Exploring Dark Themes in Contemporary Cinema

Sean and Amanda cover the absolute box office phenomenon ‘A Minecraft Movie,’ a video game adaptation starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa. They explore the event film of the year and discuss why the theatergoing experience of the film is such a great thing for the industry at large (1:08). Then, they give a Movie State of the Union, where they work through the troubling slate of early 2025 movies and consider whether television is currently “beating” movies (22:05). Finally, in an attempt to end the episode on an optimistic note, they highlight some movies they’ve enjoyed in 2025 and share their list of the best movies of the year so far (54:05).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

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