Best Picture This

The characters in director Wong kar-Wai's "In the Mood for Love," which recently ranked No. 5 on the BFI's Sight and Sound poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, crave human connection -- but they'll settle for a good meal. In this episode, Mike and Brian explore physical vs. emotional hunger; the various ways that Wong kar-Wai uses framing, color and slow-motion to communicate desire and/or loneliness; and how playing make-believe can draw us closer while simultaneously distancing us from...

Duality. Facades! Identity!? It's all underneath the microscope in director Ingmar Bergman's "Persona" (1966), which ranked No. 18 on the BFI's Greatest Films of All Time Sight and Sound poll. In this episode, Mike and Brian dive into the subconscious to explore the links between authenticity and art, desire and security, intimacy and acting, secrets and the Self. They gush over the film's black-and-white cinematography, discuss how horror stylings work to guide viewer expectations, then...

Ranked No. 31 on the British Film Institute's Greatest Films of All Time poll is director Federico Fellini's surrealist meta-project "8 1/2" (1963). To really do the movie's vision justice, Mike and Brian intended to podcast about podcasting for a straight hour, but their producer (the illustrious Marc Gilliland) wouldn't allow it. Instead, the two discuss why we're drawn to movies about movies and the creative process, talk the power of images to fill logical gaps in the subconscious and...

Ranking No. 4 on the British Film Institute's recently released Greatest Films of All Time poll was director Yasujirō Ozu's "Tokyo Story" (1953), which plays as a meditation on time and generational divides, set during a parents' trip to Tokyo to visit their adult children. In this episode, Mike and Brian discuss Ozu's visual approach and whether or not a film can be shot "objectively;" they talk pre- and post-war sensibilities; growing apart; trauma-bonding; and the disapointments that...

Coming in at No. 1 on the British Film Institute's recently released Greatest Films of All Time poll was "Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles" (1975), directed by Chantal Ackerman. Never seen the film? You're not alone. Its placement at the top of the charts was a surprise to many, which made it the perfect place for Mike and Brian to kick off their international cinema blindspotting miniseries. In this episode, they discuss whether or not mundanity can be a form of...

Mike and Brian are celebrating the new year with a fresh new show format! In this episode, they discuss movie blindspots and introduce the miniseries to come, review the British Film Institute's Sight & Sound Top 100 list, discuss their own personal all-time top fives then hold a very formal ceremony honoring the first official inductees to gain entry into the rarefied air that is BPTGIE (Best Picture This Good in Everything) status. Want to choose an movie for a future episode? BECOME A...

What's your favorite movie of the aughts? What's the best movie? Are they the same film -- if so, why not? In this special bonus episode, Mike and Brian recap their 10-year journey through the films of 2000 through 2009; discuss what the decade taught them about art, the Oscars and what they value most about movies; and then they rank their top five films of the 2000s. Want to curate a future episode? BECOME A PATRON. Agree or disagree with our takes? EMAIL BestPictureThis@gmail.com

What was the best movie of 2009? The Academy awarded that title to Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker," but in this series finale episode, Mike and Brian recap the year in film to rerank the Best Picture nominees, highlight standout films that didn't garner Oscar attention and choose their personal top-fives. Want to curate a future episode? BECOME A PATRON. Agree or disagree with our takes? EMAIL BestPictureThis@gmail.com

It's not enough to edcuate us anymore, Academy. You have to tell us why you're doing it! In this episode, Mike and Brian explore the final Best Picture nominee of 2009: director Lone Scherfig's "An Education," starring Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina and more. They discuss allusions to the Great Recession, what the movie intends to say about higher education through its ending (and whether or not it's successful), if Peter Sarsgaard is certified BPTGIE (Best Picture This Good...

Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell as country music icons?! Where do we sign? In this episode, Mike and Brian dive into director Scott Cooper's "Crazy Heart," an intimate character study of an aging and down-on-his-luck musician (Bridges, who won the Oscar for Best Actor). The film owes a lot to Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler," and Mike and Brian parse out those comparisons. They talk "fake" biopics, the complicated world of happy endings, how original music compares to the ultra-famous songs...

Director James Cameron blew the budget on 2009's "Avatar," betting that film's ambitious visual spectacle would equate to big box office rewards. He was right, as the film went on to not only become the most profitable blockbuster of all time, but also earn nine Oscar nods, including a win for Best Visual Effects and a nomination for Best Picture. In this episode, Mike and Brian discuss the technical and narrative devices that contributed to the film's success and whether or not those tools...

Through its obsession with pop culture, director Marc Webb's "(500) Days of Summer" is as much about romcoms as it is a romcom itself, full of stylistic flourishes, "Annie Hall"-like experimentation and non-linear structuring gimmicks. In this episode, Mike and Brian discuss how that approach informs the movie's central coming-of-age themes, they talk cultural mile markers, how Webb and screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber are able to make light of young love/first heartbreak...

There's no such thing as an uninteresting Coen brothers' movie, and 2009's Best Picture-nominated "A Serious Man" continues that tradition, offering plenty of philosophical meat to chew on through its exploration of faith and meaning. In this episode, Mike and Brian return to their conversation about nihilism's place in the Coen brothers' worldview, they talk fables, causality vs. randomness, bleakness as black comedy, and the role of absurdity in the Coens' work, before deciding whether or...

Colin Firth was nominated in the Best Actor category in 2009 for "A Single Man," tallying the film's one and only Academy Award nod. In addition to Firth's performance, however, the film is a visual feast, full of impeccable costuming, set design and a color palette that, sometimes literally, radiates. The attention to visuals makes sense, given director Tom Ford's history as a fashion designer, but it also begs the question: Is there more to "A Single Man" than its glossy finishes? In...

Oprah and Tyler Perry were among the executive producers behind "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire," which helped the Lee Daniels-directed film draw in big-name talent from the Black music scene -- such as Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz. The movie went on to earn several Oscar nominations in 2009, including one for Best Picture, as well as a couple of Academy Award wins (for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress). In this episode, Mike and Brian dig...

The first Best Picture winner to be directed by a woman, Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" electrified critics in 2009, even while drawing lukewarm box office numbers. In this episode, Mike and Brian explore the film's thesis that "war is a drug" and discuss the ways in which addiction can change characters and character arcs. They talk about the movie's poor audience turnout, Jeremy Renner as a leading man, how politics and timeliness affect Oscar voting and, finally, whether or not this...

Quentin Tarantino earned his first Best Picture Oscar nomination for 2009's "Inglorious Basterds," a bloody, revisionist take on World War II, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz and Mélanie Laurent. It's not the typical type of film recognized by the Academy Awards, which begs the question: Did it deserve serious consideration as the top film of the year, or was it a beneficiary of the recent expansion of the Best Picture category from five to 10 nominees? In this episode, Mike and Brian...

Sandra Bullock earned a Best Actress Oscar for her turn as a no-nonsense southern mother with a flair for football and a heart of gold, in 2009 Best Picture nominee "The Blind Side," directed by John Lee Hancock. But 13 years later, does the movie still touch ... down on our hearts? In this episode, Mike and Brian talk feel-good movies, explore the connection between inspiration and manipulation, discuss how faith is portrayed in popular film then decide whether or not this title will make...

Only three animated movies have ever been nominated for Best Picture, and one of them was Pixar's "Up," released in 2009, which placed it in rarefied air as one of the Greatest Animated Movies Ever. But was "Up" even the best animated movie of the year it released? In this episode, Mike and Brian talk stop-motion and how the technique affects story, creepy "kids' movies," how director Henry Selick's "Coraline" stacks up to other horror films released that year, and whether or not it will...

Pixar's "Up," released in 2009 to a box office gross of over $735,000, was one of only three animated movies of all time nominated in the Academy Awards' Best Picture category. That must mean it's an automatic top-five film of the year ... right? In this episode, Mike and Brian talk talking dogs, grumpy old men and sad moments framed by colorful balloons. They break down their expectations for animated films, then decide whether to keep or kick this one, directed by Pete Docter, from its...