The Big Picture · Review · Hall of Fame
March 14, 2025/ 105 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Soderbergh's married-spies thriller 'Black Bag,' then a 10-film Cate Blanchett Hall of Fame that walks her whole filmography from Paradise Road to Borderlands.
11 films across 2 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.
‘Black Bag’Steven Soderbergh, 2025
Soderbergh's 36th feature and second of 2025. Married intelligence agents; one is suspected of treason, the other has to decide whether to protect them. Slick, witty, 93 minutes: more Fassbender's movie than Blanchett's. Sean's best film of the year so far; Amanda's verdict: 'no notes.'
The Cate Blanchett Hall of Fame10 in; six of them supporting turns
The breakthrough. An unknown opposite Shekhar Kapoor's camera; nominated, won the Globe, and was a Hollywood fixture overnight.
A small part she loads with under-the-surface calculation. 'No small parts.'
Galadriel. Picked to represent the whole trilogy: her most screen time as the elf queen came here.
The pregnant journalist on Zissou's boat. Daffy and soft but still emotional, a no-brainer for both.
Her first Oscar, as Katharine Hepburn. Old-Hollywood cosplay, perfectly cast.
May December before May December. Makes a role that could be a nothing-burger into a real, believable person opposite Judi Dench.
Jude Quinn, the London-era Dylan. Per Sean, the best Bob Dylan performance ever put on film.
Marissa Wiegler, the CIA attaché. The villain-part pick and Amanda's dark horse over Blue Jasmine.
Todd Haynes. Maybe her best movie: withholding, mysterious, with a Christmas ache running under it.
Lydia Tár. The obvious best of the ten; they set it aside first and built the rest of the list around it.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Her filmography, weighed and cut Paradise RoadThank God He Met LizzieOscar and LucindaAn Ideal HusbandPushing TinEyes Wide ShutThe GiftThe Man Who CriedThe Shipping NewsCharlotte GrayBanditsThe Lord of the Rings: The Two TowersHeavenCoffee and CigarettesVeronica GuerinThe MissingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingLittle FishBabelThe Good GermanHot FuzzElizabeth: The Golden AgeIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullThe Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonPonyoRobin HoodThe Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyBlue JasmineThe TurningThe Hobbit: The Desolation of SmaugThe Monuments MenHow to Train Your Dragon 2The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five ArmiesKnight of CupsCinderellaTruthManifestoSong to SongThor: RagnarokOcean's EightThe House with a Clock in Its WallsMowgli: Legend of the JungleHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden WorldWhere'd You Go, BernadetteDon't Look UpNightmare AlleyGuillermo del Toro's PinocchioThe School for Good and EvilThe New BoyRumoursBorderlands
Name-checked in passing Side EffectsHaywireThe KillerAce Ventura: Pet DetectiveBack to BlackMr. & Mrs. SmithOut of SightOcean's ElevenOcean's TwelveTinker Tailor Soldier SpyNosferatuThe Electric StateA Beautiful MindThe SearchersA Complete UnknownMay DecemberThe Four FeathersRun Lola RunAlmost FamousPhone BoothTigerlandBallad of a Small PlayerA Simple PlanArmageddonThe Alto KnightsAmores PerrosK-PAXPay It ForwardAnoraGhostShakespeare in LoveBabygirlJojo RabbitMirror MirrorMickey 17ConclaveHorizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1Avatar: The Way of WaterDuneJurassic World RebirthThe BrutalistBabylonFree GuyThe Dark Knight RisesTenetZack Snyder's Justice LeagueNovocaineOpusLast BreathThe GorgeThe MonkeySteel MagnoliasErin BrockovichPhiladelphiaForrest GumpNebraskaAmerican HustleGravityPhilomenaAugust: Osage CountyThe Wolf of Wall Street
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV The AgencyLe Bureau des LégendesMrs. AmericaDisclaimerZero DayIndustryBridgertonDownton Abbey
Ads / promos Sam's ClubSonic Boom