Some surprises for me on @szacharek.bsky.social list (such as #TheSkeletonKey), but I'm always up for finding an underappreciated movie. Tip of the hat for organizing this by Two Hours and Under, Literary Adaptation, First-Time Filmmaker, and whether it has cats or dogs! :) time.com/collections/...

An AI-driven reconstruction of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS @newyorker.com, Wes Anderson @thepointmag.bsky.social, Michael Almereyda @nytimes.com + @hammertonail.bsky.social + @screenslate.bsky.social, @szacharek.bsky.social on the underappreciated … Did You See This? www.criterion.com/current/post...

Some absolutely OUTSTANDING selections on this list. (Plus one or two "what? really?" but that's why it's brilliant.)

For those looking for freelance work in the wake of WaPo layoffs: I'm an editor at large overseeing Ideas & Culture at Bloomberg, including our Books coverage. Find me at [email protected]

Sports writing MUST survive as a craft!

The guy who owns Amazon shutting down the books section of the Washington Post is beyond parody

I don't know what it is about idiots who buy newspapers without understanding why they exist or what their business is, but I think gutting books coverage is some kind of canary in the coalmine. These jackasses don't read books, so they assume no one else does either.

What do Peter Weir's MASTER & COMMANDER, Kasi Lemmons' TALK TO ME, Roman Coppola's CQ, and Amy Heckerling's I COULD NEVER BE YOUR WOMAN have in common? They're all on my list of the 50 Most Underappreciated Movies of the 21st Century (so far). The full list is here: time.com/collections/...

NYC & Bklyn People: If you've never seen Michael Almereyda's gorgeous NYC vampire reverie NADJA, now's your chance! It looks goooooorgeous! I'll be doing a Q&A with Michael on Fri, Feb 6, following the 7pm show. Come on down! www.bam.org/film/2026/na...

BOTD Gene Hackman!!!! MCCT5 New Hollywood: 5)Scarecrow 4)Bonnie and Clyde 3)French Connection 2)The Conversation 1)Night Moves Our appreciation: midcenturycinema.org/2020/02/02/n... More: @manohladargis.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/m... @szacharek.bsky.social: time.com/7262470/gene...

Glad they had such a blast making this tragedy.

I have just two words for you on this Wednesday morning: GUN CRAZY

Wow. Jafar Panahi visits the Criterion closet, but instead of filling up his tote bag (as I would have), he gives us a short film. NB: Those unfamiliar w/his film, The Circle, which he discusses here - more via @szacharek.bsky.social: www.salon.com/2001/04/20/c... www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqH9...

Evening finery, recording for posterity before dismantling. The pins are a mix of antique paste (very sparkly!), sterling with marcasite, and garden-variety midcentury rhinestones. Though I love it all!

I would not be shocked if Kate Hudson snuck into Best Actress for Song Sung Blue.

Never forget!

Hallelujah!

BOTD Diane Keaton!!! Her WA collabs essential - but so much more: Our Goodbar podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l... And: @alissawilkinson.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/m... @szacharek.bsky.social: time.com/7325208/dian... @timgrierson.bsky.social: www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...

Best Nonfiction Film: MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART I — LAST AIR IN MOSCOW (56 points) Runners-up: THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (22 points) ORWELL: 2+2=5 (18 points)

Best Film Not in the English Language: THE SECRET AGENT (58 points) Runners-up:
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (57 points) SENTIMENTAL VALUE (38 points)

Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (54 points) Runners-up: Jafar Panahi, IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (48 points) Richard Linklater, BLUE MOON and NOUVELLE VAGUE (39 points)

Best Picture: ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (57 points) Runners-up: SINNERS (29 points) THE SECRET AGENT (27 points)

Happy birthday to the great Thelma!

Best Screenplay: Jafar Panahi, IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (53 points) Runners-up: Robert Kaplow, BLUE MOON (50 points) Kleber Mendonça Filho, THE SECRET AGENT (40 points)

Best Supporting Actor: Benicio del Toro, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (54 points) Runners-up: Delroy Lindo, SINNERS (37) Stellan Skarsgård, SENTIMENTAL VALUE (30 points)

Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, BLUE MOON (57 points) Runners-up: Wagner Moura, THE SECRET AGENT (43 points) Michael B. Jordan, SINNERS (36 points)

Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, SINNERS (50 points) Runners-up:
 Adolpho Veloso, TRAIN DREAMS (36 points) Michael Bauman, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (29 points)

Best Supporting Actress: Teyana Taylor, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (56 points) Runners-up: Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, SENTIMENTAL VALUE (47 points) Wunmi Mosaku, SINNERS (41 points)

Looky here, @nsfc.bsky.social is voting!

The National Society of Film Critics will be voting on 2025's best achievements in film on Saturday, Jan. 3. Please follow us here for the winner and runner-up announcements, category by category.

1/2/63: Fellini's 8 1/2 w/Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Claudia Cardinale More @jonwiener.bsky.social: lareviewofbooks.org/article/cris... @szacharek.bsky.social: www.criterion.com/current/post... Rog: www.rogerebert.com/reviews/grea... @pamhutch.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/film/2020/ma...

I haven’t yet watched HEATED RIVALRY, but David’s beautiful piece has convinced me. Especially the kicker!

There's something about ANN LEE (THE TESTAMENT OF, that is): It's odd, not always in the good way, and it's far too worshipful of its subject. Yet there's nothing out there like it. time.com/7341784/the-...

Me three.

Someone got a Lambchop from her auntie.

Happy @criterion.bsky.social Room Tone Day! www.criterion.com/current/post...

Sublime Welles!

Some of the best (I think) material in Five Came Back is there because a librarian saw what I was working on over 3 days and asked me if I'd like to take a look at a box of old George Stevens papers that had not been catalogued yet. So no, for a ton of reasons, AI cannot "do the research for you."

12/20/63: Godard's Contempt [DP Raoul Coutard] w/Michel Piccoli, Bardot, Palance, Fritz Lang Peak JLG More @tnyfrontrow.bsky.social: www.newyorker.com/culture/rich... @szacharek.bsky.social: www.villagevoice.com/contempt-and... @mrbeaks.bsky.social: www.slashfilm.com/1007193/jean...

IT'S SO GREAT!

Need a laugh today? You can't do better than @david-rooney.bsky.social's review of AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

Loved this guy. Circa 1990 I'd just started a new job as a copy editor on a business magazine. We were all at a conference in Albuquerque, and I noticed he was playing at a club there. I suggested we go, and to my surprise, everyone wanted to. We had a blast! A remarkable songwriter and performer.

Rob Reiner: “Silence in the face of authoritarianism is complicity. Speaking out is a patriotic act. Democracy doesn’t defend itself. It requires participation, vigilance, and courage from ordinary people."

Rob Reiner either made your favorite movie, or made somebody you know’s favorite movie. If you’re a Californian, he’s also part of the reason you or your friends can get married. He has changed more lives for the better than this asshole commenting on him ever did.

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-...

“Generated by AI, which can make mistakes” LIKE CONFUSING TOM WAITS FOR NEIL YOUNG?

It was hard to choose—it always is!—but here are 10 of my favorite movie performances of 2025: time.com/7333830/best...

Brilliantly articulated.

Leonardo DiCaprio is sharing his thoughts on artificial intelligence, and while he admitted it could be an “enhancement tool,” he said it could never be considered art.

Leonardo DiCaprio is @time.com's Entertainer of the Year, and I had the pleasure of interviewing him in Los Angeles. He was charming, smart, funny—all the things you hope an interview subject will be. And he loves Blind Willie McTell and Johnny Mercer. time.com/7338653/ente...