The Big Picture

It’s been an odd movie year, but there have been a handful of standouts at the halfway mark. Sean and Amanda share their top fives of 2021 thus far and explore whether we need to define what qualifies (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the Roots drummer and now film director, to discuss his new documentary, ‘Summer of Soul (... or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),’ which is out now on Hulu and in theaters (47:03).Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsGuest: Ahmir “Questlove” ThompsonProducers: Bobby Wagner and Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘No Sudden Move,’ the latest film from Steven Soderbergh—now available on HBO Max—is a return to a familiar form for one of our favorite filmmakers: the heist movie. So in this episode, Sean and Amanda share their top 5 favorite heist flicks. (0:45) Then, Sean is joined by Janicza Bravo, the writer-director behind one of the year’s most entertaining films, the ripped-from-Twitter tale of ‘Zola.’ (48:17)Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsGuest: Janicza BravoProducer: Bobby WagnerAssociate Producer: Sasha Ashall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quentin Tarantino is here! The writer-director had adapted his film 'Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood' into a novel, and on this episode he dives deep on everything: what's different from the movie, why he wrote a novelization in the first place, the movies he watched during quarantine, the future of moviegoing, and so much more.Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Chris RyanGuest: Quentin TarantinoProducer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The long-awaited ‘Fast 9’ is here, so Sean and Amanda are digging into the entire ‘Fast & Furious’ series of movies and ranking ’em all with the man who lives his life one-quarter of a pod at a time, Shea Serrano.Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsGuest: Shea SerranoProducer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yes, we are drafting again. It’s the Movie Draft: 1975 Edition. It was simply one of the best years in film history. Let’s get it!Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsGuest: Chris RyanProducer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda discuss the news that Peter Jackson's Beatles documentary will stretch into a limited documentary television series (0:30). Then, Sean is joined by writer-director Alex Ross Perry to talk about the phenomenon of the lost movie, specifically great works from well-known filmmakers that have fallen out of circulation, critical celebration, and general viewership. With the advent of so many streaming services, it’s shocking how many once high-profile movies can’t be seen easily. So Sean and Alex list five memorable examples and explain the contexts of their releases and how they may have slid into obscurity (14:32).Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsGuest: Alex Ross PerryProducer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda discuss the box office returns for ‘In the Heights’ and how the movie’s availability on HBO Max may have affected it. They also discuss the launch of ‘Loki’ on Disney+ and ‘Infinite’ on Paramount+ and the challenges facing movie lovers as more and more services pop up (0:30). Then, they share their plans to build the perfect streaming service, by drafting film and TV libraries, sports rights, signature stars and creators, and more (41:36).Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsProducer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda discuss one of the year's most anticipated movies, 'In the Heights,' a movie adaptation of the Tony-Winning Lin-Manuel Miranda musical that is now in theaters and available on HBO Max (0:30). Then they discuss what makes a great movie musical and share their 10 favorites (45:00).Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today’s episode, Sean and Amanda dig into Bo Burnham’s Netflix special ‘Inside’ ... or is it a movie? They talk about the songs, the production style, the themes, and that pesky "is it a movie?" question. Then, they share some new streaming movie recommendations (31:00) before opening up the mailbag for questions about ‘The Underground Railroad,’ movie book recommendations, and more (47:00). Finally, they’re joined by two special-guest lovebirds (1:20:00).Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsProducer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,’ the third ‘Conjuring’ movie and the eighth installment in the franchise hits HBO Max and movie theaters this weekend. We’re diving into the film and our favorite "no. 3" entries in movie history with Chris Ryan. Plus, we discuss the exciting lineup for this year's Cannes Film Festival.Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsGuest: Chris RyanProducers: Bobby Wagner and Steve Ahlman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices