Racing through awards season is Jessie Buckley for her raw portrayal of a longsuffering mother and wife of William Shakespeare in Chloe Zhao’s adaptation of the Maggi O’Farrell novel. Mia and Joe share slightly different takes about this fatiguing story that features a whole lot of wailing and very little Shakespeare. Nonetheless, it has captured audiences for its simplicity and raw portrayal of loss, in a return to form for Zhao, who described having a breakdown after the misfire that was Marvel’s The Eternals. Is her hyper natural approach enough to fuel a long career? What about her did producers Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes jump to get behind? And is there anything to learn from such a dour slog through parental pain?

Joe and Mia reflect on the 98th annual Academy Award nominations, and the surprises and shutouts that always surface.

Mia and Joe unpack Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, a quiet, prestige drama about grief, family, memory, and the emotional inheritance passed down through generations. From comparisons to Birdman and Lost in Translation to a sharp critique of prestige filmmaking that prioritizes aesthetics over narrative clarity, this episode asks a central question: What does a film actually need to do in order to justify its existence? How do families tell their histories through the medium?

Lifelong obsession, painstaking craft and the gothic horror of the romantics – Mary Shelley’s time tested tale is brought, finally and passionately to screen by one of our modern masters of the macabre. It’s gorgeous, it’s engaging, and yet something doesn’t quite work, even after the two years del Toro spent in his thirteen home libraries reading and writing. Mia and Joe get up on the surgical table to slice apart the what and the why of del Toro’s latest – blood, guts and all. What do we want from well trodden remakes? How should we receive passion projects of masters of their craft? And how should we think about a hot Frankenstein?

Introducing: Do You See What I Mean, a conversational film and culture podcast. Each episode blends cultural analysis, lived experience, and humor to explore how we tell stories about love, work, art, and identity—and where those stories fall short or rise to the challenge. We’re talking about movies, performances, relationships, and the social, and psychological dynamics running through them. From classic films and prestige indies, to modern remakes, we aren’t interested in hot takes for shock value. We’re interested in understanding the films of our time: what works, what doesn’t, and why films land the way they do.