2025-26 Oscar Profile Movie Review Film Study Episodes

Mission Impossible Series Review

What Is This Episode - Top of Show
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SINNERS OSCARS PROFILE:
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Spoiler-Free Review:
Historic Box Office/Review Scores and WB Redemption - 2:06
Coogler’s “Studio Ruining” Deal - 11:52
The Fumbling of Marketing Black Helmed Films Internationally - 15:00
Expectations/What is an Oscars Movie? - 18:43
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Michael B Jordan - 23:11
Casting/Supporting Performances - 25:37
Ludwig Göransson and Music - 28:06
Cinematography/Prod Design/Costume/MUAH/VFX - 29:50
How Many Noms? - 35:14
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SPOILER WARNING - 40:46
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Spoiler-Filled Review:
A Blues Movie or a Vampire Movie? - 42:00
The Conflict Isn’t What You Think - 48:42
THE Scene - 51:42
The Dilemma - 54:06
In Too Deep and Over Our Heads - 1:01:45
More Highs and Lows - 1:08:00
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FINAL GRADES - 1:15:27
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MMO What’s Next/Leave Us 5 Stars! - 1:16:48

Sinners Oscars Profile - When Coogler Went God Mode - Ep 478

We very much enjoyed Thunderbolts*, and here’s our full film study review treatment. Non-spoilers begins with big discussions on the MCU and its box office trends, and as always, we build to an Oscars Lens. Then we go beat by beat and discuss the plot in the spoiler filled second half. 

NON-SPOILER REVIEW SECTION:
A big discussion of the recent phases of the MCU and their box office - 2:08 
The Reception is very strong thus far - 9:01 
Our different MCU intakes of late - 11:50 
The Marvel Mental Health Awareness Movie - 15:54 
Falling in love with these characters & these performances 20:20 
Production Values including the unforgettable score that M1 forgot - 26:49 

Spoiler Warning - 32:07 

SPOILER REVIEW SECTION: 
Is Florence Pugh the next do your own stunts daredevil like Tom Cruise? - 33:32 
Major MCU developments - 35:54 
Superhero meet cutes - 37:24 
The Bucky Barnes subplot with Bunk and Elaine - 40:42 
Keeping this new ragtag group together… somehow - 41:41 
Probably the most fun part of the movie - 45:28 
The Un-Marvel Like - 49:10 
Clear Themes and Messaging - 55:17 
The Final Scene + the Mid & Post Credit Scenes - 56:17 
We speculate about Fantastic Four & Doomsday movies - 58:53 
Final Grades & Final Thoughts on how this fits into Modern Times - 1:03:21 

OUTRO: We have a quickie production meeting live on air as we discuss how we’re approaching our 100% Accurate Way Too Early Predictions. Plus, M2 actually praises recap videos on Youtube for helping him with this episode. Otherwise, please follow us on our socials and feel free to reach out. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Thunderbolts* - Save us, Florence Pugh. You're our only hope - Ep. 479

What Is This Episode - Top of Show
“IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT” WINS THE PALME D’OR
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MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING: OSCARS PROFILE:
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Spoiler-Free Review:
Scores, Box Office, and the Cruise-ness of It All - 3:21
Why Paramount Doesn’t Need This to Break the Bank - 12:13
Script Thoughts - 14:18
Chaotic, Boring, Mishandled…Amazing - 19:00
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Tom Cruise - 21:42
Ensemble - 24:34
Production Values - 26:55
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SPOILER WARNING - 30:12
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Spoiler-Filled Review:
The Mike1 School of Film Marketing - 31:08
“Hey, Why Not…” for A Few, Minor, Basically Invisible, Tiny Plot Holes - 33:26
Gabriel’s Dead End + Fan Service - 42:01
Star Wars-ing - 44:32
Parts of This Movie That’d Kill the Mikes - 47:32
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FINAL GRADES - 53:58
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MMO What’s Next/Leave Us 5 Stars! - 57:10

Mission Impossible 8 The Final Reckoning Oscar Profile - RUN, TOM! AGAIN! - Ep 480

Kolby Mac returns to review James Gunn’s Superman. It’s a massive film study, a pointed Oscars Profile, and we have the perfect guest for the occasion. 

NON-SPOILER REVIEW SECTION FOR SUPERMAN:
Reception, Box Office, & Our Movie Watching Experiences - 2:37 
General Thoughts + Comparing to other James Gunn Films - 10:16 
Why “superhero fatigue” is a premise for this story - 15:50 
Rewatchability, The Superman Problem & Worldbuilding - 19:11 
How the Politics are benign - 24:48 
An Ensemble of Strong Performances - 31:39 
Production Values and Oscar Lens - 40:57 

Spoiler Warning - 50:55 

SPOILER REVIEW SECTION: 
Changing the canon for good and for ill - 52:18 
Making character scenes count because it’s such an ensemble piece - 58:11 
Where James Gunn is ambitious - 1:02:05 
How a strong evil plan brings about a more rounded hero - 1:08:33 
Combating superhero fatigue & why it’s polarizing - 1:11:01 
More Bests & Worst Scenes - 1:14:29 
What’s coming next for the DCU & Our Grades - 1:20:32 

OUTRO: What’s coming next on The Kolby Told Me Podcast and where you can find all of Kolby’s work on the internet. Make sure you guys follow him on social media and like, subscribe and review & rate him 5 stars. He goes back with us, and we love having him on the show. As for what’s coming next from us, we’ll hopefully do some Mike, Mike and Emmy work with the Emmy Noms incoming this week. Plus, we will continue to follow the Superman Box Office and root for it in theaters. 

Kolby Told Me on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3FodYSr3yWaIySSAjYrAtc 
Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-kolby-told-me-podcast/id1449736187 
Follow him on X https://x.com/kolbytoldme 
Follow him on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kolbytoldme/?hl=en

Superman '25 w/ Kolby Mac - Gunn's Big Gamble - Ep 483

We review The Fantastic Four: First Steps in this Oscars Profile Film Study. The Non-Spoiler Section builds to an Oscars Lens, where we predict if this movie will get any nominations, and then we discuss the plot in its entirety in our 2nd Half Spoiler Section.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW:
Which of the Fantastic Four are we? - Top of the Show 
Place in the MCU Phase 6 and that Kevin Feige interview - 2:56 
No Homework - 4:28 
The Reception Thus Far + Early Box Office - 5:23 
Our Expectations & Common Problems People Have - 8:54 
What if James Gunn stayed? + Handling the Origin Story - 12:21 
Pacing Problems & We Wanted More Time To Hangout  - 15:17 
But we do get meaningful stakes + rounded, charming characters - 17:17 
Review of the Performances & Was Pascal Miscast? - 19:29 
Super Strong Production Values - 23:54 
The Oscar Lens on VFX, Original Score, Costumes & Production Design  - 26:57 

SPOILER WARNING - 34:22 

SPOILER FILLED REVIEW:
Talking Galactus - 35:13 
The biggest win for this movie - 37:40 
How The Movie Met or Did Not Meet Mike1’s Predictions - 38:57 
The Most Asinine Complaint about the middle action sequence - 41:51 
The biggest problem with the pacing, but we like the dilemmas in play - 43:06 
Leaving us wanting more - 47:52 
The Retro-Futuristic of it all & The Post Credit Scenes - 49:10 
Final Grades - 52:48 

OUTRO: Heavy breathing into the microphone distracts Mike1 while he’s trying to remember the Outro and belly drums as Mike2 hints at his NYC movie watching weekend. We continue to avoid discussing what’s coming next on the show so as not to jinx Mike1’s health. But do please follow us on our socials and rate & review our show: https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

And we do recommend our previous MCU Playlists on Soundcloud, which you can enjoy here. As always, thanks for listening. 

Marvel Cinematic Universe Series Review
https://soundcloud.com/mikemikeandoscar/sets/mcu-series-review-1

Avengers Endgame Coverage
https://soundcloud.com/mikemikeandoscar/sets/avengers-endgame-coverage


The Fantastic Four: First Steps Film Study - Yeah, You Eat Dat Planet - Ep 484

Hello, Mr. Hunt.

***This Review of Mission: Impossible has a Spoiler Section***

See, Buy, Skip - 2:20

Cast & Crew - 3:25
Production Notes - 8:29
Movie Specs - 11:16
Production Values - 14:00
Performances - 17:17
Oscar Lens - 21:10

Spoilers Ahead! Spoiler Warning - 25:33


The Script: Do We Choose To Accept it? - 25:48
Best/ Worst Scenes - 35:59
Final Thoughts/ Where it Fits in the MIU - 41:05

Mission: Impossible Fallout opens wide on July 26th, and we cannot resist a film by film review of the entire series. The trailer for Fallout might be the most hyped we’ve been for an action movie in the last 5, if not 10 years, and we’ve gushed over the Fallout many times, most recently our July / August Theatrical Preview (ep 61).  So a rewatch was inevitable.  We’re just happy to hit record and share our thoughts with you.

Since the films came out in both our formative years, there’s TMI (too much information) about your hosts laden in throughout the reviews.  From the music in the movies to the hairstyles on the masks on the heads of the characters, it’s like a walk down memory lane, and we’re not NOT gonna talk about all that juicy stuff.

So it’s a much less rigid MMO review.  Though we do hit upon many points of our usual format.  We begin with a production profile of the movie’s cast & crew bios, highlights from our research about the behind the scenes making of the film, and all the specs about the film’s premiere, box office, critical reception, and awards.  Then we begin a NON-SPOILER review discussing the merits of the production values like visual effects, cinematography and score before we discuss the acting performances.

We’ve reviewed and studied enough Oscar worthy films now to measure these blockbusters up against them, and we do pinpoint a few areas in which Mission Impossible should have contended.  Then it’s time for our SPOILER review where we have a lot of fun recapping and commenting on the plot, discussing our best & worst scenes, and then wrapping this film in with where it fits in the overall series.  Stay tuned for our next 5 reviews of Mission Impossible films 2 through 6 (Fallout) throughout the rest of July.

For more reviews of summer blockbusters, check out our movie event specials on all the heavy hitters from Star Wars: The Last Jedi to Deadpool 2 all the way through our overview of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Our Ant-Man and the Wasp review marks our 11th podcast episode on the MCU with all the Black Panther & Avengers info you could want.

If you enjoy our stuff, please follow/like/share & review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google, or wherever you may be listening.  Feel free to chat with us on social media.  We are Mike, Mike, and Oscar on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail, and we’re at MMandOscar on twitter.  

Mikemikeandoscar.com is coming along, and we may finally launch that sucker.  So there’s a lot happening.  When reality sucks, watch movies with us!

MI1: Mission Impossible - Halfisode 10 - Choosing To Accept Our MIU Review - Part 1

Best Bad Film of the 2000s?

***This Review of Mission: Impossible II has a Spoiler Section***

Cast & Crew - 2:50
Production Notes - 6:25
Movie Specs - 13:20
Production Values - 16:59
Performances - 21:18
Oscar Lens - 24:13

Spoilers Ahead! - 25:11


The Script: Do We Choose To Accept it? - 25:30
Best/ Worst Scenes - 33:40
Final Thoughts/ Where it Fits in the MIU - 39:09

Our Mission: Impossible re-watch continues leading up to late July’s release of Fallout, and it’s time to review perhaps the most polarizing film of the franchise, Mission: Impossible II.  John Woo’s action spectacular wows us with some stunts and makes us cringe with everything else.  Is the movie awesomely bad or just bad?

The review travels through our usual checks points.  Our NONSPOILER review includes a production profile filled with cast & crew bios, production notes, and movie specs.  We then review all of the production values and performances before we discuss the film under the intense scrutiny of the Academy in our Oscar Lens.

We break for a spoiler warning around midway and head into a full SPOILER filled breakdown of the plot, the movie’s best and many worst scenes, and where the film fits into the entire Mission Impossible Universe.  Our review devolves into two grown men giggling uncontrollably on many occasions, and you don’t want to miss it.

Go back to our catalog for our review of the first Mission Impossible review and seek out all our coverage of the current blockbusters from this year like Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Incredibles 2 as well as many of the big hit movies from years past during our entire overview of the MCU.  Keep track of all the news of the film world in our Hollywood Hot Take series, be previewed of coming attractions as we get you ready for what’s soon to be in theaters, and enjoy our mid year updates on next year’s Oscar Race as well as the offerings of HBO and Netflix.  Whatever your movie preference, help us help you plan your next movie night with our back catalog.

Do please leave us a review on iTunes.  Like, follow, and/or subscribe to us wherever you listen, and feel free to chat us up on social media.  We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Gmail.  We’re also 
 at MMandOscar on Twitter, and mikemikeandoscar.com is coming soon.  As always, thank you for listening.  When reality sucks, keep watching movies with us.

MI2: Mission Impossible 2 (or is it Mission: Impossible II?) Review - Halfisode 11 - Woo, Boy

PSH makes Tom cry in this one.

***This MI3 Review has a Spoiler Section***

We elude to some action sequences in non-spoilers & give away some premise info, but otherwise wait for full plot details until the spoiler section.

Cast & Crew - 1:46
Production Notes - 7:07
Tom Cruise vs. South Park?! - 9:21
Movie Specs - 10:26
Review of Production Values - 17:19
Performances - 22:34
Oscars Lens - 28:42

Spoiler Warning - 31:32

SPOILERS
The Plot - 32:01
Do We Choose to Accept It? - 47:47
Worst Scenes - 48:18
Best Scenes - 49:19
Final Thoughts / Where MI3 Fits in the MIU - 52:29

In perhaps our favorite re-watch of the series, this is our review of Mission: Impossible III.  J.J. Abrams makes his feature film debut after the hit success of Lost on television, and Tom Cruise seals yet another deal behind the scenes during our production profile.  There's also a controversy ALERT for us to discuss that takes us back into the mid 2000s.  So we have some theories for you on why the film's box office may have suffered, and John Woo may also have a little something to do with it.  I mean, WE can't blame Fred Durst after all, can we?  

Another impossible mission is yet another opportunity for death defying stunts, but this time was a little different.  We tell you why, and we also spill the beans about some other crazy-but-true stories from the making of the film involving the visual effects.  Was this the best acting of the series thus far?  We certainly think it was the best villain, and those two facets of a story can can make for a terrific white-knuckler of an action movie.  This was that.

The plot like the rewatch is a joy to recap.  We choose to accept the vast majority of it, and we relish some of the crazier moments.  Our best scenes come as no surprise.  Though some of the worst scenes may sneak up on you like an awkward dude at a party.  As for where it fits in the overall MIU, we theorize, we banter, and you’re welcome.  

Stay tuned for our fourth installment in our Mission Impossible series review with MI4: Ghost Protocol.  Then we’ll become a Rogue Nation before we discuss the Fallout and finally re-rank all our favorites.  It’ll be a rousing finish to our month of July on MMO with the MIU.

Do go back and enjoy our massive back catalog of episodes.  We’ve covered all the major movie events as well as all the early Oscars contenders with full episode reviews of Black Panther, A Quiet Place, Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Incredibles 2, Hereditary, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Sorry To Bother You.  Quarterly episodes on Netflix and mid year reports on the Oscars race and HBO On Demand also keep you current.  Dive into our full Marvel Cinematic Universe overview from the spring and take a trip down Oscars’ memory lane with our retrospectives.  There’s something for everyone in our catalog.

Chat with us on social media.  We are Mike, Mike, and Oscar on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail.  We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter.  Please leave a review on iTunes to help us spread the word about our show if and when you can.  It really does help.  

As always, thank you for listening.  When reality sucks, keep watching movies with us.

MI3: Mission Impossible 3 Review - Halfisode #12 - As Letters Go, PSH + JJA Are Great Ones To Have

Tom Climbs THAT Building!

***This Review of MI4 Ghost Protocol has a Spoiler Section***
Again, we allude to some of the bigger moments, but nothing more than you’d see in the trailer during non-spoilers.  Then we break it all down in the spoiler section.

Cast & Crew - 1:36
Production Notes - 6:48
Movie Specs - 11:27
Review of Production Values - 16:41
Performances - 19:16
Oscars Lens - 26:29

Spoiler Warning - 33:45

SPOILERS
The Plot - 34:11
Do We Choose to Accept It? - 47:11
Worst Scenes - 48:07
Best Scenes - 52:00
Final Thoughts / Where MI4 Fits in the MIU - 53:26

Another halfisode of this Mission Impossible review goes joyously long, and we don’t care.  Just like the MIU keeps the colon:between:the:words:”Mission”:And:”Impossible,” we’re in denial and will call this another halfisode episode.  Like extra innings or overtime in sports, just enjoy the bonus action because we love to LOVE and love to HATE certain things about this movie.  Don’t miss this review of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

Animation maestro Brad Bird of Incredibles fame conducts all the wonderful spy games in this ultimate globe trotter.  The production profile - like each and every segment of our review  - will gush over the fact that TOM CRUISE ACTUALLY CLIMBED THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE FRIGGIN WORLD!!!  It’s a feat we think should have been honored.  It’s something we’ve never seen a movie star perform.  It’s rarified air, and we must throw a See Buy Skip in there to prove our point.

The specs mark highs for critical reception, box office, and awards.  Then we cannot ignore the phenomenal production values of arguably one of the better spy film spectaculars of the decade.  HOWEVER, does the script hold this movie back from greatness?  We break it all down as we move into spoilers.

Mike 1 saves much of Also Mike’s plot synopsis.  One of us is taking care of a new puppy, and there’s a lazy plot summary involved.  But as usual, we have a ton of fun with the recap, and you don’t wanna miss how we begin to speculate about Mission: Impossible - Fallout colliding its way into theaters this weekend.

Do go back and listen to our first 3 installments in this Mission Impossible Review.  It’s been another Oscars off-season activity to indulge the summer movie season, and we’re having an absolute blast.  Check out our 11 part series on the Marvel Cinematic Universe including full episodes dedicated to Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Ant-Man and the Wasp.  Previous halfisodes on Best Original Song categories also celebrate the off-season as we swap our cinematic critic hats for whatever cool music aficionados might wear on their heads?  Fedoras? IDK, I’m so white.

Anyway, there’s something for everyone in our catalog of episodes including Mid Year Oscar Reports, HBO and Netflix pods, and tons of Oscar Retrospectives to enjoy.  Do chat with us on social media.  We’re on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and Gmail.  Please review us on iTunes and like/follow/subscribe to our Stitcher, Soundcloud, Google Play, etc… accounts wherever you may be listening.  As always, thank you for your help.  When reality sucks, keep watching those movies with us.  We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar!

MI4: Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Review - Halfisode #13 - When Pugs Ruin Covert Ops

Ilsa Faust Kicks Ass in this one btw.

***This Review of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Has a Spoiler Section***

Cast & Crew - 2:12
Production Notes - 7:34
Movie Specs - 10:42
Review of Production Values - 16:17
Performances - 18:37
Oscars Lens - 23:39

Spoiler Warning - 26:17

SPOILERS
The Plot - 26:52
Do We Choose to Accept It? - 41:53
Best Scenes - 43:26
Worst Scenes - 45:22
Final Thoughts / Where MI5 Fits in the MIU - 47:22

Wrapping Up - 49:45

Another double halfisode that we’re gonna still call a halfisode out of sheer stubborn laziness, here’s our review of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.  It’s Christopher McQuarrie at the helm as a writer/director with much of the same crew that’ll bring to us MI6 - Fallout later this week.  So we discuss the pros and cons with McQuarrie’s leadership in this production profile, then dive into your favorite segments from our usual non-spoiler reviews. 

Of course, we have another Also Mike led anecdote filled plot synopsis, which Mike 1 saves from incoherence by the end of Act II once again.  We dive into spoilers and break down another stunt filled episode in the franchise as two grown men are reduced to fanboys as we love to love this movie.

It’s our 5th MI film and our 5th MIU review.  Do go back and enjoy our previous Mission Impossible episodes and stay tuned.  We’ll have a Mission: Impossible - Fallout pod for you this weekend, and then a re-rank of the series early next week.  Then we’ll dive into the recent bevy of movie trailers released over the past few weeks at Comic Con & in lieu of the fall film festivals with round two of our Oscar Contender trailer breakdowns.  

Please also consult our massive catalog of episodes.  There’s wall to wall coverage of last year’s awards season, and we’ve also remained true to our namesake by covering, handicapping, and profiling all of this year’s favorites.  Then we have 12 episodes on Marvel films including Ant-Man and the Wasp, Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War, and Black Panther stand-alone reviews.  So whatever your movie taste, we’ve most likely dedicated MMO episodes to you.  We’ve also covered Netflix and HBO originals as well as 9 Best Original Song categories this summer.

Feel free to chat with us on social media.  We are Mike, Mike, and Oscar on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail.  We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and mikemikeandoscar.com is coming soon.  Find us just about everywhere you can listen to podcasts, and if you could help us spread the word about our show by leaving us a like, a comment, or review, we’d much appreciate it.  When reality sucks, keep watching those movies with us.

MI5: Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Review - Halfisode #14 - Last Stop Before Fallout

MMO is talk radio for movie fans with weekly news shows, reviews, previews, and special guests. We celebrate the Oscars by making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. If you love cinema, if you love showbiz, welcome home.