I’ve had the honor of defending Joe Versus the Volcano for about 25 years now, and it’s always worth it, because when someone else watches it and gets it they really get it. (I readily admit that plenty do not, and that’s ok too!). Here’s my offering my best pitch in 2014:

excerpt from “Dead Stars” by Ada Limón poets.org/poem/dead-st...

there’s another way, another timeline, where art matters, and taking care of each other matters, and joy matters, and it’s worth figuring out how to get there, together

It's incredibly demoralizing to constantly see the highest institutions of government and academia and the most important and widely seen news outlets knuckle under one after another, but then to see the gulf between that and the bravery of communities and neighbors and teachers - that's something

Peaceful vigil for Renee Good tonight in Seattle.

Oh huh, Biden-era diplomacy worked to *actually* reduce fentanyl deaths in America, imagine that: "This shift aligned with a pivotal meeting between President Biden & President Xi in November 2023. The summit resulted in an agreement to increase cooperation on drug enforcement between the nations."

Great day to have functioning eyes and a working brain

Walz: "Do you have no decency? We have someone dead in their car for no reason whatsoever. I don't want to be right about this, but I said if they do this they're gonna create a chaotic situation where someone innocent is gonna get killed. And they did it."

Always a lot of fun to put together each year, except for the part where I agonize for way longer than I'll ever admit over the order and movies on my own list—but lots of other wonderful thoughts and words on movies and 2025 from some of my favorite movie minds here!

Would have said Six Feet Under for many years, but now it’s a tie between that and this

“Be a good steward of your gifts. Protect your time. Feed your inner life. Avoid too much noise. Read good books, have good sentences in your ears. Be by yourself as often as you can. Walk. Take the phone off the hook. Work regular hours.” - Jane Kenyon

Don't forget folks: allowing yourself a vision of the future you'd want for our country and planet - not the one you'd settle for, not the one you fear, but the future of your dreams - isn't naive, it's a vital cognitive skill. That's how we articulate what we most value. What's worth fighting for.

The Seahawks have captured the NFC West crown AND the conference's No. 1 seed with a 13-3 win over the 49ers 👑

i expected the seahawks would win, i did not expect they’d make the 49ers look like the varsity was playing the jv team

seahawks showing up, you love to see it

It's an old and obvious pattern. An unpopular president - failing on the economy and losing his grip on power at home - decides to launch a war for regime change abroad. The American people don’t want to “run” a foreign country while our leaders fail to improve life in this one.

Yeah uhhhhhh I'm not sure there's any precedent at all for a war that literally just didn't have public buy-in, or a material effort at generating same? In like, all of American history??

still gets me every time

Can't guarantee it'll hit the same for you, but I was pleasantly surprised by SPLITSVILLE, a surprisingly original and funny and chaotic (complimentary) movie-for-adults that almost felt at times like a 2025 Preston Sturges movie. And the 70s deep cut needle drops were smart and perfect, too.

Mayor Katie B. Wilson.

I've loved talking with Veronica about so many different movies over the last 4+ years, and when she suggested MAGNOLIA for our last episode together, I couldn't possibly have said yes faster. And though the show will go on (after a short break), I'll always treasure the years w/ Veronica & Eli 🙏

I am not as astonished as I should be by how thoroughly LeBron has remained LeBron into his forties. I know he'll just retire whenever he wants to do other stuff, but it is fun to think about how long he could be an effective rotation guy. I think he could still be a solid stretch four type at 48.

This is about A Woman Under the Influence but it is also a lot about saying fuck corporations, be uncomfortable, make independent art—even if it doesn’t pay off in your lifetime

if i could only recommend 5 movies to a human this would be one of them

Tomorrow on TV we get to play my favorite game: BAD DEFENSE OR GREAT OFFENSE (the answer is both, of course)

i just heard someone say brock purdy is like a modern day dave krieg and i have maybe never agreed with something more, it’s perfect (though krieg never had mccaffrey)

ah seahawks, never change

After much debate, I have decided to continue seeing movies forever

Yes it’s like being mean to servers or not liking books.

Interesting trivia: you can legally strike anyone who disparages this movie in your presence three (3) times in their face or one (1) time in their abdomen

If somebody tells you IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE sucks, that’s a red flag, full stop. I hold very few truths closer.

I find it moving that David Lynch loved IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE so much he couldn't talk about it without crying. His sincere belief in the redemptive possibilities contained in that film and what it said about people seems to me like a key element of understanding his own work.

I guess my bluesky experience is different than whatever it is people are complaining about, but this place is SO much better than the old place, and whatever i did two years ago to set up my feed means most of what i see is interesting, funny, or engaging in the good way & who cares about the rest

every single time I listen to this song (and I listen to this song a lot, it’s a great song) I’m immediately slammed back to standing in our tiny kitchen in April of 2020 youtu.be/23f7idWbweQ

if you’re a music person, what song/record captures the april 2020 oh-shit-we’re-in-quarantine-for-like-a-long-time sense memory for you? mine is absolutely fiona apple’s fetch the bolt cutters. i have a hard time listening to it, even now

"While Martin Scorsese's BRINGING OUT THE DEAD is ultimately about many things—suffering, guilt, compassion, redemption—it’s Cage's eyes, throughout the movie and long afterwards, that stay with you." - @chadperman.bsky.social

Also: We hope it goes without saying, but we don’t use AI in any way, never have and never will. Humans making things out of a love for that thing, for other humans to enjoy, is the business model. No ads either. And none of this works without all of you wonderful humans who subscribe 🙏

The Seahawks trailed by 16 points midway through the fourth quarter. They’ll end the night atop the NFC after winning an instant classic.

I could watch Richard Sherman’s reaction to the Seahawks win over the Rams 200 times.

Look, I love movies. But nothing this year is going to make me feel as good as the last play of that Seahawks game did.

i’ve been to 30 seahawks games at least and this is the loudest i’ve EVER heard it here! what a game!!

For the latest issue of The Yale Review, I wrote about Terrence Malick's massive influence on modern American filmmaking. yalereview.org/article/bilg...

Of course the mensch-iest of film critics is going to be essential reading on the mensch-iest of directors. Don't miss the ending, in which Matt imagines, It's a Wonderful Life-style, how impoverished the last few decades in Hollywood would have been without the influence & the generosity of Reiner.

💜 BOW. DOWN. 💜 Congrats to UW Men's Soccer on winning the College Cup Final!

Sometimes it's only after someone is gone, and taken suddenly, that you can fully take stock of all they gave us. We were so lucky to have Rob Reiner. time.com/7340905/rob-...

Rob Reiner was one of the perennials, a force in TV and then film and then politics and Los Angeles life for decades and decades. He was the quintessence of Bleeding Heart Liberal Hollywood in the best sense of every word. May his memory be a blessing.

Can’t even begin to process, too awful, too devastating, too sad, all of the news this weekend/month/year

just wait until the seahawks start playing two halves every game, they’ll be unstoppable