From opposite coasts, Devin and Mark reflect on fond memories of seeing movies in theaters (with other people sitting close to us and breathing the same air for multiple hours) and tentatively ponder whether those experiences can continue once the pandemic eventually subsides.
Further reading:
Mark and Devin try to make sense of what the Emmy Awards will look like, and what they mean, during the pandemic. Plus, they highlight some worthy and not so worthy nominees, and Devin shares a particularly exasperated take on a notable contender.
Devin and Mark return from an extended hiatus to provide some personal updates and share what they've been thinking about during the protests for racial justice and as the pandemic times continue.
They also discuss the protracted saga over when (if?) Christopher Nolan's Tenet will premiere in U.S. theaters (14:20), the quarantine production of Malcolm & Marie with John David Washington and Zendaya (27:55), and whether depictions of police and courts in movies and television will change (39:02).
Note: We did not mean to imply that The M&M Report is the last great American dynasty; that was just Devin's favorite song on folklore.
Further reading:
Devin and Mark, still in quarantine after a month, take stock of how the pandemic has temporarily (and perhaps permanently) transformed the entertainment industry and our relationship to it.
Topics include: Film and TV production; SNL and late-night shows recorded remotely; movie theater closures; scrambled release calendars and canceled events; what the future may hold for pop culture devotees like us; and, finally, Drake.
Some further reading:
Devin and Mark, self-quarantining in their respective homes, review and recommend the first season of the USA drama series Briarpatch, created by former Grantland TV critic Andy Greenwald (0:00-32:40) and share some streaming suggestions to fill time while you're at home for the next while (32:40 - end).
Mark's picks:
Devin's picks:
Mark and Devin convene immediately after the end of the telecast of the 92nd Oscars to discuss winners, losers, favorite moments and lingering frustrations. #BongHiveAssemble
Devin and Mark look back on the films of 2019 and preview the 2020 Oscars. Topics include a galaxy brain take on 1917; an incoherent rant about Joker; warm words for Parasite, Marriage Story and The Irishman; and some earnest recommendations for great movies that got zero Oscar nominations.
Mark and Devin welcome back West Coast correspondent Erin Vail for scorching hot takes on Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker and ~feelings~ about Little Women.
Special guest and Dunkirk stan Meg Kearns joins Devin and Mark to look back on the the 2010s at the ~cinema~. Topics include Marvel hegemony, Social Network bops, a hot take on Manchester by the Sea, reflections on #MeToo, feelings about Greta Gerwig and Barry Jenkins, and the Dark Universe for some reason.
Extra Recommendations from Devin: Stories We Tell, Locke, Brooklyn, Arrival, Everybody Wants Some!!, O.J. Made in America, Columbus, Logan Lucky, The Meyerowitz Stories: New and Selected, Widows, The Favourite, The Farewell
Extra recommendations from Meg: Bachelorette, Brooklyn, Cold War, Crimson Peak, The Handmaiden, The Invitation, Loving, Magic Mike XXL, Mad Max: Fury Road, Minding the Gap, The Nice Guys, Mission: Impossible 4-6, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite, Sleeping With Other People
Extra recommendations from Mark: Another Year, Before Midnight, Captain Phillips, Certain Women, Edge of Tomorrow, First Reformed, Fruitvale Station, The Florida Project, The Immigrant, Margaret, Personal Shopper, The Rider, Roma, Selma, Short Term 12, The Tree of Life, The World's End
Devin and Mark dig deep to discuss Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, in select theaters now and on Netflix Dec. 6.
(No spoilers until the 18-minute mark!)
Listen to Sean Fennessey's interview with Noah Baumbach, and read the New Yorker's 2013 profile of the director.
Devin and Mark untangle their recent lack of enthusiasm for TV and explore the current state creatively and commercially of the television landscape.
Devin and Mark look ahead to the fall movies they're excited to see and the fights they're assuming they'll have.
Devin and Mark welcome returning guest Erin Vail to check in on the delightfully upsetting Succession as it begins its second season on HBO.
Mark and Devin examine their evolving relationship with the social media platform Twitter and offer some recommendations for using it in personally fulfilling ways.
Devin and Mark, along with horror correspondent Kevin Werner, debate and discuss Us, Jordan Peele's follow-up to Get Out.
Listen to Sean Fennessey's interview with Peele. Read Reggie Ugwu's profile of Lupita Nyong'o. Ponder Jordan Crucchiola's interpetation of the ending.
Subscribe to Devin and Kevin's politics podcast Friendly Fire.
Mark and Devin briefly discuss Bo Burnham's film Eighth Grade. Then Mark gets an alternate perspective on the movie from a recent graduate of eighth grade.
For the sixth year in a row, Devin and Mark react to the Oscars telecast minutes after it ends.
Devin and Mark discuss some of the major storylines surrounding the upcoming 91st Academy Awards on February 24 and explore why they are so invested in the annual ceremony. In between, they fight about Vice, one of the films that received the most Oscar nominations.
Mark and Devin wrap up 2018 with reviews of some of their favo(u)rite movies of this year: Roma (0:00 - 13:20), Widows (13:20 - 23:20), Can You Ever Forgive Me? (23:20 - 29:00) and The Favourite (29:00 - 37:30). Plus: brief mentions of one movie that Devin saw but Mark didn't (The Front Runner, ) and one movie that Mark watched but Devin didn't (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs).
Devin walks Mark through a therapy session as they unpack the current state of Saturday Night Live.
Topics:
Some sketches we discussed:
Other stuff:
Devin and Mark swap takes on shows they've been watching recently.
The Good Place: 0:00 - 3:00
BoJack Horseman: 3:00 - 8:30
Insecure: 8:30 - 13:30
Forever: 13:30 - 19:45
Succession: 19:45 - 28:15
American Vandal: 28:15 - 33:10
Big Brother: 33-10 - End
Devin and Mark go off the deep end. Watch as they dive in.
Mark and Devin celebrate the five-year anniversary of their podcast (!) by exploring their pop culture origin stories and uncovering a few embarrassing secrets along the way.
The soundtrack for this episode is Katy Perry's "Roar," which was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on the day Mark and Devin released the first episode of The M&M Report.
Mark and Devin look ahead to a busy movie season and preview their most anticipated releases: Widows (2:30-6:00), If Beale Street Could Talk (6:00-9:55), Backseat (9:55-18:05), Roma (18:05-23:15), Mary Queen of Scots (23:15-25:15), First Man (25:15-31:55) and The Land of Steady Habits (31:55).
Mark and Devin accept the impossible mission of marveling at the action in "Mission: Impossible — Fallout" while keeping top of mind the sinister implications of Tom Cruise's stardom.