behind the scenes: I’ve never been so low
tl;dr: Everything at the moment is just so difficult, and requires so much effort, mental and physical. I’m so exhausted. My mood just decays a little more each day.
loaded question: what’s the best-ever pop-culture product placement?
I’m going with FedEx in 2000’s Cast Away, which works on multiple levels.
daily stream: a sister act in the smartest sort of chick flick
2005’s In Her Shoes is on Hulu in the US, Disney+ in the UK.
daily stream: it’s unholy how much I love this movie
2014’s What We Do in the Shadows is on Prime and Apple TV on both sides of the Atlantic.
Renfield movie review: it mostly sucks
Nicholas Hoult is lovely. Hammy Nicolas Cage is amusing. But everyone in this movie is in a different movie; the tonal mismatches are baffling. Was it the first draft of this script that was greenlit?
Rare Objects movie review: broken things, on the mend
It’s overstuffed and often jarring. But it’s also honest and unassuming, never insipid or sentimental, with a rough power, a generous spirit, and performances that are warm, wise, and perceptive.
daily stream: no, the Devil did not make them do it
2012’s Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God is on HBO Max in the US, on Apple TV in the UK.
The Pope’s Exorcist movie review: ham and cheese on why?
More of the same old religious-horror hoohah, plus Russell Crowe hamming it up, complete with terrible Italian accent. Its only twist on the usual exorcist-movie nonsense is genuinely pretty appalling.
daily stream: the most beautiful movie of 2022
2022’s The Quiet Girl is on Prime and Apple TV on both sides of the Atlantic.
loaded question: what are the best standalone episodes in TV shows with big arcs or mythologies?
I have so many examples, but I’ll just mention the X-Files episode “Humbug”…
