The Izzy and Murtada Picture Show

In this special episode, Izzy and Murtada reunite to discuss their Oscar predictions for the 2026 ceremony. They fawn over The Secret Agent, debate who will win Best Picture, and wonder why Jessie Buckley has swept virtually every award this year for Best Actress.  ollow the show on  Twitter  and  Instagram : @IMPictureShow. To hear more from Izzy and Murtada check them out on...

This week Murtada is joined by journalist Matt Huff to discuss the films of the Toronto International Film Festival and answer some of its burning questions. Why will everyone be calling “The Testament of Ann Lee” star Amanda Seyfried “mother ?” Is John Early, the genius of silliness in “Maddie’s Secret, the millennial Douglas Sirk? Why is “Hamnet” so sad and who’s a “Good Boy?” Other films discus...

This week, Izzy and Murtada discuss the film of the summer. No, it’s not Superman, and it’s definitely not Eddington. It’s Taxi zum Klo—Frank Ripploh’s 1980 film about a gay public school teacher in Berlin who is forced to reassess his preference for casual sex when he enters into a relationship with a cinema worker named Bernd. The restoration of this extremely modern, incisive film premieres at...

This week Kerensa Cadenas joins Izzy and Murtada to chat about Celine Song’s sophomore film, Materialists. The marketing of the film seemed to suggest that the film is a rom-com, and while today’s panel certainly got the “rom,” they were left wanting for the “com.” Together, they review how the film handles the subject of sexual assault, Dakota Johnson’s monotone appeal, and whether or not legs re...

This week Izzy and Murtada look forward to Cannes, the most glamorous movie event this side of the Oscars. It also marks the start of the movie awards year so the hosts try to predict what might break out or which film might become a career ender. Follow the show on  Twitter  and  Instagram : @IMPictureShow. To hear more from Izzy and Murtada check them out on social media: Izzy (Tw...

The 2025 Oscar season is finally OVER and Izzy and Murtada are here to wrap up their thoughts on the ceremony. Conan O’Brien may not have wanted to waste our time, but Adrien Brody certainly did! A huge PARABÉNS para o Brasil for its groundbreaking win for I’m Still Here. Sean Baker and virtually the entire Anora team had a huge night as well, sweeping 5 of its 6 nominated categories, including Be...

The Oscars are just a few days away so, this week, Izzy and Murtada return to make their picks and predictions for the awards. Does Anora’s surge at the guild awards mean it’s likely to take home Best Picture? How will mounting scandals affect the chances of Emilia Perez? Will Demi Moore win for her career or will it be Mikey Madison's breakthrough? Why is James Mangold here? Tune in next week for...

This week, Izzy and Murtada highlight three films with a shot at Best Actor/Actress. First, a look at HARD TRUTHS, the latest collaboration from Mike Leigh and Marianne Jean-Baptiste that critics adore but has had trouble picking up wins from other awards bodies. Will Jean-Baptiste take home the BAFTA and secure the Oscar nomination? Next, they discuss Pamela Anderson’s unexpected and vulnerable l...

This week, Izzy and Murtada talk about the Golden Globes winners and SAG nominations. Does this win make DEMI MOORE the Oscar frontrunner? What does I”M STILL HERE tell us about living without freedom? How does THE BRUTALIST grapple with its monumental themes? Is BABYGIRL too tame? Why isn't A DIFFERENT MAN more of a contender? Plus the EMILIA PEREZ controversy! Follow the show on  Twitter&nb...

This week, Izzy and Murtada talk about the Golden Globes nominations. What is Kate Winslet doing there? Is Selena Gomez’s accent bad? Does it matter that Isabella Rossellini’s performance is super short? (No). They also discuss Robert Eggers’s latest horror film Nosferatu, an update of the German Expressionist classic. Is Lily Rose Depp the new horror girlie? And why is Aaron Taylor Johnson in thi...

While Izzy is away, Murtada welcomes back critic Karl Delossantos to discuss Ridley Scott messy sequel, Gladiator II. the conversation covers the miscast Paul Mescal, the lazy filmmaking and the bad script. Suffice it to say we are not fans. The conversation starts with awards season and the winners at the Gothams and the New York Film Critics Circle. Then filmmaker Payal Kapadia joins Murtada to...

This week, Izzy and Murtada take a look at the movie musical event of the season—Wicked! The two discuss their respective histories with the musical and how that influenced their expectations of the film. Together, they try to answer the film’s most pressing question: why does it look like that? We can never be sure. But we can be sure that Ariana Grande is a star and Stephen Schwartz can write a...

This week, Izzy and Murtada take a look at two films: Emilia Perez, a semi-controversial musical directed by Jacques Audiard about a lawyer who is recruited by a drug cartel boss to assist in locating a doctor for her transition, and A Real Pain, a Jesse Eisenberg film about two cousins who travel to Poland together to explore their family history and rekindle their relationship. While Emilia Pere...

This week, Izzy and Murtada return to discuss Conclave, the papal thriller known online as Agatha Corpus Christi. They get into the stately performance of Ralph Fiennes, who may or may not still be hot, and the small but impactful performance by Isabella Rossellini as Sister Um Actually…Will either icon receive an Oscar nom? Or will black smoke billow from the Academy chimney? Follow the show on&n...

This week, Izzy and Murtada interview Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham whose documentary, No Other Land, won the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film at the 2024 Berlinale Film Festival. The film captures the reality of life in Masafer Yatta, a small group of villages in the West Bank subject to the laws of the apartheid state of Israel. The film is...

This week, Izzy and Murtada review four films they saw at the New York Film Festival: Anora, Rumours, Nickel Boys, and Maria. Is the first person framing in Nickel Boys a gimmick or a unique, empathic tool? Did Anora deserve the Palme d’Or? Will Angelina Jolie get an Oscar nom for her performance in Maria? Is Guy Maddin okay?? Tune in to find out! ollow the show on  Twitter  and  In...

We’re back and hotter than ever!! Murtada and Izzy discuss Coralie Fargeat’s sophomore feature, THE SUBSTANCE, a body horror currently making waves in theaters. They debate the film’s gruesome third act and unpack some of its thought-provoking (if limited) politics.  Follow the show on  Twitter  and  Instagram : @IMPictureShow. To hear more from Izzy and Murtada check them out...

If fall is in in the air, that means the podcast is coming back. As our favorite film season starts, Murtada interviews director Robert Kolodny about his new film, "The Featherweight." Out in New York this week, this is a thrilling boxing drama capturing a chapter in true-life story of Italian-American boxer Willie Pep. Set in 1960s the film works with several genres (comedy, mockumentar...

This week, Izzy interviews author Carrie Courogen about her book, Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius. With this biography, Courogen achieved the seemingly impossible task of creating an intimate portrait of a woman who desperately does not want to be known, but very much deserves to be. From the origins of improv comedy to the funniest movies of the...

This week Murtada interviews writer and director Fawzia Mirza about The Queen of My Dreams. Mirza discusses her film, a mother/ daughter drama inspired by both Bollywood musicals and Mirza's own life as a queer Pakistani Muslim, and how she wanted to make a hopeful narrative and how she collaborated with her actors to ground its fantastical elements in reality. Before that Izzy and murtada discuss...

After a busy few summer weeks, Izzy and Murtada catch up on the things they’ve been watching, including the latest documentaries from Tribeca like the recent Liza Minnelli documentary. Then the real debate heats up over Netflix’s Hit Man: is it a crowd-pleaser or not? Is Glenn Powell the next big movie star or would his PR people just like you to think that? They debate, you decide! Article mentio...

This week, Karl Delossantos joins Izzy and Murtada to report on his experience at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival! His favorite of the festival? Anora, Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winning film about a sex worker who becomes involved with the son of a Russian oligarch. We also dive deep into Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project Megalopolis, a confounding statement about we’re-not-exactly-sure but are s...

It’s summer 2024 baby! Takes are heating up faster than the alleged chemistry between Nick Galitzine and Anne Hathaway in The Idea of You. Murtada starts us off with rants about that film and The Fall Guy, before the pair turn their attention to Back to Black, the latest biopic covering the life of the late English legend Amy Winehouse. They discuss what the film gets right and wrong, and how chal...

Izzy and Murtada make their grand return to the podcast to discuss Challengers, the latest from Italian director Luca Guadagnino. Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist star in this sensual thriller that brings audiences into the melodramatic world of professional tennis. Tensions run high when their lives collide in a make-or-break match that will determine the next steps in their career. In this...

The 96th Academy Awards were on Sunday and Izzy and Murtada have thoughts about them!!! In this episode they review Ryan Gosling’s fun rendition of I’m Just Ken, Jonathan Glazer’s brave political statement, possibly the worst In Memoriam segment to have ever graced a telecast, and, of course, Emma Stone’s Best Actress win. Why didn’t Killers of the Flower Moon win any awards? How come everyone lov...