This week on Peanuts and Popcorn, the 2024 Oscars have come and gone, we will examine Tommy’s uncanny ability to select the winners in nearly every category. We then review our respective selections. Leo's choice, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, and Tom’s, The Zone of Interest.  In Peanuts, as we near Opening Day, we make our predictions as to how the Cubs and Tigers will fare. Mazel Tov to Shohei Otani and his new bride and Yoshi Yamamoto and his black bag are changing the ways the Dodgers train their players. Next Show: Leo's Pick:  Short Cuts (1993) Tom's Pick: Rushmore (1998 ..read more

This week on Peanuts and Popcorn, we start with an extra-long Popcorn. First up, two more reviews of the nominees for Best Picture of 2023: Anatomy of a Fall, and American Fiction. We will also reveal our favorites for the major Oscar categories---as well as predict the winners. In an abbreviated version of peanuts, we’ll talk about another Black Ace, former Twin and Guardian, Mudcat Grant. Cody Bellinger returns to the North Side, we pose the question: are the Cubs at least as good as they were last season? Finally, the Philadelphia Phillies have done away with their $1 hot-dog promotion. We ..read more

This week on Peanuts and Popcorn, we start with the popcorn with our reviews of two more Best Picture nominees, Leo's pick, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, and Tom’s pick, Poor Things with Emma Stone. In Peanuts, we open the bag with great hope and anticipation as Spring Training has begun in Arizona and Florida. Players in both sites are having difficulties with the Nike’s special Spring Training uniforms. An arrest is made in the vandalization of a Jackie Robinson statue, and we will talk about “The Black Aces”, a handful of African-American pitchers who have each won 20 games in the Majors ..read more

This week on Peanuts and Popcorn, we kick off our 8th season with our Popcorn discussion on the 2023 nominees for Best Picture. We’ll start with Tom’s choice, The Holdovers, then move to Leo’s pick, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. In Peanuts, we react to the 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, the Dodgers signing of Shohei Otani and the Cubs firing of David Ross and subsequent hiring of Craig Counsell. Next Show: Leo's Pick:  Maestro (2023) Tom's Pick: Poor Things (2023 ..read more

This week on the final episode of the 2023 season, we open the bag of Popcorn by going back to 1975 for my movie, Rocky, before we break down Tommy’s final pick of the season, Zodiac. Then we will announce the winners our annual Poppy Awards for this year’s best P&P Movies. In Peanuts, the World Series has come and gone, the Texas Rangers won in 5 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks and despite some dramatic storylines, hardly anyone watched. We’ll talk about why. Leo’s 2023 Poppy Award winner: Argentina- 1985 Tom’s 2023 Poppy Award winner: Prince of the City ..read more

This week on Peanuts and Popcorn… we begin with Robert Altman’s, The Long Goodbye (1973) and end with Norman Jewison’s, Other People’s Money (1991). In Peanuts, we react to recent events in playoff baseball as the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks face off in the World Series. Dusty Baker announces his retirement after 28 years as a big-league manager. The playoff format has been a source of controversy, we’ll add our two cents to the discussion. Kim Ng and the Miami Marlins part company while the Cubs are rumored to be interested in acquiring Juan Soto. Next Show: Leo's Pick: Ro ..read more

This week on Peanuts and Popcorn…we open the bag of popcorn with Tommy’s selection from 2010, Tony Scott’s, Unstoppable. Next, we break down Leo’s choice for this week, John Huston’s, Prizzi’s Honor (1985). In Peanuts, the League Championship Series are set, and some unlikely teams have made their way to Baseball’s Final Four. We’ll answer the question, is the current playoff format fair to the higher-seeded teams? Attendance was up in 2023, did the new rule changes have anything to do with it? It’s been 20 years since the Bartman game, what have we learned. Next Show: Leo's Pick: Other P ..read more

This week on Peanuts and Popcorn…We open a steaming bag of hot-buttered popcorn with a double-feature of excellent features, Ang Lee’s, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. We then break down Tommy’s choice, Martin Scorcese’s After Hours. In Peanuts, with a clear(er) picture of the playoff matchups, we make our picks for the first round. Finally, the Cubs just miss out on the playoffs, was the season a failure and what can they do to improve for next season? Next Show: Leo's Pick: Prizzi’s Honor (1985) Tom's Pick: Unstoppable (2010 ..read more

This week on Peanuts and Popcorn… we start with the popcorn as we begin with Leo’s selection, the 1996 Barry Levinson effort, Sleepers. Then we discuss the final film of Tom’s pet project of Best Picture winners that he has not seen on the big screen, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. Then we chew down the peanuts as the Atlanta Braves win their sixth straight NL East title. The Boston Red Sox fire Chaim Bloom and the LA Dodgers move on from Jose Urias. Blake Snell or Justin Steele? Who deserves to win the NL Cy Young Award. Finally, the Chicago Cubs come back to earth, but are still in line for a pla ..read more

This week on Peanuts and Popcorn… we start with a fresh batch of popcorn with Leo’s selection, JJ Abrams’ Super 8. Tom’s choice for this episode is the third of four Best Picture winners that he has not seen on the big screen: Terms of Endearment. In Peanuts, Shohei Otani tore a ligament, but there are questions as to how serious it is. After shots are fired from within, or from outside their home ballpark, the Chicago White Sox fire their President of Baseball Operations AND their General Manager, and their owner is left to explain why he did not even look outside the organization to replace ..read more