Today on Binger's Assemble, we are starting our twenty twenty six Oscars coverage with the Big One, one battle after another.

We'll be right back after these ads we have no control over.

Welcome to Binger's Assembled, the podcast where we watch movies so you don't have to.

Oscar's Edition, third Annual Oscars Edition.

I am Ashley Coffin, I'm Haley Hobbs, and we are snowed in and we were going to cover this for our show and we were like, you know what, they just announced the Oscars.

Of course this was up there dominating the categories, and we were like, you know what, let's just dive right in and get this train rolling because our March fifteenth will be here before.

We know it, and we have ten movies to cover.

So yeah, it's literally almost February, and this.

Was a doozy of a movie.

This is a three and a half hour film.

It is currently streaming on HBO, so please go.

Watch it and then come back.

I don't want to.

We don't really try to spoil too much on here, so stay Actually I'm going to take that back because usually everything else that we're talking about trying not spoiler, but we're going to try not to.

But so, one battle after another is written and directed by the fabulous Paul Thomas Anderson.

This is his tenth feature film and it is first collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio, which has.

Been a major talking point all through the season.

Absolutely, the film draws loose.

Inspiration from Thomas Pinchalms Vinland, and it's a novel called Vineland, but Anderson reshapes the material into something a little bit more kinetic, more contemporary, and a little bit more accessible than the straight adaptation.

But I actually kind of really want to read this book because I think this movie was fabulous.

Yeah, I didn't know it was adapted, but what is so's true?

We got a stack that pass.

Yeah, we have a very stacked cast with said Leo.

We have Champagne, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, newcomer Chase Infinity.

Original score by Johnny Greenwood, who I thought knocked it out of the park.

I really think score.

I know it's going to Ludwig.

I'm going to say that now.

I think the scores for this year were really really strong, with this being a top contender for me.

The whole music helps drive the tension.

In the emotional undercurrent of everything going on in this very stacked plotted movie.

Absolutely yeah so at its core, the plot no spoilers, one battle after another follows Bob Ferguson, a formal political radical who's tried to distance himself from a chaotic and confrontational pass now old or more cautious and raising his daughter Willa.

Bob believes that he has left this life behind, but of course, when old forces, research, and unfinished conflicts re enter the picture, Bob is pulled back into a world of confrontation and danger, this time with his daughter alongside him.

The story moves through the moments of action, dark comedy, reflection, and balancing large scale like scale sequences with quieter, character focused scenes, which is why this movie, being three and a half hours, really moves along.

We saw it in the theater it was fine.

Rather than telling the straightforward like political thriller, the film plays more like a collision between the past ideas and present realities using uh it's very funny, a lot of humor to explore, like what happens when history kind of refuses to stay buried and we have like a different kind of future.

I don't, Yeah, I don't.

It's like oddly slapstick for how emotionally deep the film is and the themes that it tackles.

Yeah, but you know, like Sean Pinn's character, who I've told you several times like I do feel like he out acted Leo in this a little bit, but he has so much to work with his crazy ripped.

He's doing this walk as as an actor, as someone who's done theater.

Having to get into your character's gait and your stance is something that's always funny to me, and I watch actors do it, and him doing this like turtle, but I'm so stacked.

Launching, you know, just like clinching a quarterback.

His eyes are going to pug out of his little face if he pushes any harder.

But he really did such a good job and his hair looked fabulous.

I just have to throw that out there.

Yeah he did.

But yeah, I mean it's like, maybe these moments shouldn't be funny.

But whereas I feel Bougonia is mislabeled me personally as a dark comedy, this kind of makes more sense to me as a dark comedy because it's like the you know, the moments, and some of it's the editing too, the way they cut to certain things, like when Tianna Taylor's firing a gun.

I won't give any context, but it's like it's very funny, and when it cuts to her doing that in this certain and you're like, what in the world is this?

This is great, but also just like kind of hard being on you know, domestic unfortunately, domestic terrorism so a relevant theme and you know how it can just tear people apart without even trying very hard.

And I love you know, like Jennifer Lawrence said to Leo and Actors on Actors, I love seeing you as a dad.

I love seeing with a teenager.

Yeah, no fun he the way he just was like you, I love that.

That was really funny.

She started it out real strong.

He's like, you need to stop right now.

And she's like the best actor I've ever seen.

She's so funny.

She really well.

And that's this movie.

It takes a very sharp but playful look at what happens to revolutionary energy over time, Like it examines how political passions changes, people get older, more tired, and more compromised, and whether those early ideas still mean something decades later and if you can even do anything at it.

And it also has.

A lot to do with the beliefs of mistakes and like unfinished business and like unfinished battles and how it kind of will get passed down, like to your kids and you know if you're shitty, Like it's like being in the mom.

I'm in the mom and I'm going to get out.

Okay, you're going to get out.

Well, in fifteen years, we're probably going to come kill your daughter because you're never really going to get out, you know.

It's it's that.

But then they kind of have this ex the other plotline of you know, Sean, we're not going to get into it, but there's there's the identity and re invention.

So it's it's all these characters trying to find out who they really are or who they're really related to and what that would mean for them.

And it's like it is it possible to reinvent yourself?

Or does your past always define you no matter how far you try to run from it kind of thing.

And maybe sometimes not even defined, but does does it always catch up to you?

Like can you ever truly outrun your past?

And I think usually when that's the theme of a film.

I think the answer is no.

It's like it's gonna.

Find you one way or another.

It's one bad left or another after all, But how do you handle it when it does?

And I love that he has like these little relationships with people, like his relationship with Benicio del Toro.

His performance is so funny and not even trying to be funny, but you know it's he's so good.

Well, I mean, since we're talking about it, and you did say that you thought that Shampenn kind of out acted Leo, it's Leo m or Seanpenn and Benicio are both at for best supporting.

I know, what do you think happens?

Who else is up?

Though?

No one who I thought was better than them?

I don't know one of them I do.

I mean, I think that Sean Penn has more screen time and so that kind of naturally might lend to him getting it.

I also think Benicio like he didn't have to reach as much as Sean Pinn did for.

This role, if that makes sense, Like Sean had to.

Really okay wild person.

It's Benizio for this, It's Jacob Alordi for Frankenstein.

It's Delroy Lindo for Sinners, Sean Penn and Stellen Scarsgard for Sentiment of Value, which.

A LORDI has been cleaning up Stellin so has so has Stellin?

Yeah, I think a LORDI, I don't know.

Yeah, But and see this is where it's hard, because this this, I'm gonna have a very hard time with this and Sinners.

I'm saying it now, and I don't know which one of those movies to pick.

I love both of them so much.

I think I'm leaning a little bit more Sinners, but I also have to think about what the Academy is going to do so makes this one is such a good movie, like like we're not going to do it any justice.

Go take three and a half hours of your time and watch this movie because.

It is worth it.

It's a whole evening.

And I don't like a long movie.

I get very upset.

I was texting you during train Dreams or F one.

F one was two and.

A half hours, and I was like, I want to I'm going to hurt myself if we cannot move this plot along, and Dreams felt like it was two and a half hours and it was only an hour and forty minutes and I was like, I feel like I'm in the Twilights Owe.

I don't know what's happening this one.

I was along for the whole ride.

I was in it.

I was engaged.

The pacing is great.

It keeps you locked in the whole time.

There's no moments of like, oh my god, how many much time is left in this movie?

Like it's just and it's and the plot is I don't want to say it's thin, but it's it's a little like just bare bones.

But it's all of the character work done inside of it that makes it so good.

So and the side plots would be giving away too much of like, ye, what's actually going on.

One thing that's so funny is we were just I just read Last than the Mohicans.

I made everybody watch it, and then I forgot that the Native American at the end, the guy who helps I'm not gonna say it is the guy who plays Uncas in Less than the Mohicans.

So Last of the Mohican fans, you know, Eric Schweg is still out there doing work.

Because you know, when you see someone you've been in love with forever.

I saw his f so I was like I know your face.

I know your face.

And I looked at Ken was like, no way, I said, I know, I know that guy's but I always put it right in his face.

They go, what's essay, what's essay?

Whatever?

I'm right, what's say?

He's like, how did you do that?

I was like, I told you magic, I know his face.

Yeah, but I.

Thought Anderson works well with u DDL.

So I kind of love that, Like six degrees of Less the Mohican's girl.

Right, it's the new Kevin Bacon.

Yeah.

I don't know.

There's something surreal about one battle after another, but it also feels not surreal, like, you know, this could happen now, it is happening now, it could happen anytime in the course of history in this country.

And so.

Yeah, it's like when the uh imbalance between everyday people and the entrench systems of power, like the emotional cost of having to push back against these forces and feeling you know, very permanent, is very overwhelming.

Like what do you do?

You run around like dressed like the dude like Leo did, and you scream a lot with the.

Choka with your big granny glasses on because somebody peppers radio.

Oh, I know that's my sunglasses.

I need that.

The bigger the better and I wear them all day.

Uh.

The cinematography in this again, I think I'm going to have a very hard time and a lot of categories between those two, between Sinners in this one, because I think that they were equally so good.

Yeah, I think editing.

I always think editing is a hard one anyway, but I think this your editing is going to be a tough.

Well, even the new category.

The casting, casting, both of these movies are so like, Oh, I don't know what to do.

I don't know what to do.

I don't know.

I told Ken I made a joke.

I was like, I'm just going to vote for Sinners for everything and I'll probably win.

And he was like, ah, the odds are not in your favor for that.

I go, aren't they aren't they?

You don't know.

He only has his one year.

He can't have two.

He has too Oh, I know he had.

Just the one.

Yeah.

I've started like I just have to get myself like, Okay, I've been losing.

It's just what gets me is like He'll be like, I'm gonna lose.

When I'm winning in the beginning and then he's insufferable at the end, and I'm like, he's insufferable in the beginning with this, like, oh, it's over throwing the pen like I already lost.

I'm like, it's been three categories.

Could you just tone it down?

And this is why I don't play board games with people.

I'm not competitive.

There's not a competitive bone in my body.

I'm like, why is everybody yelling it's monopoly?

I don't understand it.

He's competitive everybody Like when we play the music trivia, people are like jel I'm like, Jesus Christ.

I'm like, okay, okay, don't play games with me.

I know, and I think it's me.

I'm the only person in the world.

I'm just chill man.

Oh yeah, you're socialist.

It comes out in other places.

Well, one b l after another is up for thirteen Oscar nominations.

So it's taken home some and.

I do not know what's what it's going to be, and it is going to be hard.

It's going to be a hard choice in this house.

Is unlike what we were predicting.

It's a really good year for the Oscars.

We were talking about this.

Yes, we are very excited about the picks this year, except for F one.

I think it's a very I didn't know what they were going to do with the top ten.

I didn't know if they were going to pull out a top ten, and so far, so good with the top ten.

I agree with everything that they pretty much picked.

I'm excited to see things I didn't know I was going to watch, like Ethan Hawk's Blue Moon.

I think International is coming really strong this year, with Surrat, with Secret Agent and with I keep wanting to call it simple minds like the song, and it's not that.

It's something with an.

S which one sentimental of mental values value.

Ken was like I want.

Yeah, and I was like, what simple minds, that's what it's just like, No, it's not called that.

I'm like, I could once I think it.

It never goes away.

But we finally got you to one battle after another, so yes, you finally got that one down.

You can get you can do more.

I believe I could do it.

I could do it, all right.

Nope, that's it all right.

Stick here on Bingers for more coverage and we'll see you next time.

Bye bye,