Rewatched STATE OF GRACE for the first time since high school. A good movie that would be even better if it wasn’t trying so hard to be great. Also it made my living room smell like cigarettes.

Sure, I spent the '80s watching action movies that were mostly military revenge fantasies about the Middle East. But then I went to college and spent the '90s watching movies mostly about Tehran schoolgirls trying to accomplish various simple tasks. The Iranian New Wave would fix a lot of people.

77,302,580 people voted for this and I’m in no mood to forgive them or understand them or any of that kumbaya bullshit. Fuck you forever.

Definitely back from Florida.

More people than ever in Massachusetts say they don’t have enough food to eat, according to the latest Massachusetts Food Access Report from the Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Brigham.

HARD BOILED has the better action scenes but this one’s still my favorite.

Friends! My most recent book GANDOLFINI: JIM, TONY, AND THE LIFE OF A LEGEND is out in paperback on Tuesday 4/14, so every day until then, I'll share a review in the hopes that you'll pick up a copy. (Also available now in hardback, ebook, and audiobook!) bookshop.org/p/books/gand...

Shit My Niece Says: “Bitch, you need to be kinder to me.”

Crooked Marquee’s Classic Corner this week I wrote about THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN, the first of Sean Penn’s great annoying cokehead performances.

The Harvard Crimson did a nice piece on my buddy Quack.

At WBUR this week I reviewed THE DRAMA, the most audacious American movie I’ve seen since EDDINGTON. Don’t worry, I didn’t spoil the big secret.

Critical Wildlife.

Over at the Spliced Personality Substack this week I reviewed Julia Loktev’s extraordinary documentary MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART I - LAST AIR IN MOSCOW, which just started streaming on MUBI.

i have developed a new pet peeve: I think it's weird that cop cars are scary. we have jeeps in Portland (ME) now that are all black with gray lettering, and it's absurd--cops should drive around in cheerful, friendly vehicles. they aren't Batman.

Counterpoint: I fucking hate these things and if you send me one I’m probably not listening to it. If you want to talk to me, let’s have a conversation like humans. This shit is just texting for people too lazy to type.

The woman next to me on the plane is watching SONG SUNG BLUE and judging from the intensity of her reactions she was not expecting any of that stuff to happen.

Between this and her shooting the dog they’re basically living a John Waters movie.

Mmm, Juicy Fruit.

At WBUR this week I reviewed THE DRAMA, the most audacious American movie I’ve seen since EDDINGTON. Don’t worry, I didn’t spoil the big secret.

Over at the Spliced Personality Substack this week I reviewed FANTASY LIFE. Can a movie with a main character who’s a complete zero still be any good? It can if he’s acting opposite Amanda Peet.

The answer he got from Casey Affleck remains one of Mike’s great achievements as an interviewer.

RIP Mary Beth Hurt, who was always great, but especially great when given the lead in Joan Micklin Silver’s CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER.

Shit My Niece Says: “Yeah, I don’t really listen when you talk about your trivia team. I love you but I tune out some subjects.”

Like most guys, I scrolled past this article without clicking on it.

#NoKings Boston Common

Nice interview with Gerry that somehow neglects to mention his Crystal Ballroom Movie Trivia team’s five-month winning streak.

At Crooked Marquee’s Classic Corner this week I wrote about Marlon Brando’s ONE-EYED JACKS. An odd, mercurial Western made by an odd, mercurial genius.

Over at the Spliced Personality Substack this week I reviewed MARC BY SOFIA, a cozy hang with the cool kids.

At WBUR this week I reviewed Christian Petzold’s airy, excellent MIROIRS NO. 3, which opens tomorrow at the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

I thought THE CHRISTOPHERS was just delightful. And bonus points for casting James Corden as an insufferable prat.

Author Gerald Peary joins us Saturday to introduce two beloved films from his childhood, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (12pm) and THE BOY WITH GREEN HAIR (2:15), and sign copies of his new memoir, A Reluctant Film Critic. Learn more & get tickets: brattlefilm.org/film-series/special-events/

every single day the late night shows rack up millions of views on youtube alone we are the smallest of these shows and we have more youtube subscribers than theo von the episode this clip is from currently has about 1/5th the views of our most recent monologue these guys are literally just lying

Barnes & Nobel is having a preorder sale right now, including my next novel A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE. So take some of that money you saved from the Criterion flash sale and buy yourself some Literature™️

At the Spliced Personality Substack this week I reviewed MIKE & NICK & NICK & ALICE, during which I shouted “Oh, fuck you!” at the screen and looked around for something to throw. Good thing I was watching it at home.

this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to put on a tactical vest and go to the newark airport at 6 am on monday. your order is to wander around like a confused oaf. when a mom drops her sandwich at jersey mike's and scares you, pull out your gun and start shooting. good luck soldier

#Podcast: #WatchWithJen - S7: E2 - Delroy Lindo with S.A. Cosby & Sean Burns. Such a rollicking, thoughtful chat! As always, you can find this episode wherever you get your pods. www.patreon.com/posts/153670...

Starting my own tradition of greatness.

This is a truly fine piece of writing.

Over at the Spliced Personality Substack I reviewed BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL. David Kittredge's fantastic behind-the-scenes documentary screens this weekend at the Boston Underground Film Festival alongside EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC.

At WBUR this week I reviewed PROJECT HAIL MARY, in which Ryan Gosling is so charming you can watch him talk to a rock for two hours and 36 minutes.

Over at the Spliced Personality Substack this week I reviewed READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME, which I found pointlessly sadistic and unpleasant.

Post a gif of who you wanted to be as a kid.

So perfect that the first time my newsletter gets pull-quoted it’s in an ad for a movie about penis enlargement. splicedpersonality.substack.com

Missing a third of our team and we won for the fifth month in a row. People are going to start pelting us with rotten fruits and vegetables.

@splicedpersonality.bsky.social Happy St. Patrick's Day

Yeah, BOOGIE NIGHTS came out during my last semester at NYU and seeing the “Sister Christian” scene on the giant screen at the Loews Lincoln Square was one of those moviegoing experiences that sears itself into your memory. Nice to see the Academy finally came around.

Oppenheimer/Anora/One Battle After Another is an unusually strong run of Best Picture winners, three major American films in their own way. We’re due for a historically embarrassing winner next year. Brace yourselves.

Some excellent films and HAMNET won awards tonight.