curated cinema: nailing a crooked politician, and making it good TV
2008’s Frost/Nixon is on Prime and Apple TV on both sides of the Atlantic.
1970s
curated cinema: what Jeff Bezos threw away in The Washington Post
2017’s The Post is on Prime and Apple TV on both sides of the Atlantic.
curated cinema: the criminal conspiracy is coming from inside the White House
1976’s All the President’s Men is on Prime and Apple TV on both sides of the Atlantic, and on HBO Max in the US till June 1.
The Apprentice movie review: Donald Trump’s origin story as a loser and a user
A portrait of a weak man, humorless and friendless, desperate to be liked, desperate to be seen as someone who matters. Sebastian Stan’s brilliantly disgusting Trump is horrifically riveting.
Lee movie review: the things she saw, and the way she saw them
It barely scratches the surface of the enormous audacity of WWII photographer Lee Miller, but still this is an important movie. It’s also joyous filmmaking, with terrific performances all around.
Late Night with the Devil movie review: haunted by an AI specter
Uniquely fresh yet also deeply lodged in the history of cinematic horror, with a powerful breakout performance from David Dastmalchian. But its triumph is, ironically, marred by the use of “AI” “art.”
Maestro movie review: changing the tune, masterfully (London Film Festival 2023)
Oh, frabjous film! Bradley Cooper’s astonishing high-wire act feels classic and modern at the same time: immersive and impressionistic, breathtakingly bold. A kick in the pants to mainstream cinema.
weekend watchlist: the unbearable wait for massive success
Plus a subtle dystopia and a subtle nervous breakdown. (First published April 22nd, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.)
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché documentary review: a howl out of the past for today
A loving appreciation, but never a blinkered one, of the punk philosopher, a woman ahead of her time and still timely: iconoclastic, creative, ever-searching, a cultural observer who saw deep and far.
The Many Saints of Newark movie review: far from heaven
The performances are terrific, the evocation of the period striking, but it feels redundant, more GoodFellas-lite than The Sopranos, and with several TV seasons’ worth of story crammed in.
