing Oscar window. No, no, no.

No Oscar window. It was released December 15th, 2023. I'll let Van go first, and then you can... I've forgotten what you're picking. What did you pick? I'm doing A Quiet Place Day One. Yeah.

First of all, I just saw it, so it's fresh in my mind. And oftentimes prequels... Well well not oftentimes prequels prequels also always have to do two things number one they have to be good movies you want to see a good movie but they also have to negotiate and litigate their own existence like why it is why is this movie made they have to validate their existence like why is this movie being made like what's the point of of this story um when we know where we are right now and with you know a quiet place the last movie came out uh supposed to come out during the pandemic then it came out after it was a big hit um this film it makes sense to see the first day of this it deepens the story. It makes the first movie better. It makes the second movie better.

To see this story of how things got to where they are, it expands the lore a little bit. There's actually a part in the movie where, I don't want to spoil anything, but there's a scene that you're like, okay, what are these aliens actually doing? And then you're looking for that to be paid off in the sequel that I guess is coming next year or the year after,

I think that there's a sequel coming. You're talking about when the cat escapes that sequence. When the cat escapes that sequence. We actually didn't talk about that when we talked about the episode. I don't remember that sequence. Well, I'll tell you after we're done. It's an outward spoiler. But that is a very interesting moment where that's the one time

where you're like, what is happening right now? Because typically in these movies, like we don't learn very much about these extraterrestrials, right? Like they are these harbingers and you got to be quiet around them. So obviously you can't communicate with them. But in that scene, you see them doing something that's a little bit more organized and a little bit more. OK, what's the end goal and the plan here or whatever and i guess that'll be paid off in the next movie i'll say this if you're looking for the feel-good movie of the summer this ain't it no no it's so upsetting it's very sad

right it's if you're looking for and not just on uh we can't talk era on On a human level, this is a tough watch. I remember, like, leaving the theater, I looked at Kalika, I was like, I don't know if I'm going to look at another one of them motherfuckers. But I'm serious.

I mean, not everyone has, obviously the premise here is Lupita's character is terminally ill, so that adds another level of, yeah, but I'm like, but beyond that, terrifying, absurdly well acted.

Like when I say absurdly well acted. For the prequel to A Quiet Place to be as good as it, the whole movie in general, I said on the episode, I was like, it's shocking to me how good this is. Yeah.

And so I really, really, really dug it. So that would be my, if I can't pick D so I really really really dug it so that would be my if I can't pick Dune 2 we talked about it that would be

the best movie I've seen all year long have you seen Quiet Place 3 yet? I've never seen any of Quiet Place I don't do horror movies I don't

but I don't either and I've seen all three do you think of it as a horror movie? no when things are popping out cause like I've seen a little bit of it

I'm like I can't I can't I did there was one scene where like I jumped in my seen a little bit of it I'm like I can't I can't I did there there was one scene where like I jumped in my seat a little I startled quite easily um but but it didn't mess with me the thing as I'm what I'm learning as I spend more time chained to Sean's movie interests is that the the type of horror movie that I don't like is like gross, like gross out horror. And this is not gross at all.

It's a little frightening at times. And it's definitely sad and emotionally moving. But a lot of horror is just like they're trying to scare you, but you can kind of guess what's going to happen. I live alone and there's already a ghost in my apartment. I'm not doing that shit. But also you believe in ghosts? There's a fucking ghost in my apartment. What?

Tell me more about your ghosts. Like what? For what time period? Follow me from Brooklyn, because first I was smoking a lot of weed, and I saw this little girl in my kitchen whenever I was high. I should just be standing there, and I'm like. So, sort of like a shining experience. Yeah, and then I came here, and then I was like. What do you think that she wants from you?

Honestly, I just feel like that's like another life, you know? I was like what do you think that she wants from you? Honestly I just feel like that's like another life you know I was like this little girl Oh so you think it's you and another life and you haven't I'm not aware of this

I haven't heard about it before Let go Probably the reason why Do you so it was another life Yeah What do you think that you need to

that this little girl or you and the other life need to resolve? Honestly get rid of the most controversial culture critic Okay Like she's probably like hating That's a good point She's like that this little girl or you in the other life need to resolve? Honestly, get rid of the most controversial culture critic. She's probably hating.

She's like, your blood pressure, the hating, all that shit. Go marry someone, have kids, leave this life behind. Oh, interesting. Oh, you think it's a manifestation of your own inability to- I think she was a little cultural critic.

In her time, she kind of got burned at the stake. And she's just like, now we've lost it a little. We had sold it. I was feeling that as an idea for a movie, which is a really good idea for a movie. It is, it is. By the way-

But I do need to know the payoff to determine whether it's a good movie. You guys actually think I'm joking? I actually see a little girl- We gotta get Shyamalan on the phone. I know. He would love that. You know what I mean? I'm like joking? Like I actually see a little girl. We got to get Shyamalan on the phone. I know. He would love that. You know what I mean?

I'm all about premise now after the trailer for Flight Risk came out. Oh my God. I'm so glad you're here. Let's talk because I tease you up on this. You all need a pilot, right?

Huh? You all need a pilot? Yeah. That's I saw this at CinemaCon. I didn't even bring it up because I was like I can't have Amanda

just like look at me mad about flight risk. This is Mel Gibson's Return to the Directing Chair. Stars Mark Wahlberg and who are the other stars? I don't know. Oh, Topher Grace.

Wait, is this Mark Wahlberg with the fucking craziest haircut I've ever seen? Mark Wahlberg balding. And Topher Grace is a criminal and he's being transported to a safe place to testify against what seems like the mafia and it turns out mark walberg is there because he's been hired there's by the mafia yeah

there's a u.s marshal that's on the plane with them i'm assuming a u.s marshal right that's what and mark walberg has killed the pilot and is piloting the plane to kill this guy before he gets a chance to testify. And mid-flight, the marshal clocks it. And so now, he's chained up. He has to teach Jim

how to fly the plane. It's just, it's... You had me at toe for grace. I've had toe for grace stock for a while. Whole movie takes place on a plane. Again, Mel Gibson directing. I'm just going to repeat that. I'll watch it.

I'll see it opening day. I'll go see it, yes. Flight risk? Absolutely. I'm interested. Looks good. That's going to be the best movie of 20...

That's this year. The second half, yeah. I think it's... Is it October? Okay. What movie are you doing? You know, as the most controversial

culture critic, I can admit when I'm wrong on this show. And at the time that I was on the show, two episodes ago. No way. My appearances. I was very harsh on one of Amanda's favorites. Oh, no way you're going to do this. Well, you also.

Go ahead. Here. Take my hand. Yeah. There we go. You've been shitting on this movie for months. There's no way you're going to do this. Actually, I'm fucking with you.

I was about to say. I was about to say, bro. I wanted you to do it just so I could tell you. Here, give me. Because this is like Devil Betrayal. You can't have the Fall Guy because Joanna already took it. Joanna. What's going on with House of R?

Can we talk about this? They get Fall Guy and Dune 2? Well, they recorded before you. Did you end up seeing it? Fall Guy? I did. And you thought half of it was charming.

I thought half of it was charming but I'm not going to lie once they put on that DJ Khaled it went from Taylor Swift to DJ Khaled I'm like get these white people out of here like i'm not so my movie um after not being able to pick a lot of movies um i think that this is definitely the year where even if it's a weak movie year now that the mcu dc star wars are kind of faltering i feel like we're starting to get

movies where we're seeing like who are the movie stars and getting people like glenn powell and timothy chalamet just doing like i'm just like oh shit we have stars again so i'm going with monkey man because while it's not oh nice while it's not a perfect movie it was one of those moments where i'm just like oh i want to i want to see dev do more shit totally yeah and it was, it's the type of movie where I went home and I started watching other martial arts movies because I was just like, oh, I want this. We're not getting this in Hollywood anymore. And that was when I went to go see it in theater.

I was just like, what could he do with a bigger budget? I think Dev has kind of been in a role, a little bit lost in Hollywood where he's super charming. He can command the screen. And I just kind of just not only want to see him in more movies. Now I'm like, he has something as a director. I don't think he pulled it off completely in monkey man,

but there were moments in the movie where I was just like, Oh, this is, this is a guy who's thinking about film, thinking about what Hollywood's missing. And I just, yeah. I am strung by the limitations of the budget of the movie i'd say

but it's funny that you brought up monkey man because this was my thought about monkey man i just watched uh oceans 11 a couple of nights ago which is not for the first time no i've seen it a lot of times but the movie gets cooler as i get older it's just like the cool maybe the coolest movie ever made it It's a justification of being in your 50s, yeah. Yeah, for sure, right? And... And having friends.

Yeah, I guess so. Brad Pitt says something to Linus's... The team. Brad Pitt says something to Linus's character in the movie that I think

describes Monkey Man for me. He's telling him how to talk to Terry Benedict and he says, he's got him how to talk to um uh terry benedict and he says he's gotta like you and then forget about you the moment that he's got the moment that you're gone that was monkey man for me like i liked it but i literally haven't thought of the movie since i left the theater

and so like i wonder what that says about the movie. I liked Monkey Man. Like, I legitimately liked it. Like, I was like, hey, I had a good time. But I haven't thought about Monkey Man. I forgot totally about Monkey Man. You could have convinced me that Monkey Man came out in 20, last year. And I've been like, oh yeah, I saw Monkey Man last year. That's a tough one. I think we both had the exact same reaction that you did which is like this didn't totally work but I like what it indicates Devatel can be as an auteur who's also you know basically like pulling a Robert Redford you know being like I'm gonna Clint Eastwood like I'm gonna put myself in my own movies I'm the star you know not all Clint Eastwood movies are good you know but he kept putting himself in those movies so I like that the problem that i had with it is entirely made of the

marketing which is i thought that that was like one of the sickest trailers oh yeah years i was so hyped for the movie before it came out so when i sat down i was like we will have an action classic today sir and then we didn't you know it's like it was pretty good there and there were a couple good scenes the training scene i thought he was great i there was also just i knew so much about the making of the movie by the time that i got to the was great there was also just I knew so much about the making of the movie by the time that I got to the movie

that I was also just sitting there dissecting and being like oh interesting so this was probably tweaked and you know

like which which is on me like I'm the asshole of being like here are the cuts he did too much about I almost died on this movie and then you're watching it

and I'm like oh I can tell right right and like some of the political influence and all of that stuff so it's not a perfect movie I agree with you

but it's a good pick. He was great. Yeah, I enjoyed it. Question. So being that we're essentially halfway through the year, is it just a foregone conclusion that once we get to the fall, Dune is like 10 Oscars? No.

I don't think so. Yeah. I don't think so. I think one of the reasons why they are not announcing the title of the next Denis Villeneuve movie, which was just dated for 2026, is because it probably is going to be Dune Messiah. They said it's Dune Messiah. That's not confirmed. Oh, okay.

And I think they're not confirming it because they want to keep the possibility of it winning Best Picture open. Because the minute that they tell you that there's another Dune movie coming, it's not going to win Best Picture. That's a theory. One of the reasons. It's not the kind of movie that the Oscars to win Best Picture. That's a theory. One of the reasons. It's not the kind of movie that the Oscars usually give Best Picture. Yeah, they're snobs

in like a very, very retro way. You know, like Christopher Nolan won for Oppenheimer and not for any of his sci-fi epics or any of the superhero movies. You know, they need the one that's like dressed up in the historical clothing.

So. I think there's a high possibility that this is a year where a very small movie or foreign language movie wins Best Picture because of the strikes. We'll see. No, no, I get it. It's just like it. When I think about movies this year,

I think about that movie and everything in its orbit. And obviously we have like, we haven't even gotten to the point where they see their Oscar movies and they do their whole thing. We're not to that point. I'm just trying to think about it. No, but I was thinking about going to Telluride in the fall. And I'm like, I don't even know what's premiering here. If you ask me to guess 10 movies, I can maybe come up with five. I usually feel like I can clock 75% of what the slate's going to be.

And that's a big launch pad for a lot of Oscar movies. It seems like a much thinner herd this year. I think Dune 2 will get 10, 12 nominations for sure. And I think it will be like the big budget. Representative. Yeah. And also like on the technical. Right.

And also like on the technical side, like all of the crafts. I think there was some, you know, maybe like Furiosa would slide in there and it seems less likely at least on the at least in the above the line categories so furiosa missed well it didn't it didn't miss i'm glad you brought it up i mean it's not represented on this episode which is kind of weird because on the one hand it is a really impressively made movie that i think everyone at the Ringer likes and doesn't love. I think that's true for you guys. I know it's true for Joanna. I know it's true for you.

It's true for me. It's true for Chris. Really like it. Don't love it. And there is a very loud contingent of people who insist upon it's like true masterpiece greatness. But I don't know what to say.

Like, I feel like we're all honestly responding. It's a 7 out of 10. And film Twitter keeps trying to bully me into liking that shit. And I'm just like, come on, we got to give it. Like, when people started being like, it's better than Fury Road. I'm like, all right, guys, we just, let's time out. Yeah, honestly, I think if there was no Fury Road, we might look at Furiosa differently. Yeah.

But the movie for, and he is just a, just a ridiculously good filmmaker. You know, I mean, some of the scenes, the stuff is just like, it's crazy. People have been clipping out

the other, the rig chase from Furiosa and putting it on Twitter now, that sequence, you know, where they're like, guys are flying up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that scene is so crazy.

It's like, it's literally one of the coolest things I've ever seen in a movie theater. it's just a three minute scene you know it's not a two and a half hour movie the thing is i talked about a prequel i talked about the quiet the quiet place prequel and you come away with it going okay that makes sense it expanded the world it made it bigger it deepened it this is why this is the good prequel. This isn't like you know, I always bring up Carlito's Way Rise to Power. I used to love those prequels, man.

The thing that's most missing about the straight-to-DVD era is The Skulls 2 with some fucking dude that plays on California Dream and on NBC. What are you talking about? Netflix is nothing but the straight-to-DVD era. But they don't take the, they don't take the movies

that were big movies and then make Cruel Intentions 2 anymore. They don't do that. You got into a fight with my daughter yesterday morning. This is a true story

where she was like, I need you to put on the Sleeping Beauty 2 song. And I was like, Alice, there is no Sleeping Beauty 2. And she was like, there is,

and you will put it on because she's used to Frozen 2, Lion King 2. And she's like, I need the new version of Sleeping Beauty. And she was like, there is, and you will put it on because she's used to Frozen 2, Lion King 2. And she's like, I need the new version of Sleeping Beauty. I'm like,

girl, this does not exist. But Furiosa didn't do that for me. Furiosa, I didn't leave Furiosa going, okay, this movie should have been made. Like,

I get why it was made, but like, it doesn't, for the prequel thing that you have to go, okay, this expands the world and this makes it make more sense

and I wanted to know this and I wanted to, kind of didn't. Like a sequel with Charlize Theron coming back would have made more sense. Yeah, they didn't do Anya any, I was just like, you don't have a Charlize Theron. She was just fine. She was good.

But, but, but, but. And they're like, movie's only half interested in her because it's also so interested in the Chris Hemsworth character. It's not totally fair, but I agree. Well, listen to the Midnight Boys on the Ringiverse feed. Listen to the Midnight Boys. You guys are covering the bear

on the Prestige TV pod. Bear, Prestige, and guess what? Guys, July, when is our Ringiverse live? You don't even know when the show is. It doesn't matter. Ringiverse live. July 17th. Guys, July 17th

at the El Rey Theater. And guess what? We're premiering it now. We are getting one of the most eligible bachelors in LA. Jomie Adeneron. If you want to date Jomie,

okay? I'm so glad someone's doing this. We're having a dating game? This has not been formally approved by Spotify. I really, I do feel like

the live events should have more of like a single a gamify like mix and match component so if you're looking for a lover boy in the streets

I know I really do come to Ringiverse Live July 17th El Rey Theater Jomie Adeneron is about to find his wife Van Charles

thank you guys no problem Rob Mahoney's here co-host of group chat co-host of the Prestige TV podcast occasional draft stealer my you know my singular nemesis but this time Rob

should we should we let people in? Yeah, I think we should. I have one up to you. Because I, betraying all of my deeply held beliefs about hospitality and guests having choices and first pick, I claimed Challengers before you could. And I specifically said I would like to take this before Mahoney does. And lo and behold, you tried to.

I did try to. Bobby rebuffed me. Yeah, it was off the board before I could even attempt to claim it. And I will say that just seems needlessly cruel by you. It was mean, but also how does it feel? It feels to me like all I have done in all my appearances on this show is try to champion the movies that you love. I know, right? But there

is something uniquely personal to it, right? It hurts a little more. It does hurt. It really does. I have paid attention and I've learned my lesson. And also I would say that your second choice is a great second choice. I feel great about it because I would love to talk to you both about pie, about romance, about a little recreational murder and about Richard Linklater's Hitman.

It's a great pick. Before you go any further about Hitman, I do want to say there's only one time I've ever felt this feeling, but it's it's seeing you in almost mercenary form slide into my position on the show when you attempt to undermine and attack amanda's takes and take things from her yeah and so it's been interesting watching you fight back now he'll fight back with me he does it like from a from like a position of camaraderie you know

he's just like i dare you i'm saying that i will defeat you by supporting you and your interests yeah you don't care about anything i care about you're just like whatever let me tell you more about some westerns and rob does the work and is like i see you i understand you and now i will take it from you so maybe that's a lesson for everyone i don't know what's worse they're both tough uh hitman is not tough we we agree with you hitman definitely one of the best movies of the year uh what'd you like about it rob i mean glenn powell adria hona cons hijinks what more do you really need in a movie like this? And really in four or five different movies like this

that are all packaged together and it's this shape-shifting thing that if you come into it with one idea, you might be kind of whipped around a little bit. But if you're along for the ride, I just found it to be an absolute blast and rewatchable in the best possible way. One thing I wanted to ask you about when I heard you were picking this,

and I wanted to bring it up with you too, since a lot of people have seen the movie now, is there's been quite a bit of pushback on the nihilistic ending. And we don't need to spoil specifically what happens, but I'm kind of curious how you responded to it the first time you saw it. Were you surprised? Did you buy into it right away? What was your take on it?

I mean, for me, it's a relief to have a story with that kind of ending that doesn't have the preachy monologue from a side character telling us exactly how we're supposed to feel about the primary action. So thank you,

Richard Linklater and Glenn Powell primarily. That's exactly what I'm looking for for a story like this. What do you, were you surprised that before? I agree. I was surprised that it ended that way.

I mean, I remember it ended and I was like, huh. So that's how they decided to end it, which, you know, is great on its own. Because to Rob's point, you definitely don't want the preachy. Like now the characters must learn their lesson. And you do want to be a little surprised by the end of the movie. To me, it's not ambiguous. I mean, I guess it is, but I know how I feel about what's going on. And I'm like, wow, that's pretty dark. And maybe other people watch it yet, but boy, would I love to. I'm along for the ride.

Really? We're eating well at the Glenn Powell table these days. Just get fucking ready. Yeah, very exciting times. Adria Arjona, did you have much experience with her? I know you watched Andor. Yes. Were there other times you'd seen her?

Really just Andor? And, I mean, she blew me away in this movie. Both of them are just incredibly captivating it's obviously really racy sexy stuff for a lot of this movie for all like whatever questions you may have about the sort of water tightness or the plot holes or the ethical policing that may or may not be going on in this movie there just aren't that many screenplays out there that have like that are accompanied by this kind of electric chemistry between its leads like you can find a great plot anywhere you can't find this sort of connection and so i think audrey arjona was great but i think her and glenn powell is where it gets really

special like they're the connection between them is why this movie works and kind of transcends some of the problems you may have with the mechanics of it yeah i agree it's an interesting it's gonna be an interesting artifact in the link later it yeah i agree it's an interesting it's gonna be an interesting artifact in the link later filmography i think yeah and i wonder if it will ultimately just be much more significant for powell and for link later because it is i the another thing that i another reaction that i've heard is that this is a kind of confirmation because he is the center of the story. Oh, a confirmation for Glenn. Yes.

Not for Richard Lincoln later. I was like, does he need that? No, he doesn't need that. We don't need that. He got that in 1993. Yeah. He's been doing well for a long time.

No, but, you know, obviously. Yeah, that's fine. Everybody welcome on board. You know? Like, we've been doing it since, what, 2018? Yeah. I'm glad that you guys

all had something confirmed that we have known for many a time, for many a year. So that was the fourth collab with Powell and Linklater. You think they'll go again, Rob? God, I hope so.

I think there's clearly something between them that just fundamentally works. And if anything, what Hitman does is show you the breadth of that. All those different versions, the farce, the kind of double twist film noir stuff that's happening in this movie. There's just kind of the steamy romance at the center of it. If you're piling all that

on top of everything that already worked, like everybody wants some is already like a late night comfort watch for me. I'm just going to throw it on for 20, 30 minutes. Now we have all this to work with too. Makes it very exciting to see where they could go from here. I'm also looking forward to the inevitable Austin Emilio showing up in like a Marvel movie or something. You know, like that guy whose profile is going to be elevated. He's the Hulk now. I'm here to announce it.

He's the Hulk. How exciting. When Harrison Ford's Red Hulk and Austin Emilio's Hulk go toe to toe, how will you feel? Rob, before you go, who was your favorite hitman of all of the many hitmans? It's tough. It's a tough category.

I'm drawn toward what I call the Tilda Swinton. Yes. And that is the correct appellation. I was trying to describe that hitman on the podcast and I had not yet gotten to Tilda Swinton, but that's it.

That's a good one. Very compelling. Yeah. I think you two rightly zeroed in on the Patrick Bateman, which is great. Sean, I know in your heart of hearts, the January 6th guy was probably your dude.

Definitely. Well, I thought he had a lot of good ideas. You know, I'm not sure how he was communicating them, but some good points. They all were fun. I mean, it's weird

because that sequence of the movie where he's trying on all the different costumes is almost an entirely different movie than the following 30 minutes and then an entirely different movie from the following 30 minutes after that, which is an unusual construction. Yeah, but I think like the genius of the movie is, as Rob said, you just go along with it and you're like, okay, now we're doing this and I want to know what happens and I'm interested. And I didn't quite expect that, but sure. I totally agree. Great

pick, Rob. Rob, thanks so much for doing the show. Listen to group chat, listen to Prestige. We'll see you on the show soon. Thank you. I'll appreciate it. Mean Pod Guy is here. It's Adam Naiman, esteemed critic, friend, thoughtful thinker of films, and someone that is mean sometimes how are you doing adam i'm good nice to see you guys uh we're talking about the best movies of 2024 there have been a lot of picks thus far you've picked a movie that no one else has picked of course what's what's your pick for the best movie of 2024 so far uh i tried to cheat with two i'll do the real one and

then we'll see if there's time at the end. Cause I also picked an NFT. We'll pick. This has been nothing but cheating so far. Everyone is stealing. Everyone else's picks. There's just, there's a lot of collusion and betrayal. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm going to go with the movie that even if, I mean, it's a, it's a, it's a bit of a wild choice for best. Cause I don't think it's flawless, but I really like it. I really like the energy of it, which is Bertram Bonello's The Beast, which is an adaptation of the Henry James short story of the same name, which is a turn of the 20th century text about basically a guy who fears that there's some beast waiting to get him and twist. It's just life. You know, I hate when that happens. They're spoiling the beast too much and a banello's movie isn't really an adaptation it's like an extrapolation of this text he uses three narratives all kind of the same narrative but set in different times there's a turn of the 20th century period piece which is the closest it comes to being the book there's a a contemporary contemporary section featuring a relationship between an actress and a sort of incel possible serial killer, and then a futuristic segment,

all of which feature Leah Seydoux and George Mackay, all of which kind of continue the same story with the idea that they are reincarnations or projections of the same personality through time and when i saw it at tiff last fall i i thought it was the least boring thing by which by which i mean that there were other movies that were good but they didn't have like leah seydoux doing hot yoga and sitting in a vat of blue goo, or black goo, and going to a discotheque that's just modeled after the year 1981 or whatever to go dance. Like, it's very eventful. And after two hours and 40 minutes of its eventfulness, I thought, I really like this. I'm predisposed to like this director, but I like this director when he makes big Lynchian swings at sci-fi profundity.

So it's like the fountain if it wasn't horribly bad. That's an amazing summary of actually a movie that I would say is a bit more complex and at times confusing than many people will feel it is.

It's helpful to have the exact grounding that I think you just provided for anyone who hasn't had a chance to see it yet. You also saw this movie at the Venice Film Festival. I did. I think you were a little less positive about it. Well, you know, Adam said when anyone is taking a grand Lynchian swing, I think it lands differently for Adam than for me.

And that's okay. You hit the snooze button when that happens. I'm just like, okay, I see what you're doing here. There was a guy, it was a person, it wasn't Amanda, because I was not in Venice, I was in Toronto. But there was a guy sitting next to me who walked out about halfway through, and that's fine, I mean, people leave at film festivals all the time. But I was like, what else do you have to do?

That's true. Like, this movie is so crazy and it's shooting the works in a way that's really kind of earnest and sincere and it's such a show of talent i mean if you don't like it that's why where are you going like you're pretty pot committed at this point you're like an hour and 30 minutes into a two and a half hour movie like stay right see what happens you also at that point would be leaving during the middle the incel segment which i thought was like the the most successful of the three for me anyway it's a stunning sequence for context for the you know uh the the character that george mckay plays um

he's directly quoting the sort of online manifestos of elliot roger which half the audience kind of got while the movie was playing. And if no one doesn't get it, it's not a problem. I mean, maybe it's better to not have Elliot Roger's misogynist screed committed to memory, but like it's pretty familiar text. And I thought it was pretty stunning

what he was doing, which was using this incredibly public face of kind of pent up, you know, misogyny and then inserting him in what is basically a love story and basically a story of two characters over time who are kind of meant for each other and for different extenuating circumstances don't connect. That's one hell of an extenuating circumstance and one hell of a recontextualization of what it means to be sort of obsessed with someone.

And I should point out, by the way, that for most of that segment he's like stalking leah sadu through a steel and glass los angeles palatial house where she's kind of house sitting and i mean lynchian doesn't describe it it's like you know twin peaks moholy drive cosplay which i like because i like that stuff so if people like that kind of stuff if you like you know the occult and reincarnation and tarot cards and the red scare podcast and all the other stuff you know this movie may just be for you yeah it was for me i liked it i don't think i liked it as much as adam but i was impressed by its boldness and i found it very funny i could really feel him yeah kind of like nudging us in the stomach a little bit,

like the casting of someone like Dasha from Red Scare, the presentation of Los Angeles, even though like that weird combination of pure horror, ominous energy mixed with the most vapid people in the universe kind of colliding is just, is I thought that part of it, especially that sequence that you're talking about is just delicious. It's so fun. Well, and if people are interested in the universe kind of colliding is just, is I thought of that part of it, especially that sequence that you're talking about. It's just delicious.

It's so fun. Well, and if people are interested in the horror part, I mean, Benello's not a genre filmmaker, but he's made a series now of three or four straight horror inflected movies, all of which I think are worth a potential,

you know, listeners potential time like Nocturama, which is a kind of terrorist thriller that has a lot of Dawn of the Dead and The Shining in it set in a shopping mall. Zombie Child, which is a sort of, you know, Jacques Trenour-ish, not possession, but a kind of a very politicized, racialized zombie story. And then a movie that I love, and I forget if either of you have seen it, Sean, I don't even know if you've seen it and you see everything so did you see coma I haven't because it was a weird thing where like it was only properly released this year but made a few years ago

right well that's just it it's technically a film from this year so maybe the beast in the coma or like a joint entry not not a film from this year but it came out this year. But it's like a screen life horror, kind of like Unfriended, but French. And featuring the best doll scenes since Team America, where there's like Barbie dolls that just quote Donald Trump tweets about Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart from like 12 years ago. Here's the thing about Bonello. He's a really elegant filmmaker, but he's also a maximalist. And like, he tries stuff. Yeah. I'm all for trying.

I think Nocturama and Zombie Child are on the Criterion channel right now, along with the third. What is the third film? They might be showing House of Tolerance. It is House of Tolerance. Which is actually a great movie, too. And, you know, I mean, I don't mean predictably anything to do with me, but like for a critical favorite, like Benello, I mean,

he's not, he is not an unpretentious filmmaker, but I think the way that that artiness bounces in this movie off of some really interesting pop and pop culture stuff, maybe the best like green screen gag I've ever seen the opening sequence. Like what a way to get across the idea that we're all kind of terrified of something and nothing at the same time than having Lea Seydoux acting against a green screen,

trying to be terrified. Yeah. I would say that if anyone even likes small Holland drive, this is like a, this will be at least like a six out of 10 for you. So, um, it's a great recommendation.

I'm glad you talked about it. Um, I wanted to ask you about one other movie and maybe see if you could sell Amanda on it. Cause I would very, be very interested to know what she thinks about it um i wanted to ask you about one other movie and maybe see if you could sell amanda on it because i would very be very interested to know what she thinks about it assuming you haven't seen it i don't want to i don't want to try and force amanda to like anything well you don't have to force amanda to like it but you can present in your typically erudite way yeah i respect your opinions more than sean's so um that's definitely true oh but you wrote In his own house. Well, that's a common occurrence. What's the movie?

You wrote a great piece about last summer for The New Republic that I just read. Oh, thank you. Yeah. I haven't seen it, but it's been on my list. But please, you know, I've only heard critics talk about it. It's technically a first half of the year film release. I don't know where it sits for you on your list this year, but I just saw it.

It'll be on that list. It's great. It's about awful people. Right, yeah. I mean, it's about French people. Sure. Some awful French people. And you know what I liked about it, what I wrote in the piece is that if you squint at it,

it's almost indistinguishable from one of those really nice french movies that that always opens even the title is very nice yeah it's like oh last summer that sounds nice what happened last so many people are gonna go see this movie thinking it's one thing and gets their their guts ripped out it's prosperous well-to-do couple an older man who's like really well off he's very professionalized only slightly younger kind of like early middle-aged wife who you know they there's he has a son who is really troubled and the son comes to live with them and it's really hard to say whose fault it is but you know the the teenage boy and his early 40 stepmom in a Catherine Bray at movie you you know, they're very drawn to each

other. These are bad impulses and it's a power imbalance. And it's hard to tell if he has the upper hand because he's so young and attractive and represent something that she just can't get back. Or if she who literally works as like a sexual assault counselor and lawyer should probably know better than to do this. But what I said in the piece is that you know brad's a humanist and that in all of her movies everyone's capable of anything like just because she's not nice doesn't mean she's not humane i believe the people in this movie way more than i believe the people in like i'm trying to think of a movie to make fun of i can't think of one but you know she's she's great and if you if you want to see a movie that will make you feel bad about yourself or at least your sympathies in watching a movie, this is one. Because it's very hard to root for anybody or feel justified in taking sides in what happens.

Yeah. When I finished it, my first reaction was, Jesus Christ. Which I think is what she's going for. Right. Yeah. And Bray out, we should say, you know,

is not only like one of the, I said, she's, if she didn't exist, French cinema would have to invent her. Like she wrote a novel when she was 17 that she wasn't old enough to buy. Like she wrote a novel that was banned for people over 18 when she was 17. And she's just been such a stringent,

unapologetic, confrontational kind of filmmaker uh not woke uh you know i hate that word but she hates it more than that she she she talks about being politically incorrect and i think that a movie like last summer it's not a conservative film but it certainly doesn't fit into this trend we have now while people are like, well, if I don't like the characters in the movie or if they're doing bad things, I can't take it. This is not that kind of movie. And it just used to be all, most movies were like, for adults were like that. Now it's a sort of endangered species. And this is a good, this is a good thing. It's, I would like to hear you, hear your thoughts about it. I'm, I, it's definitely on my list. I don like to hear your thoughts about it.

It's definitely on my list. I don't know. This is airing on a holiday weekend here in the U.S., so I don't really know if I'm going to queue it up after the barbecue. Why not? Here we go. Don't you guys have your tickets for Horizon? I do. Oh, no.

We've already seen it. We've already seen it. It didn't look that good on this episode, unfortunately. Oh, I'm going to go watch Horizon alone on Monday night after driving over from the cottage. I'm leaving my two daughters and wife at the cottage so I can go see Horizon.

It is the full three hours. I'll tell you that. I can't wait. There's not enough moseying in American movies anymore. People don't mosey. The one thing, I would love to speak to you

about that movie once you've seen it too, but it's definitely weirder than you're expecting. This is something Chris pointed out when we were discussing the movie. I'm expecting very weird. I want it to be batshit, man.

Like, Costner's crazy. Well, I mean, that's sort of the problem is that, like, it's weirder, but also sort of conventional. Yeah, yeah. So it's not, it's, but maybe you'll find it batshit. I mean, that it exists might be batshit.

Are you guys going to let me mention my NFT before I go see if my kids are on? They'll do this in less than a minute. This is the 45-minute short by, I think, the greatest practicing horror director, Kiyoshi Kurosawa from Japan. When I say it's an NFT, I just have heard that because I just saw it the way everyone did by pirating on the internet, and it played at the Berlin Film Festival. It is a movie in which contemporary Tokyo is beset by a plague where people hear a weird sound that no one else can hear. In fact, the viewer cannot hear it.

Unbelievably terrible things ensue. He's the greatest. This is the guy who made Cure and Pulse and Charisma. I bow to no one in my appreciation of him. And this 45-minute horror short, which is terrifying and inexplicable and absolutely, you know, haunted me for weeks. I mean, that's the actual best thing I've seen this year. It's just not quite a feature and it doesn't have a conventional release.

But if people like Cure, which you can watch on Criterion Channel or any of his other movies associated with J-horror, he's a much more diverse filmmaker than that. But this is his sweet spot. It's so good. So, I've seen this. I highly recommend it as well. And I had a thought. I didn't ultimately do this

for my movie of the year, but three of like the five best things I've seen this year have all been short films. I'm obviously not a big fan historically of short films,

but you know, the Kurosawa film and then Don Hertzfeld's's me which is his new animated short which is astonishing but you can really only see right now while he's touring with it screening around cities in america and then the third one is rap world which is the new conor o'malley movie which is actually playing at the los fieles three here in los angeles i think i'm moderating one of the screenings actually next week.

Yeah, you should find out. I got to figure out what date that's going to happen. But, you know, Conor O'Malley, I don't know if I've talked about him too much on the show, absolute genius force of YouTube and, you know, appeared in I Saw the TV Glow and an actor and has been increasingly making more and more short films. He made one last year called The Mask,

which was also hilarious and devastating. It actually has a lot in common with The beast it would be an interesting double feature adam um but yeah i'm gonna i'm now i'm gonna have to try and check it out and i didn't see the the hertzfeld thing yet uh i either i think you'll like both but rap world just very quickly is is like basically a found footage movie about three guys who are three white guys who are in a rap group together um set in the 1990s and it's you know they are they are they the beastie boys they are significantly lesser and okay well everybody is significantly lesser but you know it's it's played for laughs and it's it's a singular and unique experience to watch Connor O'Malley become what he is

becoming, which is like a linchpin of my comedy diet, I would say. Wow. In 2024. He's a very special individual, as are the people that work with him. But those are great recommendations, Adam. Thank you so much. And it's my pleasure. I'll see you guys on the other side of July.

We also have a Canada Day. Did you know that? Is that true? It's like your July 4'll see you guys on the other side of July. We also have a Canada Day. Did you know that? Is that true? It's like your July 4th, but much less important. Okay. What day does that occur on? July 1st. Oh, okay.

Well, enjoy. I'm celebrating it by seeing Horizon alone. Do the Canadian provinces play any part in the story of Horizon? No, I don't think so. I think they're a little bit in the Viggo Mortensen Western. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Yeah, they are.

That's actually a Canada adjacent film. Exactly. Absolutely. I did say, I whispered to Sean during that movie, is this Canada? So, there you go. Representation exists for you, Adam.

Thank you, Adam. I have to say, I'm still waiting for you guys to invite me on a Bluey pod. That's what I want. I want... Amanda does not show her son the television series Bluey.

So until that happens, that episode can't happen. If and when that levy breaks, I'm there. We'll let you know. All right. Thank you, guys. Have a lovely night, okay?

Thanks. You too. Okay. night okay thanks you too okay so it's just just the three of us now we have to make our choices we've heard from some of the greats in the ringer universe not the ringer verse they're fine but the ringer universe which is exceptional pretty much everyone but chris is in the ringerverse, right? And Adam Neiman. Rob Mahoney is not in the ringerverse. Okay, you're right. All right. We have a wide group here. You know, I waited to make my pick.

Bobby waited to make his pick. You didn't wait to make your pick. We'll reveal your pick momentarily. I think you may have already given it away through the course of this episode. Yeah, no, I'm guessing that I made my pick to make sure that Rob Mahoney didn't get it uh i've learned my lessons from the drafts and um bobby who was in charge of wrangling everyone uh told me that that was the correct thing to do because

rob did in fact try to steal mine um but yeah you guys go first okay bob what's your favorite movie of the year so far i'm gonna go to go with I Saw the TV Glow. Jane Schoenbrenn's... How would you even describe this movie? Sort of like fever, dream-esque recounting of their life and experience and relationship to a television, but also just coming of age. Yeah, definitely a coming of age drama.

This movie was probably the most unlike anything else i saw this year and so uh specific so sui generis so clearly from a person's specific experience and mind in many ways obviously the queer elements of this film were different than a lot of movies that you see come up in the mainstream conversation um that we talk about on the show um but for me like this the specificity of the suburbs of place of growing up of of the feeling of being in your friend's basement of the feeling of being allowed to do something that you're not allowed to do at your own house was so it's like the relatability in this specific for me just really triggered something in my mind that i was just fascinated and kept finding myself coming back to and thinking about in the week or

so after i saw it and it wasn't really until like a couple weeks later when i went home to visit my parents in the suburbs that i was like oh this movie really understood something it really uh solidified a vision in my mind about how the suburbs are kind of like sinister and evil in a way. And honestly, just a really incredible visual style to this movie. The fact that it's so dark and I can still see that purple and pink energy to it, but also kind of like the magical realism that i maybe is not totally my flavor of movie but i still really bought into in this movie i just really thought it was you know if not a

masterpiece of borderline masterpieces i loved yeah one thing i like about it that jane mentioned when they were on the show was um remembering that time in our lives when you had to be home when the tv show was airing and that you did not you could not just find you know you're just having this conversation about the bear it's true where it airs and whether it airs on linear TV well Bob I was gonna ask you are you were you old enough for Snick which was Saturday Night Nick I was not no yeah because this movie does recreations of and you know I don't think it says SNCC specifically, but if you were there, like you were there,

and I thought that the imagined versions of SNCC in I Saw the TV Glow, to your point about just like they're really memorable and imaginative filmmaking, like were, jumped off the screen for me. That was my favorite part of it. And I remember reading a lot of the pre-release or sundance hype around it was this talking about buffy as this kind of critical right this lynchpin of inspiration but when i watched it i had that i was like this is totally 100 this show that that justice smith's character is obsessed with is a nick show at 930 p.m.

you know like to a T like eerily so and then they you know they make a choice like later on the film to show that things that you like when you're

younger and not quite as you remember them when you get older which I thought was a really powerful I love that I love that part about this because it's like yeah

you it just takes like both like the fear and the emotional attachment that you had to the show out of it, but it still doesn't undermine the fact that that was still an important part of the justice Smith character meeting the person who basically is the most important person that he ever met in his life based on the trajectory

that the movie goes to. And then at the end, I mean, I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't had the chance to see it or maybe waiting for a chance for it to come out on stream. I guess it's out on VOD now. It's out on VOD. Um, so I won't spoil the ending for it but just like a a deeply upsetting and visceral moment and a and a bold and powerful statement at the end of a movie

that really encapsulated i thought what the energy and tone of the rest of the film was i don't have a strong point of view about this but there's been a lot of really good writing about whether or not the ending should be perceived as hopeful or not, whether you're trans or thinking of coming out or just going through a difficult time in your life. There's one way to see it, that it is this like moment of sheer panic and it has this kind of horrifying quality. Or you could say that there's a kind of realization that you can go forward from i don't know i don't you know i don't have a strong feeling one way or another but um i would encourage people to go check out some interpretive writing about it because there has been a lot of yeah some good writing and even like a lot of the the letterbox reviews are are fascinating and kind of show that the broad response to this movie beyond all of us

sitting here with microphones being like, wow, what interesting filmmaking. It's not just, it has gone beyond like just a critics movie or whatever.

It has something deeper than that going on. Very good pick. I like it a lot. The movie that I'm picking is a movie that you saw in Venice. Sure did.

That I had been dying to see after you saw it, which is Raiska Hamaguchi's follow dying to see after you saw it which is Raiska Hamaguchi's follow up to Drive My Car which is called

Evil Does Not Exist which is just an absolutely beguiling movie that I'm still trying to wrap my head around in some ways

similar to I saw the TV glow in that it has a kind of what just happened ending and it has a kind of like

immersive eerie quality that is transfixing somewhat confusing has like some strong points of view it's a movie about um a widower and his young daughter who live in a small village outside of tokyo and a corporation comes to this small village to set up a series of glamping sites you know like glamorous camping sites and they have a town hall meeting and they talk to all the residents of the community and explain their plans for this glamping site do you remember all of this it's been like a year since i do actually

and the the community board meetings are right you know whatever the version is of like the approval for the glamping and the presentation that the glamping company gives to this small town is like up there in Corporate Deck Hall of Fame portrayal. I mean, because you just feel the deadness and the dread and everything that a PowerPoint presentation means to me. And this corporation comes to this town, I think, assuming that the town is going to be super on board with this idea. And in fact, the residents of the town have lots and lots and lots of questions for this company and are very concerned about this. And it starts off as a movie that seems like very clearly like an ecologically minded drama about a lonely guy and what he represents to the land and what it represents to him and what happens when corporate power comes to take things away from a community or from a single person and it is that and then it's also something else like the movie takes this discursive turn to focusing on the two people who work for the glamping company and them having kind

of a crisis of confidence or conscience and then it becomes a sort of more uh ethereal like mythological story towards the end that which leads up to this ending. Fascinating movie. I don't pretend to know exactly what Hamaguchi is trying to say especially in the last 30 minutes. But it's beautifully shot.

One of the great scores in recent memory. Incredible score. It's Aiko Ishibashi the same composer from Drive My Car. It's a very different movie from Drive My Car. It's a much shorter movie. It's not incredible, incredible score. It's the, it's Aiko Ishibashi, the same composer from Drive My Car. It's a very different movie from Drive My Car. It's a much shorter movie.

It's not this sort of like lyrical melancholy romance that that movie was. This is something like much more like kind of dreading inducing in a quiet way. But one of the better movie going experiences I had this year. I really liked this movie. It's not actually my favorite movie of the year.

You actually got my favorite movie of the year. Oh, I did? Yeah, you did. Yeah. As previously mentioned, as I'm sure almost everyone can guess, my favorite movie of the year so far is Challengers. I don't have the score queued up, speaking of scores, but I did think about doing like a YouTube only segment for this podcast, which is me just like dancing to the match point from the challenger score um yeah i mean this movie was obviously like a sensation in at least the the movie and pop cultural worlds um our beautiful vacuum yeah our beautiful vacuum but but like a slightly broader vacuum you know like i have friends who don't always see all the films that we discuss who are really aware of challengers and excited about it and obviously because of the involvement of jonathan anderson and loewe it's been like in the fashion world zendaya opens things up a bit josh o'connor and

mike feist are stars now sort of or you know kind of ish they had their moment yeah they had their moment on we're rooting for them they were very sweet together at the Met Gala, walking together, just being like, where are we? Big fans of both of them. So, you know, that was fun in terms of just, if not a monocultural moment, at least a all of us together moment. And then it helps that this movie just absolutely rocks. And in addition to rocking, rocking like just it's like rocks Amanda style you know

it is all of what does that mean it sounds like something you read on a cocktail menu it just is like all of the things I like I love

the films of Luca Guadagnino that are like the right combination of stylish and sensual and like a little bit over the top and ridiculous and he's having fun

and that meme of him watching the challengers scene and then laughing and ridiculous. And he's having fun. And that meme of him watching the challengers scene and then laughing, but he's like, he's having fun too, you know? And he wants to see it as much as we do. It's literally him watching the two male characters kiss and he's gazing upon them so lovingly. And then just like chuckles to himself,

you know? It's great. So good. But like three to himself, you know? It's great. So good. But like three killer performances, a great script that we're still all trying to figure out who inspired it. You know, there's a great hook. It looks amazing. It got a new generation involved in how you set up trick shots, you know, on the internet, which I thought people were kind of snide about. Oh, why? Well, I don't know. Everyone was like, yeah I thought people were kind of snide about. Oh, why?

Well, I don't know. Everyone was like, yeah, of course they filmed it through glass from underneath. And it's like, well, you know, let people learn. Let's all learn about the art of cinema. I agree. Together. Couldn't have said it better myself. Incredible score.

It's a real hit with toddlers. Have you tried that actually? I think it might be a little chaotic. We're really in the Frozen 2 zone right now. So I'm not sure the Trent Reznor beat drop is really, you know. Good luck to you. Frozen 2 zone would not recommend that zone, Bobby Wagner. That's not a zone of interest.

I have thankfully avoided Frozen 2 for my whole life. But Frozen 1, I was a camp counselor when that was peaking. So I think I've seen that film about 181 times you did but we'd covered Frozen 2 on this show so you didn't have to see it many

films that we cover on the show I do not have to see like how the I have not seen a live action Marvel movie since Avengers every day grateful for that yeah your privilege yeah

congratulations anyway challengers just an It's Avengers ending. Every day grateful for that. Yeah, your privilege. Yeah, congratulations. Anyway, Challengers, just an absolute delight and like really good and also really fun and provocative. It's what we want from the movies. Like a moment. Yeah, I agree. It's my favorite. I like a lot of the movies that were picked on this episode. I should probably give a couple more shout outs. I really liked the first Omen. I interviewed Arkasha Stevenson on the show. Chris and I

talked about it a little bit. It's on Hulu now. If people didn't get a chance to see it, it didn't do very well at the box office, but I would encourage people to check that out. I don't think anybody's taken Love Lies Bleeding, which I think is on HBO right now. Max, the Max app. Do you have the Max app? I do. It's our most used app. Your most used app? Yeah.

Singing in the Rain, Sesame Street, Sex and the City reruns for yours truly. What else? I don't know. That's great. I guess, you know, now that Mary Poppins is in the rotation, Disney Plus is climbing, but because it has Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, but... Just you wait I don't know what we would

like we should almost set a bet for like how long before the damn burst yeah how long can we go school starts in the fall I know

but no characters allowed that's true that is true so there you go we should and I don't want to make too much content out of that but we should talk about

what impact that will have on my daughter's life which could be very interesting I don't there are lots of other good movies bob you consider taking lucky mera right that was on your i did yeah the other josh o'connor vehicle kind of maybe more even more in my kind of movie zone where there's just a sort of bumbling weirdly handsome guy who's kind of dirty just screwing stuff up and maybe ruining his life. Hanging out in Italy. Treasure hunting.

Really slowly. Yeah, just walking with real purpose. I thought that movie looked amazing. It had just like such a specific visual style and everybody looked like a little bit just dirty enough to be real but also very well dressed at the same time and I have such a little bit just dirty enough to be real but also very well dressed

at the same time and i have such a nice image of him holding the bust in his hand throwing it over the edge of the boat like that's just that's excellent stuff right there um i was gonna take bike riders if i couldn't you know if all my other movies got taken you loved it i really liked bike riders i just everyone else just sometimes you just need to chill out and go to the movies. Yeah. Again, a love triangle.

Mm-hmm. Somewhat unspoken, but pulsating all the same. A movie that's ultimately about two guys who really should fuck. Yeah. Yeah. There we go.

Yeah. They have a lot in common. Instead, they have bicycles or motorcycles. Where's your love for the beekeeper, bro? You're not beekeeping here? On the pod? I'm looking at my best of 2024 list right now. Sean, where's your love for The Beekeeper, bro? You're not beekeeping here?

I'm looking at my best of 2024 list right now, and The Beekeeper's not on it. But maybe I should add it. Bad beat. He's going to come for you next. Oh, I had a very aggressive series of text exchanges with Tim Simons about The Beekeeper and how he was not pleased with the film, and he couldn't have any fun with it.

And I said, if you can't have any fun with a movie about how Hillary Trump's son is running scams. I love Tim so much. I don't know if he's listened to this far. Like, Tim, I love you, but come on. The first 10 minutes just, you know. Riveting.

Catfishing or whatever, robbing Felicia Rashad. Yeah. That is terrifying stuff. It's great. Great movie making. David Ayer, you're a madman. I was confounded

because I know Tim is down with a dumb as hell movie. So, very weird take. But, Beekeeper, Bob, that was a great experience.

We saw that film together. Yeah, it was like maybe the loudest movie I've ever seen and there was like two other men in the theater with us and that was it. It was very,

very loud. But fun. Any other honorable mentions you want to mention? Well, Imaginary gave me a lot of material. So I'm grateful for that. You know, you got to go where the content takes you. Let's see.

I just Googled 2024 movies and this is sort of a... Did you watch Janet Planet? I did. What'd you think of that? I felt about it the way that i felt about after sun but for oh you did yeah which was like i and i think it was like hyped up too much and i was prepared to be completely shattered and instead i really like admired the filmmaking and the performances and uh you know once again there's sort of like a generational pacing thing that i'm discovering

where people at 10 years younger just... They wanted to go a little slower. They're... I guess they're on different substances. It's because they were raised with their phones. Yeah, exactly. So they're like, what could happen if we slowed down?

Yeah, I guess so. If we didn't have to swipe right all the time. But that's a me problem. Sorry, Jack. Julianne Nicholson, an all-timer. Yeah, we'll talk more about it in the future. Very interesting movie very hard movie to watch

if you have a wife and a daughter and you watch how your wife and your daughter experience life together yeah I of course have never been a daughter

nor will I ever be one or a wife or a mother well maybe one day I'll be a wife some days I feel like the wife of this show if I'm being honest with you

um what a great episode thanks to everybody who's been listening along with us through the first six months of 2024

I assure you there will be another six months there will what happens on them is really anyone's guess yeah Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice it's coming Q4 what's coming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice bro oh yeah you're goddamn right

hello Q4 hello Beetlejuice strap in he h're goddamn right hello Q4 hello Beetlejuice strap in he hath returned that'll be fun any other thoughts before we wrap this up no I

you know movies yeah have an amazing July 4th weekend thanks to all the listeners of the show thanks to Alea Zanaris

thanks to Jack Sanders thanks to our producer Bobby Wagner for his work on this episode we will be back next Monday with an episode about Maxine Amanda's been doing her Ty West research yeah We will be back next Monday with an episode about Maxine.

Amanda's been doing her Ty West research. Yeah. Ty will be on the show. We'll talk about the third film in the Pearl Trilogy. We'll see you then. you