weekend watchlist: country twang with a Scottish accent
Plus a soothing science-fiction horror and a scathing not-at-all satire that helps explain Boris Johnson. (First published June 11th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.)
Los Angeles
weekend watchlist: a prophetic dystopia (that is also rather comforting)
Plus iconic performances from Jessica Chastain and Bruce Willis. (First published April 15th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.)
The Bad Guys movie review: criminally fun
A snappy, snarky, never-ever sentimental concoction of cartoon chaos meets hip heist flick. Its breezy swagger extends to the delightful animation, organic and mellow, hot and cool at the same time.
Ambulance movie review: dead on arrival
A screaming deluge of metal and rubber devoid of drama, suspense, and elegance. Instead it’s random vehicular chaos enacted with the same energy of a four-year-old smashing his toys into one another.
Delicate State movie review: life goes on as the world falls apart
An ultra-low-budget marvel, a perspective on societal disruption and disorder as everyday precariousness comes for those previously sheltered from it. Barely speculative, maybe terrifyingly prescient.
Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts 2021 (93rd Academy Awards) review
“Hunger Ward,” an unvarnished vérité look at starving Yemeni children and the medics trying to save them, best encapsulates the human experience of pain and resilience that all the nominees embody.
I Blame Society movie review: jeopardizing her likability with no f*cks to give
A vicious, delicious Hollywood sendup, deconstructing — like a wrecking ball deconstructs — indie filmmaking, cinematic violence, and the industry’s treatment of women. Write what you know? Hoo boy.
Songbird movie review: screechingly out of tune
An appalling melange of insipid disaster drama and implausible romance with a bit of dystopian satire thrown in. This is a crass cash-in meant to prey on our pandemic anxieties, not grapple with them.
Faith Based movie review: God is in the details
I love the initial cynicism of this sendup of Christian cinema, and love even more how it goes on to punch up rather than down, and embraces sincerity and friendship with good cheer and gentle zing.
I Am Woman movie review: more a purr than a roar
A winsome Tilda Cobham-Hervey leads a rote rags-to-riches tale, though its rampant sexism is a villain women will recognize. Needs to be seen, even if it’s not quite the tribute Helen Reddy deserves.
