Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week with special guests Phil Bagnall and Darcie-Jade Faccio, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.
This week, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.
A daring raid on the Otay Mesa Detention Centre serves as a declaration of war from the revolutionary group the French ’75 against the federal government of the United States. In the midst of this armed resistance, Patrick “Ghetto Pat” Calhoun strikes up an unlikely relationship with Perfidia Beverly Hills, but doesn’t count on the dogged obsession of Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw. Against the backdrop of this epic struggle, Pat becomes an unlikely father, tasked with guiding his young daughter through a complicated and hostile world.
At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.
Show Notes:
- Recorded 8th February 2026.
- One Battle After Another at The Internet Movie Database.
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- Kim Masters at The Hollywood Reporter considers Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca’s roles at Warner Bros., June 2022.
- Matt Donnelly at Variety reports on rumours swirling about the stability of Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca’s jobs, March 2025.
- Mia Galuppo and Borys Kit write at The Hollywood Reporter on how the success of A Minecraft Movie might turn Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy’s fortunes around, April 2025.
- Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy talk to The Hollywood Reporter about dealing with talent like Ryan Coogler, April 2025.
- Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy talk to The Ankler about making box office history at Warner Bros., November 2025.
- Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy talk to The Wrap about their shifting fortunes over the past year, January 2026.
- Beatrice Verhoeven at The Hollywood Reporter considers Paul Thomas Anderson’s salute to Mike De Luca at the Golden Globes, January 2026.
- Brent Lang at Variety considers Warner Bros. renewing the contracts of Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca, October 2025.
- Anthony D’Alessandro at Deadline writes about the financial success of Warner Bros. over this calendar year, September 2025.
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- Gita Jackson at Vice considers why so much Netflix media has the same dull digital look, August 2022.
- Ari Mattes at Fast Company considers the visual homogeneity of Netflix’s output, July 2021.
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- Ryan Coogler talks to Kodak about aspect ratios, April 2025.
- Jim Hemphill at IndieWire reports on the screening of The Brutalist on VistaVision, December 2024.
- Lol Crawley talks to The Wrap about reviving VistaVision to shoot The Brutalist, December 2024.
- Bill Desomitz at The American Society of Cinematographers looks at the use of VistaVision in shooting One Battle After Another, February 2026.
- Michael Bauman talks to The American Society of Cinematographers about shooting One Battle After Another, February 2026.
- Mandalit del Barco talks at NPR about the return of VistaVision, December 2025.
- Andy Golder at BuzzFeed compiles a list of prominent Scientologists, May 2022.
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- Katherine Thomson at The Huffington Post reports on Tom Cruise arranging a picket of Steven Spielberg’s family’s doctor, March 2008.
- Ciar Byrne at The Independent reports on Tom Cruise firing his sister as his publicist, November 2005.
- Jim Hemphill at IndieWire considers the multiple format release of One Battle After Another, October 2025.
- Jazz Tangcay at Variety reflects on the various formats of One Battle After Another, September 2025.
- Ethan Shanfeld at Variety considers the success of Twisters in 4DX, August 2024.
- Christopher Nolan talks to Film Comment about his “unrestored” version of 2001: A Space Odyssey, May 2018.
- James Hibberd at The Hollywood Reporter offers an account of “unrestored” screenings of Star Wars, July 2025.
- Matthew Frank at The Ankler reports on the Fortnite tie-in to One Battle After Another, August 2025.
- Nicole Sperling and Brooks Barnes at The New York Times consider the challenge in marketting One Battle After Another, September 2025.
- Rebecca Rubin at Variety reports on the addition and expansion of IMAX theatres, October 2025.
- The BFI reports on the state of the British and Irish box office, February 2026.
- Payton Turkeltaub at Variety reports on Gen Z’s embrace of cinema, December 2025.
- Esther Zuckerman at The New York Times reports on the re-release of classic movies to cinemas, August 2025.
- Cerys Davies at The Los Angeles Times reports on the box office success of classic movies, September 2025.
- Peter Bart at Deadline considers Paul Thomas Anderson’s path to Oscar glory for One Battle After Another, October 2025.
- Paul Thomas Anderson interviews Leonardo DiCaprio for Esquire, August 2025.
- The BBC reports on Mark Wahlberg’s daily workout routine, September 2018.
- Matthew Jussim at Men’s Journal writes about Mark Wahlberg’s daily routine, November 2024.
- Zack Sharf writes at IndieWire about Mark Wahlberg’s opinion of Boogie Nights, November 2017.
- Kevin Dolak at The Hollywood Reporter considers the influence of Thomas Pynchon on One Battle After Another, October 2025.
- Eric Sandberg at Adaptation considers One Battle After Another as an adaptation of Vineland, March 2026.
- Robert Eggers talks to The Hollywood Reporter about his reluctance to make contemporary movies, January 2025.
- Amy Kaufman and Daniel Miller at The Los Angeles Times report on Olivia Munn putting her name to accusations against director Brett Ratner, November 2017.
- Olivia Munn talks to Variety about her relationship with Brett Ratner, February 2019.
- Brett Ratner talks to The Hollywood Reporter about directing Melania, January 2026.
- Adrian Horton at The Guardian reports on the fast-tracking of Rush Hour 4 at Paramount to appease Donald Trump, November 2025.
- Maya Rudolph talks to Deadline about her lifelong anxiety over her hair, September 2018.
- Maya Rudolph talks to The New York Times about her father’s difficulties doing her hair after her mother’s death, September 2018.
- Casey Loving at The Wrap considers how Bob’s feelings about Willa’s hair are drawn from Paul Thomas Anderson’s own life, October 2025.
- Jack King at GQ considers Sean Penn’s weird walk in One Battle After Another, October 2025.
- Leonardo DiCaprio talks to USA Today about the influence of Star Wars on One Battle After Another, September 2025.
- John F. Harris at Politico considers the inevitability of leftist in-fighting, June 2022.
- Elena Schneider, Nicholas Wu and Ally Mutnick at Politico consider the circular firing squads within the Democratic Party, April 2025.
- Ellen E. Jones at The Guardian considers the portrayal of women of colour in One Battle After Another, September 2025.
- Angelica Jade Bastién at Vulture considers the importance of women of colour in One Battle After Another, November 2025.
- Teyana Taylor talks to The Hollywood Reporter about her opinion of the use of women of colour in One Battle After Another, November 2025.
- Jesse Hassenger at The Guardian considers the politics of One Battle After Another, September 2025.
- Fran Hoepfner at Vulture ponders when exactly One Battle After Another is set, October 2025.
- Darren Mooney at The Escapist considers the mythology of Blade Runner 2049, October 2020.
- Robert Daniels at Time considers the recurring obsolescence of the white man in the year’s cinema, October 2025.
- Ian Garner at Cracked reports on Paul Thomas Anderson attending Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, August 2023.
- Jesse Hassenger at The A.V. Club considers the association between Paul Thomas Anderson and HAIM, September 2020.
- Molly Labert at Grantland reports on Martin Scorsese’s relationship to One Direction, January 2014.
- Simon Vozick-Levinson at Rolling Stone considers the score and soundtrack of One Battle After Another, September 2025.
- Corey Atad at GQ lists the eight films to watch before One Battle After Another, September 2025.
- The Film Scorer points out the musical reference to The Wizard of Oz in One Battle After Another, October 2025.
- Anthony D’Alessandro at Deadline reports on the release date for Fast & Furious 11, January 2026.
- Audrey Weisburd at Paste Magazine considers the found families in the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, September 2025.
- The skateboarders from One Battle After Another talk to The Los Angeles Times, November 2025.
- Dani Berger at The Pioneer Press considers the casting of James Raterman in One Battle After Another, October 2025.
- David Jacob Kramer at GQ considers “the last glimpses of California’s vanishing hippie utopias”, September 2021.
- Scott Lucas at Politico looks at how anti-immigrant conservatism in California was the bedrock of the political ideology that would become “Trumpism”, April 2017.
- Jane Coaston at Vox considers California Republicanism as “the intellectual engine of Trumpism”, November 2018.
- Dustin Gardiner at Politico considers the origins of “Abundance” on the West Coast, March 2025.
- Daniel W. Drezner at Foreign Affairs considers the end of American exceptionalism, November 2024.
- Jim Downey talks to Vanity Fair about his life and career, October 2025.
- Chauncey Devega at Salon considers the weird sexual subtext of so much modern right-wing politics, August 2015.
- Dana Schwartz at GQ considers the right-wing obsession with cuckoldry, August 2016.
- Hallie Lieberman at The Washington Post explores the intersection of politics and kink, November 2023.
- Sonika Kamble at Fandom Wire considers Leo’s whistle in One Battle After Another, October 2025.
- Michael Bauman talks to Variety about shooting the car chase at the climax of One Battle After Another, January 2026.
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