The 97th Oscars Recap

Director David Ayer re-teams with Jason Statham for another professionally titled actioner: A Working Man. Following up last year's The Beekeeper, will the duo recapture the absurd magic of their debut? We review the film and discuss the careers of both Ayer and Statham.

For our first television episode of 2025, we review the long-anticipated revival of Marvel's Man Without Fear — Daredevil: Born Again. Is the new series able to find the best version of itself despite extensive reshoots and behind-the-scenes shakeups? Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio slip back into the roles like a pair of comfortable shoes, but is it enough to carry it all? Tune in and find out our thoughts.

This week, we review director Steven Soderbergh's second film to be released in as many months. Black Bag sure is steamy — Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett playing married spooks certainly heightens its seductiveness — but its real heat lies in its surprising juxtaposition, honing in on a passionate kernel of loyalty and devotion within a sea of spy-versus-spy cynicism: the ultimate, lean expression of “couple goals.” We talk about its razor-sharp screenplay, riveting performances, and unexpected economy.

It's been six long years since the last Bong Joon-ho film, Parasite, swept through the 2020 Oscars, including the prize of Best Picture. A beloved filmmaker that has brought us both intimate, grounded thrillers as well as propulsive genre yarn, Bong Joon-ho is once again dipping his toe into sci-fi class warfare with Mickey 17. Featuring Robert Pattinson in multiple roles and another "freaky little guy" routine, does Mickey 17 continue the South Korean director's streak of bracing storytelling?

A welcome respite from Jimmy Kimmel's irony-pilled sarcasm, the 97th annual Academy Awards found late-night legend Conan O'Brien in the host chair. Jeff, Derek, and Amir break down the broadcast and the nominees, from the winners to the losers, the graceful to the ugly. We discuss Anora's historic evening, a weird in-memoriam tribute, and the longest acceptance speech in Oscar history.

This week, after a long month of lists, recaps, and Oscar nominated heavy hitters, we lighten the mood with the gory, splatter-filled Stephen King adaptation of The Monkey. Oz Perkins' second film in a year, The Monkey stars both Theo James and Christian Convery in dual roles, Tatiana Maslany, Colin O'Brien, Adam Scott, and Elijah Wood. Does Perkins follow up last summer's Longlegs with a potent mashup of Final Destination and Stephen King? Or does this horror comedy fizzle out?

It's incredibly easy to overpraise something like Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist just for its degree of difficulty and the unlikelihood of it even existing, but it’s the real deal: a living Great American Novel plucked from time. We sit down and review the three-and-a-half-hour epic - complete with intermission - and discuss its performances, ambition, and staggering scope.

This week we review RaMell Ross's Nickel Boys, an adaptation of Colson Whitehead's novel of the same name. The story of two Black boys who form an unshakeable bond at a segregated reform school in the Jim Crow South, Nickel Boys transcends its first person conceit, its Oscar-bait trappings, and the swerve of its twist ending to deliver a major work of American cinema. Keep an eye on this one.

As per tradition, we follow up the best of 2024 with our Most Anticipated Films of 2025 episode as Jeff, Derek, and Amir list what's got them excited going into the new year. Running the gamut of indie gems to the massive blockbusters, tune in to find out what's on our hotlist for 2025!

Another year of cinema in the rear view as we count down our personal top tens of 2024. A year that highlighted the limits of accessibility for some of its best films, 2024 gave us the most varied lists we've ever had on the show with showings across all genres. What made Jeff, Derek, and Amir's lists? What were honorable mentions? Tune in and find out.