I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast · Bob Zerull

We Love Park Chan Wook and Hate Capitalism

·1 hr 18 min·5 clips

Sean Patrick says Amanda Seyfried’s work in Mean Girls was “a performance and a half.”

1. I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast focuses on Academy Awards nominations, acting styles, and several 2024-2025 films, including Marty Supreme, Sinners, and The Testament of Ann Lee. 2. Sean Patrick and Jeff host the episode, with Sean Patrick identified as a professional film critic and Jeff as the co-host who trades jokes and reactions. 3. The episode asks why the Academy keeps rewarding “the most acting” instead of quieter performances. 4. Sean Patrick says Timothee Chalamet in Marty Supreme is another example of Hollywood honoring visible effort over restraint. 5. He argues that Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another feels “comfortable” and “in his wheelhouse,” while Jesse Plemons should have been nominated instead. 6. Jeff agrees that Plemons stands out because he can move from Civil War to Begonia without repeating himself. 7. The hosts also discuss Michael B. Jordan’s two-character performance in Sinners and treat it as a model of doing two distinct roles in one movie. 8. Sean Patrick says the Academy’s taste often leans toward performances that look hard to do, rather than performances that disappear into the film. 9. He uses Dustin Hoffman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Jack Nicholson, and Sean Penn as examples of different kinds of acting energy. 10. The conversation returns repeatedly to the idea that subtle work, not just sweat equity, can be the better fit for film. 11. Sean Patrick says Jesse Plemons “never misses” and gives examples from Fargo, Civil War, Begonia, and Kinds of Kindness. 12. He describes Timothee Chalamet as someone who often seems to be “playing the same character” since Call Me by Your Name. 13. The hosts joke about Chalamet’s public image and the way he is packaged as a young movie star. 14. The discussion moves to supporting-actress races, where Sean Patrick names Amy Madigan, Wunmi Mosaku, Teyana Taylor, and Kate Hudson. 15. He says Kate Hudson’s nomination for Song Sung Blue fits the Academy’s love of plucky underdog stories. 16. Amanda Seyfried becomes a major topic through The Testament of Ann Lee, Mean Girls, and The Housemaid, with Sean Patrick praising her range and comic timing. 17. The tone is argumentative, joke-heavy, and opinionated, with Jeff usually riffing off Sean Patrick’s long comparisons and punch lines. 18. The format is a conversational review show that jumps from awards analysis to individual performances and then to a specific film critique. 19. Best for listeners who follow Oscar races and acting debates. 20. Skip if you want plot summaries instead of performance arguments.

As heard by us

A brisk, skeptical review that turns a surveillance thriller into a funny, sharply annoyed conversation.

This episode starts in a tense, uneasy register and then settles into a sharp, funny takedown of a surveillance heavy thriller that seems more interested in its security machinery than in its story.

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Why you'd press play

You want a brutal, funny takedown of a surveillance-state movie the hosts call awful.

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