As the 98th Oscars recede into the background, Erin, Claire, and Dan run down the nominated films and look ahead to our 2025 topic. Dan's seen them all, Erin's seen some, Claire saw none and tries to figure out their plots based on vibes, and returning guest Olav Rokne of the Hugo Book Club has controversial hot takes that have Dan asking how many nominees he actually paid attention to. From how four films ended up with nothing to how Sinners became the most nominated film in history, from Brad Pitt racing cars to Leo DiCaprio chasing cars, join us as we slice through the ten so-called best movies of 2025.

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While Erin and Claire are away, Dan is left unsupervised, and thus takes us on a journey through the remaining years of the 2010s, looking at popcorn movies (often if not only big hits) that perhaps deserved a Best Picture nomination... or at least deserved one more than some of the actual nominees. Dan argues that perhaps cinematic thrill rides and well-made spy thrillers* are as worthy of Oscar attention as mediocre biopics in which someone does a really good job of playing Stephen Hawking or Freddy Mercury, or that experimental gimmicks do not necessarily a Best Picture make... leading inevitably to Dan's Unhinged Rant about a certain 2014 nominee. Agree? Disagree? Listen in to find out!

(*Dan's fanatical devotion to Mission: Impossible does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Erin or Claire)

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It's 2013, and it's all about oppressive systems! And Disney. Award season cleared a path for the historical tragi-horror 12 Years a Slave, recounting the true story of a free man forced into a dozen years of brutal servitude, so clear a winner that the Globes had some record-high category fraud to avoid competing with yet, and yet it fell short in many categories? Audiences were split: in North America, audiences came out in droves for Katniss Everdeen's return to the arena in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, while worldwide audiences were lured by the question, do you wanna build a snowman? Book devourer Gina Stewart returns to tell Claire, Erin, and Dan how 12 Years had to soften the trues tales of southern slavery, and join Erin in spiraling into all things Hunger Games, while Claire has a lot of emotions about Frozen. Which film reigns supreme? Who sides where? Find out here!

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Ben Affleck escapes Hollywood purgatory while the Marvel Age begins as we reach 2012! Affleck directs a tense yet also funny thriller on the Iran Hostage Crisis and makes it an awards darling by skipping over the international cooperation and diplomacy parts to focus on six people being saved by The Power of The Movies, just what the Academy loves. Audiences, however, could not resist the pull of Marvel Studios rolling their previous movies into one mega-hit, the Fast Five of superhero movies, The Avengers. Claire, Erin, and Dan dig into both to see if they are, in fact, actually that good. Dig in with us!

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While Claire and Erin are away, Dan digs into the idea of Oscar snubs, why the term still matters, and which big or acclaimed films of 2025 are conspicuously absent from the 2026 Oscars. Wicked: For Good and Avatar: Fire and Ash are follow-ups to past Best Picture nominees; why couldn't they make the shortlist? And which two films does Dan think the internet is right to feel should have been more loved by the Academy? Find out here!

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We reach the second silent movie to win Best Picture, and it only took 83 years. French-made silent era throwback The Artist claims Best Picture, and briefly launches Jean Dujardin in America, through nostalgia, hijinks, and one adorable dog. Erin, Claire, and Dan find themselves charmed, partially from having experienced this era at the beginning of this journey. But audiences were flocking to Brazil, as the Fast and Furious films evolved into their best self with Fast Five, in which Dom and Brian form a supergroup of car-based criminals to pull off a heist while avoiding the pursuit of Dwayne Johnson's Agent Hobbs. Dan and Claire are excited to talk Fast Saga, Erin is experiencing it for the first time: how does it treat her? Does the Artist top the Fast Gang? Find out!

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It's a new decade, and intentionally or not, everything is cute. The King's Speech pulled in as many Oscar-bait elements as it could to take the trophy, but the earnest friendship of King George VI (aka Bertie) and speech therapist Lionel Logue is cute and charming enough that Claire and Erin get swept up anyway, although Dan has some notes on their loosey-goosey approach to history. But the audience came out in droves for one "last" adventure with Woody, Buzz, and the gang in Toy Story 3, a movie where the hosts struggle to find nits to pick, beyond stern warnings NOT to unpack how this world works. Who was best? Or cutest? find out!

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As the year comes to a close, it's time to look back at a year of cinema, and look forward to what our 2025 episode may look like. Erin, Claire, and Dan try to figure out what might be crowned Best Picture. Erin compares her heart favourite to what she thinks might win, Claire tries to remember if she saw a movie not for this podcast (She did! Several! Go Claire!), and Dan shows how fun he is at parties by presenting multiple ranked lists. What's leading the Oscar race so far? What Wicked: For Good hot takes do we have? Why is Dan actively rooting for an Avatar sequel? Find out!

Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com