An explicit collective statement says all think DiCaprio won the movie, followed by assent; no separately identifiable individual ballot statements are supplied. — Bill Simmons
Carl waiting to examine Frank's wallet in the hotel is an implausible delay attributed jokingly to DiCaprio's persuasive presence.
Frank's sudden Atlanta-to-New-Orleans transition and Carl reaching France despite denied travel permission feel choppy and insufficiently explained. — Sean Fennessey
Medical impersonation should require more than television knowledge, and Frank looks implausibly young to have completed both legal and medical training; the authority of uniforms is offered as a partial explanation.
Modern easily checked résumé lies seem less innocently plausible than old cons; a hypothetical false Grantland application illustrates the difference, explicitly contrasted with the actual blogging background. — Chris Ryan
Titanic's enormous freedom and leverage make it DiCaprio's accepted peak, despite a Django preference. — Bill Simmons
The Father of the Bride house retains its peak in Father of the Bride. — Bill Simmons
Con-man movies peak with The Sting rather than Catch Me. — Bill Simmons
Walken is rejected for Apex here; The Deer Hunter, more-cowbell fame and the 1993–94 SNL/True Romance/Pulp Fiction period are alternatives, with Annie Hall also a favorite performance. — Bill Simmons
Walken's Pulp Fiction and True Romance scenes continue the favorite-performance discussion. — Bill Simmons
Joe Garagiola's peak is placed at playing or broadcasting a World Series rather than here. — Chris Ryan
Pan Am receives tentative favorable Apex discussion but no firm resolution. — Bill Simmons
Goldfinger is preferred as the Aston Martin's peak. — Bill Simmons
The Aston Martin reportedly came from a Huntington Station dealership and a private owner because the specific car was difficult to find; its very high value is discussed as a reported estimate. — Bill Simmons
Modern recasting favors Chalamet as Frank and DiCaprio as Carl; Zendaya is joked about as Hanks before the DiCaprio suggestion, and Sterling K. Brown is another Carl option. — Bill Simmons
The first-great-DiCaprio-performance hot take argues that this film depends more fully on him than Titanic or Romeo + Juliet; This Boy's Life is offered as an earlier exception. — Sean Fennessey
Hanks's greatest-actor claim is questioned through weak accents, while his extraordinary movie-star run, popularity and success are defended; Cruise and Denzel are personal alternatives. — Bill Simmons
Accent objections name Elvis, Charlie Wilson's War, The Post, Captain Phillips, The Terminal and Cloud Atlas, with disagreement over Captain Phillips. — Bill Simmons
Carl's composite identity makes the accent unnecessary; the performance is placed low in Hanks's career despite affection for his presence. — Bill Simmons
Hanks's two Oscars and serious films are weighed against Cruise's cultural force and comeback; Forrest Gump's standing draws disagreement. — Sean Fennessey
Hanks's likability and storytelling are distinguished from greatest-actor status; Cruise's potential in Big or Cast Away is debated, while Greyhound illustrates a sturdy role Hanks handles well. — Sean Fennessey
Cruise's consistent charismatic action lane is contrasted with Hanks's risky character work; hypothetical swaps include Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Big, Mission: Impossible, Days of Thunder, Edge of Tomorrow, Minority Report, Taken, Eyes Wide Shut and A Few Good Men, with disagreement over equivalence.
Hanks is defended as the more accomplished actor while Cruise's longevity and Denzel's comparable stature complicate the comparison. — Bill Simmons
Hanks's post-Catch Me filmography is enumerated: The Ladykillers, The Terminal, The Polar Express, The Da Vinci Code, Charlie Wilson's War, Angels & Demons, Larry Crowne, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Cloud Atlas, Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, Bridge of Spies, A Hologram for the King, Sully, Inferno, The Circle, The Post, Greyhound, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, News of the World, Finch and Elvis. Cloud Atlas and the later dad-film run draw qualified defense. — Sean Fennessey
A Man Called Otto is acknowledged as a hit and praised by a family member, while another speaker calls it only okay and a close Scandinavian remake. — Sean Fennessey
Cruise's commercially bigger career is distinguished from Hanks's better career; comparing their 1988–2001 peaks prompts suggested Oscars for Hanks in Cast Away and Cruise in Jerry Maguire and Magnolia.
Denzel's paycheck films, including The Equalizer, Déjà Vu and The Taking of Pelham 123, are considered more entertaining; Hanks's self-imposed Jimmy Stewart image may constrain his roles.
Cruise losing for Magnolia to Caine in The Cider House Rules and for Jerry Maguire to Rush in Shine is challenged; Jude Law's Ripley performance is admired but placed below Cruise's Magnolia work. — Bill Simmons
Hanks's consecutive Philadelphia and Forrest Gump Oscars strengthen his case; Denzel's Glory and Training Day wins are recalled with Malcolm X considered another deserved award. — Sean Fennessey
Cruise's 2005-onward filmography is enumerated: War of the Worlds, Mission: Impossible III, Lions for Lambs, Tropic Thunder, Valkyrie, Knight and Day, Ghost Protocol, Rock of Ages, Jack Reacher, Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrow, Rogue Nation, Never Go Back, The Mummy, American Made, Fallout and Maverick; several weak films temper the franchise-success defense. — Bill Simmons
Hanks's willingness to experiment is defended against Cruise's safe action lane, while Cruise's ongoing audience appeal and perceived rescue of theatrical movies are counterarguments; longevity versus peak quality is compared with basketball greatness. — Bill Simmons
Cruise's 1990s-to-Minority Report run is compared with Hanks's peak, with The Others explicitly corrected as only an executive-producing credit; Toy Story is considered a decisive Hanks asset. — Chris Ryan
Cruise's film library is the preferred desert-island entertainment choice for one speaker, while De Niro is called the best actor of that speaker's lifetime; Daniel Day-Lewis's great performances are distinguished from rewatchability. — Bill Simmons
Weak later films and Hanks's lack of a Michael Mann collaboration enter the debate; both stars may be trapped by personas, but Cruise's stunts are considered more entertaining than Hanks's accents. — Bill Simmons
Ford's capacity for morally compromised sexuality is contrasted with Cruise's usual innocence; Hanks is urged to try a direct villain role without hiding behind makeup and accents. — Bill Simmons
The industry's shift away from movie stars is offered as context for older stars' weaker later work; DiCaprio's future is compared with Nicholson's transition, including disagreement over Wolf and Hoffa. — Sean Fennessey
Walken and the father-son casting are aged-best choices; the mother's new home is identified as the Father of the Bride house. — Sean Fennessey
A joke imagines collectively buying houses connected to the show, including Boogie Nights and a Danny Trejo property, as a podcast real-estate cluster. — Bill Simmons
Discreetly sexual mothers in period movies are an enjoyed trope, with Forrest Gump and The Ice Storm as examples; The Ice Storm receives explicit affection. — Bill Simmons
Frank recognizing airport surveillance before being caught is an aged-best pleasure. — Bill Simmons
To Tell the Truth is enjoyed as period television and identified as one of the story elements that really occurred. — Bill Simmons
The two-mice speech is considered memorably odd and possibly bad rather than straightforwardly praised. — Bill Simmons
The glamour of 1960s pilots and flight attendants is an aged-best choice, compared with Almost Famous and the Pan Am television series. — Bill Simmons
Enjoying a con man while hoping he escapes, and the Sheen–DiCaprio pairing before The Departed, are aged-best choices. — Bill Simmons
DiCaprio's 2002 moment just before his sustained adult-star run is an aged-best choice. — Bill Simmons
The cast's four future major actresses are praised; Adams nearly steals the film according to one speaker, anticipating disagreement. — Sean Fennessey
Con-man process details, including model-plane decals, routing numbers and check manipulation, are aged-best pleasures. — Chris Ryan
The animated credits are praised and explicitly corrected as Saul Bass-inspired rather than created by Bass.
The podcast reports a 52 million budget,352 million labeled international,164 million domestic and eleventh place for the year; scopes remain the transcript's unverified wording. — Bill Simmons
Ebert gives three stars, with no scale stated, praising effortless watchability and DiCaprio's breezy charm rather than calling it major Spielberg. — Bill Simmons
