The Big Picture · Discussion · Review · Hall of Fame

The Ben Affleck Hall of Fame and ‘Animals.’ Plus: ‘Other Mommy’ Is Jump-Scary and Silly

October 13, 2026/ 127 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins

Box-office news, then two cheap-but-watchable reviews (Rob Savage's 'Other Mommy' and Ben Affleck's Netflix 'Animals'), capped by a full-filmography Ben Affleck Hall of Fame.

42 films across 4 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.

The News

Miami Vice 85

Kosinski reboot of the Mann series; Michael B. Jordan as Tubbs, Austin Butler as Crockett, script by Dan Gilroy. Chris Ryan's beat.

The Social Reckoning 2026

Theatrical 'Social Network' sequel from Aaron Sorkin with Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White. Opened to $5.5M. 'Bomb status.'

Digger 2026

Iñárritu's big-budget flop (<$35M) with a loud online defense; the hosts' running case for a boomerang awards run.

Heart of the Beast 2026

The 'Dog' movie; older-skewing, headed past $100M worldwide.

Prime Time 2025

A24, Robert Pattinson; found its young audience.

Resident Evil 2026

IP + horror doing exactly what it should.

River 2027

Trailer ran before Other Mommy. Blumhouse slasher, Jane Levy and Jessica Rothe; Jan 15, 2027.

Exorcist: Martyrs

Mike Flanagan's 5th Exorcist, pretending Believer didn't happen. Scarlett Johansson as Det. Kinderman, John Leguizamo; read as a direct sequel to Exorcist III.

Paper Tiger

ScarJo skipped its Cannes premiere to shoot Exorcist: Martyrs.

The Guest

Emma Cline adaptation; Sadie Sink, Lorene Scafaria directing.

Hatchet

Netflix/Dark Scene France adaptation of the Gary Paulsen YA book; Jean-François Richet.

Roofman 2025

Richet's last film; Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst.

The Beatles 2028

Four films, one per Beatle, released on consecutive April 2028 weekends. Proposed order: Paul, George, Ringo, John.

'Other Mommy'Rob Savage · Blumhouse

From Josh Malerman's 'Incidents Around the House.' Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed, Karen Allen. Won the weekend ($28M), D+ CinemaScore, not screened for critics. Sean swept up by the balloon and ball-pit set pieces; Amanda bored by cheap CGI, a Ghostbusters-y middle, and continuity errors (the cake changes flavor).

Poltergeist 1982

The template Sean kept thinking of (young girl tormented by a demon) until the film pivots to a trauma-explanation ending.

Smile 2022

Cited as quietly influential on how horror is now cut and sound-designed.

Ghostbusters 1984

'Boring Ghostbusters': Amanda on the Karen Allen middle section.

Coraline 2009

Why it isn't 'Other Mother': the other-mother-across-the-portal premise already exists.

Obsession 2025

The horror mega-hit (trailer attached to The Odyssey; ~$2B) that 'broke containment' and distorted what casual viewers expect from the genre.

Backrooms 2025

The lesser-but-same market-distorting horror success.

Verity 2025

Colleen Hoover adaptation; Josh Hartnett, Dakota Johnson, Anne Hathaway. Amanda: 'a Hitchcock movie' that works until the Hoover of it doesn't. Sean: trash.

Love Hypothesis 2025

The streaming romance both concede landed with its audience.

'Animals'Ben Affleck · Netflix

Animals 2026

Affleck directs and stars as an L.A. mayoral candidate whose son is kidnapped. Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Adriana Paz, Steven Yeun. The uncredited second 'High and Low' remake in a year; not good but fun, best when it's thinly veiled Affleck. Everyone but Affleck and Anderson miscast; frenetic streaming cutting, AI-assisted and it shows.