Home/Episodes/One Mailbag After Another, and the Updated PTA Movie Rankings
One Mailbag After Another, and the Updated PTA Movie Rankings
The Big Picture
September 29, 2025 · 2:21:52 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Hosts: Sean Fennessey, Andy Greenwald, Amanda Dobbins, Adam Nayman
Chapters
Lists in this episode
Sean's updated Paul Thomas Anderson movie rankings
Ranked list · Sean Fennessey · ▶ 28:11
- 10Hard Eight (1996)▶ 28:11
- 9Punch-Drunk Love (2002)▶ 28:23
- 8Licorice Pizza (2021)▶ 28:52
- 7Inherent Vice (2014)▶ 29:00
- 6Boogie Nights (1997)▶ 29:18
- 5Magnolia (1999)▶ 30:17
- 4Phantom Thread (2017)▶ 30:26
- 3One Battle After Another (2025)▶ 30:33
- 2The Master (2012)▶ 31:11
- 1There Will Be Blood (2007)▶ 31:12
Amanda's updated Paul Thomas Anderson movie rankings
Ranked list · Amanda Dobbins · ▶ 32:52
- 10Inherent Vice (2014)▶ 32:52
- 9Hard Eight (1996)▶ 32:52
- 8Licorice Pizza (2021)▶ 32:58
- 7Punch-Drunk Love (2002)▶ 33:00
- 6Boogie Nights (1997)▶ 33:16
- 5Magnolia (1999)▶ 33:17
- 4There Will Be Blood (2007)▶ 33:27
- 3The Master (2012)▶ 33:32
- 2One Battle After Another (2025)▶ 33:31
- 1Phantom Thread (2017)▶ 33:36
Movies that felt like huge movie-going events
Unranked list · Sean Fennessey · ▶ 36:01
- ·Pulp Fiction (1994)▶ 36:01
- ·Forrest Gump (1994)▶ 36:02
- ·The Lion King (1994)▶ 36:04
- ·Titanic (1997)▶ 36:49
- ·The Matrix (1999)▶ 37:52
- ·The Lord of the Rings trilogy▶ 38:07
- ·The Dark Knight (2008)▶ 38:23
- ·Avatar (2009)▶ 38:41
- ·Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)▶ 39:25
- ·Get Out (2017)▶ 40:08
- ·Avengers: Endgame (2019)▶ 40:34
- ·Barbenheimer▶ 40:54
The funniest gags and lines in One Battle After Another
Unranked list · Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins · ▶ 14:58
- ·'Life, man. Life!' in Sergio's back room · Sean Fennessey▶ 14:58
- ·The Benicio del Toro sensei sequence · Amanda Dobbins▶ 15:17
- ·Benicio's dance at the end · Amanda Dobbins▶ 15:37
- ·Leo falling off the roof and the skateboarder · Amanda Dobbins▶ 15:50
- ·Leo screaming at Comrade Josh · Sean Fennessey▶ 15:58
- ·The Christmas Adventurers and 'I love their nuggets' · Sean Fennessey▶ 16:16
- ·'Haters and Punk Trash' · Sean Fennessey▶ 16:26
- ·'Let's do a selfie' in Sergio's car · Sean Fennessey▶ 16:32
- ·James Downey's delivery of 'Semen Demon' · Sean Fennessey▶ 16:38
- ·'Tom fucking Cruz' · Sean Fennessey▶ 16:46
- ·Sean Penn's cone licking · Sean Fennessey▶ 16:51
Paul's picks — the One Battle After Another syllabus
Published list · Sean Fennessey · ▶ 58:47
Read on air from Sean Fennessey’s published list.
- ·Star Wars▶ 58:47
- ·Dog Day Afternoon (1975)▶ 58:50
- ·The Lion in Winter (1968)▶ 58:59
- ·The Searchers (1956)▶ 59:19
- ·Running on Empty (1988)▶ 59:19
- ·The Battle of Algiers (1966)▶ 59:20
- ·The French Connection (1971)▶ 59:23
- ·Midnight Run (1988)▶ 59:24
Sean's One Battle After Another double features
Ranked list · Sean Fennessey · ▶ 1:00:52
- ·The Three Day Pass▶ 1:00:52
- ·Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)▶ 1:01:00
- ·Up in Smoke▶ 1:01:11
- ·The Big Lebowski (1998)▶ 1:01:13
- 8The Weather Underground▶ 1:01:20
- 8The Company You Keep▶ 1:01:40
- 7Uptight▶ 1:01:53
- 7Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)▶ 1:01:56
- ·Zabriskie Point (1970)▶ 1:02:10
- ·Medium Cool (1969)▶ 1:02:10
- ·Vanishing Point (1971)▶ 1:02:14
- ·Duel▶ 1:02:17
- ·The Parallax View (1974)▶ 1:02:27
- ·Support the Girls (2018)▶ 1:02:31
- ·A Thousand and One▶ 1:02:55
- ·The Silence of the Lambs (1991)▶ 1:03:03
- ·Something Wild (1986)▶ 1:03:10
- ·Nashville (1975)▶ 1:03:20
- ·Short Cuts (1993)▶ 1:03:19
Movies Referenced (51)
32 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins, Andy Greenwald▶ 0:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗
16 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Adam Nayman, Amanda Dobbins▶ 2:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗
13 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins, Adam Nayman▶ 3:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗
13 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins, Andy Greenwald▶ 45:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗
8 mentions · Amanda Dobbins, Andy Greenwald, Sean Fennessey▶ 30:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗
6 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins, Adam Nayman▶ 3:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗
5 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Andy Greenwald▶ 39:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗
4 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins, Andy Greenwald▶ 28:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗
4 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins▶ 37:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗
4 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Andy Greenwald▶ 36:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Directors Referenced (11)
31 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Adam Nayman, Amanda Dobbins · Known for Punch-Drunk Love, Licorice Pizza, There Will Be Blood▶ 0:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗
5 mentions · Adam Nayman, Sean Fennessey · Known for The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married▶ 1:03:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗
5 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins, Adam Nayman · Known for Schindler's List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Saving Private Ryan▶ 4:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗
4 mentions · Adam Nayman, Sean Fennessey · Known for Gosford Park, Nashville, Short Cuts▶ 1:03:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗
2 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Adam Nayman · Known for Taxi Driver, Killers of the Flower Moon, Mean Streets▶ 4:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗
2 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins · Known for Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, From Dusk Till Dawn▶ 24:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗
1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Dune: Part Two, The Marvels▶ 53:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗
1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Mad Max: Fury Road, The Road Warrior, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga▶ 40:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Actors Referenced (31)
14 mentions · Adam Nayman, Sean Fennessey · Known for Inception, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Departed▶ 24:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗
12 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins, Andy Greenwald▶ 0:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗
4 mentions · Andy Greenwald, Amanda Dobbins, Sean Fennessey▶ 1:57:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗
3 mentions · Andy Greenwald, Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins · Known for Walk the Line, Gladiator, The Master▶ 19:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗
3 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Zodiac, Almost Famous▶ 1:06:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗
2 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Adam Nayman · Known for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, The Fugitive▶ 13:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗
2 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Aquaman, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, A Minecraft Movie▶ 8:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗
2 mentions · Adam Nayman · Known for Dirty Work, Billy Madison▶ 1:48:58IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Writers Referenced (7)
2 mentions · Andy Greenwald · Known for Shakespeare in Love, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Hateful Eight▶ 1:58:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗
1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Guardians of the Galaxy, Superman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2▶ 8:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗
1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for The Handmaiden, Oldboy, No Other Choice▶ 47:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗
1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Black Panther, Creed▶ 1:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Cinematographers Referenced (1)
1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Without Remorse, A Hidden Life▶ 59:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗