The Big Picture

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.

Episodes

‘Materialists’ and the Top Five Movie Love Triangles. Plus: ‘The Life of Chuck,’ With Mike Flanagan.

June 13, 2025 • 99 mins

Sean and Amanda have an in-depth conversation and unpack their very mixed feelings on a pair of two new releases coming this weekend. They start with Celine Song's ‘Materialists’ and celebrate Song’s wonderful writing while also exploring their inability to connect to Dakota Johnson's and Pedro Pascal’s performances of the material (1:46). Then, they create their list of the top five movie love triangles of all time (45:10). Next, ...

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‘Ballerina,’ ‘Bring Her Back,’ and ‘Dogma’ Reborn, with Kevin Smith!!!

June 10, 2025 • 116 mins

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to discuss their disappointment with the newest installment in the John Wick franchise, ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’ (2:08). Next, they cover the second horror feature film from the Philippou brothers with the deeply upsetting ‘Bring Her Back’ and explain why it was an interesting follow-up to their first feature, ‘Talk to Me’ (25:45). Then, they revisit Kevin Smith’s 1999 classi...

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‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Is Here, With Wes Anderson!

June 6, 2025 • 75 mins

Sean and Amanda take a deep dive into one of their favorite directors' newest films: Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme.’ They discuss the new themes Anderson tackles that he typically avoids, celebrate the phenomenal performances from Michael Cera and Mia Threapleton, and discuss how a second viewing can unlock a better understanding of the movie’s ideas (1:36). Then, for the first time in Big Picture history, Wes Anderson join...

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The 2000 Movie Mega-Draft

June 3, 2025 • 130 mins

We are drafting again! Sean and Amanda are joined by several Ringer all-stars for a mega-draft of the best movies from 2000. The Big Picture will be live in Chicago on July 21! Tickets go on sale Wednesday, June 4 at 12p CT. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Chris Ryan, Van Lathan, Mallory Rubin, Joanna Robinson, Rob Mahoney, and Bobby Wagner Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...

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The ‘Shrek’ Pod

May 30, 2025 • 89 mins

Bobby Wagner joins the show to bid farewell to The Big Picture and The Ringer at large. We look back at how he started working on the show and run through all of his favorite moments during his time as a producer (0:54). Then, Bobby finally convinces Sean and Amanda to discuss ‘Shrek’ and ‘Shrek 2’ on the show and talk about why ‘Shrek’ is such a critical movie for young millennials and early Gen Z (23:40). Hosts: Sean Fennessey...

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‘Lilo & Stitch,’ ‘Friendship,’ and the Top Five Movie Friends

May 28, 2025 • 89 mins

Sean and Amanda start the show with a quick recap of all the awards handed out at the Cannes Film Festival and wonder what this year's ‘Anora’ could be (1:13). Then, they react to the biggest Memorial Day weekend box office in history and consider what it means for the industry going forward (7:34). Next, they discuss Disney’s newest live-action remake, ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ and explain why not only this specific movie but also this “ge...

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The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 19 - ‘Spirited Away’

May 26, 2025 • 43 mins

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece, ‘Spirited Away’: the wonderful 2002 animated fantasy film, which features an unbound representation of what it feels like to be a child. They talk about what they make of Chihiro as an unusual main character figure, celebrate the huge technical achievement in its stunn...

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‘Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning’ Is Here. How Will We Reckon With It?

May 23, 2025 • 95 mins

Sean and Amanda need you to trust them one last time as they unpack the highly anticipated ‘Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning,’ starring Tom Cruise. Before diving into the film, they briefly recap all of the news headlines from the Cannes Film Festival by highlighting all of the heavy hitters, big surprises, and disappointments (1:05). Then, they unpack their complicated feelings on the newest ‘Mission: Impossible’ movie and ...

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The ‘Final Destination’ Kill Rankings and ‘Bloodlines’

May 20, 2025 • 73 mins

Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to discuss the flaw in death’s design by covering ‘Final Destination Bloodlines,’ the latest installment in the legendary, violent franchise (2:57). They share why they have such a great affinity for the 'Final Destination' series at large, spoil the movie by highlighting the electrifying kills that define the movie’s success (14:38), and go through every single kill in the entire franchise and rank the...

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The Tom Cruise Movie Draft

May 16, 2025 • 130 mins

Sean and Amanda are joined by Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, and Chris Ryan for a very special episode where they draft the best movies of Tom Cruise’s legendary career. They talk about their relationship to Cruise, introduce some new draft categories, and have a whole lot of fun. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan, and Bobby Wagner Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad c...

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The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 20 - ‘Melancholia’

May 14, 2025 • 44 mins

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Lars von Trier’s ‘Melancholia,’ the deeply upsetting 2011 science fiction drama, which stars Kirsten Dunst and Kiefer Sutherland and features one of the greatest opening scenes of all time. They discuss Dunst’s astounding performance, explain why this was such a critical project for von Trier’s car...

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A Mailbag for All Time. Plus: Alex Ross Perry Returns!

May 12, 2025 • 141 mins

Sean and Amanda open up the mailbag once again to answer all of your questions about underrated indie directors they’d like to see get the “Sean Baker treatment” at this year's Oscars, why Amanda majored in classics, recent films that are the most likely to inspire the next generation of filmmakers, and much more (3:05). Then, Alex Ross Perry returns to the show to discuss his new genre-bending music biopic, ‘Pavements.’ They discu...

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The Paul Newman Hall of Fame

May 9, 2025 • 137 mins

Sean and Amanda briefly tease next week’s mailbag episode and react to the Golden Globes adding a new category for Best Podcast (1:34). Then, they dive into their long-awaited Paul Newman episode, where they unpack who Newman was as a person (7:06), explore what made him such a special actor (16:13), and build his Hall of Fame by selecting the 10 most essential performances of his career (43:47). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda...

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The 2025 Movie Star Rankings: 35 Over 35. Plus: Nicolas Cage!

May 6, 2025 • 137 mins

Sean and Amanda briefly react to the news that President Donald Trump wants to impose a 100 percent tariff on any films produced outside of the United States (1:46). Then, they react to the new trailer for Spike Lee’s film ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ and discuss ‘Another Simple Favor,’ the sequel to ‘A Simple Favor,’ starring Blake Lively (7:41). Later, they create their 2025 Movie Star Rankings, where they select and rank the 35 biggest mo...

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‘Thunderbolts*’ Is Marvel’s Return to Form. Is It Too Late?

May 2, 2025 • 93 mins

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...

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The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 21 - ‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’

April 30, 2025 • 47 mins

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 ...

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Four Ways of Looking at an Action Movie: ‘The Accountant 2,’ ‘Havoc,’ ‘A Working Man,’ and ‘The Amateur’

April 28, 2025 • 82 mins

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-pi...

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The Summer Movie Preview Game. Plus: David Cronenberg on ‘The Shrouds.’

April 25, 2025 • 162 mins

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...

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The ‘Sinners’ Surge. Plus: The Val Kilmer Hall of Fame!

April 23, 2025 • 100 mins

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: ...

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The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 22 - ‘Children of Men’

April 21, 2025 • 47 mins

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Children of Men,’ a deeply upsetting 2006 apocalyptic thriller starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore, which features some of the most emotionally moving image-making of all time. They explore how this film altered the trajectory of Cuarón’s “shapeshifter” filmmaking career, celeb...

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The Big Picture

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}‘Materialists’ and the Top Five Movie Love Triangles. Plus: ‘The Life of Chuck,’ With Mike Flanagan.

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}‘Ballerina,’ ‘Bring Her Back,’ and ‘Dogma’ Reborn, with Kevin Smith!!!

‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Is Here, With Wes Anderson!

The 2000 Movie Mega-Draft

The ‘Shrek’ Pod

‘Lilo & Stitch,’ ‘Friendship,’ and the Top Five Movie Friends

The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 19 - ‘Spirited Away’

‘Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning’ Is Here. How Will We Reckon With It?

The ‘Final Destination’ Kill Rankings and ‘Bloodlines’

The Tom Cruise Movie Draft

The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 20 - ‘Melancholia’

A Mailbag for All Time. Plus: Alex Ross Perry Returns!

The Paul Newman Hall of Fame

The 2025 Movie Star Rankings: 35 Over 35. Plus: Nicolas Cage!

‘Thunderbolts*’ Is Marvel’s Return to Form. Is It Too Late?

The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 21 - ‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’

Four Ways of Looking at an Action Movie: ‘The Accountant 2,’ ‘Havoc,’ ‘A Working Man,’ and ‘The Amateur’

The Summer Movie Preview Game. Plus: David Cronenberg on ‘The Shrouds.’

The ‘Sinners’ Surge. Plus: The Val Kilmer Hall of Fame!

The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 22 - ‘Children of Men’

Popular Podcasts

‘Materialists’ and the Top Five Movie Love Triangles. Plus: ‘The Life of Chuck,’ With Mike Flanagan.

‘Ballerina,’ ‘Bring Her Back,’ and ‘Dogma’ Reborn, with Kevin Smith!!!