For Episode 447, Lauren LaMagna, Dan Bayer, Katie Johnson, Sara Clements, and I are here to discuss which films are our favorites from the first half of 2025 and which we deem to be realistic Oscar contenders. We tie this conversation into this week's poll as we ask, "Which Is The Best Film Of 2025 So Far?" We also reveal the winner of last week's poll for the release of "28 Years Later," where we asked, "Which Is Your Favorite Danny Boyle Film?" We also give our reactions to the trailer for "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for listening, supporting, and subscribing. We know the world is a scary place at the moment, but we sincerely hope you enjoy this episode and the show overall as we do our best to provide you comfort during these difficult and uncertain times. We'll see you all again next week.

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Episode 447 - The Best Films & Oscar Contenders Of 2025 So Far And The "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" Trailer

We did it! Tom Cruise is getting an honorary Oscar alongside Dolly Parton, Debbie Allan, & Wynn Thomas at the Governors Awards. Plus, we talk Venice Bound Films, AI Rules, great trailers for Springsteen, IKWYDLS & Spaceballs 2 +++ reviews for 28 Years Later, How To Train Your Dragon, and Elio. 

NEWS:
Governors Awards Recipients Announced for Tom Cruise & Dolly Parton - 1:14 
Jafar Panahi calls for end to Iran/Israel Conflict - 6:18 
MPSE Golden Reel Awards bans AI Noms - 11:50 
Blumhouse acquires the Saw franchise - 15:40 
Kathyrn Bigelow’s House of Dynamite gets a release date - 18:36 
Variety reports on 9 Venice Bound Films + MPAA Ratings for other Contenders - 21:32 

TRAILERS:
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere - 26:23 
I Know What You Did Last Summer - 32:27 
The Toxic Avenger - 38:59 
Him - 42:43 
Spaceballs 2 - 47:51 

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING // BOX OFFICE REPORT
How To Train Your Dragon Review - 50:36 
28 Years Later Review - 52:47 
Elio Review - 58:26 
Rest of the Top 10 + What To Watch On Streaming + Naked Gun Rewatches - 1:05:52 

OUTRO: M2 breaks M1’s chops about watching much more TV than Film. We own our hypocrisies and High School nicknames. Then you should leave us a 5 Star Review if you’re enjoying the show. Thank you for that. Plus, we discuss Mike 1’s upcoming vacation. But you shouldn’t get any interruption in your MMO because we banked some episodes. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar 


Tom Cruise's Oscar, Springsteen's Trailer + 28 Years Later - ORC 6/23/25

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

Telluride & Venice first reactions are finally here, and rave reviews have hit for Hamnet, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, The Testament of Ann Lee, Adam Sandler, No Other Choice, Julia Roberts, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Greta Lee, and so many more.

VENICE & TELLURIDE REACTIONS (Including Reviewing the Reviewers): 

Jay Kelly + M1’s Headline for the Episode - 2:00 
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Supporting Actor Category Snapshot - 8:11 
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Bugonia + Our Trailer 2 & Poster Review - 12:02 
Hamnet, the Big 3 in Best Picture right now + Our Trailer Review - 16:48 
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Lead Actress Category Snapshot - 23:14 
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Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere & M1’s Born To Run Fantasy - 25:43 
Ballad of a Small Player & why we’re predisposed to love Colin Farrell in this - 32:09 
Tuner includes a starmaking performance per NBP - 34:16 
After the Hunt took a beating, but could Julia Roberts still get a nom? - 36:08 
No Other Choice is great, but non-werewolf loving critics are a problem - 40:47 
Frankenstein, another disappointing masterpiece from GDT (?!?!) - 45:27 
Late Fame might be another Greta Lee showcase - 51:48 
Father Mother Sister Brother & the ovation rule almost gets dealt with - 53:41 
The Wizard of the Kremlin & ovations that don’t fit the tomato score - 56:48 
La Grazia, Venice’s Opening Night film puts our rule to the test - 58:54 
The Smashing Machine & Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s big Venice moment - 1:00:20 
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Lead Actor Category Snapshot - 1:02:51 
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Supporting Actress Snapshot - 1:06:17 
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The Testament of Ann Lee & suspicions re: unexpected musicals - 1:08:34 
Cover-Up & a new Doc Feature contender - 1:13:43 
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Holdovers from Cannes, Sundance, & Berlin including It Was Just An Accident, Sentimental Value, Train Dreams, Blue Moon, Nouvelle Vague, The History of Sound & The Secret Agent + its trailer review - 1:14:41 
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Venice & Cannes Standing Ovations Tally - 1:18:45 
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OUTRO: 1:20:49 Upcoming Venice & TIFF schedules + Words of Wisdom involving stopwatches that beep or not. If you enjoy our show, please help spread the word. You can rate, review, like, subscribe, and follow us via all these links here. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar 


Telluride & Venice '25: Big Moments for Hamnet, The Rock, Seyfried & Sandler - ORC 9/3/25

"Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" is a biographical musical drama film starring Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen. Written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 2023 book "Deliver Me from Nowhere" by Warren Zanes, it chronicles Springsteen's personal and professional struggles during the conception of his 1982 album Nebraska. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its performances, grounded tone, and psychological look into what makes Springsteen such a thoughtful and compelling artist. Cooper was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about his experience working on the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released in theaters on October 24th from 20th Century Studios. Thank you, and enjoy!

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Interview With "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" Filmmaker Scott Cooper

Lynn & Carl are joined by Jessica Fischoff, Director of Literary Arts for the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival & Speaker Series about their upcoming slate. Lynn reviews new releases: If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You and Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost. Plus previews of Bugonia & Springsteen Deliver Me from Nowhere.

October 22nd, 2025 ft. Jessica Fischoff from the StL Jewish Book Festival & Speaker Series

For this week's main podcast review, Ema Sasic, Katie Johnson, and Tom O'Brien join me to discuss the latest film from Scott Cooper, "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere," starring Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham, Odessa Young, Gaby Hoffmann, Marc Maron & David Krumholtz. Written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 2023 book "Deliver Me from Nowhere" by Warren Zanes, as well as some elements from Bruce Springsteen's autobiography "Born to Run," it chronicles Springsteen's personal and professional struggles during the conception of his 1982 album "Nebraska." The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its performances, emotional honesty, and character-driven story of confronting depression and turning pain into art. What did we think of it? Please tune in as we discuss the performances, writing, direction, tone, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

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"Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere"

According to writer-director Scott Cooper ("Crazy Heart"), at its core, the film is the story of a neglected soul repairing himself through music. Bruce was coming off the enormous success of "The River," and from the outside, it looked like everything was going right. But inside, he was quietly unraveling, experiencing a kind of emotional vertigo, the feeling that the life he’d built no longer matched the weight he was carrying. Bruce was also haunted spiritually by his father. Haunted by the fear of success, of no longer being like the people he grew up with in Freehold. Out of that haunted state-of-mind came one of the greatest records of the last 50 years, "Nebraska." Bruce didn’t walk into that recording studio to make a record. He walked in because something deep inside was clawing to get out.

Production on "Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere" began in October 2024, filming primarily on location in and around New Jersey, including Montclair and the Jersey Shore, with additional locations in New York City, Memphis, and Los Angeles.

Immediately following the screening, Deadline’s chief film critic Pete Hammond, who canalso be seen on PBS SoCal's Must See Movies, moderates an in-person Q&A with producers Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Eric Robinson and Scott Stuber.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Q&A

Lynn & Carl are joined by Anne Tolpegin starring as the Mom / Nurse in the Fabolous Fox's production of The Notebook. Then Emmitt Williams, Cinema St. Louis' Director of Festivals Curation & Education, joins to talk about the St. Louis International Film Festival. Then producer Jack Lane joins to talk about SLIFF's opening film, Kenneth Cole: A Man with Sole. Plus Lynn & Carl talk about the new releases Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere & Bugonia. 

October 29th, 2025 ft. The Notebook, SLIFF & Kenneth Cole: a Man with Sole

Lynn Venhaus is a veteran journalist, specializing in features, entertainment writing and local news. Reviews movies for KTRS Radio, Webster-Kirkwood Times, www.PopLifeSTL.com and podcast, formerly known as Reel Times Trio, now PopLifeSTL.com Presents.
Carl "The Intern" Middleman has 30 years in the radio business in St. Louis, now working for Audacy (stations KMOX, KFTK, Y98, KEZK, WFUN and WHHL). He reviews film with Max Foizey on "Max on Movies" at KTRS and for this podcast.

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

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.

New tracks tagged #Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere