This Had Oscar Buzz

With I’m Still Here garnering praise in this year’s awards race, we thought it would be a great time to talk about Walter Salles – and, well, things turned out great with a surprise Best Picture nomination for Salles and company. After earning stateside honors with films like The Motorcycle Diaries and Central Station, Salles took on an ambitious and … Continue reading "327 – On the Road"

We’ve finally made it to this year’s crop of Oscar nominations, which means we have come to our annual tradition of welcoming a new class of would-be awards hopefuls to the ranks of This Had Oscar Buzz. This week, we go long on everything that stirred some Oscar chatter between now and pre-production, with categories … Continue reading "Class of 2024"

As Lee-ver comes to a close (maybe?!), we decided to revisit a recent Kate Winslet vehicle that’s also a fun antidote to tHesE tiMeS. In 2015, Jocelyn Moorhouse (a director we love talking about here on THOB) returned with the TIFF premiere of The Dressmaker. Adapted from the Rosalie Ham novel, the film stars Winslet as a … Continue reading "326 – The Dressmaker"

And we’ve made our way to “movies that exist only as a title” royalty, We Don’t Live Here Anymore. In 2004, this marital drama arrived at Sundance boasting several indie aughts heatseekers: a post-You Can Count On Me Mark Ruffalo, a post-Oscar nom Naomi Watts, Six Feet Under‘s Peter Krause, and the always buzzy Laura Dern, all wrapped … Continue reading "325 – We Don’t Live Here Anymore"

This week’s episode is a callback to our beloved 100 Years, 100 Snubs May miniseries: Mitchell Beaupre joins us to talk about 1995’s Devil in a Blue Dress! Carl Franklin emerged with the indie success of crime thriller One False Move and moved onto studio filmmaking with Devil in a Blue Dress, starring Denzel Washington as a veteran hired … Continue reading "324 – Devil in a Blue Dress (with Mitch...

For New Years week, the auld acquaintance that won’t be forgot on our show is… a grim French drama about broken bodies. In 2012, Jacques Audiard returned to Cannes with Rust and Bone starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts as reluctant lovers healing through personal tragedies. The film left Cannes with no prizes but with a lot … Continue reading "323 – Rust and Bone"

Just in time for Christmas, we’re covering a seasonal favorite… or one you love to hate, depending on the corner of the internet you occupy. In 2003, Richard Curtis decked the halls of the ensemble romantic comedy mold with Love Actually. Telling several stories of love and heartache among Londoners during the holidays, Love Actually has since achieved … Continue reading "322 – Love Actually"

Guess who’s back in the house?! We finally close the loop on the 2018 troubled son trifecta of films with Ben is Back, a grim Christmas tale of a family in the throws of addiction recovery. Lucas Hedges stars as the titular Ben, who returns home from a recovery center for the holiday, and against … Continue reading "321 – Ben Is Back"

After his comeback stretch of high grossers Gladiator, Hannibal, and Black Hawk Down, Ridley Scott returned in 2003 with a downshift into the character focused Matchstick Men. The film starred Nicolas Cage as a conman with compounding mental health issues who is then reunited with his daughter, played by Alison Lohman. With Sam Rockwell as … Continue reading "320 – Matchstick Men"

We have another episode from one of our beloved sponsor tier patrons from Patreon, this time returning us to our beloved movie year 2003! After becoming a 2002 British megahit, Bend It Like Beckham launched in the US at Sundance before becoming an early 2003 summer crowdpleaser. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, the film follows Jess (Parminder Nagra) … Continue reading "319 – Bend It Like Beckham (Pat...

As is our Thanksgiving week tradition, The Ankler’s Katey Rich returns to talk about another film with indistinguishable young actors. In 2022, fans and awards prognosticators were hyped for Harry Styles to make the leap to movies and leading man stardom. Amidst the gossip for Don’t Worry Darling, literary adaptation My Policeman loomed, with Styles cast as a … Continue reading "318 – My Policeman...

SURPRISE! By now, you’ve heard that Joe has launched Demi, Myself, & I, a film-by-film trip through the career of Demi Moore. As a special bonus, we’re giving you a sneak preview of the pod’s new episode on one of Moore’s most popular films, Ghost! And along for the ride is beloved former THOB guest, … Continue reading "BONUS – A sneak peek at Demi, Myself, & I – GHOST (with Bobby Finger!)"

This week’s episode comes selected by one of our sponsor tier patrons over at our Patreon! The 2017 festival season brought us Chappaquiddick, director John Curran’s recounting of the titular incident where Senator Ted Kennedy was responsible in the accidental death of party secretary Mary Jo Kopechne. With Jason Clarke as Kennedy and Kate Mara … Continue reading "317 – Chappaquiddick (Patreon Sel...

After Diner earned an Oscar nomination for its screenplay and the hearts of dads everywhere, writer/director Barry Levinson’s star quickly rose in Hollywood, culminating in Rain Man sweeping the Oscars. In the 1990s, Levinson had his share of hits and misses, but ended the decade with the final entry of his Baltimore films, Liberty Heights. The film tackles antisemitism and … Continue reading "316...

Michelle Pfeiffer is a screen legend whose return always feels like an occasion–even if we’re all stuck at home. In 2020, Azazel Jacobs’ French Exit debuted at the New York Film Festival with Pfeiffer starring as a wealthy New York eccentric who loses her fortune and absconds to France, all while perhaps haunted by her dead husband … Continue reading "315 – French Exit"

After the smash box office success and surprise Oscar nominations of The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan delivered a follow-up in short order. With a mysterious trailer, Unbreakable reunited Shyamalan with Bruce Willis for another genre exercise, this time involving a man who survives a train crash without any injuries. Samuel L. Jackson co-headlines as a frail man … Continue reading "314 – Unbrea...

Keeping things horror adjacent for your October viewing schedule, this week we are discussing 2022’s The Menu. Originally announced as a collaboration for director Alexander Payne with Emma Stone, The Menu centers on a psycho chef and his high end clientele, who all take part in a super exclusive dining experience from Hell. The film ultimately lost that … Continue reading "313 – The Menu"

With Saturday Night currently in theaters, we are revisiting the films of Jason Reitman for one of his biggest flops. Adapted from the novel by Joyce Maynard, 2013’s Labor Day casts Kate Winslet as a grieving mother who falls in love with the escaped convict (played by Josh Brolin) who hides out in her and her son’s home. The … Continue reading "312 – Labor Day"

We wanted to take this week’s episode to tribute the recently departed Dame Maggie Smith and finally take a look at one of her final awards contenders, 2015’s The Lady in the Van. Reprising the role she played on the stage, Smith stars as the titular lady, who lives in a van that just so happens … Continue reading "311 – The Lady in the Van"

In 1999, director Milos Forman reunited with his People Vs. Larry Flynt screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski for another biopic of an iconoclast, Man on the Moon. Rebounding from the Oscar snub for The Truman Show, Jim Carrey took on the role of Andy Kaufman and according to history, took it a bit too seriously. The film received … Continue reading "310 – Man on the Moon"

We’re back again with another episode chosen by one of our sponsor-tier subscribers from Patreon, this time with a bit of 1990s gay cinema! Thank you Lance for bringing us all to 1995’s Jeffrey! Adapted from Paul Rudnick’s Off-Broadway smash play, the concept of an “AIDS comedy” made it difficult to get produced, but ultimately … Continue reading "309 – Jeffrey (Patreon Selects)"

We’re back from our annual trip to TIFF and we’re giving you another exhaustive episode on all the films we saw! Topics include the newly minted People’s Choice winner The Life of Chuck, Oscar nominations we are anticipating from the lineup, the muted-mixed response to Saturday Night, Nicole Kidman back in full force in Babygirl, the rapturous response … Continue reading "THOB Returns to TIFF!"

With another George Clooney film on the horizon with Wolfs, it’s time to revisit the diminishing returns of his directorial career. In the 2013 season, his WWII quasi-comedy true story ensemble film The Monuments Men was an on-paper awards magnet. With a cast that included Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, and Bill Murray as a team … Continue reading "308 – The Monuments Men"

Underdiscussed in the Mike White oeuvre is 2017’s Brad’s Status, the story of a father reflecting on his own formative college years while taking his son on a college visit. With Ben Stiller center stage, the film examines privilege and maleness with White’s exacting but humane eye for detail, resulting one of the most emotionally affecting … Continue reading "307 – Brad’s Status"

A film with strong festival reviews that gets dumped to cable television because its commercial prospects appear slim? Sounds like something ripped from today’s cinema headlines, but it’s the case for this week’s film, Rodrigo Garcia’s Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her. Led by a prestigious cast of awards show mainstays, the film … Continue reading "306 – Things You Can Tell Just By Looki...