The Big Picture · Awards · Discussion · Review · Hall of Fame
December 12, 2022/ 113 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Zach Barron
The Globes try a comeback and mostly play it safe, Will Smith's Oscar bid quietly dies, Brendan Fraser gets his old career back, and GQ's Zach Barron sits in for a Fraser retrospective and Hall of Fame.
57 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 Golden Globe Nominationsthe HFPA's comeback attempt after a year off the air
Emancipation and the End of Will Smith's Comeback TourWill Smith's first project since the Oscars slap, and his Globes shutout
Will Smith as a man named Peter who flees a Louisiana plantation, loosely based on the real Gordon and the photographs of his scarred back. Antoine Fuqua directing a prestige swing; the panel calls it visceral and sludgy, a two-and-a-half-star movie carried by an alligator fight and a battlefield sequence.
The WhaleDarren Aronofsky's adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter's play
Brendan Fraser as a reclusive, obese English teacher reconnecting with his daughter near the end of his life. The panel splits: strong on Fraser's performance, cool on the film itself, calling out the Ahab/Moby-Dick allegory as a mismatch for a story about confinement.
The Brendan Fraser Hall of Famewith guest Zach Barron, who profiled Fraser for GQ
The debut. Sold on Pauly Shore's fame, not Fraser's. Went in without an argument.
Fraser as a Jewish student facing antisemitism at a 1950s prep school, alongside Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell, and Ben Affleck.
Fraser, Steve Buscemi, and Adam Sandler as a rock band taking a radio station hostage. A childhood rewatch favorite for the whole panel.
Fraser as Steve Nebraska, a phenom scouted for the Yankees, in an Albert Brooks/Andrew Bergman script. Beat out With Honors for the last open slot.
The live-action cartoon template that defines two decades of his screen persona: shirtless and bewildered, forever bumping into things.
Fraser opposite Ian McKellen's James Whale. Proof he could do the dramatic register, even if the film itself doesn't fully land.
Basically Encino Man again, with Fraser hiding in a bomb shelter since the Cuban Missile Crisis instead of emerging from a cave.
The one that endures. A swashbuckling precursor to the modern Marvel formula, minus the sound-stage sheen, shot on location in Morocco.
The wish-fulfillment remake with Elizabeth Hurley. A late, contested add. The panel calls it their nostalgia pick.
Twenty-two years later, back in on the strength of an Oscar-caliber comeback performance.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Considered for the Hall of Fame With HonorsThe Quiet AmericanMonkeyboneThe Mummy ReturnsCrashLooney Tunes: Back in ActionDudley Do-RightThe Passion of Darkly NoonMrs. WinterbourneThe Twilight of the GoldsStill BreathingNo Sudden MoveTwenty BucksYounger and YoungerDogfight
In passing Journey to the End of the NightThe Last TimeThe Air I BreatheJourney to the Center of the EarthThe Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon EmperorInkheartExtraordinary MeasuresFurry VengeanceWhole Lotta SoleA Case of YouHairbrainedPawn Shop ChroniclesGimme ShelterThe Secret of KarmaThe Poison RoseLine of DescentSpace JamKing RichardThe RevenantThe Wolf of Wall StreetAmbulanceThe WrestlerBlack Swanmother!Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of TruthsWomen TalkingNopeTillArmageddon TimeHalftimeKillers of the Flower Moon
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV The AffairTrustGaslit
Ads 3Pac (Spotify Live)FIFA World Cup Launch EditionBoar's HeadWhole Foods MarketFanDuelCarvanaWhite ClawNespresso