Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2019
The take cycle Sean missed while on vacation: the portrayal of Sharon Tate and the Cliff Booth/Bruce Lee fight, plus its Best Picture odds.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Interview
The 'Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood' Take Cycle, Reviewed
August 9, 2019/ 96 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean gets back from vacation and he and Amanda finally work through the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood discourse, then run down the fall festival lineup, a new Academy president, two industry deaths, and an interview with The Kitchen director Andrea Berloff.
53 films across 7 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 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Take CycleSharon Tate, Bruce Lee, and eight days of internet discourse
Django Unchained 2012
Cited as a case where Tarantino rewriting history reads as an act of empowerment, unlike Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Inglourious Basterds 2009
Shoshanna seizing control of her own fate is the other comparison point.
Reservoir Dogs 1992
Brought up via a recent Rewatchables episode on how the dated, nasty dialogue holds up.
Pulp Fiction 1994
Called Tarantino's masterpiece, and the Oscar-narrative reason he might finally win 25 years later.
The Farewell 2019
The other film Sean thinks could crack Best Picture from the first eight months of the year.
A Star Is Born 2018
Referenced for its own packed early Academy screening, which didn't guarantee a win.
The Departed 2006
The Scorsese comp for a director winning on a later, lesser film instead of his masterpiece.
Fall Festival Preview
The Irishman 2019
Opens the New York Film Festival; Sean missed the trailer entirely.
Marriage Story 2019
NYFF's centerpiece film, Noah Baumbach's divorce drama.
Motherless Brooklyn 2019
NYFF's closing film. Sean re-read the source novel and is confused Edward Norton made it a period piece.
Ford v Ferrari 2019
Uncut Gems 2019
The Safdie brothers' TIFF entry.
A New Academy President
The Souvenir 2019
Cited by new Academy president David Rubin as one of his two favorite movies of the year.
Midsommar 2019
Rubin's other pick.
The English Patient 1996
Part of Rubin's resume as a casting director, credited with bringing Juliette Binoche to Hollywood.
O.J.: Made in America 2016
Raised as a test case for Rubin's 'what is a motion picture' eligibility question.
The Lion King 2019
The other eligibility test case: does it count as Best Animated Feature?
In Memoriam: Rutger Hauer and D.A. Pennebaker
Blade Runner 1982
Hauer's best-known role.
The Hitcher 1986
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1992
The original film, not the show. Amanda: 'he's quite funny' in it.
Surviving the Game 1994
Sin City 2005
Part of Hauer's late-career revival.
Batman Begins 2005
The other film in that revival.
Basic Instinct 1992
Sean's favorite Hauer stretch was his early run with Paul Verhoeven, cited here.
Total Recall 1990
Another Verhoeven film cited alongside Hauer's career.
Turkish Delight 1973
One of two early Verhoeven films that launched Hauer's career.
Soldier of Orange 1977
The other.
Don't Look Back 1967
Pennebaker's Bob Dylan documentary, Sean's entry point into his work.
Original Cast Album: Company 1970
Pennebaker's Sondheim recording-session documentary, spoofed by Documentary Now!
Monterey Pop 1968
His concert film of career-changing sets from Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding.
Town Bloody Hall 1979
A feminist-thinkers-vs.-Norman-Mailer debate film Sean calls infuriating and hilarious.
The War Room 1993
His campaign-trail doc on Bill Clinton's team, endlessly imitated since.
Knock Down the House 2019
Sean name-checks it from a piece he wrote on political documentaries earlier this year.
What We Watched
Tolkien 2019
Amanda's verdict: one of the least interesting films she's ever seen.
Hellboy 2019
Sean: 'seriously, what the fuck.'
Isn't It Romantic 2019
Both agree: smart, but not funny.
The Descent 2005
Director Neil Marshall's earlier, genuinely great horror film.
Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994
The classic Amanda still, somehow, hasn't seen.
What's Coming in August
Blinded by the Light 2019
Where'd You Go, Bernadette 2019
Richard Linklater's twice-delayed adaptation of Maria Semple's novel, starring Cate Blanchett.
American Factory 2019
Sean calls it one of the best movies he's seen this year.
Ready or Not 2019
Luce 2019
Naomi Watts and Tim Roth in a Sundance pickup Sean expects to be divisive.
The Nightingale 2018
Jennifer Kent's follow-up to The Babadook, which Amanda has already ruled out watching.
Andrea Berloff on The Kitchen
Andrea Berloff on
The Kitchen 2019
Her directorial debut, starring Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss.
Andrea Berloff on
Straight Outta Compton 2015
Her Oscar-nominated script, born from a pitch that it wasn't a movie about a band.
Andrea Berloff on
World Trade Center 2006
The Oliver Stone set she credits with teaching her how movies actually get made.
Andrea Berloff on
Girls Trip 2017
She caught it opening weekend to check out Tiffany Haddish before casting her in The Kitchen.
Andrea Berloff on
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2019
Her answer to the show's closing question: the last great thing she's seen.
Also mentioned raised along the way
In passing Hobbs & Shaw
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Game of ThronesDocumentary Now!Amazon's Lord of the Rings seriesHulu's Four Weddings and a Funeral
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