The Platform 2019
Grueling class-warfare horror on Netflix, watched Friday at 4 p.m., the first of the weekend's binge.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Review · Roundtable · Interview
We're Watching Every New Movie at Home Now. Is That a Good Thing? Plus: Bill Simmons on 'The Hunt.'
March 24, 2020/ 86 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean spends a full weekend bingeing eight new VOD releases; then he and Amanda review Emma and The Hunt before Bill Simmons stops by to defend on-demand releases and re-litigate Ben Affleck's career.
26 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.
Sean's Quarantine Watchlisteverything he watched in one weekend
Blow the Man Down 2019
Amazon Prime noir Sean pitches as the Coen brothers meets Nicole Holofcener; would pair well with The Lighthouse.
Black Christmas 2019
The 2019 remake, an Amazon rental he'd missed at the end of last year.
Color Out of Space 2019
A trippy Nicolas Cage cosmic-horror movie on iTunes; he later recommends it to Bill Simmons too.
The Jesus Rolls 2019
An ostensible Big Lebowski spinoff following John Turturro's Jesus character.
The Wild Goose Lake 2019
A Cannes premiere he caught on Film Movement for a $12 virtual ticket, the best thing he watched all weekend.
Saint Frances 2019
An Oscilloscope rental he hadn't started yet, about a young woman's abortion and the friendship that follows.
Emmaon iTunes, missed in theaters
Emma 2020
Autumn de Wilde's directorial debut, with Anya Taylor-Joy as Emma and Johnny Flynn as Knightley. Sean calls it 'a flipped house': fresh coat of paint, same foundation, not entirely trustworthy. Both land on well-made but unnecessary next to Clueless and the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version.
Old-Person Recommendations for Amanda's mom
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Death on the Nile 1978
The original Peter Ustinov Poirot, before the remake.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Evil Under the Sun 1982
Another late Agatha Christie outing in the same vein.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
Local Hero 1983
Bill Forsyth's dramedy about a Texas oil man sent to acquire a Scottish village; newly on Criterion Channel.
The Huntthe most talked-about movie nobody saw
The Hunt 2020
Written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof, directed by Craig Zobel. Sean and Amanda land on 'not terrible, just not good': a Blumhouse premise about polarization that never commits to a point of view, saved by Betty Gilpin.
Bill Tells Sean He's Wrong About a MovieVOD economics, Affleck, and Hillary Swank's Hunt performance
Bill Simmons on
The Hunt 2020
Bill liked it more than Sean and Amanda did, going in with lower expectations, and thinks Betty Gilpin proved herself a star.
Bill Simmons on
The Way Back 2020
Affleck as an alcoholic basketball coach; Bill calls it his best performance in 15 years.
Bill Simmons on
The Irishman 2019
Bill watched it at home with a crowd and didn't get the right feel for it; had to rewatch alone.
Bill Simmons on
Triple Threat 2019
Bill's example (misremembering the cast) of the low-budget action movie Netflix cranks out monthly.
Bill Simmons on
The Descendants 2011
Rewatched with his wife over the weekend: 'we just wanted to go to Hawaii.'
Bill Simmons on
Up in the Air 2009
Bill wonders whether this or Little Miss Sunshine gets made at all if pitched to a studio today.
Bill Simmons on
Bird Box 2018
Bill's go-to example of a streaming movie owning the conversation for a week.
Bill Simmons on
The Lovebirds 2020
Paramount sold it straight to Netflix instead of releasing it theatrically; stars Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Already covered on the show OnwardThe Invisible ManBirds of PreySonic the HedgehogFrozen IIThe Gentlemen
Emma's visual and literary lineage CluelessSense and SensibilityMarie Antoinette
Anya Taylor-Joy's other work The WitchGlassSplitThoroughbredsBad EducationThe New Mutants
The Blumhouse formula Get OutHappy Death DayThe PurgeCompliance
Betty Gilpin comps AliensEdge of Tomorrow
Streaming case studies A Quiet PlaceSet It UpMulanBlack WidowTop Gun: MaverickTrolls World Tour
Overacting comps Cliffhanger
Hillary Swank's range The Next Karate KidBasic Instinct
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Tiger KingSurvivorGLOWLittle Fires EverywhereHigh Fidelity
Ads MasterClass
Other D-Nice's Instagram Live DJ setMark Wahlberg's TikTok
Announced (unreleased) Face/Off 2