Our 800th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag. Plus: ‘Elio’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’

Housekeeping: Letterboxd is backthe show reactivated @TheBigPick

A Few Good Men 1992

One of Amanda's current Letterboxd top four, which she hasn't touched in four or five years.

Marie Antoinette 2006

The Sofia Coppola film, third of the four.

Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994

The fourth — or possibly Working Girl; she wasn't sure.

Working Girl 1988

Her profile icon is Melanie Griffith here, which is what threw her.

Is 2025 shaping up to be a great movie year?John's question — how do you know a good slate when you see one

F1: The Movie 2025

Both name it the likeliest crowd-pleaser of the summer so far; full review promised for Friday.

28 Years Later 2025

A standout for Sean, a smart zombie movie that reached people.

Materialists 2025

Not a perfect movie, but a durable discussion point that's in the culture.

Sinners 2025

With 28 Years Later, one of the two films squarely in Sean's zone that also found an audience.

Final Destination Bloodlines 2025

A surprise favorite — the MRI-machine clip was when Sean knew it had the juice.

The Phoenician Scheme 2025

Received as minor Wes Anderson, which they'd expected.

Warfare 2025

In the batch of movies they had a good feeling about going in.

The Shrouds 2024

Also filed under 'at least interesting to me.'

Eddington 2025

Both were seeing it that night — one of July's big question marks.

Superman 2025

A hard-to-predict July tentpole for a studio (Warner Bros.) whose slate Sean quietly rates.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps 2025

The other July Marvel unknown with a lot riding on it.

Jurassic World Rebirth 2025

'Plus dinosaurs' — the other July wild card.

One Battle After Another 2025

The fall movie they're most confident will rock, box office aside.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse poster

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 2023

Barbie 2023

Half of the 2023 exception — the year everyone planned vacations around Barbenheimer.

Oppenheimer 2023

The other half; Nolan as the single biggest director on the planet.

The Odyssey 2026

Nolan's next — don't plan your vacation yet.

Past Lives 2023

The rare 2023 standout that had actually come out by this point in the calendar.

The Zone of Interest 2023

One of the 2023 titles that hadn't been released yet at midyear — a fall awards movie.

Killers of the Flower Moon 2023

Same — proof that 2023's best arrived in the back half.

28 Days Later 2002

Made 26 years earlier; the smart-zombie forebear.

The best movie theaters in L.A.Reagan's question, west to east

Gone Girl 2014

One of the Friend-of-the-Fest introductions Sean has done at the Aero.

The Life of Chuck 2024

Cited as a first-run title screening on film at the Vista.

The Brutalist 2024

Sean saw it at the Vista, alone in an enormous room.

Nope 2022

He's booked to see it in 70mm on his birthday at the Egyptian.

Die Hard with a Vengeance 1995

Watched at Vidiots on Father's Day — an absolute ball.

The most uncomfortable movie you watched with a parentCampbell's question

Caddyshack 1980

Campbell's example: his dad shot across the room to cover his eyes.

Uncut Gems 2019

The worse-when-you're-older version of the same horror.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation poster

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 1989

Amanda's Aunt Betty covered her eyes at the pool dream sequence.

National Lampoon's Vacation 1983

The one she might actually be thinking of — the perfume-counter pool scene.

Jerry Maguire 1996

Amanda's foundational memory: the Kelly Preston sex scene, seated next to her mother.

Sliver 1993

Sean's topper — his dad kept the whole family watching the Joe Eszterhas thriller far longer than he should have.

Basic Instinct 1992

Sharon Stone's prior film, invoked for context.

Center Stage 2000

Sean fired it up for Knox; the PG-13 sex scene drew 'are they doing ballet at home?'

The movies that floored you this centuryJoshua's question — Sean leaned on debuts, no expectations going in

Memento 2000

Knocked him out despite his up-and-down history with Nolan; premiered at Venice in 2000, eligible in 2001.

Ex Machina 2014

Alex Garland's directorial debut and one of the first A24 movies, before that was a category.

Raw 2016

The French cannibal film he really, really loved.

Exit Through the Gift Shop 2010

Banksy in his heyday; Sean liked how it was structured and made.

Borat 2006

Hooting and hollering in the theater — 'is this really happening?'

Tár 2022

Amanda's pick: shifting in her seat with excitement, then bursting out laughing at the ending.

Napoleon Dynamite 2004

Seen in college at the Nugget; an instant quote machine.

The Irishman 2019

Seen together at the Chinese premiere; the room breathing as one at the end.

The Wolf of Wall Street 2013

Seen in a New York blizzard — 'wow, what is this?'

La La Land 2016

In the ArcLight Dome, on the largest screen possible; Amanda stands by the ending.

Babylon 2022

The ending gave her thoughts, but the middle two hours were really good.

An intro-to-film syllabus, one per decadeNewton's question — horror, coming-of-age, romance

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1974

A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984

Halloween (2007) 2007

The Rob Zombie remake, offered to show a shift in transgression.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 1997

Jennifer Love Hewitt as the real lead of the original.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) poster

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) 2025

The new reboot with Madelyn Cline; a '90s-horror canon watch is planned with CR.

Old Yeller 1957

A rare pre-'60s film made about a child that adults would watch.

Now and Then 1995

The girl version of the '90s coming-of-age movie.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High 1982

Could slot in the '80s too.

The Virgin Suicides 1999

Filed to the 2000s, but really any Sofia — Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette.

The Apartment 1960

The Wilder pick they'd really want, if it counts for the '60s.

My Fair Lady 1964

Offered despite Amanda's anti-Audrey-Hepburn stance.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery 2022

Where Madelyn Cline played the young girlfriend, which Amanda had memory-holed.

The movies you've seen the mostKevin's question — the great personality test

Clerks 1994

Top of Sean's off-the-dome VHS-era list.

Citizen Kane 1941

Watched over and over after turning 16 and getting into cinema.

The Wizard of Oz 1939

First seen at 5, then on repeat as he got older.

Saltburn 2023

Sean's modern dorm-room movie — get drunk, play cards, wait for Barry Keoghan.

You've Got Mail 1998

One of Amanda's two Nora Ephrons at the top of her list.

Singin' in the Rain 1952

True even before she introduced it to her son.

Father of the Bride 1991

The Charles Shyer / Nancy Meyers version.

Apollo 13 1995

She had the VHS.

Your biggest blind spotsTaylor's question — glaring omissions

Medicine Man 1992

First on Sean's Letterboxd watchlist despite being a McTiernan fan; a glitch in the matrix.

Basic 2003

The other unseen McTiernan he's heard is absolutely crazy.

Poltergeist 1982

Amanda has seen this, but not The Exorcist or Texas Chain Saw.

Victor/Victoria 1982

A Julie Andrews head, but she's never seen the Blake Edwards musical.

2001: A Space Odyssey 1968

Seen, but never on a big screen — she bought 70mm Festival tickets to fix that.

Phones and talkers at the moviesGrayson's question about rude audiences

Moneyball 2011

At the Academy Museum, with Bennett Miller seated nearby, the people behind Sean narrated the whole film ('Brad Pitt is so sexy').

A Minecraft Movie 2025

The 'Chicken Jockey' chaos — a movie made for 10-year-olds to be insane about.

La Strada 1954

Sean's deadpan counter: 'you were in Minecraft, look at La Strada.'

Star ratings and the one-star hall of shameTucker asks Sean; Andrew asks Amanda about Romy Mars

Free Guy 2021

Probably a one-star for Sean — a deeply cynical, corrosive thing.

Dolittle 2020

Half a star; one of the last pre-pandemic movies, and Amanda was furious.

Trolls 2016

One star — the original, not World Tour.

Man of Steel 2013

A very angry review; the lone star is for Kevin Costner's performance.

Madame Web 2024

A one-star Amanda insists is at least 1.5 — the Pepsi can, come on.

Fast X 2023

One star. Put it on the podcast, not the newspaper.

Megalopolis 2024

Where Sofia Coppola's daughter Romy Mars appeared; Amanda is pro her 'A-Lister' single.

The one popcorn movie to recommendMike sees a movie or two a year — which yet-to-open 2025 title

Avatar: Fire and Ash 2025

Sean's gut answer — the Avatar movies are an incredible visual feast in a theater.

Is Tubi good for movies?Cordero's question about ad-supported streaming

Nosferatu (1922) 1922

Public domain now and free on Tubi; Sean says access beats scarcity, even with a Tide ad in the middle. Amanda won't watch anything with commercials.

The directors who'd make you a starAiden and Georgia — ascending, and an original kids' movie

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2019

Sean's example of a film that took Margot Robbie from A- to A+, even as a third lead.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster

Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977

Georgia's kids-movie question, answered through the arc of Spielberg's view of childhood.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982

The next step in that arc.

Hook 1991

Mrs. Doubtfire 1993

Sean would watch Denis Villeneuve's version, but it's not really his lane.

‘Elio’Pixar's alien-abduction adventure — its worst opening ever

Elio 2025

Directed by three (Domee Shi, Madeline Sharafian, Adrian Molina); the biggest bomb in Pixar history. Sean found it bottom-tier and boring; Amanda thought it fine and moving through a kid's eyes. A late America Ferrera mother role was rewritten into Zoe Saldana's aunt — you can feel the mid-production shift.

Turning Red 2022

Domee Shi's prior film.

Coco 2017

Adrian Molina co-wrote it; he left Elio mid-production to direct Coco 2, Pixar's last original mega-sensation.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982

Star Wars 1977

'E.T. and Star Wars exist' — Amanda's argument for just showing kids those instead; the creature design echoes the cantina, not quite as good.

Flight of the Navigator 1986

Part of the post-E.T. boy-sci-fi wave Elio descends from.

Mac and Me 1988

Explorers 1985

The Black Hole 1979

In Sean's lineage of Disney/Pixar 'failed boy movies' that never quite pull people in.

Tron 1982

Titan A.E. 2000

Treasure Planet 2002

Tron: Legacy 2010

John Carter 2012

Tomorrowland 2015

Inside Out 2 2024

The massive outlier that complicates any 'Pixar crisis' theory.

Moana 2016

Moana 2 2024

One of the huge event-title outliers, alongside Lilo & Stitch and Inside Out 2.

Lilo & Stitch 2025

Mufasa: The Lion King 2024

'Lion King 2' — a quiet ~$700M hit.

Luca 2021

Another original that struggled in theaters.

Raya and the Last Dragon 2021

Onward 2020

A very short theatrical shelf life before COVID hit.

Encanto 2021

Huge, but during COVID and driven by the virality of 'We Don't Talk About Bruno.'

Wish 2023

One of four Disney non-sequels since Moana that made only $255M domestic combined.

Strange World 2022

The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2023

Cited with Barbie as the unexploited-IP benchmark audiences now want.

Barbie 2023

Sinners 2025

'How do we get Sinners for kids movies?' — back a generational talent and a great idea, don't chase a formula.

Hoppers 2026

The next Pixar original; its lizard-emoji stinger reportedly played after Elio.

Toy Story 5 2026

Incredibles 3

Further out on the slate.

Coco 2

The sequel Molina left Elio to make.

‘How to Train Your Dragon’Universal's live-action remake — and the case against it

How to Train Your Dragon 2025

Dean DeBlois's live-action remake: nearly the same script, 35 minutes longer, strong effects, Gerard Butler the best part. Sean calls it creatively empty but understands the money — already ~$365M. Nico Parker's Astrid gets a slightly stronger role.