On the 108th episode of the Triple Threat Theater podcast, guest host Tony Sedani joins Dax and Rian as they get schooled.

Films discussed on this episode: 
With Honors (1994)
 Good Will Hunting (1998) 
Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)

Follow Triple Threat Theater on social media:
 Twitter - @buy_borrow_burn
 Instagram - @triplethreattheaterpodcast 
Tumblr - triplethreattheater.tumblr.com

Episode 108 - The College Years

Mike 1 has returned for this Oscar Race Checkpoint, covering his Hollywood vacation stories, the TIFF Galas & Special Presentations announcements and a fun catch-up on a bunch of incredible trailers from After The Hunt & Bugonia to Project Hail Mary & Downton Abbey to Predator Badlands & Keeper. 

Top of the Show - Mike 1 Returns! He recaps his vacation, pneumonia & comeback.

THE TIFF LINEUP (+++ More Los Angeles Anecdotes from Mike1)
Hamnet (& Mike talks about Room Service in LA Hotels) - 9:07 
Our Lost Bus & Wake-Up Dead Man Oscar Bets - 11:00 
The Roofman will debut in Toronto & we review the trailer - 13:39 
Why Rental Family with Brendan Fraser could be a sleeper contender - 16:03 
Ralph Fiennes in The Choral & Agnieska Holland’s Franz - 19:26 
Sundance & Cannes Carryovers (+ M1 & Swell do The Grove) - 22:32 
Good Fortune, Ballad of a Small Player, Frankenstein, Hedda & Smashing Machine - 29:20 
Sydney Sweeny is Christie + the next from Angelina Jolie & Al Pacino - 33:28 
Unlikely genre choices for Miles Teller’s Eternity & Amanda Seyfried’s Anne Lee - 37:09 
Actors turn Directors w/ Alex Winter, James McAvoy, Brian Cox & Maude Apatow - 38:42 
Saoirse Ronan’s next, a Fuze lit in Hot Fuzz & Nuremberg will not be funny - 41:04 
Chris Evans in Sacrifice, Scarlet for Animated Feature & Swiped on Bumble - 44:21 

TRAILER BREAKDOWNS:
Julia Roberts in Luca Guadagnino’s After The Hunt - 47:25 
Bugonia stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons & Fish Eye Lens for Yorgos - 51:49 
Dakota Johnson appears perfect & awesome again in Splitsville - 54:42 
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale launches its Best Picture campaign on MMO - 56:00 
Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary sets trailer viewing records - 58:34 
Weapons is the one script that got away from Jordan Peele - 1:01:32 
Glen Powell’s The Running Man feels very Purge-esque - 1:02:52 
Mortal Kombat 2 is the ultimate middle aged white guy fantasy - 1:06:07 
Predator: Badlands is a must see for Mike, Mike and Alien listeners - 1:07:50 
Keeper puts Osgood Perkins in M. Night Shyamalan territory as a horror filmmaker - 1:10:20 

OUTRO: M2 refuses to jinx future episodes. But of course, we do hope to be back soon with both Mikes on more episodes very very soon. There are a bunch of film studies, Oscar Race Checkpoints, and Boogie Mikes episodes that we want to record ASAFP, and God willing, we will do so. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar


TIFF's Lineup, After The Hunt's Trailer & Mike's Return from La La Land - ORC 7/22/25

Welcome to the Tuesday News Day, where we discuss the latest events in nerd news!  

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OUR MOST CHAOTIC EPISODE YET! And we talk about the news, I guess - 173.1

We discuss the new AMPAS President before reacting to the full NYFF63 lineup, the TIFF additions and tributes, and by deduction, we work out some of the Telluride slate. Plus we review Cloud, Sorry Baby & Together while also discussing new trailers for Rental Family, One Battle After Another, etc. 

ACADEMY NEWS:
Lynette Howell Taylor is our new President - 1:29 
Will the Oscars remain on ABC after Disney makes moves? - 3:52 

FILM FESTIVAL NEWS:
The NYFF Closes with Bradley Cooper’s latest + a Jim Jarmusch Centerpiece - 8:50 
NYFF63 Main Slate is loaded + That Jay Kelly Trailer - 11:26 
NY Spotlights The Boss, DDL & double Linklater + Blue Moon Trailer - 17:15 
TIFF Tributes are discussed + that Rental Family trailer is working well, maybe too well - 29:30 
TIFF Lineup Additions + that Left-Handed Girl Trailer - 34:05
Deducing Likely Telluride Lineup - 41:02  

MORE TRAILER BREAKDOWNS:
One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio & Tom Cruise jokes - 43:24 
Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington & Jeffrey Wright - 48:45 
Ella McCay is one Mike’s dream and another Mike’s nightmare - 52:15 
Train Dreams, starring Joel Edgerton is another huge schism betwixt us - 54:49 
The Choral, starring Ralph Fiennes would win every Oscar in 1994 - 57:53 
Shelby Oaks from Chris Stuckman could be just our speed - 1:0015 

NON-SPOILER REVIEWS:
Cloud & Folktales at IFC Center + AlsoMike’s Burger Day in NYC - 1:02:29 
M1 reviews Sorry, Baby, The General’s Daughter + Quickies on Together & Oh, Hi! - 1:08:01 

OUTRO: We try to avoid jinxing Mike1’s health and fail. But if he survives, you can enjoy more Oscar Race Checkpoints in the future. As always, we appreciate all your support. Please follow us on social media, like & subscribe, rate & review - all that good stuff… and you can find a tree of all our links here. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

NYFF63 is STACKED, Brendan Fraser's Doing It Again & In Lynette We Trust - ORC 8/12/25

One Battle After Another 1st reactions are in. Then we dive deep into the Venice Awards Winners & tally the ovations. Plus, we discuss the Toronto Film Festival Premieres including Knives Out 3, Brendan Fraser in Rental Family, Channing Tatum’s Roofman, and Sydney Sweeney’s Christy.

One Battle After Another 1st Reactions - 1:34 

VENICE AWARDS + More Venice 1st Reactions: 
Golden Lion to Father Mother Sister Brother - 6:37 
Silver Lion to Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine - 10:21 
Volpi Cup Best Actress to Xin Zhilei, The Sun Rises On Us All - 12:03 
Volpi Cup Best Actor to Paul Servillo, La Grazia - 14:02 
Grand Jury Prize to The Voice of Hind Rajab + An Ovation Record? - 17:18 
Special Jury Prize to Below The Clouds - 21:53 
Best Screenplay to At Work - 22:46 
Silent Friend wins 2 Awards - 23: 50 
Kathyrn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, it’s Trailer & why M1 needs AMC A-List - 26:23 
Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire - 32:19 
Julian Schnabel’s In The Hand of Dante - 34:47 
Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet - 37:19 
Venice Standing Ovations Tally - 38:23 

TIFF PREMIERES: Reviewing The Reviewers
Brendan Fraser in Hikari’s Rental Family - 39:19 
Channing Tatum & Kiersten Dunst in Roofman from Derek Cianfrance - 40:41
Fraser & Tatum’s Oscar Chances - 41:36 
Sydney Sweeney in David Michod’s Christy + Oscar Chances - 43:55 
Wake Up, Dead Man, it’s new trailer + the 25 Film Best Picture Category Field - 46:15 
John Candy: I Like Me Documentary + 1st Trailer - 51:13 
Matthew McConnaughey & America Ferreira in The Lost Bus - 53:22 
Russell Crowe gaining buzz from Nuremberg - 56:19 
Hedda, starring Tessa Thompson - 58:08 

OUTRO: More on fighting gophers (which are actually marmot groundhogs. Check our twitter for videos or google dancing marmot groundhogs). When you’re done with that, please support our show with a positive rating, review, like, & subscribe. Please spread the good word about MMO to your family and friends, and hopefully you continue to look forward to the huge slate of upcoming Oscar contenders this fall. Plus, we should all continue to enjoy Paul Thomas Anderson and these fall film festivals. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar 

Venice Awards, TIFF Premieres & 1st Screenings for One Battle After Another - ORC 9/10/25

Filmmaker Hikari said there are currently about 300 “rental family” companies in Japan.

She attributes the rise of this uncommon business to modern day loneliness, isolation, and a lack of societal acceptance surrounding therapy in her native country. In Japan, she says, mental health services are not as easily accessible as in the United States, even via telehealth. Japanese would rather share their thoughts and feelings with a stranger instead of a therapist.

Takehiro Hira ("Shogun"), who plays the owner of the “rental family” business in the film, spent time interviewing employees at similar companies in Tokyo. He was particularly moved by the story of an elderly woman who hired an actor to sleep in her guest room so she wouldn’t feel lonely.

Deadline’s chief film critic Pete Hammond, who can also be seen on PBS SoCal's Must See Movies, moderates an in-person Q&A with co-screenwriter Stephen Blahut, and producers Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev.

Rental Family Q&A

This past October was AWFUL! Also The Mummy 4, a Jimmy Olsen series, AND MORE - 180.1

"Rental Family" is a comedy-drama film directed by Hikari, who co-wrote the script with Stephen Blahut, starring Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman, and Akira Emoto. The film premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its direction, writing, and heartwarming performances. Hikari and Emoto were both kind enough to spend a few minutes speaking with Ema Sasic and Giovanni Lago, respectively, about their work and experiences making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is scheduled to be released in the United States by Searchlight Pictures on November 21st. Thank you, and enjoy!

Check out more on NextBestPicture.com

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Interviews With "Rental Family" Filmmaker Hikari & Star Akira Emoto

GTF is returning to Oz for this week's theatrical reviews with our look at the anticipated sequel Wicked for Good plus our look at sequels will be getting bloodier with our review of Sisu: Road to Revenge.

We'll also be heading to Japan with our review of the dramedy Rental Family & finally, we'll be continuing our look at the latest episodes of Pluribus, Welcome to Derry, All Her Fault, The Chair Company & DMV for this week's television reviews.

November 24th 2025

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture

For this week's second podcast review, Josh Parham and Nadia Dalimonte join me to review and discuss the latest film from Hikari, "Rental Family," starring Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman, and Akira Emoto. The comedy-drama film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to a warm reception, with praise for Fraser's performance, and Hikari's direction and writing (co-written with Stephen Blahut). What did we think of this sentimental film? Was it too sweet or just the right amount to capture our hearts? Please tune in as we discuss the performances, writing, direction, its awards season prospects, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

Check out more on NextBestPicture.com

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"Rental Family"

A podcast by NextBestPicture.com that reviews the latest film releases and discusses various topics within the world of film and the awards race.

The Media Lunch Break is your best resource for geek news, reviews, comedy, and the Oxford comma! We'll argue the oldest of debates: DC vs Marvel, Mac vs PC, Michael Bay vs our collective childhoods.
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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.

3 Movies. 2 Friends. 1 Podcast.

Join Joe Daxberger and Rian Miller as they review and rank 3 thematically linked movies per episode of the Triple Threat Theater Podcast.

New tracks tagged #Brendan Fraser