The Big Picture · Discussion · Roundtable · Interview

The Oscar Nominations Hangover and the Top 10 Movies at Sundance

January 27, 2023/ 111 min/ Sean Fennessy · Amanda Dobbins

Sean and Amanda relitigate the Oscar nominations, then run down a loaded Sundance slate they watched virtually, before Sean sits down with Brandon Cronenberg for Infinity Pool.

25 films across 3 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 Oscar Nominations Hangoverrelitigating the Best Picture race

Elvis 2022

The one nominee Sean can't get behind; Wesley Morris flagged its handling of B.B. King and Black music history.

TÁR 2022

Still living in the Tar-verse; also the subject of Todd Field's WTF appearance.

Everything Everywhere All at Once poster

Everything Everywhere All at Once 2022

One of three real contenders, by Sean's count.

The Banshees of Inisherin 2022

The other of the three real contenders.

Top Gun: Maverick 2022

A dark-horse Best Picture possibility, Sean allows.

Triangle of Sadness 2022

Amanda's dark horse; currently No. 2 on VOD charts.

The Sundance 2023 Roundup attended virtually; one host, one film at a time

Picked by Amanda Dobbins

Eileen 2023

Amanda's No. 1. Adapted by Ottessa Moshfegh and her husband Luke Goebel from Moshfegh's novel; directed by William Oldroyd. Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie star.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

Passages 2023

Sean's pick for best of the festival. Ira Sacks's sexiest movie yet, with Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw, and Adele Exarchopoulos. Bought by Mubi.

Picked by Amanda Dobbins

Pianoforte 2023

Documentary about the International Chopin Piano Competition; the one Sean got shut out of.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

Infinity Pool 2023

Brandon Cronenberg's new one, with Alexander Skarsgard and Mia Goth; the subject of Sean's interview later in the episode.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

Fair Play 2023

Chloe Domont's debut, starring Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor as hedge-fund analysts secretly engaged. Bought by Netflix for $20 million.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

You Hurt My Feelings 2023

Nicole Holofcener reunites with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with Tobias Menzies, Michaela Watkins, and Arian Moayed.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie 2023

Davis Guggenheim's biopic-adjacent portrait, built from conversations with Fox about his career and Parkinson's. Headed to Apple TV+.

Picked by Amanda Dobbins

Invisible Beauty 2023

Co-directed by its subject, Bethann Hardison, on her runway career and her fight against the industry's whiteness.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

Magazine Dreams 2023

Elijah Bynum's Jonathan Majors bodybuilder drama. Reviews split on the back half; the performance is not in question.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

The Disappearance of Shere Hite 2023

Nicole Newnham on the sex researcher's rise and erasure; makes a natural double feature with the Judy Blume doc.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

Judy Blume Forever 2023

Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok's portrait of the author, cooperative and warm.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

Talk to Me 2023

The one midnight-slate standout for Sean, from brothers Danny and Michael Philippou.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

Fairyland 2023

Andrew Durham's adaptation of Alysia Abbott's memoir, produced by American Zoetrope; Scoot McNairy plays her father. Amanda had the same reaction to the first half.

Indigo Girls: It's Only Life After All poster

Picked by Sean Fennessy

Indigo Girls: It's Only Life After All 2023

The Indigo Girls documentary; the one pick of the festival Sean wasn't going to skip, for personal reasons.

Picked by Sean Fennessy

Amanda got shut out of this one. A Searchlight walk-and-talk rom-com, shades of Before Sunrise, from first-time director Raine Allen-Miller, starring David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah. Sean thinks Amanda's the one who should be covering it.

In conversation

Brandon Cronenberg on