The Big Picture · Review · Discussion
June 9, 2023/ 79 min/ Sean Fennessey · Bobby Wagner
Sean benches Amanda to review the seventh live-action Transformers on his own, then runs through new streaming titles and takes a listener mailbag with producer Bobby Wagner: the Barbie-Oppenheimer double-feature order, the Mets as a disaster movie, and a pre-1960 Rewatchables wish list.
68 films across 11 segments.
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.
‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’Amanda sat this one out
The seventh live-action Transformers, directed by Steven Caple Jr., set in 1994 New York. For 40 minutes it plays as a '90s hip-hop movie before turning into a proper robot war with the Maximals; Sean loved it and can't fully explain why.
The 1987-set predecessor this is a sequel to; a John Hughes-style coming-of-age take with Hailee Steinfeld.
One of the '90s New York movies Rise of the Beasts is a sanitized homage to.
Sean begged his mom to see Tupac in it at 13.
A John Singleton poster hangs in Noah's room.
The comparison everyone in the mailbag drew; Sean found it ham-fisted and badly made, unlike this.
New to streaming and VODthe five-plus movies Sean flagged
Now available to rent; Sean's top flag.
Schrader; on VOD.
Home now, with the cameo Sean pitched hard.
On Max; soft box office, but Sean has it on a list.
The Kelly Reichardt / Michelle Williams portrait of working artists; one of the year's best.
Kristoffer Borgli's Norwegian black comedy about a couple competing to be the center of attention; slots next to Shiva Baby and The Worst Person in the World.
Tina Satter's docudrama with Sydney Sweeney as Reality Winner, every line drawn from the FBI interrogation transcript.
Clay Tatum's indie with Whitmer Thomas as a ghost only his friend can see; Sean pitches it as Ghost Dad for two bros.
The correct order for Barbie and OppenheimerJulian and 53 others
Sean's back-to-back order: the heavy dinner first.
Dessert. Bobby would flip it for a daytime-then-dinner-then-night split.
What movie best describes the 2023 Mets?Andrew
Andrew's answer; a '70s thriller about blowing up the Super Bowl blimp. Sean thinks it's worse than that.
Sean's read: the mournful apocalypse movie where everyone knows they're doomed.
The flashy Michael Bay version that came out the same year.
Bobby's amendment: a ship everyone knew would sink, boarded anyway.
A pre-1960 movie for The RewatchablesMarshall
Sean's standing answer: plot, character, dialogue, and look all click.
New York, the media world, Curtis and Lancaster.
Any Billy Wilder would be dynamite.
They'll never do it, but Mank made it feel like three-to-five episodes' worth.
Sean did a solo Watchables on it.
Bobby's pick; a Cold War and HUAC allegory that held up better than he expected.
Bobby's other pick; one of Bernard Herrmann's first big scores.
What are we thinking about Pixar?Amy
Out in a week; early word is it feels plug-and-play with past Pixar.
The film Elemental looks a lot like.
Sean liked it, but it did not feel made for kids; a sign they lost track of their audience.
Still a top-eight movie of 2022 for Sean; sending it straight to Disney+ was a mistake.
Leading mainstream animation now, the spot Pixar held for 20 years.
Illumination catching the culture ahead of everyone.
A Disney (not Pixar) film kids actually return to, as Amy notes.
Not off the board with kids; it was playing in the doctor's lobby and Sean's daughter was rapt.
What is Pete Davidson's place in film?Connor
The Apatow personal story Sean thinks he liked more than most; a promising dramatic turn.
An interesting choice, though a small role.
Voices Mirage, a Porsche; Davidson seems more interested in being famous than in being a movie star with taste.
Is the parody film dead?Danny
One of the last spoofs to land, along with They Came Together.
The early ones still play; horror may be the last genre ripe for it.
Out next week; between comedy and satire of Black horror tropes.
A parody of Deadpool in real time.
Part parody of horror, and the best horror-comedy of the 2010s.
The missed opportunity now: a spoof that says something about 50 years of a genre.
IMAX, Oppenheimer, and Dead ReckoningTapakip
Cruise is frustrated Nolan claimed the IMAX screens, but Oppenheimer locked the July 21 date first.
Shot on IMAX 70mm; Nolan is basically business partners with the format. Eleven miles of film.
How long should the theatrical window be?Cameron
Confirmed the shorter 30-day-ish window most studios are moving to.
Universal's short window; a quick $30 million on PVOD after big theaters is good business.
The 2019 model Sean still prefers: months in theaters before home video.
Rode a six-month awards wave to strong box office, VOD, and streaming on Max.
A smart June release Sean thinks will simmer in the culture.
Sean's case that Oscar season can start in March.
The kind of specialty film people finally try once it hits a big streamer.
How do you prepare for recording?Iluvatar
Sean watched Ari Aster's Lincoln Center inspiration series to prep.
Read the book years ago, sort of in preparation.
Reading about Napoleon ahead of the movie.
What Sean put on in the garage with a Pabst to type out his thoughts after the fan screening.
Also mentioned raised along the way
In the Transformers review Creed IIJudas and the Black Messiah
In the streaming rundown Ghost DadShiva BabyUnder the Silver LakeThe Worst Person in the WorldThe BoogeymanBama Rush
Arnold and the action-star era Terminator 2: Judgment DayThe TerminatorConan the BarbarianLast Action HeroTrue Lies
Across the mailbag The Naked GunMinionsMeet Cute
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Swarm (Amazon Prime)Beast Wars: TransformersArnold (Netflix docuseries)The Defiant Ones (HBO docuseries)Dear Mama (FX Tupac docuseries)EuphoriaPete Davidson's Peacock sitcom
Ads The RewatchablesBoar's HeadNOS EnergyTalkAboutPD.comWhole FoodsFanDuel