The Big Picture · Review · Discussion · Top Five · Interview
May 16, 2023/ 98 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean and Amanda count down their five most-anticipated movies of the summer, argue about when summer movie season actually starts, and Blackberry director Matt Johnson stops by to talk Glenn Howerton, long lenses, and Canada's marketing problem.
34 films across 6 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.
Blackberrythe docudrama, before the director interview
Matt Johnson's docudrama on the rise and fall of BlackBerry, based on the book Losing the Signal. Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton play RIM's co-founders; Sean and Amanda single out Howerton's turn as a triumph of 'psycho capitalism.' Shot with long lenses to mimic a nature documentary watching its subjects from a wary distance.
Kicking off summer movie season
Sean calls it the true start of summer movie season. Vin Diesel says it's the first of a planned trilogy; reported $350 million budget.
Referenced for its unusually strong second-weekend box office hold.
Underperformed at the box office; joked that its older female audience defected to Guardians 3.
Robert Rodriguez's new Ben Affleck thriller; reviews described as quite poor.
Didn't make Sean's personal list, but he says he's 'locked and loaded' to see it.
Sean's five most anticipated
No. 1 - Sean's first-ever piece for the show was an interview tied to the prior Mission: Impossible film; opens July 12.
No. 2 - Discussed mostly through the fallout from Sean's own trailer commentary, which set off a minor Twitter pile-on. Opens July 21, the same day as Barbie.
No. 3 - Rob Savage (Host, Dashcam) directs; Chris Messina stars. Opens June 2.
No. 4 - James Mangold directs; Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge star. Opens June 30.
No. 5 - Gene Stupnitsky's sex comedy with Jennifer Lawrence, hired by parents to 'date' their teenage son. Opens June 23.
Amanda's five most anticipated
No. 1 - Greta Gerwig directs, co-written with Noah Baumbach; Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling star. Opens July 21 opposite Oppenheimer.
No. 2 - Co-directed by Kemp Powers (Soul, One Night in Miami), who replaces Peter Ramsey from the first film. Oscar Isaac, Daniel Kaluuya, and Issa Rae voice cast.
No. 3 - Celine Song's A24 romantic drama with Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro; Sean predicts a Best Picture nomination. Opens June 2.
No. 4 - Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby) directs Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri in a Sundance/SXSW breakout. Opens August 25.
No. 5 - Wes Anderson's ensemble with Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, and Jason Schwartzman. Opens June 16 in limited release.
Birthday weekend moviesthe July 28 slate
The other option for the birthday-weekend trip to the theater.
A24 horror pickup Amanda already saw at Sundance; wants to catch it again on a big screen.
In conversation
Johnson made the film for about $5.5-6 million, shot on long National Geographic-style lenses that pull farther back as the company's stakes rise.
Johnson's fake-documentary debut about a school shooter; his real mother appears as herself, unaware she was being filmed.
Johnson's follow-up, about CIA operatives infiltrating NASA.
Orson Welles' film about fakery and magic; Johnson calls it his favorite movie and the root of his whole approach to filmmaking.
Cited as an inevitable comparison to Blackberry; Johnson calls it one of his favorite films of the century and says Fincher's precision is the opposite of his own found, chaotic style.
Johnson's answer for the last great thing he's seen - he says he cried at a Toronto sneak preview.
Referenced as a lesser version of the same effect Johnson chases in Crumb.
Documentary Johnson calls a masterpiece and a huge influence on Blackberry.
D.A. Pennebaker's Clinton-campaign documentary; the model for Blackberry's long lenses growing more distant as its subjects gain power.
Pennebaker's documentary on the Sondheim musical's cast recording, cited alongside The War Room as an influence.
Referenced via Colin Trevorrow's path from indie film to studio tentpole.
Trevorrow's studio follow-up, cited as the kind of leap Johnson isn't chasing.
Jay Baruchel's directing credit, from his own prior appearance on the show.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Also mentioned AirTetrisFlamin' HotAlita: Battle AngelBodies Bodies BodiesShiva BabyThe MegDriveThe Brady Bunch MovieThe Wizard of Oz
Rest of the summer slate ElementalMeg 2: The TrenchInsidious: The Red DoorTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Coming up next episode Master Gardener
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaNirvanna the Band the ShowJury DutyTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 cartoon)
Games Street Fighter IISpace InvadersPac-ManX-Men (arcade game)The Simpsons (arcade game)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade game)
Ads NOS EnergyCarvanaBoar's HeadFanDuel