The Next Best Picture Podcast

"Our Hero, Balthazar" is an American dark comedy-drama film directed and produced by Oscar Boyson in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Boyson and Ricky Camilleri. It stars Jaeden Martell, Asa Butterfield, Chris Bauer, Jennifer Ehle, Anna Baryshnikov, Noah Centineo, Becky Ann Baker, Avan Jogia, and Pippa Knowles. It tells the story of a wealthy teenager who tries to gain his crush's attention by posting videos pleading for stricter gun laws. As an online troll begins mocking his videos, he becomes convinced the troll is a mass shooter, and travels to Texas to confront him. It had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival, where it received positive reviews for its performances, direction, and writing. Martell, Butterfield, Boyson, and Camilleri were all kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their work and experiences on the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in NY, opening in Los Angeles on April 3rd, and expanding nationwide throughout the month from Picturehouse. Thank you, and enjoy!

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"Kontinental '25" is a Romanian absurdist black comedy-drama film written and directed by Radu Jude. It stars Eszter Tompa as a bailiff in Cluj-Napoca who faces a moral crisis when a homeless man she has evicted kills himself. Its title is inspired by the Roberto Rossellini film Europe '51. An international co-production between Romania, Brazil, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg, the film premiered at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay. Jude was kind enough to return to the podcast and spend some time talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from 1-2 Special. Thank you, and enjoy!

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Please subscribe on...

Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2

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For Episode 485, I am joined by Josh Parham, Aaron Danielle, and Giovanni Lago as we look back on the first three months of 2026 to name our favorite, least favorite, most surprising, and disappointing film releases of the year so far. Tying into this week's poll question, we're asking everyone: "Which Has Been Your Favorite Film Of Q1 2026?" We also reveal the winner of last week's poll asking "Which 2026 Awards Season Contenders Are You Most Looking Forward To?," share our reactions to the trailers for "Moana," "Forgotten Island," "The Furious," "Rosebush Pruning," "Stop! That! Train!," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for listening, subscribing, and supporting us. We hope you enjoy!

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Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2

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YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw

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For this week's main podcast review, Katie Johnson, Josh Parham, Aaron Isenstein, Dan Bayer, and Tom O'Brien join me to discuss "They Will Kill You," starring Zazie Beetz, Myha'la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham & Patricia Arquette. Written and directed by Kirill Sokolov (co-written with Alex Litvak), the action-horror-comedy combines many genres into B-movie shlock to provide bloodthirsty audiences with as much entertainment as possible from its simple premise: a woman desperately searching for her sister encounters a satanic cult in a foreboding New York City high-rise. What did we think of it, though? Please tune in as we discuss the action, Zazie Beetz's performance, the wacky directions the story takes, whether the "eat the rich" trope is getting played out, whether we think there will be a sequel, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

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"Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice" is an American science fiction action comedy film written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski and produced by Andrew Lazar and starring Vince Vaughn, James Marsden, Eiza González, Keith David, and Jimmy Tatro. It premiered at the 2026 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival, where it received positive reviews for its blending of different genres and dual performance from Vaughn. Grabinski was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu. Thank you, and enjoy!

Check out more on NextBestPicture.com

Please subscribe on...

Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw

And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free
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