The Big Picture

The Big Picture

Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins review the movies you need to see. Plus: Top 5s, Movie Drafts, Oscars analysis, and more. Subscribe to Sean's newsletter, Projections, here.

Episodes

June 11, 2026 122 mins
On today’s show, Sean and Amanda cover one of their most anticipated movies of the year: Steven Spielberg’s alien thriller ‘Disclosure Day,’ starring Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt. Before diving in, Sean revels in the glory of an all-time New York Knicks victory that extended their NBA Finals lead over the San Antonio Spurs to 3-1 (0:43). Then, they hit myriad movie news headlines and, most importantly...
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Sean and Amanda kick off the show with some movie news, including the remarkable box office surge that shows no signs of slowing down (0:45). Next, they discuss why the new Scary Movie doesn't work and why audiences are showing up for it anyway (8:48). Then, they are joined by Yasi Salek and Adam Nayman to celebrate Mel Brooks as he approaches his 100th birthday (16:57). Together, they comb through his legendary filmography, rank h...
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Sean joins forces with Griffin Newman of the Blank Check podcast. Together, they discuss the recent run of box-office successes and what it says about the current state of movies (2:16), before answering the call of Grayskull and journeying to Eternia to unpack the latest adaptation of 'Masters of the Universe' (21:25). While there, they discuss the best high-fantasy films of all time (1:15:40), and Griffin unveils his Toy Movie Ha...
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Movies are so back! Sean and Amanda break down the remarkable success of 'Obsession' and 'Backrooms' and discuss the larger phenomenon currently unfolding in Hollywood (3:00). Then, they revisit their predictions in the Summer Movie Preview Game, examining where they were surprisingly spot-on and where they missed the mark entirely (33:00). Next, they catch up on 10 new releases they missed while traveling last month (39:45). Host...
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Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to explore some liminal spaces and figure out what really scares them. They open the show by reacting to some brief movie news (3:20) before diving deep into one of the most highly anticipated directorial debuts this decade: Kane Parsons’s ‘Backrooms,’ starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve (11:14). They break down how the movie pushes the filmmaking medium, discuss w...
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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … we used to have good ‘Star Wars’ movies. Before diving into ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’, Sean and Amanda give a final recap of their trip to the Cannes Film Festival, and cover a handful of movie news headlines they missed while they were overseas (2:28). Then, they are joined by ‘Star Wars’ superfan Van Lathan to discuss who the movie was actual...
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Bonjour! Sean and Amanda recap their first trip to the legendary Cannes Film Festival, which has become an incredible bellwether for the Best Picture race over the last five to 10 years. First, they talk through what the actual experience at the festival is like, including how it logistically works, what the vibes are like, and how to survive (0:39). Then, they dive into the slate of films they’ve seen and categorize them int...
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May 18, 2026 132 mins
We’re drafting again! Sean and Amanda are joined by potential third chairs Chris Ryan and Tracy Letts to draft their favorite movies from 1976.  Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Chris Ryan and Tracy Letts Producer: Jack Sanders Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh and Sarah Reddy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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On today’s show, Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to discuss the current state of one of their favorite shared loves: horror movies. They talk through the current paths for directors to break into the genre (0:52), highlight which filmmakers they think are at the top of the game right now (13:52), and break down a myriad of recent releases, including ‘Obsession’, ‘Hokum’, and ‘Lee Cronin's The Mummy&...
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May 11, 2026 165 mins
Sean is joined by Tracy Letts to honor the monumental work of legendary actor Robert Duvall. They celebrate the star’s illustrious career, share their personal relationships with his work, and build his Hall of Fame. Host: Sean Fennessey Guest: Tracy Letts Producer: Jack Sanders Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh and Sarah Reddy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hear ye, hear ye! Gather 'round for the (somewhat) annual reconvening of the illustrious Physical Media High Council! Grand Maester Fennessey is joined by his three lords, Chris Ryan, first knight Timothy “Hitmaker” Simons, and the king of physical media Tracy Letts, to discuss the state of collecting and share some of their personal favorites from their respective collections (00:06). Then, they open up the mailbag to ...
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May the Fourth be with you! Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to revisit the hit second season of ‘Andor’ and break down the countless things that make it a truly special television show (0:48). Then, they conduct their ‘Star Wars’ rankings and sort through every movie, as well as ‘Andor’ and ‘The Mandalorian’ (59:29). Host: Sean Fennessey Guest: Chris Ryan Producer: Jack Sanders Produ...
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Fresh off Fashion Week, Sean and Amanda react to one of their most anticipated movies of 2026: ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’. They share their feelings on the sequel, discuss how it differs from the original, and examine how the media and fashion industries have evolved over the past 20 years (1:01). Next, they cover ‘Mile End Kicks,’ a portrait of a young music writer in Canada circa 2011, with Sean reflecting ...
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April 27, 2026 152 mins
In a galaxy far, far away … Sean and Amanda use the Force to bring in their fellow Jedis Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin, and Van Lathan for a 'Star Wars' movie draft. They share their anticipation (or lack thereof) for ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu,' break down their relationships to the movies themselves, and draft some of their favorite and least favorite things about the iconic franchise. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda...
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Sean and Amanda are joined by our music biopic correspondent, Yasi Salek, to unpack their complicated feelings on the highly anticipated musical biopic ‘Michael.’ Before diving into the movie, they quickly cover some movie news: most importantly, the ‘Miami Vice’ reboot getting a new title and a release date (1:51). Then, they break down all of the good, the bad, and the ugly with ‘Michael’ and h...
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April 21, 2026 179 mins
Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve done it. On our 900th episode, we answer all of your questions about movies, the show itself, aioli, and everything in between (2:11). Then, Sean and Amanda briefly cover a handful of recent releases, including ‘You, Me & Tuscany,’ ‘The Christophers,’ and ‘Blue Heron’ (1:53:46). Finally, Sophy Romvari joins the show to discuss her debut feature film, ‘B...
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Sean and Amanda are joined by Puck’s Matt Belloni to recap their trip to the annual Hollywood Studio and theatrical exhibitor trade show CinemaCon! First, they break down their trip to Las Vegas and review their experience seeing ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at the Sphere (1:12). Then, they discuss the general state of movies in 2026 and share all of their main takeaways from CinemaCon (18:14). To close out the show, they e...
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On today’s show, Sean and Amanda bring back the Summer Movie Preview game—with some additional clarity around scoring—where they preview every major release slated across the summer and predict its box office and Metacritic score (4:47). Then, Sean is joined by Daniel Goldhaber to discuss his new film, ‘Faces of Death,’ starring Barbie Ferreira. He cites how the attention economy has drastically impact...
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April 10, 2026 141 mins
In anticipation of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ Sean and Amanda embark on a staggering journey to build the Meryl Streep Hall of Fame. Before making their list, they react to the official lineup of films announced to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and go through some other smaller movie news headlines (0:48). Then, they talk through what makes Streep one of the greatest actors of all time and sort through every one ...
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Sean and Amanda reconvene the movie star committee to rank the 35 most important movie stars under the age of 35. Before diving in, they declare that we’re officially back following the domestic box office hitting a post-pandemic high (0:48). Then, they make the case for why movie stars still matter (7:56); share their main takeaways from their new list, including the biggest winners and losers (22:54); and rank Hollywood&rsq...
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