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The Ringer

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

The Big Picture

Sean and Amanda get in the ring with Van Lathan to go multiple rounds on Benny Safdie’s new film, ‘The Smashing Machine,’ starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt. They work through their mixed feelings by recognizing the phenomenal performance from the Rock, which makes it worth the price of admission alone, and their disappointment and frustration toward Emily Blunt’s incredibly one-note character (1:49). Then, Sean and Amanda create their new Best Picture power rankings following the fall film festival season (36:18). Finally, director Benny Safdie joins Sean to discuss his new film and explore his deeply intimate experience making the movie, why the Rock was perfect for the part of Mark Kerr, and the challenges of shooting a combat sports film (54:13).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Benny Safdie and Van Lathan

Producer: Jack Sanders

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Chad Powers - New Episodes on Tuesdays on Hulu
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Best Picture Power Rankings and The Rock’s Oscar Bid in ‘The Smashing Machine,’ with Benny Safdie!

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Sofia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette,’ one of the greatest blank checks this century, starring Kirsten Dunst. They explain why this was the official Sofia Coppola selection for the list, especially over ‘Lost in Translation’; highlight the specific decision to not include Antoinette’s infamous beheading; and discuss why this is a quintessential Kirsten Dunst performance.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Unlock an extra $250 at linkedin.com/thebigpicture 
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The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 10 - 'Marie Antoinette’

Sean and Amanda have an action-packed episode today following the release of Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another.' They begin the show by reacting to the film’s opening weekend box office performance and astounding initial critical acclaim (0:57). Then, they open up the mailbag to answer all of your questions about Paul Thomas Anderson and his new movie (13:03). Next, our mean pod guy, Adam Nayman, the author of 'Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks,' joins the show (but isn’t very mean). He celebrates one of the most expressive action sequences ever put to film, explains why Benicio Del Toro gives an MVP-level performance, and highlights the strong influences from one of Anderson’s favorite filmmakers, Jonathan Demme (1:14:01). Finally, Andy Greenwald comes on to finally tell his side of the story with regards to the time he and Amanda saw ‘The Master’ together, and shares his brief thoughts on the film (1:53:37).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Adam Nayman and Andy Greenwald

Producer: Jack Sanders

This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️
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One Mailbag After Another, and the Updated PTA Movie Rankings

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to break down their most anticipated movie of the year: Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another,’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio. They dive deep into spoilers right from the jump, make the case for it being the movie of the decade, and highlight why it’s the culmination of Anderson’s career (2:25). Then, they talk through how the film has been marketed to audiences, hypothesize about its box office potential, and consider its chances at the Academy Awards (1:31:15). Finally, Anderson and DiCaprio join the show to explain why now was the right time for their first professional collaboration, how you know you’re getting what you want with a movie on this type of scale, and how aging affects your politics and self (1:47:35).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Paul Thomas Anderson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Chris Ryan

Producer: Jack Sanders

This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘One Battle After Another’ Is a Modern Masterpiece, With Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Thomas Anderson!

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio, a manic, exhilarating, wretched celebration of the worst people on earth set loose on an unwitting society. They explain why this was the official selection from Scorsese’s filmography, crown this as the greatest performance of DiCaprio’s entire career, and explore the infamous discourse revolving around whether or not the movie glorified its nefarious behavior.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️ 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 11 - 'The Wolf of Wall Street’

On today’s show, Sean and Amanda talk through 10 movies that have come out over the past few months that they haven’t covered on the show yet. But before diving into the slate, they react to the death of Hollywood icon Robert Redford (1:46), discuss the first trailer for ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ (4:23), and hypothesize why recent history suggests that September is a box office dumpster fire (17:50). Then, they rattle through a handful of different recent releases and share their thoughts on ‘Him,’ ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,’ ‘The Long Walk,’ and more (28:10).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️ 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We Almost Missed These 10 Movies. Should You?

Sean is joined by Chris Ryan, Tracy Letts, and Tim Simons for a very special episode dedicated to all things physical media. They talk through the current state of collecting, and showcase a handful of titles they personally own.

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Chris Ryan, Tracy Letts, and Tim Simons

Producer: Jack Sanders

This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️ 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Physical Media High Council Awards

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Wes Anderson’s ‘The Royal Tenenbaums,’ one of the greatest father-figure movies of all time (starring Gene Hackman, giving one of the best father-figure performances of all time). They explain why they made the difficult decision to make this the official Wes Anderson selection for the list, discuss why there is nothing among his filmography that quite matches this unique energy, and wonder whether this is the best collection of needle drop moments from any Anderson movie ever made.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️ 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 12 - 'The Royal Tenenbaums’

Adam Nayman joins the show to recap his experience at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. He breaks down the fanatical scene at the traveling Criterion Closet, explores his mixed feelings about the lineup at large, and shares his personal favorites from the festival (1:19). Then, Chris Ryan joins the show to share his thoughts on Zach Cregger’s horror hit ‘Weapons.’ They talk through the discourse surrounding the movie about whether or not it’s “about anything,” celebrate Amy Madigan’s wonderful performance as Aunt Gladys, and wonder whether it has a legitimate chance to receive some Academy Award nominations (45:13). Finally, they cover the newest legacy sequel from the 'Conjuring' franchise, ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites,’ starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. They highlight its shockingly impressive performance at the box office but explain why they found the film to be largely unsuccessful (1:21:09).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Chris Ryan and Adam Nayman

Producer: Jack Sanders

This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️ 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is ‘Weapons’ a Classic? And an Oscar Contender? Plus: The Best Movies at TIFF!

For the first time ever, Sean, Amanda, and Chris are doing a movie character draft! Today, they draft their favorite characters from Paul Thomas Anderson’s filmography. But before diving in, they react to a handful of news headlines, including the speculation that David Ellison and Paramount plan on making a strong bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, new information regarding key details about Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Social Network II’, and the recent awards buzz surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s performance in the upcoming boxing film ‘Christy’ (1:38). Then, they talk through their personal relationships to Anderson’s work (25:15), introduce the new categories (41:19), and finally draft their characters (49:27).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Chris Ryan

Producer: Jack Sanders

This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️ 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Paul Thomas Anderson Movie Character Draft

Sean is joined by longtime playwright, actor, screenwriter, and physical media collector Tracy Letts to discuss his career and how he became such a fervent collector of physical media. They discuss what got them into the lifestyle, the state of their collections, what it has taught them about being a cinephile, the best physical releases of 2024, and much more.

Host: Sean Fennessey
Guest: Tracy Letts
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner
Video Producer: Jack Sanders
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The King of Physical Media. Plus: The 10 Best Blu-rays of 2024.

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