Part 1 – The Record-Breaking Nomination That Changes Everything
2026 Oscar nominations arrive and you notice the number next to Sinners: 16. You check the previous record: La La Land with 14 nominations ten years ago. Before that, Titanic. Before that, All About Eve 25 years earlier. The film that just broke the record is a vampire movie, and the Academy actually acknowledged it.
The previous record was 14 nominations. Crouse notes that Sinners, a January release that usually gets forgotten by year end, maintained conversation throughout Oscar season and landed 16 nominations across above-the-line and below-the-line categories. Meanwhile, Avatar Fire and Ash got a costume nomination despite being mostly CGI with crew members wearing jeans and t-shirts for the actual physical costumes. Wicked for Good got nothing despite expectations.
Topics: 2026 Oscar nominations, Sinners record nominations, horror film recognition, Academy Awards diversity, international voters
Part 2: Booze and Reviews – Claire Foy Trains a Hawk to Fix What Grief Broke
H is for Hawk stars Claire Foy, who you remember from playing Queen Elizabeth on The Crown. You’re watching her character process the death of her father, played by Brendan Gleeson. Traditional grief support exists but doesn’t work. She discovers falconry instead, training a wild hawk to hunt and return to her. The control over the bird becomes control over the chaos grief created.
The film is based on Helen MacDonald’s bestselling memoir about unconventional healing. Crouse describes it as slower-paced but humanistic: a woman looking for a way to move past profound loss finds it through an ancient practice instead of modern therapy. Brendan Gleeson, who Crouse just saw perform a two-hour stage show in an Irish pub that made his wife cry, plays the father whose death creates the central wound.
Topics: H is for Hawk movie, falconry grief therapy, Claire Foy performance, Brendan Gleeson, bird cocktail recipes
GUEST:Richard Crouse | richardcrouse.ca
Originally aired on2026-01-22
