The act of being alive as some grotesque curse. A world post-apathy, post-creativity, post-everything. That uneasy realization that we’re in the darkest timeline 2020. Vulgar, despairing, and incongruously humorous.
Psycho Killer (Gavin Palone, 2026): 1/5
Psycho Killer (Gavin Palone, 2026): 1/5
Hey ChatGPT: generate me a movie where there is a satanist that murders people. Also include a nuclear power plant (????) as a major plot point.
Trite, tired, spicy as ketchup.
Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie (Matt Johnson, 2025): 3.5/5
Growing old is inevitable, and scary, but growing up is realizing you wouldn't change a thing. Because what good is a dream without someone you love to share it with? And how could you accomplish the plan without someone to push you, even if sometimes they push you all the way over the edge? Your life starts at the limit of your comfort zone; play the Rivoli!
The right amount of stupid, endearing, and genuine, and best of all, it made me want to watch the show. You’ve got crazy stunts, time travel shenanigans, loads of clever use of footage and half the time I’m still not even sure what I’m watching in terms of how they did it. Is that old footage? Is it new? Is it stitched together? Whatever it is, it works.
Outcome (Jonah Hill, 2026): 1/5
Apple let Martin Scorsese make Killers of the Flower Moon and now his ass is being forced to show up in every one of their projects.
My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 - Last Air in Moscow (Julia Loktev, 2024): 4.5/5
A stunning work, both monumental and intimate. Armed only with an iPhone, the director, a Soviet-born American citizen visiting Putin’s Russia, documents the lead up to the invasion of Ukraine and the last stand of a band of independent TV/Internet journalists as their dictator cracks down on the last shreds of a free press. These are mostly young women, many of them Gen Z, and the film manages to be not just a stirring tribute to high risk journalism but also female camaraderie which stands in contrast to the regime’s swaggering machismo. I was also struck by the recurring motif of Harry Potter, a saga many of the doc’s journalists grew up on and now find themselves living a similar struggle. More and more, I think defying authoritarianism is one of the central pillars of humanity. This shows what it looks like and the toll it takes on the brave few willing to remain true to what it means to be human. Loktev has immortalized their struggle, and I believe this film will come to be viewed as a monument and an inspiration to countless generations around the world.
Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie (Matt Johnson, 2025): 3.5/5
Growing old is inevitable, and scary, but growing up is realizing you wouldn't change a thing. Because what good is a dream without someone you love to share it with? And how could you accomplish the plan without someone to push you, even if sometimes they push you all the way over the edge? Your life starts at the limit of your comfort zone; play the Rivoli!
The right amount of stupid, endearing, and genuine, and best of all, it made me want to watch the show. You’ve got crazy stunts, time travel shenanigans, loads of clever use of footage and half the time I’m still not even sure what I’m watching in terms of how they did it. Is that old footage? Is it new? Is it stitched together? Whatever it is, it works.
Outcome (Jonah Hill, 2026): 1/5
Apple let Martin Scorsese make Killers of the Flower Moon and now his ass is being forced to show up in every one of their projects.
My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 - Last Air in Moscow (Julia Loktev, 2024): 4.5/5
A stunning work, both monumental and intimate. Armed only with an iPhone, the director, a Soviet-born American citizen visiting Putin’s Russia, documents the lead up to the invasion of Ukraine and the last stand of a band of independent TV/Internet journalists as their dictator cracks down on the last shreds of a free press. These are mostly young women, many of them Gen Z, and the film manages to be not just a stirring tribute to high risk journalism but also female camaraderie which stands in contrast to the regime’s swaggering machismo. I was also struck by the recurring motif of Harry Potter, a saga many of the doc’s journalists grew up on and now find themselves living a similar struggle. More and more, I think defying authoritarianism is one of the central pillars of humanity. This shows what it looks like and the toll it takes on the brave few willing to remain true to what it means to be human. Loktev has immortalized their struggle, and I believe this film will come to be viewed as a monument and an inspiration to countless generations around the world.
BOOK NOOK
Ice (Anna Kavan, 1967)
Such an intense, surreally vivid book. Eco-horror way ahead of its time but also the most staggering metaphor of addiction I have ever read.
Ice (Anna Kavan, 1967)
Such an intense, surreally vivid book. Eco-horror way ahead of its time but also the most staggering metaphor of addiction I have ever read.
Bonus: as I finished this at the bar where I was waiting for a friend, some guy asked what I was reading. I said (oversimplifying) it’s apocalyptic fiction about ice covering the whole earth. He was lit up and asked if I'd read Parable of the Sower. I went oh hell yeah, if you like that, try this. Readers stay winning.
No comments:
Post a Comment