‘Happy Gilmore 2,’ ‘The Naked Gun,’ and the 21st-Century Comedy Movie Crisis

Sean and Amanda start the show by briefly reacting to the box office performance of ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ and wondering whether or not superhero movies will ever return to the levels of the MCU golden days (1:39). Then, they bring in Andy Greenwald to discuss Netflix’s newest animated success, ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ which they were initially skeptical of but eventually became charmed by, and they hypothesize what makes a big cultural hit in 2025 (4:46). Next, Sean and Amanda unpack the new slasher legacy sequel ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer,’ starring Madelyn Cline and Chase Sui Wonders, which they found incredibly condescending. They talk through why they found the script, performances, and kill sequences to be deeply unsuccessful (38:28). Finally, they reflect on what many consider to be the weakest decade of the horror genre and create their 1990s Horror Movie Canon (1:04:59). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Andy Greenwald Producer: Jack Sanders THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY THE STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY. ORDER NOW | STARBUCKS.COM/MENU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today they discuss one of the greatest sports movies of all time: Bennett Miller's ‘Moneyball’—starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. They explore the film’s very curious production history with director Steven Soderbergh, share why they think this was the best performance of Pitt’s career, and examine what the movie’s legacy is considering Miller’s lack of work following its release. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY THE STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY. ORDER NOW | STARBUCKS.COM/MENU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda react to a long list of fall film festival lineup announcements; highlight their main takeaways from Venice, Toronto, and Telluride; and create their way-too-early top 25 Best Picture contenders list (2:16). Then, they unpack the newest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps,’ starring Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby, which they found incredibly disappointing (23:23). They dive deep into spoilers, explain why they found a majority of the stars to be deeply miscast, and talk through what they think the MCU will look like going forward (40:23). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY THE STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY. ORDER NOW | STARBUCKS.COM/MENU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coming to you live from the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, it’s The Big Picture! Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan and special guest Tracy Letts to draft their favorite Chicago movies of all time. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Chris Ryan and Tracy Letts Producer: Jack Sanders THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY THE STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY. ORDER NOW | STARBUCKS.COM/MENU 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

Sean and Amanda are joined by “Mean Pod Guy” Adam Nayman to unpack Ari Aster’s divisive new film, ‘Eddington’—starring Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal. They discuss why they all thoroughly enjoyed the film, how Aster successfully captures our present world with a cinematic use of phones, screens, and social media, and wonder how it will perform commercially and critically (7:53). Then, they briefly cover Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s twenty-seventh feature film, ‘Cloud,’ and explain why Kurosawa matters to cinema at large (1:03:57). Finally, Sean is joined by Aster to talk through what makes this movie different from his previous work, why he wanted to make this now, where he sees his career moving forward, and what projects he wants to make next (1:16:03). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Ari Aster and Adam Nayman Producer: Jack Sanders THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY THE STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY. ORDER NOW | STARBUCKS.COM/MENU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices