The Little Things 2021
Denzel Washington's HBO Max legal thriller, cited as proof he can still open a movie: widely watched, but 'not very good.'
The Big Picture · Discussion
The Movie Star Ranking: 35 Over 35, Part 1
February 16, 2021/ 86 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean and Amanda open a two-part countdown of the 35 best movie stars over 35. They lay out their rules, cut the retired and the disqualified, and count down from No. 35 to No. 21.
128 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.
Setting the ground ruleswhat even counts as a movie star in 2021
Retired, ineligible, and disqualifiedthe movie stars who don't make the cut, and why
Phantom Thread 2017
Daniel Day-Lewis's last film before stepping away; the hosts are taking him at his word that it's retirement.
Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017
Gwyneth Paltrow's cameo as Pepper Potts, the one she famously forgot she was in.
Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams 2018
Paltrow appearing as herself in the tour documentary, one of only four film credits she's had since 2017.
Avengers: Infinity War 2018
Another of Paltrow's brief Pepper Potts appearances.
Avengers: Endgame 2019
Paltrow's last credit as of this recording; also has Robert Redford in a brief time-travel cameo.
The Old Man & the Gun 2018
Robert Redford's reported final starring role before retiring.
Welcome to Mooseport 2004
The last movie Gene Hackman made before stepping away, 'what feels like 300 years ago.'
Annie 2014
One of three Cameron Diaz films from 2014, the year she stopped acting.
Sex Tape 2014
Cameron Diaz, same farewell year.
The Other Woman 2014
Cameron Diaz's last credit before retiring to make sugar-free wine.
Wonder Woman 1984 2020
Gal Gadot's recent lead role; she turned 35 since the hosts' 35-under-35 list, so she ages out of eligibility here.
Promising Young Woman 2020
Carey Mulligan, another recent graduate off the under-35 list.
The Dig 2021
Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes; Sean expected 'English Patient 2' until Fiennes's accent set it apart.
Antebellum 2020
Janelle Monáe's recent starring role, the third of the newly-turned-35 crop.
The Midnight Sky 2020
George Clooney's Netflix film, widely watched mostly because he's in it, which is itself the point about him missing this list.
Money Monster 2016
Clooney's previous starring role, and also part of a run of misfires for costar Julia Roberts.
Hostiles 2017
Christian Bale, counted here even though the hosts treat its long shelf life as basically a 2016 release.
Vice 2018
Bale's Dick Cheney transformation, one of only three lead roles the hosts credit him with in five years.
Ford v Ferrari 2019
Bale's most recent starring role, and, per Sean, the film where he outshines the man ranked above him, Matt Damon.
Ben Is Back 2018
Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges; genuinely good, per the hosts, despite thin chemistry.
Wonder 2017
Roberts's overlooked box-office hit, based on the R.J. Palacio novel.
Mirror Mirror 2012
Cited as the start of a Roberts dip.
Larry Crowne 2011
Another entry from that stretch.
Eat Pray Love 2010
Same era of Roberts's filmography.
Mother's Day 2016
One of several Roberts misfires from the mid-2010s.
Secret in Their Eyes 2015
Another from that run.
August: Osage County 2013
The last of the Roberts titles cited as evidence she's stepped back from movies.
The international picksJavier Bardem and Zhao Tao
Skyfall 2012
Javier Bardem's Bond villain; Sean is still mad he didn't win an Oscar for it.
Ash Is Purest White 2018
Zhao Tao's pick: 'among the best movie performances I've ever seen.'
Mountains May Depart 2015
One of three straight Zhao Tao films directed by her husband, Jia Zhangke.
A Touch of Sin 2013
The third of that run with Jia Zhangke.
The countdown: No. 35 to No. 21part 1 of 2, worst to best
Black Widow 2021
No. 21 Scarlett Johansson: the solo film, arriving on top of the rest of her MCU work.
Marriage Story 2019
No. 21 Scarlett Johansson: one of two Oscar nominations she picked up the same year.
Jojo Rabbit 2019
No. 21 Scarlett Johansson: her other 2019 nomination, playing well against her MCU type.
Lost in Translation 2003
No. 21 Scarlett Johansson: a big one for Sean personally.
Under the Skin 2013
No. 21 Scarlett Johansson.
Lucy 2014
No. 21 Scarlett Johansson.
Ghost in the Shell 2017
No. 21 Scarlett Johansson: the whitewashing controversy, alongside the 'I could play a tree' interview.
Joker 2019
No. 22 Joaquin Phoenix: the Oscar win, and, per Tarantino on a recent podcast, a movie that gets you rooting for a genuinely dangerous person.
Mary Magdalene 2018
No. 22 Joaquin Phoenix: one of the arthouse side projects that got a little overlooked.
You Were Never Really Here 2017
No. 22 Joaquin Phoenix: another of those overlooked ones.
The Master 2012
No. 22 Joaquin Phoenix: the kind of event every Phoenix project becomes.
Her 2013
No. 22 Joaquin Phoenix.
Walk the Line 2005
No. 22 Joaquin Phoenix.
A Quiet Place 2018
No. 23 Emily Blunt: written and directed by her husband, John Krasinski.
A Quiet Place Part II 2021
No. 23 Emily Blunt: delayed by the pandemic; would've been the signature hit of spring 2020.
Jungle Cruise 2021
No. 23 Emily Blunt: a Disney IP tentpole with Dwayne Johnson, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.
Edge of Tomorrow 2014
No. 23 Emily Blunt: her signature part, Rita Vrataski, 'a redefinition of what a hero in a movie is.'
Sicario 2015
No. 23 Emily Blunt.
Mary Poppins Returns 2018
No. 23 Emily Blunt: she played Mary Poppins, which the hosts note is a really big deal.
The Girl on the Train 2016
No. 23 Emily Blunt: a shaky adaptation of the airport thriller.
The Shallows 2016
No. 23 Emily Blunt: Collet-Serra again, this time with Blake Lively.
The Five-Year Engagement 2012
No. 23 Emily Blunt.
The Adjustment Bureau 2011
No. 23 Emily Blunt, 'the movie with the hats.'
The Devil Wears Prada 2006
No. 23 Emily Blunt: a famous supporting turn, also on Anne Hathaway's résumé.
The Huntsman: Winter's War 2016
No. 23 Emily Blunt.
Extraction 2020
No. 24 Chris Hemsworth: one of the few to turn mainstream Hollywood stardom into a real streaming hit; a sequel is already a lock.
Ghostbusters 2016
No. 24 Chris Hemsworth: a misfire commercially, but the hosts thought he was very funny in it.
Deadpool 2016
No. 25 Ryan Reynolds: the franchise he spent a decade trying to find.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu 2019
No. 25 Ryan Reynolds: 'a very sweet homage to Humphrey Bogart movies' that is also definitely a Pokémon movie.
The Hitman's Bodyguard 2017
No. 25 Ryan Reynolds: a $200 million hidden hit alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, and Salma Hayek.
Spectre 2015
No. 26 Daniel Craig: the last Bond film before this one, six years back by the time of this recording.
No Time to Die 2021
No. 26 Daniel Craig: delayed repeatedly; the hosts have sworn off getting their hopes up again.
Knives Out 2019
No. 26 Daniel Craig: the post-Bond direction, fun and loose, a hint of what he wants to do next.
Logan Lucky 2017
No. 26 Daniel Craig.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2011
No. 26 Daniel Craig.
Kings 2017
No. 26 Daniel Craig: with Halle Berry, a film Sean admits he'd never heard of.
Creed 2015
No. 27 Tessa Thompson.
Creed II 2018
No. 27 Tessa Thompson.
Sorry to Bother You 2018
No. 27 Tessa Thompson: the smaller, riskier project that balances out her franchise work.
Annihilation 2018
No. 27 Tessa Thompson.
Selma 2014
No. 27 Tessa Thompson.
Dear White People 2014
No. 27 Tessa Thompson.
Sylvie's Love 2020
No. 27 Tessa Thompson.
Men in Black: International 2019
No. 27 Tessa Thompson: not good, but she tried.
Passing 2021
No. 27 Tessa Thompson: seen at Sundance, headed to Netflix later in the year.
Inside Llewyn Davis 2013
No. 28 Oscar Isaac.
Ex Machina 2014
No. 28 Oscar Isaac.
Triple Frontier 2019
No. 28 Oscar Isaac.
Dune 2021
No. 28 Oscar Isaac: Sean's most anticipated movie of the year, even without fully knowing what it's about.
The Card Counter 2021
No. 28 Oscar Isaac: a Paul Schrader film, Sean's second-most-anticipated of the year.
Armageddon Time 2022
No. 28 Oscar Isaac: another James Gray film on the slate, shared with Anne Hathaway.
Hillbilly Elegy 2020
No. 29 Amy Adams: roundly rejected critically, though she picked up a SAG nomination for it.
Vice 2018
No. 29 Amy Adams.
Zack Snyder's Justice League 2021
No. 29 Amy Adams: the Snyder Cut, which the hosts joke she never asked for.
The Woman in the Window 2021
No. 29 Amy Adams: the delayed Joe Wright thriller that's gone through extensive reshoots.
12 Years a Slave 2013
No. 30 Lupita Nyong'o: the Oscar win.
Black Panther 2018
No. 30 Lupita Nyong'o: the blockbuster check.
Us 2019
No. 30 Lupita Nyong'o: a dual performance the hosts think would've earned an Oscar nomination with a fall release date instead of February.
The 355 2022
No. 30 Lupita Nyong'o: Simon Kinberg's all-female spy ensemble, with Jessica Chastain.
Okja 2017
No. 31 Steven Yeun: Bong Joon Ho, one of the auteur credits that set him apart.
Burning 2018
No. 31 Steven Yeun: Lee Chang-dong's film, one of 'the greatest performances in movies in the last couple of years,' per Sean.
Minari 2020
No. 31 Steven Yeun: a Best Actor contender, discussed alongside Mahershala Ali as a fellow TV-to-film crossover.
Sorry to Bother You 2018
No. 31 Steven Yeun.
Green Book 2018
No. 32 Mahershala Ali: 'mediocre shit,' per Amanda, but one of his two Oscars in three years.
Ford v Ferrari 2019
No. 33 Matt Damon: a very good movie, though Sean thinks Christian Bale outshines him in it.
Deadpool 2 2018
No. 33 Matt Damon: cameo-era Damon.
Thor: Ragnarok 2017
No. 33 Matt Damon: another cameo.
Unsane 2018
No. 33 Matt Damon.
Downsizing 2017
No. 33 Matt Damon: an Alexander Payne movie Sean likes that most people think is bad.
Suburbicon 2017
No. 33 Matt Damon: a George Clooney film most people, including the hosts, think is bad.
The Last Duel 2021
No. 33 Matt Damon: due in 2020, delayed but reportedly close to finished.
Stillwater 2021
No. 33 Matt Damon: the Tom McCarthy film, also delayed from 2020.
No Sudden Move 2021
No. 33 Matt Damon: a Steven Soderbergh film next on his slate.
Thor: Love and Thunder 2022
No. 33 Matt Damon.
The Great Wall 2016
No. 33 Matt Damon: cited sarcastically as evidence of a spotty stretch.
The Monuments Men 2014
No. 33 Matt Damon: same stretch.
The Zero Theorem 2013
No. 33 Matt Damon: same stretch.
We Bought a Zoo 2011
No. 33 Matt Damon: Amanda's self-professed favorite of the bunch.
Hereafter 2010
No. 33 Matt Damon.
Invictus 2009
No. 33 Matt Damon: the oldest title in a 12-year span of credits Sean rattles off.
The Dark Knight Rises 2012
No. 34 Anne Hathaway.
Interstellar 2014
No. 34 Anne Hathaway.
Les Misérables 2012
No. 34 Anne Hathaway: the Oscar win.
The Princess Diaries 2001
No. 34 Anne Hathaway, with a very young Julie Andrews as costar.
Rachel Getting Married 2008
No. 34 Anne Hathaway.
The Intern 2015
No. 34 Anne Hathaway.
Ocean's Eight 2018
No. 34 Anne Hathaway: 'phenomenally funny' in a movie that isn't very good.
Serenity 2019
No. 34 Anne Hathaway: part of a rough 2018-2020 run of credits.
The Hustle 2019
No. 34 Anne Hathaway.
Dark Waters 2019
No. 34 Anne Hathaway: a genuinely good film, per Sean, where she's operating on a different level than her costars.
The Last Thing He Wanted 2020
No. 34 Anne Hathaway.
Roald Dahl's The Witches 2020
No. 34 Anne Hathaway.
Locked Down 2021
No. 34 Anne Hathaway: her most recent credit.
Armageddon Time 2022
No. 34 Anne Hathaway: a James Gray film, and a good sign for what's next.
Knives Out 2019
No. 35 Chris Evans: the sardonic-asshole mode the hosts think should be his lane going forward.
Lightyear 2022
No. 35 Chris Evans: an upcoming animated film inspired by the toy Buzz Lightyear was based on, Evans's own joke tweet made real.
Also mentioned raised along the way
In passing Random HeartsSix Days Seven NightsWhat Lies BeneathAir Force One
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Defending JacobThe Good Lord BirdMoon KnightWandaVisionMoney HeistTrue DetectiveSharp ObjectsThe Walking DeadHomecomingAmericanah
Video games Metal Gear Solid
Ads Netflix's FIFA World Cup Launch EditionFanDuelNOS EnergyBoar's Head