Weekly Digest
Politics
Tis the season, God help us all. (I know everyone's doing one of these, but I had to get my licks in.)
What to Watch
As Netflix gets ready to take over the world, the service offers three fine new films. Resistance is futile.
What to Watch
Reasons to be thankful, part 68.
What to Watch
One of the year's best comes to Netflix and a scrappy home-made documentary about birding takes YouTube by storm. Plus: Reviews of "Rental Family," "Wicked: For Good" and some bleak humor for a time of ICE.
One Good Film
The Ross brothers's 2020 ode to a Las Vegas dive's last stand is warm, funky and trickier than it seems.
Guilty Pleasures 🤦♂️
In which the author bites into the bittersweet Proustian madeleine of a youthful gig picking T&A movies for a major pay cable service.
What to Watch
What Not to Watch: "Nuremberg." (Well, if you must.)
What to Watch
Glenn Close stars in a film adaptation of Tove Jansson's translucent memoir. Plus: A Florida tragedy documented and Yorgos Lanthimos' latest provocation.
A guide to movies in theaters and on demand, plus pop culture observations, from a film critic with 40 years in the business.
The Bruce movie is a brooder based on a good book about a great album. Plus: "Blue Moon," "The Mastermind" and more.
The Newton-born actor gets a hometown festival this weekend – join me for a Saturday evening chat with his grown kids.
Plus reviews of the new "Frankenstein," Jafar Panahi's latest, Keanu Reeves as an angel, Rose Byrne as a mother of a mother, and a little soapboxing
An era's enchantress takes her farewell. Lah. Di. Dah. 💔
Two new excellent, unknown films on VOD, plus new releases "Kiss of the Spider Woman " and "Roofman" and lots more.
A great actor returns in a less-than-great movie and a popular star goes indie-unrecognizable.
A potpourri of streaming recs, including Powell and Pressburger's "I Know Where I'm Going!," a neat little Riz Ahmed thriller and a documentary compendium of Bob Dylan's Newport appearances. For starters.
Paul Thomas Anderson's new movie is something to see. So you should see it.
Following last week's post, a round-up of sites and newsletters with an eye toward an eventual unofficial news network. Oh, also a movie recommendation.
Plus new reviews of "Steve," "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" and "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" (one hopes).
The news industry is in crisis. We need something new. A modest proposal.