The Big Picture · Discussion · Review · Top Five
December 22, 2025/ 72 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean and Amanda pan two throwback dramas, Bradley Cooper's 'Is This Thing On?' and James L. Brooks's 'Ella McCay,' then each names five underseen 2025 films worth chasing down.
13 films across 5 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 Newsthe first Tom Cruise teaser
Cruise's first role outside a franchise in years, in Alejandro González Iñárritu's comedy, out October 2. The teaser is Cruise dancing to a Gorillaz song shot from behind; Sean calls it 'Tropic Thunder reheated' and both flag the poster's 'a comedy of catastrophic proportions' blurb as a bad sign.
‘Is This Thing On?’
Bradley Cooper's third feature, co-written with Will Arnett, about a finance guy who takes up stand-up after an amicable divorce. Both call it 'loser behavior': sincere but soft, undercut by stand-up that isn't funny, a late-arriving volleyball subplot for Laura Dern, and an 'Under Pressure' needle drop lifted straight from 'Aftersun.' Cooper's own supporting turn is the highlight; Peyton Manning's cameo gets a laugh.
‘Ella McCay’
James L. Brooks's first film in 15 years, about a 34-year-old who becomes governor of an unnamed New England state. A near-total 'disaster' for both: 'gas leak cinema,' a Leslie Knope tone laid over a four-figure bribery scandal, specificity in all the wrong places, and miscasting down the line. They admire the underlying idea (change comes at the micro level) and Brooks's legacy, not the movie.
Amanda's Underseen and Overlookedfive 2025 movies that slipped through
No. 1 - a self-contained French rom-com built on a love triangle at a Jane Austen writers' residency; as much about writer's block as which suitor wins. Streaming on Netflix.
No. 2 - Mike Figgis's documentary on the making of Coppola's 'Megalopolis,' with startling access; a portrait of a filmmaker waiting for the technology to catch up to his vision. On the Criterion Channel.
No. 3 - Andrew Ahn's US-set remake of the Ang Lee film, co-written with James Schamus; a soft-touch story of a gay couple, a lesbian couple, IVF and a green-card marriage. Streaming on Paramount+.
No. 4 - Sophie Brooks's Sundance comedy with Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman, in which a first weekend away curdles. Amanda thinks the movie is bad but loves watching Gordon.
No. 5 - a high-concept afterlife rom-com (pick one eternity, and one of two husbands) that Amanda admits doesn't land the plane but works as a cozy at-home watch. Miles Teller is the standout.
Sean's Underseen and Overlookedfive 2025 movies that slipped through
No. 1 - Joel Potrykus's film-shot indie about two men and a very dark pact in the woods; a hang that turns gnarly. 99 cents to rent on Amazon.
No. 2 - Alireza Khatami's disorienting thriller; a Turkish professor grieving his mother's suspicious death hires a gardener to take revenge. Canada's unselected Oscar submission.
No. 3 - Kurtis David Harder's slick, cheaply made sequel to 2023's 'Influencer,' a globe-trotting internet thriller now set in southern France with a clever AI wrinkle.
No. 4 - Harris Dickinson's directorial debut, a fairly conventional London homelessness drama saved by Frank Dillane's lead performance and a cosmic final act.
No. 5 - Rungano Nyoni's A24 second feature; a woman finds her uncle's body in the street and a strange family reckoning follows. Funny and disorienting throughout. On HBO Max.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Bradley Cooper & the divorce canon A Star Is BornMaestroAftersunPunchlineJackie Brown
James L. Brooks & his peers Terms of EndearmentBroadcast NewsAs Good as It GetsI'll Do AnythingSpanglishHow Do You KnowJerry MaguireBigAre You There God? It's Me, Margaret.The InternThe Social NetworkThe Simpsons MovieOne Battle After Another
In passing VenomTropic ThunderAnatomy of a MurderDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among ThievesTrain DreamsThe PlagueDefending Your LifeA Matter of Life and DeathTop Gun: MaverickNakedFire IslandMinariBridget Jones's DiaryInfluencerMegalopolisSense and SensibilityMarty Supreme
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Arrested DevelopmentStudio 60 on the Sunset StripSaturday Night LiveThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe SimpsonsThe Tracey Ullman ShowTaxiParks and RecreationConan
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