‘Thunderbolts*’ Is Marvel’s Return to Form. Is It Too Late?
Sean and Amanda are joined by their superhero correspondent, Mallory Rubin, to cover the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Jake Schreier’s, ‘Thunderbolts*’ (2:04). They praise the strong performances from Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan, and dive deep into some spoilers to project which key characters could play a critical part going forward (18:15). Lastly, they have a big-picture conversation about the MCU and debate whether this return to form is too late to course-correct the state of Marvel (1:17:09).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Mallory Rubin
Producer: Jack Sanders
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1:33:14
The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 21 - ‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’
Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss their favorite installment of the beloved Tom Cruise action franchise with ‘Mission: Impossible—Fallout’, which features some of the greatest action filmmaking of all time. They explain why this concretized director Christopher McQuarrie as a legitimate star filmmaker, explore what this film means and represents about Cruise’s movie stardom persona, and share why they went with this film instead of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ as the official late-stage Cruise movie for the list.
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Producer: Jack Sanders
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47:27
Four Ways of Looking at an Action Movie: ‘The Accountant 2,’ ‘Havoc,’ ‘A Working Man,’ and ‘The Amateur’
Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to recap their trip to the mobile Criterion Closet before celebrating the big box-office weekend performances of ‘Sinners’ and ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ and explain why movies are so back (1:09). Then, they cover some recently released mediocre action films: ‘The Accountant 2’ (14:30), ‘Havoc’ (25:39), ‘A Working Man’ (36:33), and ‘The Amateur’ (44:41), and have a big-picture conversation on what these four films mean for the state of action movies (53:32). Finally, they discuss a handful of movie news headlines and share their excitement and concern for some upcoming releases (1:00:35).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Chris Ryan
Producer: Jack Sanders
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1:22:32
The Summer Movie Preview Game. Plus: David Cronenberg on ‘The Shrouds.’
Sean and Amanda briefly react to some Oscars news, including a rule requiring Academy members to watch the movies and the details surrounding the new Casting and Achievement in Stunt Design award (1:34). Then, for the first time, they play the Summer Movie Preview Game, in which they predict the box office and Metacritic score for every major summer movie release in 2025 (16:27). Later, Sean is joined by Adam Nayman to give a brief “state of the movies” before discussing David Cronenberg’s newest body horror film, ‘The Shrouds.’ They talk about its complicated and moving portrayal of grief, praise Vincent Cassel for his excellent performance, and create a “Cronenberg starter pack” for those who aren’t very familiar with the director’s filmography (1:25:06). Finally, Sean is joined by the great David Cronenberg to discuss ‘The Shrouds.’ They talk about his decision to cast Cassel in an unusual and challenging role, why he hates shooting on film and would never return, and his long-term creative collaboration with composer Howard Shore (2:06:43).
Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: David Cronenberg and Adam Nayman
Producer: Jack Sanders
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2:42:21
The ‘Sinners’ Surge. Plus: The Val Kilmer Hall of Fame!
Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to honor the late Val Kilmer by creating his Hall of Fame. Before creating the list, Chris shares his thoughts on why Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ worked so well, sort through the box office controversy, and consider what kind of award chances the film has (4:18). Then, they build the Val Kilmer Hall of Fame by selecting the 10 most essential performances of his career (34:13).
Host: Sean Fennessey
Guest: Chris Ryan
Producer: Jack Sanders
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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.
UK