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.

331 – Saltburn (with Louis Peitzman!)

We’re here with your Oscar hangover cure to break the seal on the THOB Class of 2023 and we brought Louis Peitzman along for the chaos. It’s Saltburn time! After the COVID-era Oscar success of Promising Young Woman, all eyes were on Emerald Fennell to deliver again with her follow-up. Barry Keoghan stars in the film as a social climbing Oxford student who freeloads off his wealthy classmate (Jacob Elordi), ingratiating himself to the family as he stays on the eponymous estate. With allusions to Brideshead Revisited and Tom Ripley, Saltburn was safely the most talked about film of 2023 to earn no Oscar nomination.

This episode, we talk about the controversies surrounding the film’s sexual content and what makes Fennell such a divisive figure. We also discuss Keoghan’s nude finale moment, Rosamund Pike’s performance as the matriarch, and the film’s mixed reception on the festival circuit.

Topics also include needle drops, eyebrow piercings, and movies with bathtub scenes.