The Big Picture · Discussion
July 10, 2023/ 70 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Before the Barbenheimer weekend, Sean and Amanda clear the backlog: ten mid-2023 releases they never got to on the show, from a raunchy Lionsgate comedy to a Negro Leagues documentary.
10 films across 1 segment.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The 10 we missedbacklog catch-up, in the order they aired
Adele Lim's raunchy comedy with Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu. Sean pegs the jokes at a 50% hit rate but was floored by a third-act turn; Amanda loved it and blames the empty theater on near-nonexistent Lionsgate marketing. A Point Grey (Rogen/Goldberg) production.
Patrick Wilson's directorial debut and the fifth Insidious, ignoring parts three and four to return to Wilson, Ty Simpkins as Dalton, Rose Byrne, and Lin Shaye. Sean says the reshot scares work but the trauma framing drags; it still beat Indiana Jones with $32M.
Pixar's anthropomorphic-elements romance between fire (Ember) and water (Wade). Amanda found it baffling and half-baked; Sean calls it a competent two-out-of-four that got stuck on a concept Pixar's usual creative council would have torn up. Quietly holding at the box office for lack of kids' competition.
Sam Hargrave's Chris Hemsworth sequel. Sean admires the ambition of the prison 'oner' but finds the film humorless and self-serious next to John Wick or Mission: Impossible; Amanda liked the helicopter beat and little else. Both dread Extraction 4, 6, and 12.
Tim Story's horror-comedy about Black friends stalked at a Juneteenth cabin getaway. Sean says it plays better as comedy than horror (the board-game scene lands; the scares don't) and reads it as the parody that closes out the 'Get Out generation.' Great tagline: 'We can't all die first.'
Carolina Cavalli's Italian debut, Benedetta Porcaroli as a friendless 24-year-old who decides a childhood acquaintance is her best friend. Sean's surprise favorite of the batch, Wes Anderson- and Gerwig-adjacent. From Oscilloscope. Amanda (Dobbins) reserves the right to hold all Amandas to a higher standard.
Mel Eslyn's soft sci-fi with Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown as the last two men on Earth in a geodesic dome. Sean discloses a working relationship with the team (the Jason Isbell doc) but praises Brown; he keeps the physical surprises spoiler-free.
Eva Longoria's directorial debut about Richard Montanez, the Frito-Lay janitor who supposedly invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez, Dennis Haysbert, Tony Shalhoub. Both found it fine and diverting, but the story reportedly isn't true, which sours the up-from-the-bootstraps pitch.
Sam Pollard's documentary on the Negro Leagues and Black baseball in the first half of the 20th century. Archival footage plus Willie Mays and Hank Aaron interviews. Sean, a serious baseball reader, learned plenty and calls it a necessary, if dry, film.
Savannah Leaf's debut, Tia Nomore as a pregnant single mother fighting to reclaim two kids from foster care in the Bay Area. Sean compares it to 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always' and flags Jody Lee Lipes's cinematography; a calling-card movie built from Leaf's earlier short with Taylor Russell.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Barbenheimer weekend and what's next BarbieOppenheimerMission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part OneIndiana Jones and the Dial of DestinyTheater CampSympathy for the Devil
Comedy touchstones Girls TripThe HangoverWaiting for GuffmanNo Hard Feelings
The Patrick Wilson filmography The ConjuringAquamanMorning GloryLittle Children
Horror keeps chugging Evil Dead RiseM3GANThe Flash
The Venom classics VenomVenom: Let There Be Carnage
Pixar and the animation slate Inside OutTurning RedThe Super Mario Bros. Movie
Action with a sense of humor ExtractionJohn Wick: Chapter 4No Time to DieHeat
The 'Get Out' generation Get OutUsNopeBlacKkKlansmanBad HairRunAntebellumMaCandymanNannyTexas Chainsaw MassacreBodies Bodies BodiesLast Night in SohoIn the EarthMenBarbarianMidsommarScream VIScary Movie
Elemental's forebears Jungle FeverGuess Who's Coming to Dinner
Earth Mama's lineage Never Rarely Sometimes AlwaysMartha Marcy May MarleneManchester by the Sea
The Mission: Impossible ritual Mission: Impossible - FalloutTop Gun: MaverickNational Treasure
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Party DownDead RingersGirlsLiving SingleThe Cosby ShowThe Amanda ShowDynastyCaptain PlanetBaseball (Ken Burns)
Ads Press Box (podcast)Boar's HeadFanDuelNOS EnergyFIFA World Cup Launch Edition (Netflix)PricelineMint Mobile