Tag: movies

378 – Being Flynn

Is the “buzzy literary adaptation to Oscar bonafide” pipeline kaput? This week, we’ve got a forgotten, pre-production-buzzy title on deck: 2012’s Being Flynn! Based on Nick Flynn’s memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, the film follows Paul Dano as the author grappling with addiction, grief, and an absent, addict father played by Robert De Niro. While critics praised De Niro’s work as a return to form, the film quickly died at the box office without strong reviews or the noise of a festival launch.

This episode, we talk about De Niro’s eventual Silver Linings Playbook nomination in the same year and his connection to the film’s director Paul Weitz. We also discuss post-Little Miss Sunshine Dano, Julianne Moore gets the rare Ten Timers Club, and the film’s Weitz-ian approach to heavier material.

Topics also include early aughts icon Olivia Thirlby, the film’s title downgrade, and Judd Hirsch’s The Fablemansnomination.

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377 – The Iron Claw (w/ Roxana Hadadi!)

After our Class of 2025 episode last week, we’re doing one of the most requested from the Class of 2023! After his COVID-stunted release (and beloved THOB title) The Nest, Sean Durkin’s next film would be the true and tragic story of the Von Erich wrestling family. With Zac Efron headlining the film as Kevin Von Erich, The Iron Claw compassionately details the family’s legacy of loss and became one of A24’s biggest hits. Naturally, we had to bring Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi back on to help us unpack this story of masculinity, brotherhood, and grief.

This episode, we talk about how A24 skipped the festivals for the film and made it one of the final films seen that season. We also discuss the film’s secret powerhouse Holt McCallany as the Von Erich patriarch, Harris Dickinson and Jeremy Allen White taking different position in the modern hunk hierarchy, and Durkin’s underloved work on Dead Ringers.

Topics also include reality television, The Smashing Machine, and giant onscreen breakfast.

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Class of 2025

It’s the biggest This Had Oscar Buzz episode every year! Now that we have this year’s crop of Oscar nominations, that means it’s time to welcome a whole year’s worth of films to the THOB fold. We unpack the Class of 2025 in all its glory, from the films that deserved better to the ones that didn’t, from the narratives we fell for and didn’t, from the most forgotten to the close calls. And, of course, we call it for the Valedictorian, the film that will get the first THOB episode from 2025.

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376 – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

As Rachel McAdams returns to movie screens with Sam Raimy’s horror film Send Help, we thought it a good time to look back at one of her most beloved performances to date. In 2023, Kelly Freeman Craig adapted a book beloved by (and controversial for) generations: Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. With Abby Ryder Fortson as the titular Margaret and McAdams as her doting mother, the film is the story of a young woman’s coming of age, including puberty, social dynamics, and religious questioning.

This episode, we talk about McAdams’ subtle and powerful performance and the film’s struggle at the box office. We also discuss Kathy Bates as a Jewish grandmother, the film’s talented young performers, and Fremon Craig’s debut film The Edge of Seventeen.

Topics also include book fairs, our past YA reading favs, and Benny Sadie as father.

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375 – My Own Private Idaho

We’re finally pulling one of our most passionate entries to our 100 Snubs series, Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho. Adapted loosely from multiple Shakespeare plays (particularly both Henry IVs), the film follows an epileptic young sex worker named Mike (River Phoenix) as he drifts the globe with his loyal cohort Scott (Keanu Reeves). Van Sant was post-Drugstore Cowboy ascendant when the film arrived, but it’s the Venice Film Festival-anointed performance by Phoenix that got the most attention and helps the film live in bittersweet infamy.

This episode, we talk about Phoenix’s stunning performance and his Oscar nomination for Running on Empty before his tragic death. We also discuss the highlights of Van Sant’s filmography, the unfair ridicule that greeted Reeves’ Bram Stoker’s Dracula performance, and where we would place the film in the 1991 Adapted Screenplay race.

Topics also include the 1991 Venice Film Festival, nipple pulling, and New Queer Cinema.

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374 – Booksmart

Happy New Year, Garys! We’re kicking off 2026 with something more bubbly and light-hearted, 2019’s Booksmart. Sold as an ultra-modern and female take on boy-led high school raunch comedies, the film stars Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein as best friends who decide to live it up after spending their entire high school experience stuck in books. After debuting at SXSW, the film generated a mountain of discussion that yielded disappointing box office results, but managed to stick around in the precursor race until the last minute.

This episode, we talk about the film’s delightful ensemble of faces of the future and Olivia Wilde’s debut directing duties that earned her a number of first film prizes that season. We also talk about Feldstein’s drubbing during the Funny Girl run on Broadway, Dever joins our Six Timers Club, and the shadow of Lady Bird unfairly set expectations for this film.

Topics also include Forte vs. Arnett, the 2019 Globe Musical/Comedy Best Actress nominees, and “I wish you luck with your trees.”

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373 – Uncut Gems (w/ Chris Rosen!)

With Marty Supreme in theatres, we thought it was perfect timing to talk about the Safdies and the gems. And we’ve finally brought in The Ankler’s Chris Rosen to join us! In 2019, the ascendant Josh and Benny Safdie brought us Uncut Gems, an anxiety-inducing comic thriller set in New York City’s Diamond District and hinging on the hubris of dealer Howard Ratner. Howie is played to the gonzo hilt by Adam Sandler, who earned “Oscar for Sandman!” raves, but the film’s strangeness likely kept it out of the Oscar fold.

This episode, we talk about the wild world of the film and Sandler’s full-tilt performance. We also discuss how the 2019 Best Actor race was primed to leave Sandler on the outside, the film’s narrative symmetry to Marty Supreme, and where both Brothers Safdie’s films stand in this year’s race.

Topics also include Billy Crystal hosting, Sandler’s chances for this year’s Jay Kelly, and sports podcasting.

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372 – The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (w/ Natalie Walker!)

Happy Holidays, Garys! This week, we have some unfinished business with Keira Knightley and who better than our pal, actress Natalie Walker to join us for the holiday season. In 2018, Oscar pedigreed Lasse Hallström and family friendly Joe Johnston adapted the classic Nutcracker story for the screen in a grab bag of Disney certified IP flare. Okay, sure, this isn’t the most THOB-y of titles, but it does give us an excuse to talk about Keira Knightley’s deranged (complimentary) performance and unpack just what the hell each of the titular four realms are.

This episode, we finally get to that Keira Knightley Six (Seven… ugh!) Timers Quiz! We also talk about reshoots that led to Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston sharing directorial duties, the glorious dance sequences led by Misty Copeland, and Christmas movie Oscar nominees.

Topics also include Polish Oscar winning shorts, seeing the Nutcracker ballet as children, and Morgan Freeman with an eyepatch.

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371 – The Founder

This week, we got one of the most requested episodes finally on the feed. In 2016, Michael Keaton had already had two comeback seasons on the Oscar trail with both Birdman and Spotlight. Neither earned him Oscar gold but our sights were on The Founder, a retelling of the story of McDonalds and the man the made it into American ubiquity. But released in the end days of the Weinstein Company, the film lingered in a purgatory of a qualifying release and never found a spot in a season dominated by Moonlight and La La Land.

This episode, we talk about the return of Keaton after a time away from major movies and his streak in the 1990s. We also talk about Laura Dern in an underserved wife role, another film by John Lee Hancock that better balances its biographical subject, and Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch playing brothers.

Topics also include the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, qualifying release strategies, and Hot Ice Cream.

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370 – Looper

With a new Benoit Blanc out for you to devour, we decided it was a great time to talk about the great Rian Johnson. In 2012, Johnson delivered his genre hybrid Looper, set in a dystopic future where, through the magic of time travel, a hitman (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) faces off against his older self (Bruce Willis) to stop a mysterious force who’s hunting them. With mind-bending leaps and a stellar supporting turn from Emily Blunt, Looper cemented Johnson’s reputation and led to his hiring for The Last Jedi.

This week, we talk about Johnson’s confident grasp of twisty material and the layered world he creates with Looper. We also talk about Gordon-Levitt’s Willis-riffing turn, Willis’ late career in the years after this film, and Kazu Hiro’s makeup to make JGL look like BW.

Topics also include 2012 TIFF Galas, the 2012 Original Screenplay race, and the blunderbuss.

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