The Next Best Picture Podcast

"Exit 8" is a 2025 Japanese mystery psychological horror film directed by Genki Kawamura, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kentaro Hirase, based on the 2023 video game "The Exit 8" developed by Kotake Create. The film had its world premiere in the Midnight Screenings section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it received widespread acclaim from critics and has already been a financial success...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture For this week's second podcast review, Ema Sasic, Dan Bayer, Lauren LaMagna, and Larry Fried join me to discuss Kristoffer Borgli's "The Drama" starring Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, Zoë Winters & Hail...

"The Drama" is an American romantic dark comedy film written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as a happily engaged couple whose relationship is tested by an unexpected revelation during the week before their wedding. It also stars Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, and Hailey Gates in supporting roles. The film has received positive reviews from critics for its act...

For Episode 486, I am joined by Josh Parham and Ema Sasic as we look ahead to April 9th, and the announcement of the lineup for the 79th Cannes Film Festival, and discuss which films we think will be announced for this year's festival. For this week's poll question, for the release of Steven Soderbergh's newest film "The Christophers," we're asking everyone: "Which Is Your Favorite Ian McKellen Pe...

For this week's main podcast review, Josh Parham, Giovanni Lago, and Daniel Howat join me to discuss "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," starring Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Glen Powell, and Brie Larson. The film is the sequel to "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," which was released in 2023, with many of the same voice actors retu...

"The Blue Trail" is a dystopian drama film directed and co-written by Gabriel Mascaro. Starring Denise Weinberg and Rodrigo Santoro, the film follows the 77-year-old Tereza, forced to retire from her job and placed under the guardianship of her daughter, who defies a government order to relocate its growing elderly population, embarking instead on a personal journey through the Amazon. It had its...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL EPISODE. Please check out the full podcast episode on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture The Next Best Series Podcast is back as Megan Lachinski, Giovanni Lago, Nadia Dalimonte, and Amy Kim join me to discuss the latest series, shows, and awards season updates for all things television! On this return episode, w...

"Fantasy Life" is an American comedy film written and directed by Matthew Shear in his directorial debut. It stars Amanda Peet, Shear, Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, Jessica Harper, Holland Taylor, and Sheng Wang. It had its world premiere at the 2025 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival, where it received positive reviews for Shear's writing and directio...

"Our Hero, Balthazar" is an American dark comedy-drama film directed and produced by Oscar Boyson in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Boyson and Ricky Camilleri. It stars Jaeden Martell, Asa Butterfield, Chris Bauer, Jennifer Ehle, Anna Baryshnikov, Noah Centineo, Becky Ann Baker, Avan Jogia, and Pippa Knowles. It tells the story of a wealthy teenager who tries to gain his crush's atten...

"Kontinental '25" is a Romanian absurdist black comedy-drama film written and directed by Radu Jude. It stars Eszter Tompa as a bailiff in Cluj-Napoca who faces a moral crisis when a homeless man she has evicted kills himself. Its title is inspired by the Roberto Rossellini film Europe '51. An international co-production between Romania, Brazil, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg, the...

For Episode 485, I am joined by Josh Parham, Aaron Danielle, and Giovanni Lago as we look back on the first three months of 2026 to name our favorite, least favorite, most surprising, and disappointing film releases of the year so far. Tying into this week's poll question, we're asking everyone: "Which Has Been Your Favorite Film Of Q1 2026?" We also reveal the winner of last week's poll asking "W...

For this week's main podcast review, Katie Johnson, Josh Parham, Aaron Isenstein, Dan Bayer, and Tom O'Brien join me to discuss "They Will Kill You," starring Zazie Beetz, Myha'la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham & Patricia Arquette. Written and directed by Kirill Sokolov (co-written with Alex Litvak), the action-horror-comedy combines many genres into B-movie shlock to provide bloodth...

"Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice" is an American science fiction action comedy film written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski and produced by Andrew Lazar and starring Vince Vaughn, James Marsden, Eiza González, Keith David, and Jimmy Tatro. It premiered at the 2026 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival, where it received positive reviews for its blending of different genres and dual performance from...

"The AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist" is a 2026 American documentary film directed by Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell. It is produced by the Academy Award-winning teams behind "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (Daniel Kwan and Jonathan Wang) and "Navalny" (Shane Boris and Diane Becker). The film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews for the question...

"Yes!" is a drama film written and directed by Nadav Lapid. It stars Ariel Bronz, Efrat Dor, Naama Preis, Aleksei Serebryakov, and Sharon Alexander. The film had its world premiere in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its audacious filmmaking, biting satire, and political commentary. Lapid was kind enough to spend some time ta...

"Pretty Lethal" is an action thriller film directed by Vicky Jewson and written by Kate Freund. It follows a dysfunctional ballet troupe that is forced to take shelter when their bus breaks down en route to a prestigious competition and must use their training to fight back when a gang of armed men targets them. It premiered at the 2026 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival and stars Iris Apatow,...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture For this week's second podcast review, Lauren LaMagna, Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, and Larry Fried join me to discuss "Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come" starring Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Davi...

"Late Shift" is a drama film written and directed by Petra Volpe, inspired by the book "Unser Beruf ist nicht das Problem: Es sind die Umstände" by Madeline Calvelage. Starring Leonie Benesch, the film centers on a young nurse, Floria, who works with unwavering dedication in an understaffed hospital ward, but on this day, her shift becomes a nerve-racking race against time. The film had its world...

For Episode 484, I am joined by Katie Johnson, Dan Bayer, Lauren LaMagna, Amy Kim, and Will Mavity as we say goodbye to the 2025 film awards season and look ahead to what's to come in 2026. Part of that is recapping the best films that played at this year's SXSW, and part is asking this week's poll question: "Which 2026 Awards Season Contenders Are You Most Looking Forward To?" We also reveal the...

For this week's main podcast review, Sara Clements, Josh Parham, Cody Dericks, Brendan Hodges, and Tom O'Brien join me to discuss the latest film from Phil Lord and Chris Miller, "Project Hail Mary" starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, and Milana Vayntrub. Written by Drew Goddard, based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Andy Weir, the epic sci-fi/comedy f...

"Lumière, Le Cinéma!" (or "Lumière! The Adventure Continues") is a documentary film directed by Thierry Frémaux, director of the Institute Lumière, of the Lumière Film Festival, and of the Cannes Film Festival. Frémaux serves as a curator and guide through a collection of over 100 short films by Auguste and Louis Lumière and their collaborators, showcasing both well-known and rarely seen works. Th...

"Dead Lover" is a 2025 Canadian comedy film directed, co-written, produced by, and starring Grace Glowicki, co-writer Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, and Lowen Morrow. Inspired by Mary Shelley's 1818 novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus," it follows a woman's attempt to resurrect her deceased lover. The film debuted at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in the Midnight category, where it received pos...

"Two Prosecutors" is a 2025 historical drama film written and directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa, based on the novella of the same name by Georgy Demidov. Starring Aleksandr Kuznetsov and Aleksandr Filippenko, the film follows a young Soviet prosecutor seeking justice for a political prisoner during Joseph Stalin's ongoing Great Purge. The film had its world premiere in the main compe...

"Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come" is an American comedy-horror film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (aka "Radio Silence"), and written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. It serves as a direct sequel to "Ready or Not" (2019), with Samara Weaving reprising her role as Grace MacCaullay. The film also stars Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, an...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL EPISODE. Please check out the full podcast episode on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture The 98th Academy Awards are officially over. Another awards season is behind us, and it was a night to remember with some tight races, deserved wins, and an extravagant ceremony that featured breathtaking musical performance...