Mission 250 Filmcast

We’ve watched all of the Academy Awards best picture nominated movies from 2023! This week, we have a special episode where we three give our top 10 lists of these mostly great films, and also attempt to predict the winners of the other Oscar categories (which we now know).

This week, we watch the film that has just released and is currently sitting at the #10 best movie of all time. See it on the biggest screen and loudest speakers you can find. Dune: Part 2 (2024), directed by Denis Villeneuve.

This week, we watch a multi-oscar nominated drama about a deadly fall and the trial that ensues. This film stands out as one of the most starkly realistic dramas we have had the pleasure of watching on our mission, and we’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys an unrelentingly heavy story. Anatomy of a Fall (2023), directed by Justine Triet.

This week, we watch a rare comedy that is also scooping up award nominations. Writer / Director / Producer Cord Jefferson nails directorial debut, which balances heavy themes with laugh out loud moments, while leaving the viewer with lots to think about once the credits roll. American Fiction (2023), directed by Cord Jefferson.

This week, we watch a film that is heaven for film geeks. Images pour off the screen like melting candy for the brain. The score is a soundtrack to a dizzying dream. The humor is at once bizarre and dark, yet accessible and upbeat. The actors utilize an amazing script to make something profound and hilarious. It is life affirming, blazingly satirical, completely absurd, and an absolute instant classic. Poor Things (2023), directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

This week, we watch the newest Japanese Godzilla film that is breaking box office records on top of being nominated for an Oscar for Visual Effects.. See this film on the biggest screen and the loudest speaker system you can. Godzilla Minus One (2023), directed by Takashi Yamazaki.

This week, we watch the newest and likely final Hayao Miyazaki movie. This film was in production for seven years due to a combination of COVID and Miyazaki’s slower working pace due to age. It was well worth the effort in our opinions, as he has possibly created the most beautiful movie in his legendary filmography. The Boy and The Heron (2023), directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

This week, we watch the highest rated Studio Ghibli movie on the top 250. This film broke records as well as opened the Western world to Japanese animation in a large way. This film hasn’t aged a day, with incredible animation and timeless fantasy storytelling. The amount of creativity that pours our of each frame has to be seen to be believed. Spirited Away (2001), directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

This week, we’re diving into a series of bonus episodes, where we go through movies that Denny, John and TC think deserve to be on the top 250. We kick it off with a thiller / character study that possibly contains Jake Gyllenhaal’s best work. Add in commentary about the media industry, sociopathy, race, the police, capitalism, LA nightlight, etc., and you’ve got something that could be considered a niche masterpiece. Nightcrawler (2014), directed by Dan Gilroy.

This week, we watch what many consider to be the best war movie ever made. While the opening Omaha Beach scene might stick out as a highlight, this rest of this film also contains some of the most intense and upsetting portrayals of combat ever committed to film. Saving Private Ryan (1998), directed by Steven Spielberg.

This week, we’re reposting an episode on a film that has come up a lot since we watched it over five years ago, including during our last episode on Past Lives. If a film has stayed in the conversation as long as this one has, it is worth a second look to those who might have missed it.. Tokyo Story (1953), directed by Yasujiro Ozu.

This week, we watch an A24 movie that has been getting very good reviews by Critics, to no ones surprise. This quiet and slow movie depicts a past relationship that never was. You can tell by the episode run time that we didn’t have much to say about it. Past Lives (2023), directed by Celine Song.

This week, we watch a film that tackles the subject of nazis in the US. Edward Norton’s Academy Award nominated performance leaves us with mixed opinions, as well as the undercooked characters of everyone around him. Still, this film has a few very important points to get across (which feel frighteningly more relevant today than at the films release) and is worth watching for those alone. American History X (1998), directed by Tony Kaye.

This week, we watch what many consider one of the scariest movies of all time. Ari Aster’s first film was the highest grossing A24 movie at the time, only overtaken by last years Everything Everywhere All At Once. This film contains some of the best acting ever in a horror movie, and the scares will give you nightmares for years. Hereditary (2018), directed by Ari Aster.

This week, we watch the second film from the director of The Witch. This movie drips style and stinks of old seaweed. Dafoe and Pattinson give career best performances, as do a few seagulls. The Lighthouse (2019), directed by Robert Eggers.

This week, we want the most infamous and possibly influential horror movie of all time. 50 years later and this film still provides shocking imagery and performances that have yet to be equaled. Centering itself as a character drama, the seemingly lengthy two and a half hours creep by in the best way. The Exorcist (1973), directed by Willam Friedkin.

This week, we are watching a classic from over 80 years ago. This may be the most modern feeling pre-1960’s film we have watch so far in our hundreds of episodes. While it might be a staple in film school classes, it doesn’t need any explanation from a stuffy teacher to see how well made and entertaining this classic remains. Casablanca (1942), directed by Michael Curtiz.

Part 2

This week, we watch love in space. This time hopping journey through the great unknown is filled with hard sci-fi science and amazing special effects. It is also filled with expository dialogue and some less than stellar ideas about how love travels through space and time. Interstellar (2014), directed by Christopher Nolan.

This week, we watch love in space. This time hopping journey through the great unknown is filled with hard sci-fi science and amazing special effects. It is also filled with expository dialogue and some less than stellar ideas about how love travels through space and time. Interstellar (2014), directed by Christopher Nolan.

This week, we start October early. This Australian horror film take approximately 2 minutes to hook you into the story with an amazing introduction sequence, and the rest of the movie follows up with plenty of scares and amazing practical effects. Talk to Me (2022), directed by Danny and Michael Philippou.