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Top Gun: Maverick
Shooter
Heat
Heat
Heat
The Departed
City Slickers
City Slickers
The Blues Brothers
Before Sunrise
Saving Private Ryan
Editorial Director, The Ringer
Chris Ryan
Chris Ryan is listed by The Ringer as editorial director.
Also referred to as Chris, CR, Christopher Ryan, Sierra
Stats
- Episodes credited in this archive
- 286
- Movies in this archive
- 271
- Attributed podcast choices
- 46
Recently watched on Letterboxd
Across the table
Appearing on these Rewatchables episodes
The Godfather Part II
1974 film
Bill Simmons · Sean Fennessey · Chris Ryan · Brian Koppelman
Aired December 17, 2019
The Wolf of Wall Street
2013 film
Sean Fennessey · Chris Ryan · Ryen Russillo
Aired December 3, 2019
Beverly Hills Cop
1984 film
Bill Simmons · Wesley Morris · Sean Fennessey · Chris Ryan
Aired September 17, 2019
Displaying episodes 229 - 240 of 286 in total
Mentioned in discussions
The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot
The sailing scene, Darkstar flyby and aircraft launch
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:28Read transcript
- Chris offers the final-mission aircraft launch and receding carrier — Bill Simmons
- He also offers the twin vortices during the demonstration run — Bill Simmons
- The Darkstar flyby lifting the roof behind Ed Harris is a shared favorite — Bill Simmons
- Bill chooses the sailing scene with Connelly — Bill Simmons
- The hosts admire the physical realism of the sailing — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:43Read transcript
- The Darkstar opening and diner arrival are nominated — Bill Simmons
- The Hard Deck introduction through Rooster playing piano is praised for economical character work and emotional flashbacks — Bill Simmons
- Maverick defeating the trainees is nominated — Bill Simmons
- The Iceman visit is praised for restraint, typing, frustration, vulnerability and the closing joke — Bill Simmons
- The hosts question how deep the old rivals’ friendship became — Bill Simmons
- Dogfight football prompts detailed doubts about two balls, scoring, defensive pressure and strategy — Bill Simmons
- Maverick demonstrating the impossible training route is nominated — Bill Simmons
- The full final mission through the carrier reunion is a major choice — Bill Simmons
- Penny with the Porsche and the final flight provide an especially satisfying coda — Bill Simmons
- Bill favors the Kilmer scene leading into football — Bill Simmons
- Chris praises the extended finale and the lack of music during part of the mission — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:48Read transcript
- Candidates: Seth Green, Tom Arnold, Mimi Rogers and Will Ferrell as Mustafa, with Bigglesworth and Frau Farbissina added. — Bill Simmons
- One vote goes to Seth Green, who is really funny in only five or six scenes. — Bill Simmons
- Another voice goes with Will Ferrell, and a third sides with 'CR' on that pick, making Will Ferrell the majority. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Older-star versions with Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford or Harrison Ford; Keanu Reeves
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:18Read transcript
- The segment opens with a joke that Chris should have a ponytail by the 500th episode.
- William Goldman did script-doctor work; an older Swagger was envisioned, with Clint, Robert Redford or Harrison Ford, all of whom passed.
- An older sniper is not believable because eyesight worsens by the mid-40s.
- Keanu reportedly passed, joked as having filed away the dog-revenge idea for later.
In the discussion (19)
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:40Read transcript
- The opening, with him on a ledge saying that for a guy with a four-digit IQ he must have missed something, is nominated as a hook that works even though telling viewers where the story ends often fails; it is called good but not the most rewatchable scene.
- Vern is loved as a great drug dealer who seduces Eddie and then immediately becomes unavailable. — Chris Ryan
- Vernon Gant is identified as Johnny Whitworth, the star of Empire Records.
- The dealer explains the drug to Eddie in a grimy, perfect way; Eddie takes it, has sex with the woman down the hall, cleans his room for three days and says he was blind but now he sees.
- Asked how close someone would have to be to get them to take NZT, the answer is that it would be taken after side-effect questions if a trusted colleague offered it; one late-night Camel Light while writing once felt like a small NZT kick.
- A runner-up choice is the tablet-a-day title line and the montage in which he finishes a book in four days, learns piano, plays blackjack, has sex with models, diagnoses tumors, learns languages and kung fu, holds court with business elites, cliff dives and trades stocks, all in about 10 minutes.
- The cliff dive did not look CGI'd, and it is a jackknifed, non-professional dive slamming into the water.
- The holding-court scenes are loved, though things-are-going-well sequences are always hard to pull off; a joke imagines Chris holding court about the 2022 World Cup with seven experts.
- The short subway fight, with five people wanting to fight him at once, shows Cooper could have had his own Jason Bourne version, but he never made a straight-up action movie and got artsy.
- The Bourne Legacy may have misfired choosing Renner over Cooper; the Limitless TV show likewise had the same material without Cooper and did not work.
- Abbie Cornish's park chase, where she takes a pill to think her way out of a knife attack, is nominated; the film keeps surprising, as when she slices the bad guy's face with a little girl's ice skate or Eddie drinks the bad guy's blood.
- Asked whether he lived in New York, he says Brooklyn rather than Manhattan and jokes that cabs drive through Central Park every day like in Die Hard with a Vengeance. — Chris Ryan
- Eddie fighting Russian gangsters and drinking NZT blood is nominated; his vocabulary grows through the film, and the suddenly blinded villain who is still a threat is a favorite trope, as in Halloween and Big Trouble in Little China.
- The sterile New York arms-dealer apartment is a real fantasy spot.
- One pick is the Cooper-versus-De Niro ending, with 'I see everything, Carl,' the predicted car accident and his diagnosis of Van Loon's heart; it is also De Niro's best scene.
- Most action movies end badly, as Taken does with its coda; a 'Bill Simmons cut' ending movies when the villain dies is floated, and this film pulls off not needing another scene, with the lunch ordering scene as dessert.
- Another favorite is the come-up after he gets the stash, especially the editor leaving three increasingly excited voicemails about his first pages, which is what a professional writer is after.
- A joke recalls Chris leaving Shea three messages about his eighth-grade football team diary.
- The pick is the montage where he cures Helen's cancer, learns to play piano and starts day trading. — Chris Ryan
Picking Nits
Los Angeles geography, crew dinners, Chris’s line and Eady’s attraction
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:26Read transcript
- Does Mann cheat Los Angeles driving geography?
- Mann admits using Terminal Island refineries for a journey that would not pass them
- Why would disciplined thieves dine in public with their families after a heist?
- Mann says they socialize and Neil does not yet know he is under surveillance
- Is Chris asking the basketball players about rent or bread?
- Mann confirms rent; ASR makes the brief response imperfect
- The police’s handling of Chris at Charlene’s home is questioned
- Why would Eady remain interested after Neil is rude?
- Mann frames her initial approach as loneliness and curiosity, not immediate attraction
Casting What-Ifs
Mann corrects online casting stories
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:48Read transcript
- Mann denies that Keanu Reeves was originally signed to play Chris; it was Val Kilmer — Bill Simmons
- Michael Madsen was considered, but Mann denies that he was cast and replaced by Sizemore — Bill Simmons
- Mann does not recall Ted Levine declining Waingro to avoid typecasting and doubts the story — Bill Simmons
- Mann says James Caan was not seriously planned for Heat despite their friendship — Bill Simmons
- Mann names Kate Winslet as a serious alternative to Natalie Portman for Lauren — Bill Simmons
Most Rewatchable Scene
The heists, diner encounters, crew debate and final handclasp
In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:20Read transcript
- The first armored-car robbery and Big Boy diner confrontation establish a ruthless crew — Michael Mann
- Mann says Kevin Gage encouraged actual head contact in the diner scene — Michael Mann
- Eady’s expression and Neil moving a seat closer make their first encounter compelling — Michael Mann
- Tom Sizemore’s commitment in the heist debate is a standout — Michael Mann
- Mann explains that the transmission-station location would interfere with surveillance bugs — Michael Mann
- The Pacino/De Niro diner meeting is the central acting showcase — Michael Mann
- Mann filmed both leads together using three cameras; he rejects the body-double rumor — Michael Mann
- Neutral restaurant colors and tight reverse angles foreground the faces — Michael Mann
- Mann avoided emotional rehearsal to preserve discovery during filming — Michael Mann
- Chris Ryan singles out Hanna’s vulnerability disarming Neil — Michael Mann
- The bank shootout preserves clear spatial geography — Michael Mann
- Mann describes precise range mockups and actor training with SAS advisers — Michael Mann
- The final handclasp was settled before the rest of the narrative was reverse-engineered — Michael Mann
- Moby’s closing cue was selected during editing; Goldenthal and Lisa Gerrard are also discussed — Michael Mann
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:51Read transcript
- New this time; nominees include Boggs a.k.a. Delahunt (Mark Ralston), Kevin Corrigan (a Chris Ryan all-time favorite), Ray Winstone, Fitsy (David O'Hara) and James Badge Deo. — Bill Simmons
- Ray Winstone is ruled out as essentially a fifth lead and not Irish; one participant would rather save Kevin Corrigan for Dion.
- A deep-cut nominee: J.C. McKenzie as Damon's realtor.
- The winner is Boggs, an incredible that guy.
Casting What-Ifs
Brad Pitt as Sullivan; Al Pacino as Costello; Ray Liotta or Denis Leary as Dignam; Mel Gibson as Ellerby; Robert De Niro as Queenan
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:42Read transcript
- The casting what-ifs are called probably the best for any movie they have done, a whole alternate Departed. — Bill Simmons
- Pitt bought the producing rights, planned to play the Damon part, then decided he might be too old and went to do Babel. — Bill Simmons
- Debate over Pitt: good instincts about roles and a great producer, but miscast himself in Meet Joe Black and The Devil's Own; Damon was the better choice.
- Scorsese wanted Al Pacino for Costello; Pacino turned it down and Nicholson was the second choice. — Bill Simmons
- Ray Leota was the original choice for Dignam but declined over other commitments, his 2006 films including Comeback Season, Local Color and Even Money. — Bill Simmons
- Dennis Leary was the second choice for Dignam but had to make season three of "rest of me" (as transcribed); he would have been great, though Walberg is perfect. — Bill Simmons
- Ellerby was offered to Mel Gibson, who was starting Apocalypto; Queenan was supposed to be De Niro, who made The Good Shepherd; the Anthony Anderson role was meant for "the Rizza" (transcript form, unresolved), who was too old or had conflicts. — Bill Simmons
- Leo was in The Good Shepherd but dropped out to play Billy Costigan, and Damon then took The Good Shepherd role; The Good Shepherd is called an unexamined movie with a dynamite cast.
- The alternate cast (Leo, Pitt, Pacino, Leota, De Niro, Mel Gibson and the Riza) is called pretty loaded and preferred by one participant; Pacino would lose Costello's lumbering physicality but gain CR doing Pacino.
- Would-you-rathers: Walberg over Ray Leota, Baldwin over Mel Gibson 100 out of 100 times, and De Niro over Sheen since he can underplay.
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Distance from civilization; the ranch owner's finances; Norman's fate in New York; the calf at the airport; would CR run with the bulls; Palance's cigarette; retiring out West
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:43Read transcript
- How far are they from civilization? Parts of Wyoming, Colorado and Montana are that remote. — Bill Simmons
- If the ranch owner lost the cattle, would his life be over? Patricia Wedig's character would sue him, and refunding everyone is a terrible business. — Bill Simmons
- What happened to Norman in New York City? He probably goes to a petting zoo. — Chris Ryan
- The family leaves the airport with a calf in the van with no questions about how it got on the flight; Mitch's big tip shows he isn't cheap, and airports allowed hanging out then. — Chris Ryan
- Asked whether CR is man enough to run with the bulls, the answer is yes. — Sean Fennessey
- The response to running with the bulls is that avoiding unforced errors and not dying come first, with a Grantland 10th-anniversary piece joke.
- How did Palance keep the cigarette dangling but not burning? It might have been a stunt cigarette.
- Would you retire to this part of the country? No; cities, restaurants and sporting events matter, though Nuggets games are close. — Sean Fennessey
What’s Aged the Best?
Midlife-crisis angle; Curly's shocking death; young Jake Gyllenhaal; Palance's one-armed pushups; the title spoken in dialogue; Crystal's one-liners; the classroom life-stages monologue; normal people in a Western setting; the supporting cast
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:39:20Read transcript
- The midlife-crisis angle actually works, and Curly's death is still shocking on repeat viewings and well handled.
- Young Jake Gyllenhaal has aged great and looks pretty similar now. — Bill Simmons
- Palance's one-armed pushups became one of the five most famous Oscars moments, recreated the next year when he dragged out a giant Oscar statuette. — Bill Simmons
- Saying the title in the dialogue ('you city slickers') is appreciated, along with fortune-cookie one-liners such as 'at this age, you are who you are.'
- The idea that at a certain age you are who you are is rejected in two replies; 39 is not a peak, and CR is joked to be running an NBA team in ten years.
- Crystal was 43 during the making, looks 51, and plays a character turning 39; men in older movies like Mikey and Nicky looked far older than their ages. — Bill Simmons
- Crystal's terrible one-liners are enjoyed, such as women needing a reason to have sex and men a place; he is said to have written them, sneaking in Tonight Show material.
- Mitch's classroom monologue on life by decade is played and called really good script writing.
- Normal people in a Western setting, a fish-out-of-water tale, works well, and the surrounding cast is well cast and fun to be around.
- One potential item is held back as a probably unanswerable question.
Displaying discussions 61 - 72 of 119 in total
Flex picks
Flex pick · Chris Ryan
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:31Read transcript
- An explicitly invited CR flex questions Pete’s recruiting and coaching despite two titles: household-object demonstrations, indignation about expected payments and a simplistic defensive adjustment are criticized. — Bill Simmons
- The rigid offense fails to adapt to Hardaway’s gifts; pick-and-rolls and alley-oops are suggested instead of forcing players into the system. — Van Lathan
- Poor conditioning compounds the lack of tactical sophistication. — Bill Simmons
When I Would Have Died
Hotel explosion or mall collision
Flex pick · Chris Ryan
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:37Read transcript
- The explicitly invited CR flex chooses either the hotel explosion and collapsing room or being hit by an Oldsmobile while shopping in the mall. — Chris Ryan
Flex pick · Chris Ryan
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:40Read transcript
- Julie Delpy wins the explicit Chris Ryan flex for smoking at the cafe, though more actual puffs are desired. — Bill Simmons
- Jesse taking a drag, getting his own cigarette and lighting it from hers is admired as authentic smoker behavior. — Bill Simmons
Jesse in Before Sunrise Award for the Character Who Should Have Smoked but Didn’t
Jesse; probably Céline too
The panel proposes a new category here.
Flex pick · Chris Ryan
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:37Read transcript
- Chris explicitly selects the category as his flex after Bill invites him to restore a cut category. — Chris Ryan
- Chris remembers Jesse as a smoker and argues that Hawke's real-life smoking makes the omission puzzling. — Chris Ryan
- The 1995 European setting and the smoking poet make the absence of cigarettes especially conspicuous.
- The lack of smoking now makes the movie feel unexpectedly modern.
- Julie Delpy is also proposed as someone who would plausibly smoke. — Bill Simmons
The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot
Mother in doorway; men crossing field; heads over hill; men on steps; helmet death; handheld combat; crossing tank; underwater landing
Flex pick · Chris Ryan
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:48Read transcript
- The mother framed in the doorway as the car approaches, followed by her collapse onto the porch, is a selected cinematic image. — Chris Ryan
- The men walking across the field and heads appearing over the hill are offered as other striking compositions. — Chris Ryan
- The wide shot of the men on the steps listening to the record player, apart from Hanks and Damon, is praised as poster-like. — Chris Ryan
- A soldier surviving a shot that hits his helmet, removing it, and then being shot in the head is singled out as a brutal visual moment. — Sean Fennessey
- The intricate handheld battle shots are praised for coordinating several moving actions within one shot. — Sean Fennessey
- The tank crossing the opening in the final battle visually shows that the planned defense must change without explanatory dialogue. — Sean Fennessey
- The underwater imagery during the landing is praised, including the realization that soldiers can be shot underwater. — Bill Simmons
Displaying flex picks 37 - 41 of 41 in total
From other episodes
Sourced picks from episodes not yet fully included in the archive.
The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie
Han Solo’s speech rejecting a mystical force controlling his destiny
Flex pick · Chris Ryan
Transcript excerpt · Targeted transcript check; recording not verified
Star Wars: A New Hope — Part Two
· May 6, 2025