‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Burns Bright Before Flaming Out. Plus: Best Picture Power Rankings and the Oscar Short Lists!

The Big Picture

The Ringer

Tv & Film

4.3 • 5.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2025

⏱️ 82 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sean and Amanda start the show by reacting to the news that the Oscars broadcast will move to YouTube in 2029, and debate whether or not it’s a good move (1:48). Then, they react to the new trailer for Steven Spielberg’s science fiction film, ‘Disclosure Day’ starring Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt (12:46). Next, they dive into one of the year’s most anticipated films with James Cameron’s blockbuster sequel ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’. They celebrate its breathtaking action set pieces, criticize its slow pacing, which they felt dragged the movie down, and explain why it’s a real “you’re mileage may vary” type of movie (15:36). Finally, they cover the Oscars short list (43:45) and take stock of what’s rising and falling, before building their final Best Picture Power Rankings of 2025 (1:00:38). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producers: Jack Sanders and Chris Thomas Shopping. Streaming. Celebrating. It’s on Prime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Sean Fennacy.
0:15.8	And this is the big picture of conversation show about Avatar, Fire, and Ash.
0:20.3	Today on the show, we're headed back to Pandora as we dive into the depths of James Cameron's third avatar film Fire and Ash.
0:27.3	We'll talk about how it stacks up to the previous installments.
0:30.1	High frame rate filmmaking, Amanda, yes.
0:32.8	Good morning.
0:33.2	Okay.
0:34.4	Whether or not a Navi can be hot or sexually desirable.
0:39.2	Yeah.
0:39.7	We'll talk about that.
0:41.1	Cameron's Future with the Franchise, will there be more of these movies? We shall see.
0:44.5	We'll also check in on our Best Picture Power rankings because this is the last time we'll be discussing that in the year 2025.
0:51.9	And this is a movie that may or may not make the cut.
0:54.5	We're also going to talk about the trailer for one of our most anticipated movies of
0:57.4	2026 and the Oscar shortlist, and we've just had some crazy news in the world of the Big Picture
1:04.0	and the Academy Awards right after this.
1:07.9	This episode of The Big Picture is presented by Amazon Prime.
1:11.3	You know how in every great holiday movie, there's that last minute scramble to make it all come together?
1:16.0	From gifts to hosting essentials, Prime's fast shipping is always there for you during the holidays,
1:20.4	especially when it's last minute and just can't wait.
1:23.0	So if you need fast free delivery that saves the day, it's on Prime.
1:26.6	Head to Amazon.com slash Prime to shop now.
	...

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