Check out my interview with @strohltopia.bsky.social on his most recent book, Hard to Watch: How to Fall in Love with Difficult Movies (link in the comments)!!! We focus on how algorithms harm our tastes and how to resist them, the values of humility and boredom, and much more. youtu.be/GJRFHSoe7pA

This week we are by joined by @strohltopia.bsky.social to talk CHILL FACTOR, a pretty mediocre movie that nevertheless leads us to a conversation about how we engage with art and cinema! Also, ice cream puns! t.co/GyPvDN6P44

Had a great time talking CHILL FACTOR on Die Hard on a Blank.

In honor of Émilie Dequenne's passing, here is Mouret's LOVE AFFAIR(S), a great film that has still not been widely released in the USA or on disc. She is extraordinary in it. drive.google.com/file/d/1jfWj...

By tradition, the Strohl family posts our cinematic year in review on Oscar Sunday. Here it is for 2024, including my top 25 with commentary as well as lists of favorites from my beloved wife, @angelastrohl.bsky.social, my brother Josh, and my sister-in-law Isabel. strohltopia.com/2025/03/02/s...

I’ve got the Potato Cut in hand and I’m going in for round two. I loved the version of Meiyazhagan on Netflix, but it was a bummer to learn how much was cut out for the streaming release.

This is a painting from last month, Still Life of Jewelry Box, Candlestick, Pearls and Perfume 24” x 20,” Oil on Canvas

In which Seymour Cassel comes out of the closet to Judd Nelson and then Nelson says many very homophobic things.

It’s rough around the edges, but I can’t emphasize enough how much I loved Power Paandi, about an old Tamil stunt man searching for another chance at happiness. (It’s on Netflix, which for all its faults has an excellent selection of 21st century south Asian films.)

Great news for the Dwan Patrol: one of his long-unavailable best, The River's Edge, is now on Prime Video (an exemplary work in the fascinating subgenre of the modern Western) (word x2: www.newyorker.com/culture/rich... www.newyorker.com/goings-on-ab...

Watching obscure Gary Daniels DTV movies on an airplane, the guy next to me keeps looking at my tablet. When we land he says “You’ve got some great movies on your little box there, I haven’t seen American Streetfighter in ages!” (It has 265 logs on letterboxd)

The new one from @adrianpmartin.bsky.social is awesome.

Headed to Houston this week, will give an academic talk for the philosophy department on Friday but there will also be a public event on Thursday where I’ll give a 30-min talk along with a PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE screening and then Q&A.

Favorite first viewings for January. Really went for it, best month in a long time for me.

I was on the fence about watching FLOW, but was quickly won over by an African Queen homage with a cat and a capybara.

I love that instead of some fluffy “Taylor Swift and philosophy” thing, Brandon has brought us a deep dive into the metaphysics of re-recording.

One of my goals for this year is to watch more Indian movies than French movies. Angela developing a crush on Dhanush is really helping the cause, though she’s also lobbying to finish the Brisseau filmography (and she won’t have to twist my arm on that one).

Man, that Paul Schrader movie messed me up. I did not know what I was getting into.

Misuse of the Italian “finger purse” hand gesture emoji (🤌) has gone on too long. It absolutely does not mean “that’s delicious” or *chef’s kiss*. It means “what do you want?” or “get to the point” or “what the hell do you mean?” or “what the hell are you saying?”

Great stuff, always enjoy hearing from @emmiemalone.bsky.social

If you like fun, Rifle Club is on Netflix. Malayalam siege thriller set in the Western Ghats. Great style. I was hooting and hollering.

My 2024 new release favorites as of now. I had Close Your Eyes on my list last year or it would be #1.

Favorite first viewings for 2024, loosely ranked. Letterboxd link below.

I was ignoring the Nitrate Picture Show emails, assuming I had months to get a ticket, but heads up: they are selling assigned seats this year for an extra $125 and nearly all the good seats are already taken. If you want a decent seat, it’s fairly urgent.

Gloomy Sunday, house to myself, time to pop the cork on one of the movies I’ve been saving the longest.

The premise “Legally Blonde except it’s Emma Roberts as a cultural Floridian who leaves the salt life behind to join a NASA training program under false pretenses” should be a slam dunk, but it was severely fumbled. Deeply disappointing. I badly want to see a better version of this movie.

It’s a big day for the nerds in your life (I am going to devour this).

This piece on HERE from Keith Uhlich is really good. keithuhlich.substack.com/p/here

This means a lot coming from Nick, a philosopher whose work has been very inspiring to me.

Kendrick Lamar comes out as a Zemeckis fan.

Rupert Sanders is underrated and THE CROW should not have been sunk by people expecting a straight remake of 1994. Its tender heart meets the current moment battleroyalewithcheese.com/2024/08/the-...

Was surprised to discover that the new Netflix movie HOT FROSTY is by the director of PSYCHO GIRLS.

After my talk last night at Chapman asked the students who attended if any of them want to go see the new Clint with me today and every single one of them wanted to come. It’s a whole crew. The kids are alright!

Spotted on campus at Chapman University: the coolest James Benning water bottle in the world.

Saw the new Zemeckis the way it’s meant to be seen: at a mostly deserted multiplex at 3:30 PM on a weekday with three little old ladies in a cavernous auditorium. Not a dry eye in the place.

Nu Image deep cut in which a cop asks a class of 6th graders if any of them have read Jean-Paul Sartre. One girl raises her hand and the cop starts quoting BEING AND NOTHINGNESS from memory. Later this girl hits her head rollerskating and wakes up with a French accent.

What a beauty.

interview at aesthetics for birds by @strohltopia.bsky.social (2019)

This new PJ Harvey album is knocking my socks off. I’m sockless and rocking out.

Common sense media’s suggestions for topics to talk to your kids about after watching CRIMES OF THE FUTURE with them.

Here for all the freshest Cry Macho content that I can’t find anywhere else.