Sibling Cinema

Episode 40: 12 YEARS A SLAVE The subject of this week's podcast episode is Steve McQueen's harrowing depiction of slavery in the American antebellum South. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon Northrop, a free man from Pennsylvania who gets kidnapped and sold into slavery. Based on an actual slave narrative, the film also stars Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender. It...

Episode 39: THE FRENCH CONNECTION We make another visit to the 1970s for this week's episode. The French Connection is a gritty crime drama that turned Gene Hackman into a leading man in 1971. Hackman plays Detective Popeye Doyle, a decidedly unglamorous narcotics investigator in New York City. He partners with Roy Scheider in an attempt to uncover a heroine smuggling operation. Known for its...

BONUS: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert's 2022 sci-fi comedy/drama/adventure is the subject of this bonus episode. It is not part of our Best Picture countdown, because it won the Best Picture Oscar after we started this thing. It stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis, in the story of a laundromat owner who's life gets turned...

Episode 38: IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT 1967 was a volatile year, and its Best Picture winner, Norman Jewison's In the Heat of the Night was a volatile picture in many ways. Rod Steiger plays a small-town Mississippi police chief who reluctantly accepts the help of a Philadelphia detective played by Sidney Poitier to solve the murder of a local VIP. The detectives clash with each other, but more...

Episode 37: SPOTLIGHT Our special guest star Lindsey is back by popular demand! She joins Bonnie and Dennis to break down the Best Picture Oscar winner from 2015, Tom McCarthy's Spotlight. The film follows the investigative reporting by a team of Boston Globe journalists as they uncover the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church in the early 2000s. Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McA...

Episode 36: FORREST GUMP We are back with another classic. Robert Zmeckis's 1994 smash hit Forrest Gump. It cleaned up at the box office and the Academy Awards, beating out stiff competition like Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption. Tom Hanks was at his peak as Forrest, as he takes us on a tour of 20th Century American history, along with Gary Sinise as Lt. Dan and Robin Wright as Jenny....

Episode 35: BEN-HUR We are back with another William Wyler picture. This is our second of the three Best Picture winners directed by Wyler. Perhaps his most famous production, the 1959 Biblical epic Ben-Hur features Charleton Heston as the title character. Based on Lew Wallace's 1880 novel, Ben-Hur cleaned up with 11 Oscars (TM) including Best Picture. How well does it hold up? Listen along as...

Episode 34: THE STING Director George Roy Hill reunites with his Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford in The Sting, the winner of seven Oscars including Best Picture for 1973. Like Butch and Sundance, The Sting is an old-timey buddy picture fueled by charm and vibes, relying heavily on the charisma of its leads and the appeal of its period setting. The Sting trad...

Episode 33: THE LOST WEEKEND Writer/Director Billy Wilder is famous for his witty, cynical comedies, but his first Best Picture winner is the very serious expose on alcoholism, The Lost Weekend. Ray Milland stars as a writer whose life spirals out of control during a whiskey-fueled bender. It was the Academy Award winning Best Picture from 1945. Bonnie and Dennis caught up with The Lost Weekend an...

Episode 32: TITANIC The one and only Titanic is the subject of this week's episode. At the time of recording, we had no idea it would be in the news. James Cameron's romantic historical epic from 1997 is a movie Bonnie loves to hate. Did it improve on a rewatch? Tune in to find out! Starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio as the young lovers, Titanic  won the Best Picture Academy Awar...

Episode 31: FROM HERE TO ETERNITY Join hosts Bonnie and Dennis as they dive into the classic film, "From Here to Eternity," directed by Fred Zinneman, in the latest episode of Sibling Cinema. Prepare to be transported to the shores of Hawaii as they unravel the loyalties and betrayals of American servicemen and their love interests in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor....

Episode 30: THE HURT LOCKER Get ready for a fiery episode of Sibling Cinema as hosts Bonnie and Dennis lock horns in a heated debate over the war thriller, "The Hurt Locker." Will they find common ground or stand firmly on opposing sides? Explore the storytelling, suspense, and the extraordinary performance of Jeremy Renner that propelled "The Hurt Locker" to win multiple Acade...

Embrace the delightful eccentricities of "You Can't Take It With You" as Sibling Cinema brings you a whimsical episode like no other. Join hosts Bonnie and Dennis as they unravel the enchanting world of this classic Frank Capra comedy. Will they be swept away by the endearing quirkiness of the film or find themselves questioning its enduring popularity? Through lively discussions, th...

Prepare for an epic journey as Sibling Cinema dives into the enthralling world of "Gladiator." Join hosts Bonnie and Dennis as they unlock the secrets behind Ridley Scott's sweeping historical epic starring Russell Crowe. In this exhilarating episode, the siblings grapple with the grandeur and spectacle of the film, leaving you on the edge of your seat wondering whether they succumb...

Step into the complicated world of war as hosts Bonnie and Dennis dissect the riveting but challenging Vietnam War drama, "Platoon," in the latest episode of Sibling Cinema. Oliver Stone's critically acclaimed tour-de-force, starring Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Berenger, raises thought-provoking questions about loyalty, morality, and the harrowing realities of combat. Join B...

Join us for a discussion of Delbert Mann's directorial debut Marty.  It won the Best Picture Oscar for 1955, a watershed movie year that brought the world Disneyland and James Dean. It ranks at number 44 on our Best Picture Countdown.* Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court. *What is this list?...

This week, we return to the 21st Century with the 2008 Best Picture Academy Award winner Slumdog Millionaire. This Danny Boyle flick is number 45 on our Best Picture Countdown.* Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court. *What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Descripti...

We are back with the 1941 Best Picture,  How Green Was My Valley.  It's the only Best Picture winner directed by the great John Ford, beating some very stiff competition. But this lovely film holds its own we think. It ranks at number 46 on our Best Picture Countdown.* Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is...

Our first full episode on a 50's movie is here with the 1951 Best Picture,  An American in Paris.  This nifty Gene Kelly musical, directed by Vincent Minelli, lands at number 47 on our Best Picture Countdown.* Break out your tap shoes and sing along! *What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different...

We've reached the halfway point of our Countdown of the Best Picture winners, and before we get to the top 47, we take a look back at some of our favorites from the bottom 47.

We have another serious drama this week with Robert Redford's Ordinary People. It won Best Picture for 1980. Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, and Timothy Hutton star as a dysfunctional wealthy family in the Chicago suburbs. Judd Hirsch plays the psychiatrist helping Hutton's character with his depression. It is #48on our Best Picture Countdown.* Enjoy! *What is this list? We explain it...

This week we take another look at the Best Picture winner from 1979,  Kramer vs. Kramer.  Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman headline this divorce drama directed by Robert Benton. It falls at #49 on our Best Picture Countdown.* Let us know what you think! *What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different li...

We have another special guest this week! Laura, Bonnie's eldest daughter joins us to discuss the Best Picture winner from 2020, Nomadland. Chloe Zhou's drama about a van-dwelling widow, played by Frances McDormand, is #50 on our Best Picture Countdown.* This one is another split decision. *What is this list? We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answe...

We cover some heavy topics this week as we dig into Clint Eastwood's 2004 boxing drama, Million Dollar Baby. Eastwood also stars as a trainer, with Hilary Swank as his rising star boxer, and Morgan Freeman playing his closest confidant. It won the Best Picture Academy Award for 2004, and somewhat surprisingly, finishes at number 51 in our countdown. What is this countdown? We explain it in more de...

We've been counting down the Academy Award winners for Best Picture from worst to best.* 94 movies in total (we made the list prior to the Oscars held in 2023), and we got all the way down to number 52 before we got anything from the 1970s.  Patton is the film. Released in 1970, it's a biopic of WWII General George Patton, played by George C. Scott. Franklin Schaffner directs. *What is this l...