The Evil in ‘Longlegs’ and the Serial Killer Movie Canon

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 Creggers’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

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

Sean and Amanda celebrate legendary filmmaker Robert Altman, who would have turned 100 this year, by breaking down his illustrious career. But first, they cover the awards distributed at the Venice Film Festival and recap Amanda’s legendary weekend, which included seeing Oasis perform live and watching Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film, ‘One Battle After Another’ (1:20). Then, they construct Altman’s shrine and build his Hall of Fame (14:39). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders Use code "TheBigPicture20" for a 20 percent discount on an annual Criterion Channel subscription.  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 start the show by reacting to a handful of recent movie trailers, including Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’—starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi—and Nia DaCosta’s ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ (3:33). Then, they unpack Spike Lee’s newest film ‘Highest 2 Lowest,’ starring Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky. They explore its very high highs and occasional low lows, Washington’s fascinating performance style, and what makes this film so different compared to the rest of Lee’s filmography (17:09). Next, they cover Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Caught Stealing,’ starring Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz; they both found it quite disappointing, to the point that they even discussed whether or not Austin Butler is a “leading man” (39:54). Finally, Sean is joined by the legendary filmmaker Spike Lee to talk about his new movie. Lee reflects on the first time he visited Akira Kurosawa’s work and touches on what Kurosawa means to both himself and cinema at large, talks through Denzel Washington's brilliant improvisations in this film and explains why he is—in Lee's opinion—the greatest actor of all time, and explores what is missing from Hollywood and the filmmaking industry right now (1:07:01). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Spike Lee 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

Sean and Amanda are back from vacation! Today, they discuss the biggest films out of the Telluride and Venice film festivals before sharing the yet-to-be-released movies they’re most excited for this fall (0:47). Then, Sean is joined by director Alex Russell to discuss his new film, ‘Lurker’, starring Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe. Russell explains how he was able to direct the project despite his very limited experience, what he was looking for when casting his two leads, and what type of project he might be interested in doing next (1:41:32). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Alex Russell Producers: Jon Jones, Sasha Ashall, and 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