[music]

Alison Stewart: This is All Of It. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios in SoHo. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. Whether you're listening on the radio or live streaming or on demand, I'm really grateful you are here. On today's show, we'll talk to director Julie Cohen, her new documentary, Every Body, lifts up the voices of intersex people. Food writer, Susan Jung is here with her new cookbook, Kung Pao and Beyond: Fried Chicken Recipes from East and Southeast Asia. Nothing wrong with that sentence at all. We will speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, Darren Bell about his graphic memoir, about growing up a Black Gen Xer. Now with kids of his own, it is called The Talk. That's the plan, so let's get this started with some hot summer movies.

[music]

Alison Stewart: Now, if hearing that theme song doesn't make you want to head to the Cineplex, then maybe the heat or the air quality will, at least for the AC. Whatever your reasons a summer trip to the movies is a time honor tradition and you might want to make that trip this year. If you're wondering what Indiana Jones is like in the 70s with Phoebe Waller-Bridge frenemy of a goddaughter. If you are pondering what order to tackle a Barbie and Oppenheimer double-feature on their simultaneous release, or how many cocktails to have before strapping in for the Ruckus Comedy Joyride, our next guests can help. Join me now with some summer movie recommendations. The co-host of the Ringer Movie podcast, The Big Picture, Sean Fennessey. Hi, Sean.

Sean Fennessey: Hi, Alison. How are you?

Alison Stewart: I'm doing great, and Amanda Dobbins. Hi, Amanda.

Amanda Dobbins: Hi, Alison. Thanks so much for having us.

Alison Stewart: Listeners, what movies are you looking forward to seeing this summer, or maybe you've already seen and really loved? Let's crowdsource this. Shout it out, 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. It's magic, you can text to that number as well, or if you just want to hear yourself on the radio, you can call in 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. Social media is also available @allofitwnyc. Sean, let's put this out upfront. All the movies on your list appear to be theatrical releases. Was that intentional or does this say something about the health of the industry at the moment?

Sean Fennessey: Certainly says something about Amanda and I, I think, which is that we love to go to the movies. Going to the movies is a complicated thing these days, so we are always advocating that people go, and there's a lot of good reasons to go this summer, I think.

Alison Stewart: In terms of streaming, was there anything in streaming that interested you, Amanda, or are you just a theater girl in the summer?

Amanda Dobbins: Well, the resources, at least industry-wise, have been put towards the theater for a number of reasons, including that's how they hope to make more money. The better movies right now, in my opinion, are getting theatrical releases. I, like Sean, am a child of the '90s though I'm aging myself on public radio. I have that association of it's summer, it's hot, you want air conditioning, you want an extra large fountain soda and you want to go have your mind blown for a few hours.

Alison Stewart: Let's start with some of the movies that are in theaters, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny came out over the holiday weekend. It's how I spent my birthday in the big movie theater watching Indie, took in $60 million last weekend. Amanda, you said on the podcast, this is why I go to the movies, especially in summer. All right, so what makes a summer movie? Let's start there, and then what makes this a good summer movie?

Amanda Dobbins: Spectacle volume. You really need to hear the Indiana Jones theme by John Williams as loud as it can be, surround sound and my home experience does not really match that. There's an element of nostalgia to this one. I mentioned I am a child of the '90s and sometimes the '80s, which is really tough, but seeing Harrison Ford on a big screen is how I grew up. It's one of the great things about this country. Getting back there, convoluted plots some things that don't really make sense, but like a sense of wonder is, I think, the bigger the better for me.

Alison Stewart: Sean, how did you feel about seeing Indie? I should say two ways. You see indie aged and you see him de-aged as well?

[laughter].

Sean Fennessey: I've some complicated feelings about the de-aging.

Alison Stewart: That looked great.

Sean Fennessey: Although as de-aging goes, this was some of the best de-aging we've seen in a movie. I'm torn, I enjoyed the new Indiana Jones movie. I did feel a bit like my childhood was being pilfered actively for modern entertainment, but as Amanda said, it was great to see Harrison Ford. This is the first film that Steven Spielberg did not direct of the Indiana Jones films. It's James Mangold taking over this time. He's a director I like quite a bit as well. It's a noisy, clattering, intense chase sequence of a movie, but there's a lot of art in it and an extremely bold choice at the conclusion of the film that I think you'll either take or you'll leave. It's at least worth checking out in that respect.

Alison Stewart: [laughs] Amanda, are you, as a child of the '90s/late '80s, are you open to this idea of an Indie spinoff? I left feeling like, "Oh, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is going to be the new Indiana Jones."

Amanda Dobbins: Right. I thought Phoebe Waller-Bridge was fantastic in the film and brought a lot of that screwball action comedy chemistry with Harrison Ford that was great and I enjoyed. I also enjoy the work of Phoebe Waller-Bridge separate from Indiana Jones. My feeling is that I don't know if I want her to be tied up in making Indiana Jones movies for 15 years or however long. What I love to see her in a big-budget action comedy adventure. Yes, absolutely. Let's be real, if they make more Indiana Jones spinoffs, will I watch them? Of course. I think we could all be a little bit more imaginative in how we go about making those.

Alison Stewart: Sean, do you have any thoughts on who would be a good Indie successor if they decide to continue?

Sean Fennessey: Is it too bold to say, let's just retire and come up with another good idea?

Alison Stewart: Not at the least.

Sean Fennessey: I do think that's a challenge for us, the movies these days is not just relying entirely on previously known intellectual property. I think it would be fun to discover another Harrison Ford-esque figure, another young actor who's ready for an adventure series. We love an adventure series. It does not have to have Indiana Jones in the title. I think that would be exciting to not have it in the title.

Alison Stewart: Is it okay that we talked about Spider-Verse, though?

Sean Fennessey: Well, yes, because I love that one.

[laughter]

Sean Fennessey: I'm willing to completely contradict myself.

Alison Stewart: What do you love about Spider-Verse?

Sean Fennessey: I think it's an incredible work of imagination. It's both a technical and emotional masterpiece in so many ways. There's really never been an animated series of movies like this. This is the second film in this series of films as part of a trilogy, and it is a Spider-Man movie and we've seen a lot of Spider-Man movies, and I know that some people listening may say, "Gosh, another Spider-Man movie." In fact, my co-host, Amanda, may even say, "Gosh, another Spider-Man movie." In this case, there is something totally unique in the animation style, in the story that's being told in the Miles Morales characters at the center of the story, in the Voice work, in the, as I said, the sheer active imagination that goes into this movie. It's incredibly difficult to describe because it is convoluted, but in a way that almost does not matter. It's just a big feeling, deep movie about being a kid and trying to figure out who you are.

Alison Stewart: We have the composer of both Spider-Verse films, Daniel Pemberton on the show last month. I want to play a bit of what he said about the appeal of these films for him.

Daniel Pemberton: When cinema feels a bit formulaic, it doesn't feel exciting. I think why audiences have got so excited about Spider-Verse is because it doesn't feel like anything else you've ever seen. That's what going to cinema should be like. You should go to cinema and have no idea what you're going to experience, and that's when you come out of the cinema and you're like, that was amazing. Something added to my life there. I think Spider-Verse has done that so well, and which is why everyone's loving it and connecting with it. It's such a fresh take, and I think the success hopefully will encourage more people to take more risks.

Alison Stewart: First of all, I'm just going to say cinema for the rest of the segment. Amanda, what won you over about Spider-Verse? This is not necessarily your lane.

Amanda Dobbins: That's true. I am not a comic book person historically, but I got to watch this film while sitting next to Sean, and I thought Sean gave a lovely and very intellectual answer about the appeal of Spider-Verse. As he was watching it, he was just staring up in the screen in wonder, an expression that I don't often see on Sean's face. I too was really swept away in the art of this film and how visually beautiful the colors and the invention that is palpable on the screen. It does not feel like another superhero movie, but to the quote that you just played, and to Sean's point, people go and they experience wonder and Sean did, and that was beautiful to see.

Alison Stewart: My guests, Amanda Dobbins, and Sean Fennessey, they are the co-host of the podcast, The Big Picture from The Ringer. We are talking about summer movies. Let's get some calls in here. Jeremy is calling in from Lakeville, Connecticut. Hi, Jeremy. Thanks for calling All Of It.

Jeremy: Hi. Thank you for having me.

Alison Stewart: You're on the air.

Jeremy: Oh, I saw Asteroid City last night and I absolutely loved it. When I walked into the theater with my wife, we saw a bunch of high school kids coming from camp who were going to go to see Indiana Jones, and we were lamenting, oh, we had to go sit next to them. It's going to be a ruckus event. Thankfully we went to the smaller theater and it was such a cozy, wonderful, weird reflection on eternity and on, honestly, the Pandemic, it seemed like it was a statement, Wes Anderson was making, what quarantine was like, what the pandemic was like, but done through the lens of aliens in the Midwest. Yes, I loved it.

Alison Stewart: Jeremy, thanks for calling in. Somebody texted us. "I saw the Indiana Jones movie. It was fun, but could have used 24 minutes out of it, which would made it two hours." Let's talk to Hazel calling in from New York City. Hi, Hazel, thanks for calling All Of It.

Hazel: Hi. I wanted to say that I love Past Lives.

Amanda Dobbins: Yes.

Hazel: It's a freeing [unintelligible 00:10:30]. It was just so beautiful. I thought it was sweet and thinking it over it was bittersweet. It was poignant, and it was very slow, where it needed to be slow and beautiful. I had to stand for the entire film because I had a terrible state and it was well worth it. It was just a lovely, lovely movie.

Alison Stewart: Hazel must have really loved that movie to stand for 90-plus minutes. Amanda, Past Lives just on your list. It's starring Greta Lee. People have heard Greta on this show as well, Celine Song who was the director and writer. It is about a young woman who reunites with her childhood best friend perhaps her true love. He has grown up in Korea and she's come to the States to make her way. What was it about this film which is really intimate and also a love letter to New York, by the way. [chuckles]

Amanda Dobbins: Absolutely. It's two former New Yorkers live. Shouldn't say former for Sean, he grew up there but we missed it. It made me miss it even more.

Alison Stewart: I was just exhilarated by it, which is a funny thing to say as you said about an intimate and deeply personal movie. It's a very specific set of experiences and I think Greta Lee's performance really communicates what this one character Nora is going through. Also, it opens up a lot of conversations. You can find yourself in some version of it even if you haven't lived this exact life. I don't want to spoil the ending but I just want to say the ending blew me away. It's hard to end a film they stuck the landing and I was both moved and cheering at how right they got it.

Amanda Dobbins: Listeners, what movies are you looking forward to seeing this summer or what have you seen that you really love and want to shout out? Phone lines are open to you. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. You can call that number and be on the air or you can text us if that's easier. Also, social media is available @allofitwnyc. This text takes us into our next run here. It says, "Hi, from the West Village, Amanda, Sean, and Alison. I listen to you all often and happily. I truly feel like this is a good time for movies having seen Past Lives and Asteroid City already, and liked both. So, what should I see next, Barbie or Oppenheimer? Thanks." That is from Cindy.

Let's get into this Barbie and Oppenheimer, both coming out on July 21st. Sean, can you explain the hype machine around these two movies?

Sean Fennessey: Oh, that's a tricky one. First, let me say, your listeners have excellent taste because Asteroid City and Past Lives are fantastic films. That's exciting to hear. The hype machine is profound. There's some studio complication that is a little interesting, which is that, for many years, Christopher Nolan made films for Warner Brothers. He left Warner Brothers after some significant streaming decisions were made during the pandemic, and he jumped over to Universal.

Barbie is a Warner Brothers film. These two films coming out on the same date, and Christopher Nolan going head to head with Warner Brothers is an interesting wrinkle in the story of these movies. They're also obviously the two, I think, safe to say most anticipated movies of the summer, and then landing on the same date has created some emotional complexity in decision-making, I would say. Amanda and I have very strong feelings about what you should see first.

Alison Stewart: Okay.

Sean Fennessey: We do believe that we need to go Oppenheimer and then Barbie. We need to go dinner and then dessert. This is the strategy for our lifestyle here at The Big Picture. I think the thing is, is that both of these movies have big movie stars. They have big ideas. They are somehow opposite and the same. It's a male director and a female director. It's what could be perceived as a female story and what can be perceived as a male story, but knowing Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan as we do creatively, I think they will subvert our expectations. Generally speaking, we haven't seen these films yet, but we are highly, highly anticipating them.

Alison Stewart: All right, so let's just put it out there for people who don't know. I think everyone does, but I want to say it out loud, Oppenheimer directed by Christopher Nolan, about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of Los Alamos and oversaw the development of the atomic bomb, Cillian Murphy is Oppenheimer in this film. Amanda, I read somewhere that Nolan said, and he's done Interstellar and Momento, Dark Nights. He's claimed there's no CGI in this film. Does that make this more attractive to you?

Amanda Dobbins: Yes, in the sense that I feel that most movies are over-staffed with CGI. On the other hand, as you noted, this is a film about an atomic bomb. What did they do and how did they do it, are some questions that I have. I do not at this moment have answers to them. I hope everything was safe. There have been some other unconfirmed reports that people who have seen early screenings of this film have left barfing, so I don't really know what to do about that. But I agree with Sean, I think given the subject matter, the length of this film is apparently almost three hours longer, or is it over three hours?

Sean Fennessey: Three hours and nine seconds.

Amanda Dobbins: Three hours and nine seconds.

Alison Stewart: Oh, my.

Amanda Dobbins: The supposed reactions, you have to get it out of the way first. If you see it after dinner and after Barbie if it's our fourth through seventh of your day, I think you're going to fall asleep or you're going to be overwhelmed, and you go in, you sit down, you concentrate, then you go have a nice festive dinner or snack and then you enter Barbie land and have some fun.

Alison Stewart: All right, Barbie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, as Barbie and Ken, many, many, many other actors, directed and co-written by Noah Baumbach, directed by Greta Gerwig, of course, Lady Bird and Little Women. From just what I've seen, it looks like this is a somewhat feminist take on Barbie, Sean.

Sean Fennessey: I think so. I like that you asked me that question. Thank you.

Alison Stewart: For the script.

Sean Fennessey: I think that there will be something meta-textual about this, the way that we understand the past of Barbie and what Barbie represents to our culture, and maybe how we think about the doll and femininity in the 21st century. I think it's safe to assume the director of Lady Bird and Little Women will have something to say about how we've changed her ideas about who women are in our society now.

Alison Stewart: Let's listen to a little bit of the trailer of Barbie.

[trailer playing]

Speaker 1: Where are we?

Speaker 2: This is Barbie Land.

Speaker 1: Are we going to get a small doll size or our Barbies our size?

Speaker 2: Yes. Basically, everything that men do in your world women do in ours.

Speaker 3: The President is here.

Speaker 4: I am, you're welcome.

Speaker 2: Barbie is a doctor and a lawyer and so much more than that.

Speaker 3: Help me discontinued her.

Speaker 5: Hi, Barbie.

Speaker 1: There are Kens too.

Speaker 2: There are many Kens.

Speaker 1: Where do the Kens stay?

Speaker 5: I love you too.

Speaker 2: I don't know.

Speaker 6: Barbie, July 21 with PG-13.

[trailer end]

Alison Stewart: The Barbie machine is strong, Amanda.

Amanda Dobbins: It is large, and it can feel overwhelming. I understand if your listeners are feeling a sense of fatigue. On the other hand, I will say anecdotally I covered movies for my job. I'm pretty well-versed. I have a lot of friends who do not cover the movie culture as closely, and they are aware of Barbie and they're looking forward to Barbie.

Now, obviously, Barbie is also a very famous worldwide brand extension, et cetera, et cetera, but the marketing at least is working. We are at a time where people aren't going to the movies at the same rate that they used to. I'm a little heartened at least that the marketing is working at least. People are aware at least anecdotally, and since I am a Greta Gerwig fan, and I'm incredibly excited for this film, I'll take it.

Alison Stewart: Me too. I see her about every three weeks. I walk by her--

Amanda Dobbins: Oh, God. [crosstalk].

Alison Stewart: No, I hold it within because she's living her life to just not launch at her and try to book her for the show.

Amanda Dobbins: Yes.

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: I tried to respect her space. I'm trying to live in New York as a well-known person. That said Greta if you're listening, anytime, anywhere, you're welcome.

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: The New Yorker recently reported that Mattel, the toy company behind Barbie, has 45 film projects in the works based on their products, Uno, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, Barney. You guys talked about this on the podcast. Sean, how does this news make you feel?

Sean Fennessey: Oh, so sad. So sad, Alison. On the one hand, hey, I had some Hot Wheels as a kid growing up. I know what those are. I may have seen Barney as a young boy growing up. I'm not opposed to children's entertainment. I'm certainly not opposed to toys as the father of young daughter, but I am a little bit depressed by anything that is not a story and is nearly a product. I don't think intellectual property as it stands is necessarily a bad thing. I like when it's built around a story and not an effort to just sell something.

That piece in The New Yorker is a little bit despairing for folks like us who think and talk about this stuff all the time. On the other hand, if you read the quotes from some of the participants in Hollywood from that piece, we just have to accept our fate I think. It is a pretty grim declaration of what the future of Hollywood holds, which is, if it's something people have heard of, we will make a movie out of it. If it isn't, we may not which is a bit of a scary thing to hear.

Alison Stewart: We are talking about summer movies with the co-hosts of The Big Picture podcast, Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins. We have a whole bunch of phone calls to get to. After a quick break, we'll be talking comedies. Stay with us.

[music]

Alison Stewart: This is All of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. My guests are the co-hosts of The Big Picture podcast from The Ringer Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins. We are talking about summer movies. Let's take a couple of calls. Michael is calling in from Brooklyn. Hi, Michael. You're on the air.

Michael: Hi, how are you doing? Thank you for taking my call.

Alison Stewart: Great. Glad to hear from you.

Michael: Hello.

Alison Stewart: Yes, you're on the air.

Michael: Hello.

Hello. Hello. You there?

Michael: Hi. Yes. Sorry. I wanted to plug the movie No Hard Feelings, the Jennifer Lawrence movie. It was just a good summer comedy that I feel like you don't see a lot in theatres now. A lot of those types of stories or movies, I feel like go to streaming. It was fun to just get away from the heat in the middle of the afternoon and see a fun sex comedy that felt like something that might have come out in the 2000s or something in terms of its approach.

Alison Stewart: Thank you for calling in, Michael. Let's talk to Rocky from Brooklyn. Hi, Rocky.

Rocky: Hey, how are you doing?

Alison Stewart: Doing great. What did you like?

Rocky: I went to see Joy Ride and I can't tell you how excited I am about this movie. It was hysterical. It was fun. It touched on so many different topics including belonging. It's an Asian cast and it's about an Asian adoptee. She was adopted by white parents and she's going back to China to discover her birth mother. In fact, it was basically a job she was going to do abroad but she ends up on this quest to find her mother. It's so funny, the characters are so engaging. It's not so much a rom-com as just a straight-out comedy, just human connections. How people have an idea of who they are and how it turns out to be something completely different. I would really love to see this movie get more exposure. I know we've got Oppenheimer and we've got Barbie but there are other things out there that are just as important.

Alison Stewart: Yes, Joy Ride. I love it. We actually have a clip from it. Sean and Amanda, I'm getting Girls' Trip, Bridesmaids, Hangover vibes from this film.

Amanda Dobbins: Yes, all of the above. I'm so glad to hear that your listeners like it because I loved it. I laughed. I cried. I ate some candy. Just a total delight of a movie and very funny.

Alison Stewart: Starring Stephanie Hsu, Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Sabrina Wu. Let's take a listen to a clip from Joy Ride.

[trailer playing]

Kat: Audrey. Oh my God, that was so good. You're such a big shot.

Audrey: Oh, come on, you are the big shot. You big-shot lawyer.

Speakers: Best friends reunited. [laughter] Bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, deep in the night how I wonder. Please make him real how I pray. Ooh.

Deadeye: That was so lame. What was that?

Audrey: Kat and I were part of the same college acapella group, the two dolls.

Kat: Stop. Oh, it's so nice to see you. I hear that you're living in Audrey's garage and drawing penises now.

Audrey: I told you Lolo is an amazing artist.

Deadeye: I do body-positive art.

Kat: Remind me of your name again.

Deadeye: My legal name is Vanessa. Call me Deadeye.

[trailer end]

Alison Stewart: Call me Deadeye. It is iso funny. I understand and I mean this with love that it's filthy.

Amanda Dobbins: Yes, but creatively.

Alison Stewart: Just wanted to say that.

Sean Fennessey: Very much in the lineage of the movies that you're color sighted [unintelligible 00:24:13].

Alison Stewart: It's artistic. Let's talk about No Hard Feelings who our other caller mentioned. This is Jennifer Lawrence starring as a woman who's got money problems she needs to get her car fixed. She's hired to "date an awkward and immature 19-year-old". How does this work? How does it work? First of all, let me ask you that, Sean. I don't want to assume it does.

Sean Fennessey: It's borderline illegal but it does work as a movie premise. It's a fascinating throwback as your caller said to 2000s Apatow-era comedies and Jennifer Lawrence is just incredibly game and because of that, because it's a true winning movie star comedy performance I think the movie really works. Amanda and I both had a really fun time watching this one and watching her really go for broke in ways that you are probably not expecting. It's also oddly a gentrification drama about living on Long Island and I myself a Long Islander was fascinated to see that story being told on the big screen in a mainstream comedy too.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Julie from Manhattan who needs recommendation. Hi, Julie. Thanks for calling All Of It.

Julia: Hi, it's Julia.

Alison Stewart: Julia.

Julia: I'm calling because I haven't been to the movies since before the pandemic. I have two little kids and I'm hoping to take at least the bigger one to his first movie, and my first movie in several years. If I can only go to one movie this summer, either with my kid or if I get a babysitter then my husband and I can go out just one movie for the summer, what would you recommend us just one and done?

Alison Stewart: Just one and done.

Sean Fennessey: How old are these kids?

Alison Stewart: Julia, how old are they?

Julia: My little one is too little but my son is almost five.

Amanda Dobbins: Oh, okay.

Sean Fennessey: Almost five. It's a challenging summer for young children.

Amanda Dobbins: I think the answer with the five-year-old has to be Spider-Verse.

Sean Fennessey: Yes.

Amanda Dobbins: I was at the theatres on Spider-Verse opening day and the number of children of all ages there who were so excited, it was very sweet. I have a very young son, he's too young to go to the movies but it made me excited to be able to take him to the movies one day. I think it has a pretty universal approval rating.

Sean Fennessey: Yes. As a backup consider Elemental the new Pixar film. Not my favorite Pixar movie but definitely appropriate for a five-year-old and an interesting story if you're learning about the elements, nature, water, fire air. There's some knowledge in addition to a love story inside that one.

Amanda Dobbins: As a grown-up--

Alison Stewart: Yes, go for it.

Amanda Dobbins: --what do you think?

Sean Fennessey: What would I recommend for the first movie? Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.

Amanda Dobbins: Yes, that's a good one.

Sean Fennessey: That is the movie that I have the absolute most fun with this entire summer.

Alison Stewart: Let's listen to a clip from Mission Impossible.

[clip playing]

Speaker 1: There's a lot going into this stunt so Tom put together this master plan to coordinate all of these experts in each of the particular disciplines involved to make this whole thing happen.

Speaker 2: John and I are jumping out of the helicopter, he's going to chase me.

Speaker 3: That's what we say to each other.

Speaker 2: Don't be careful, be confident, be confident.

Speaker 4: A year of bass training, advanced guided training, a lot of canopy skills, a lot of tracking.

Speaker 3: Tom Cruise he's amazing individual, you tell him something and he locks it in. His sense of spatial awareness, he's the most aware person I've ever met.

[clip end]

Alison Stewart: Sorry, I got ahead of myself. That's actually from behind the scene. It is just not in the movie everybody. I got ahead of myself. That's actually a behind-the-scenes clip. People have probably seen this online of Tom Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff [unintelligible 00:27:57] meets I don't know what.

Sean Fennessey: It's an extraordinary act of marketing what they've done there. When you see the film, it's actually not at all what you're imagining too. The behind-the-scenes clip itself is my best picture of 2023. Wait until people see the movie.

Alison Stewart: Someone here has texted us, "I'm looking forward to seeing A24's latest horror gem Talk to Me.

Sean Fennessey: Yes, I saw this film out of the Sundance Film Festival in January and it is an absolutely riveting and often upsetting horror movie. That's another great thing. There are always a couple of big horror films over the summer that kids out of school are congregating to see. Just this weekend we saw Insidious: The Red Door dominate the box office. Talk to Me is incredibly creative, comes from two guys named the Philippou brothers who started out making YouTube videos on their page RackaRacka and they're incredibly creative, and they've put their skills to great use in this one.

Alison Stewart: Someone texted, "I am also surprisingly torn between Barbie and Oppenheimer. I would never have thought that I would be among the audience for both but here we are. I suspect no studio executive years ago when they were planned, would have predicted that these two films would have overlapping audiences. It is an amazing phenomenon.

Amanda Dobbins: It feels nice, though. I'm glad they're making stuff for us. Thank you. I will go to both. I hope others will as well.

Alison Stewart: Any films we haven't mentioned that you want to make sure get a shout-out?

Sean Fennessey: I would not recommend The Flash. That's just one thing I want to say.

Amanda Dobbins: That was not a good time that we had together at the movies.

Alison Stewart: I liked that idea, you want to save people some money and some time. There you go. My guests have been the co-hosts of The Big Picture Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins. Thank you so much for making time today.

Amanda Dobbins: Thanks for having us.

Sean Fennessey: Thank you, Alison.

 

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