The Smartest People in the Room

It's the beginning of a new year, and you know what that means: getting caught up on releases from the previous year for Best of 2025 lists and awards season! This week we talk about Dead Man's Wire (premiering this Friday, January 9!), Avatar: Fire and Ash , If I Had Legs I'd Kick You , Hamnet , Wake Up Dead Man , Marty Supreme , Train Dreams , and more! If you'd like to participa...

Sorry it’s so late, but this week we discuss Sinners, The Phoenician Scheme, Brokeback Mountain , and the New York Times’ top movies of the century so far! (Episode recorded on 7/9/25). Maddie’s ballot: Mulholland Drive (2001), Spirited Away (2002), Margaret (2011), The Master (2012), Under the Skin (2014), Carol (2015), Moonlight (2015), Phantom Thread (2017), First Reformed (2018), Portrait of a...

TW: eating disorders Last episode of 2024 and an important reminder that Rachel and Maddie are shrill feminist buzzkills with hater energy :) This episode we discuss Megalopolis, Emilia Pérez, Wicked, "live action" remakes of animated films, The Substance, and Conclave. Links: The episode of On Point that Rachel mentions: https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/12/02/trump-authoritarianism-ruth-ben-ghia...

We are now in awards pre-season and we have a lot to discuss. How are we going to get to 10 Best Picture nominees? Can James Mangold pull off A Complete Unknown ? Will Nightbitch be good? (Answer: yes, it's Marielle Heller). Why are there so many horror movies about pregnancy right now, and romcoms with older women age gap relationships? (Not complaining!) Listen and find out! Movies discussed...

Sorry for the delay between episodes! A lot has happened - Maddie went to Cannes! We hate the suburbs! Maddie and Rachel saw Challengers ! Links: Maddie's Cannes ranking on Letterboxd The article about pop music's "middle class" that Rachel mentioned Maddie's Seed & Spark campaign for the short film she's producing, Always Were - or if you'd like to make a tax-ded...

It's time for the Smartest People Oscar Predictions! Hopefully we are of some help to your ballots this weekend 🙏🏻 we also discuss the releases we're looking forward to in 2024. Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Oppenheimer*, Everything Everywhere All At Once Poor Things*, Nyad Eileen The Boy and the Heron, Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse Barbie The Zone of Interest*, Killers o...

Okay, so, we recorded this emergency podcast the Saturday after the Oscar nominees were announced, and then Maddie got too busy and is only just now uploading it. This episode is no longer topical, nor a hot take. Please forgive us but please listen anyway! (Also, Maddie knows the song is called "What Was I Made For?" but was too worked up to remember the title). "Barbie Has Celluli...

Things are getting back on track in 2024. We discuss awards season (recorded before the Oscar nominees were announce so don't @ us!), our Barbie's box office success, our favorite movies of 2023, and May December. Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Anatomy of a Fall, The Boy and the Heron Thelma (June Squibb’s film) Barbie, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, Oppenheimer, The Lego Movie The...

I know last time we said we were gettin' it together but, well, a lot has been going on! Maddie co-produced a movie, Rachel is a damn city planner, but we're here now to talk about festival buzz, actor-directors, stage-to-screen adaptations, and we pour one out for one of the greatest directors of our time, the late Terence Davies. The Private Eye , the graphic novel we discussed Passing T...

We're gettin' it together, folks. This week we talk a lot about Matt Damon, Lily Gladstone, Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sofia Coppola, plus Killers of the Flower Moon and Beau Is Afraid . Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Air, BlackBerry, The Martian, The Last Duel, Hustlers, Erin Brockovich, The Departed*, Promised Land, Downsizing, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Rogue One: A...

This week we talk about Rachel's problem with Mia Goth, touch on the films of Kelly Reichardt, and share the upcoming films we're excited about. Plus, Maddie details her recent experience working on an indie film production which shall not be named. Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): MaXXXine, Emma., Suspiria (2017), X, Pearl, Infinity Pool* Resurrection (2022) , Call of the Wild (19...

Ahhh, the Oscars. First half of the episode is Rachel and Maddie making their picks for winners, and the second half is their reactions to the winners. Irene and Yayoi both stop in with their opinions. OVER IT: Oscar bait war movies, fat suits, apology Oscars. HERE FOR IT: Naatu Naatu, first-time nominees, animation is film. Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Nomadland, Tár Avatar: The Way o...

No Maddie until next time, but join Rachel and special guest Spencer Campbell for this episode themed around the films of Bennett Miller! Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Moneyball*, Capote*, Foxcatcher* Goon, Remember the Titans, Ford v Ferrari Boogie Nights, Pirate Radio (The Boat That Rocked) The Social Nework, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Molly’s Game, His Girl Friday In The Bedroom, Fi...

Our topics this week include the 8th Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll, Avatar: The Way of Water , White Noise , and "nepo babies." Maddie will be back in March! Sight & Sound poll Sight & Sound 2022 Films poll Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers): Avatar: The Way of Water* Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles*, Vertigo, Citizen Kane, Marie Antoinette, Saf...

This week we're discussing a backlog of movies, including The Fabelmans , The Menu , Glass Onion , RRR , BROS , romantic comedies, Todd Field, and more! The next episode will be in two weeks instead of three and then after that we'll be doing some guest episodes as Maddie has a new job! You're Wrong About podcast: The Movie Rating System with Karina Longworth Movies discussed (* indicates spoilers...

We're back... again!! We're finally done filming our short film so expect more podcast episodes from us, at least for now! This week we discuss The Banshees of Inisherin , TÁR , the death of Film Twitter and its effect on people's brains (for better or for worse), Disney's internal drama, Don't Worry Darling, Elvis, Blonde , and the year's remaining new releases. "How Personal Baggage Will Impact...

We're back!! Who knows how long it will be before the next episode but we're here now, and that's what matters. This week we catch up with the movies we've watched lately, including Nope , Three Thousand Years of Longing , and Bodies Bodies Bodies . We also discuss the problems facing HBO Max and other streaming services, theatrical releases, festival movies we're looking forward to, Gen Z, and......

Just a quick update, we’re not dead!

We are raising money to produce a short film!! Please check it out here and consider throwing some support our way. Every little bit helps. If you like the podcast, we really think you'll like the film. Thanks :) This week we are joined by Irene in the first half of the episode (she had to dip after the break) and we tell you more about our movie. We also discuss Memoria , which we all saw togethe...

We get some visits from Maddie's pet snake Cleo as we discuss Top Gun: Maverick , Fire Island , Apollo 10 1/2 , The Bob's Burgers Movie , and Netflix's ill-fated decision to stop producing "vanity projects". Support the Kickstarter for our short film Blanch ! Movies mentioned (* indicates possible spoilers): Top Gun: Maverick*, Top Gun* Ford v Ferrari, The Bob’s Burgers Movie*, Mad Max: Fury Road,...

Despite our impromptu break between episodes Rachel has been too busy to see any new movie, while Maddie has seen The Northman, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent , and Deep Water . We also discuss The Trial Currently Happening Now, A24's membership club, and the types of action movies we like. Movies mentioned (* indicates possible spoilers): Mikey and Nicky Judy, Pirates of the Caribbean se...

We are joined once again by beloved recurring Smartest Person Irene Mudd to discuss Cyrano , The Eyes of Tammy Faye , Jesse Plemons, and a lot of talk on Everything Everywhere All at Once , the movie of the moment. Movies mentioned (* indicates possible spoilers): Cyrano* Thelma & Louise, Taxi Driver Darkest Hour Windfall, Everything Everywhere All At Once*, The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) *, ti...

Our format is a little different this week: the first half of the episode was recorded before the Oscars and features our predictions for each category, plus the films which we think actually deserved to win; the second half is our reaction to the total mess that was the 94th Academy Awards. Movies mentioned (* indicates possible spoilers): West Side Story (2021), Cruella, Cyrano, Nightmare Alley...

This week we are joined by Scott Boice, the creator of our theme music! The three of us discuss all of the controversy surrounding the upcoming Oscars broadcast, how Camilla Cabello's Cinderella will probably win the stupid #OscarsFanFavorite award, Francis Ford Coppola's GQ profile, and a lot of new movies we've seen lately, from the great to the atrocious. Movies mentioned (* indicates spoilers)...

We recorded this episode the day the Oscar nominations came out and you can tell we're riding high on some unexpected noms. We discuss all the major categories, with a particular focus on the actresses because we're a stereotype. You can find the Thrillist article we discussed here . Movies mentioned: First Reformed, Nomadland Wild Rose, i’m thinking of ending things., The Lost Daughter Women Talk...