Ten Movies to Stream, Best Picture Power Rankings, and an Ask Amanda Mailbag

Being the Ricardos 2021

The Ace Eddie nominee they agree is 'the ultimate SAG movie,' built for guild recognition even if neither is a fan.

Belfast 2021

Kenneth Branagh's film was ineligible for the WGA on a technicality, but they assume it lands in original screenplay anyway.

CODA 2021

Premiered at Sundance in January 2021; Sean calls the Apple TV+ release one of the least-seen movies ever nominated for Best Picture.

Don't Look Up 2021

Sean's pick for the contender in the most comfortable position: a streaming event movie from a filmmaker (Adam McKay) on his third straight awards-season run.

Dune 2021

Denis Villeneuve's film had a 30-day HBO Max window and then vanished; they debate whether that helps or hurts it with Oscar voters.

King Richard 2021

Also caught in the day-and-date HBO Max window with Dune, now available only as a pricier VOD rental.

Licorice Pizza 2021

Called a 'lock' after picking up a Best Edited Feature (Comedy) Ace Eddie nomination.

The Power of the Dog 2021

Jane Campion's film was ineligible for the WGA; they expect it in adapted screenplay regardless.

Tick, Tick... Boom! 2021

Andrew Garfield stars in Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut; Amanda argues it's a desperate grab at 'Hamilton magic dust' and the most vulnerable of the ten PGA nominees.

West Side Story 2021

Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner's remake of a film that already won Best Picture; strong on paper, but nobody's actually going to see it in theaters.

Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021

Missed the PGA's top 10 (the group that historically rewards a blockbuster), which Sean reads as a bad sign for its Best Picture chances.

No Time to Die 2021

Also shut out of the PGA nominations.

Drive My Car 2021

The 'critical darling,' but ineligible for the WGA; neither host believes it actually cracks the Best Picture ten.

The Lost Daughter 2021

Maggie Gyllenhaal's film was also WGA-ineligible; Amanda's pick to replace Tick, Tick... Boom! in the final ten.

The Tragedy of Macbeth 2021

Named as one of three smaller films that could still slide into a PGA snub's spot.

House of Gucci 2021

Sean eulogizes it ('pour out a gigantic magnum of Barolo') after it missed the PGA nominations entirely.

Nightmare Alley 2021

Guillermo del Toro's film got a late awards push (Martin Scorsese wrote an op-ed praising it) but only mustered the one WGA adapted-screenplay nomination.

The French Dispatch 2021

Wes Anderson's film picked up a WGA original screenplay nod and an Ace Eddie comedy-editing nomination.

Cruella 2021

The surprise Ace Eddie comedy-editing nominee; neither host is sure why.

Being the Ricardos 2021

Belfast 2021

CODA 2021

Don't Look Up 2021

Dune 2021

King Richard 2021

Licorice Pizza 2021

The Power of the Dog 2021

The Lost Daughter 2021

Amanda swaps this in for Tick, Tick... Boom!, the one change she makes from the PGA lineup.

West Side Story 2021

A Hero 2021

Asghar Farhadi's Amazon Prime drama about a debtor's-prison inmate who finds a bag of money; Sean calls it one of the best movies of the last twelve months.

Bergman Island 2021

Mia Hansen-Løve's film, on Hulu, about two screenwriters (Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps) staying on Bergman's Fårö; Amanda's 'strong recommend.'

The Worst Person in the World 2021

Coming to theaters February 4th; Anders Danielsen Lie, who also appears in Bergman Island, gets singled out for both performances.

Swan Song 2021

Benjamin Cleary's Apple TV+ film has Mahershala Ali playing both an original and a clone of himself after a terminal diagnosis.

I'm Your Man 2021

Maria Schrader's German film, on Hulu, with Dan Stevens as a pleasure robot and Maren Eggert as the woman testing a relationship with him.

The Last Duel 2021

Back on HBO Max via the old Fox/Disney output deal despite never having been a Warner release; Ridley Scott's Matt Damon/Ben Affleck/Jodie Comer medieval trial drama.

Malignant 2021

James Wan's HBO Max horror movie, back after its 30-day window; Sean calls it a Brian De Palma homage.

Munich: The Edge of War 2021

Amanda's pick, with Jeremy Irons as Neville Chamberlain; she and Sean both find its take on Chamberlain surprisingly generous.

The House 2022

A stop-motion anthology on Netflix with multiple directors.

The Fallout 2021

Directed by Megan Park, about the aftermath of a school shooting; premiered at SXSW 2021.

The Last Thing Mary Saw 2021

A period horror film on Shudder that Sean watched at 1 a.m.

Sundown 2021

Michel Franco's film, in theaters, with Tim Roth as a man who abandons his family's return trip home from Acapulco.

The Goldfinch 2019

Amanda's pick for a Donna Tartt adaptation redo, with Joe Wright directing.

Pride & Prejudice 2005

Cited as one of Joe Wright's literary adaptations Amanda loves.

Atonement 2007

Also cited as a Joe Wright adaptation; Amanda separately recommends the Ian McEwan novel it's based on.

Anna Karenina 2012

The third Joe Wright literary adaptation Amanda name-checks.

Cyrano 2021

Amanda's dig at 'a weird musical of an old book' while wishing for more straight adaptations.

Spencer 2021

Amanda's dream-biopic answer starts with 'Spencer wasn't it for me,' before she pitches an Agatha Christie biopic instead.

The American President 1995

Amanda and her dad saw Aaron Sorkin's film in theaters at least four times in 1995.

Top Five 2014

One of the films Amanda's dad got swept up in wondering if it could win Best Picture.

Morning Glory 2010

Another of her dad's Best Picture false alarms.

Fifty Shades of Grey 2015

Amanda's favorite-theater-experience answer: an opening-weekend Valentine's Day screening in Brooklyn.

The Wolf of Wall Street 2013

A blizzard screening with Zach that Amanda calls one of her favorite movie theater memories.

The Irishman 2019

A Chinese Theatre premiere Amanda and Zach attended with assigned seats apart.

Paddington 2014

Referenced collectively with its sequel as Andy Greenwald's favorite movies to bring up unprompted.

Singin' in the Rain 1952

Amanda's answer for the first movie her child will see, ideally by age six or seven.

Bringing Up Baby 1938

Amanda's pick for around age nine or ten, cited for its dog, leopard, and 'a dinosaur.'

The Philadelphia Story 1940

Zach's suggestion that Amanda vetoes as too old a watch for a kid.

Cool Hand Luke 1967

One of two films Zach's dad showed him before age ten.

Halloween 1978

The other early Zach-as-a-kid watch, despite Zach not otherwise being a horror fan.

Star Wars 1977

Zach's earliest movie-theater memory, watched as a small child.

The Sound of Music 1965

Amanda's own family holiday tradition she plans to pass down.

Broadcast News 1987

Amanda quotes the film answering how it feels to always be right: 'it's awful.'

Top Gun: Maverick 2022

Referenced via the movie-draft-rules blowup: Amanda's 'fealty to Maverick' when Sean bent the rules on a past auction.

Heat 1995

The film a listener asks whether Amanda will eventually let her kid watch, courtesy of Chris Ryan.