A couple of hours into Pokémon Legends Z-A and I think it works best as a slice of life game. The missions, especially when they have you seek out a Pokemon or play with one (Slurpluff and his macaroons) are a blast. Oh, and Alpha Pokémon continue to be my favorite mechanic. (Look at this big lug!)

So…what’s good over here? Lol

I thought Fantastic Four: First Steps was a very good film that expands the conversation around superheroism and their duties to the public with Superman and Thunderbolts. It loses its nerve a bit, but still makes for a charming effort. My full thoughts for WTGP: whenthingsgopop.com/2025/07/22/f...

#Superman  is thrilling and earnest: a comic book brought to life, with James Gunn asking intriguing questions about heroism and self-actualization, alongside wildly creative uses of Clark's powers. Its narrative sprawl leads to some character shakiness, but the new DC hits hard.

I’m officially calling the arrival of the Chris Evans Renaissance. Materialists aligns perfectly with his strengths, and Song helps him uncover new depths that stunned me. It’s soul-bearing work, refreshingly vulnerable and gentle. One of my favorite performances this year.

Materialists is utterly charming and quietly soul-crushing in its observations about love and self-worth. Song’s script is marvelous, with lines that’ll make you laugh and shred your heart. A strong cast, but Zoe Winters and Chris Evans are stunning, with him turning in the best work of his career.

I think three things can be true at the same time: NEON really wanted to win big at Cannes (even though the filmmakers are the ones winning), they genuinely want to distribute the films they think align with their sensibilities, and losing Hit Man to Netflix made them get overall more aggressive.

The existence of Honey Don’t has been validated by this moment right here. I don’t care if it’s bad; this WILL be used as a meme. I’m ready for the Evans-sance!

Brave New World was a decent MCU flick, but a disappointment of a Captain America flick, because it had little to do with Captain America himself. Sam Wilson (and a never better Anthony Mackie) deserve better than The Incredible Hulk’s reheated nachos. My review: whenthingsgopop.com/2025/02/14/c...

Since it seems like everyone is discovering how great Better Man is now that it’s on digital, here are my thoughts on the Robbie Williams biopic, which is best when it leans into his self-effacing, pop anarchist nature. Also, Rock DJ is everything. whenthingsgopop.com/2025/02/13/r...

he looks like the two banshees of inisherin guys combined

This awards season has been chaotic as hell (hi Anora!), but there have been some nominee narratives/journeys that have intrigued me, and could intrigue Oscar voters. I dig into Demi Moore, Timothée Chalamet, Sebastian Stan, and Fernanda Torres's stories for WTGP. whenthingsgopop.com/2025/02/09/2...

Sebastian Stan on the importance of empathy and curiosity:

This is my favorite part of my conversation with Sebastian Stan. It perfectly captures his career’s rigor and intentionality, which ultimately led to this moment of acclaim and recognition (after years of being underestimated as an actor for different reasons).

I knew I’d have to cut a bunch out of my interview with Sebastian Stan for AwardsWatch. Luckily, there was more than enough to warrant publishing the full Q&A on When Things Go Pop, digging into A Different Man, The Apprentice, and his thoughtful career approach. whenthingsgopop.com/2025/02/06/i...

Another A Different Man interview for @awardswatch.bsky.social, this time with director Aaron Schimberg, exploring what disability/disfigurement looks like on screen and how he's trying to shift what representation looks like. awardswatch.com/a-different-...

In 'Hard Truths,' Marianne Jean-Baptiste Reunites with Mike Leigh and Finds the Humanity in Pansy's Misanthropy by @blewis1103.whenthingsgopop.com awardswatch.com/in-hard-trut...

Sebastian Stan on How 'The Apprentice' and 'A Different Man' Tackle Comfort, Curiosity, and Confronting Our Fears by @blewis1103.whenthingsgopop.com awardswatch.com/sebastian-st...

Some b-sides from my Sebastian Stan interview: On Trump’s response to the California wildfires: “Even in these horrific fires, [Trump], instead of offering solutions, is sitting there and using what’s happening in California to serve his story, point fingers and assign blame. It’s horrific.”

An excerpt from my interview with Sebastian Stan: how his childhood growing up amidst and in the aftermath of the fall of the Eastern Bloc and emigrating to the United States informed his performance in The Apprentice.

For @awardswatch.bsky.social, I spoke with newly-minted Golden Globe winner Sebastian Stan about his awards season journey and how he approached his two films, A Different Man and The Apprentice, featuring two seemingly opposite but thematically linked characters. awardswatch.com/sebastian-st...

A very big day with a very big interview…

An excerpt from my conversation with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, reflecting on what the reception to Hard Truths means to her and the broader film industry:

Kicking off the New Year with my chat with Marianne Jean-Baptiste of Hard Truths for @awardswatch.bsky.social, where we discussed her reunion with Mike Leigh and how it “terrifying and exhilarating.” awardswatch.com/in-hard-trut...

Okay, I am working on this list now. 22 films and counting.

For @geekvibesnation.com, I spoke with Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova about her excellent performance as Ivana Trump in The Apprentice. The biggest surprise was that she and Sebastian Stan improvised the film’s best scene - Trump failing to grieve his brother. geekvibesnation.com/the-apprenti...

For AwardsWatch, Michele Austin and I dig deep into Hard Truths, her bond with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, working within Mike Leigh’s improvisational style, and why the film was rejected by the Cannes and Venice film festivals. Very proud of this one! awardswatch.com/michele-aust...

It’s so refreshing to see Superman as a beacon of hope again. Excited to see what James Gunn and David Corenswet have in the hopper.

Welp, this Michele Austin interview is kicking my ass, which usually means it’s gonna be something I’m proud of after hours of procrastination and fretting over transitional phrases.

For what it’s worth, studios/distributors largely set the campaign priorities for awards season, not the actors. So, if an actor has two films in contention, it’s the distributor pushing the hardest that wins out in press coverage and visibility opps.

It’s early days still, but I’m very curious about which Oscar acting category will have the surprise nomination?

Seriously, this awards season feels genuinely exciting. There is no real consensus. Any and every thing seems to be on the table. Films that might’ve been swallowed up by the biggies are getting their moment to shine (like I Saw The TV Glow). It’s amazing.

Fascinating tidbit about Challengers and Queer from talking with Justin Kuritzkes after the Queer Q&A in NYC: Luca Guadagnino took his figurative script notes and made them real (the tennis ball POV shot and Lee and Eugene’s dance/love scene). A lovely fusion of director and screenwriter.

Well, it was a great night at the Gothams for Nickel Boys, a massive night for Sing Sing, and a "what the actual eff, could this really happen" night for A Different Man. All three films received a colossal boost in the awards conversation. Just extraordinary all around.

The full list of my Best Film Performances of 2024:

With best-of-2024 and FYC season fully underway, I'm happy to share the 30 (or so) performances that stuck with me the most this year, some as far back as January and as recently as a week ago. These are my Best Film Performances of 2024: whenthingsgopop.com/2024/11/27/t...

There are several awards-contending films that are under promoted, under seen by voters and general audiences, or don’t even have distribution in the US. Wicked doesn’t need to be treated like the little engine that could. It’s a fucking bullet train in every conceivable metric.

This is a serve, Christopher.

Finished earlier than anticipated. Next week is my Best Film Performances of 2024 piece!

Easiest “Best Film Performances of 2024” entry I’ve written so far: Fernanda Torres in I’m Still Here. If I ranked them (I don’t), she’d be in the top 3, because what the actual fuck did she do to my emotions? Destroyed them, that’s what:

I thought Best Actor was gonna beat my ass this season…sorry, Fernanda Torres should not only be in the Best Actress conversation, she should be leading it.

Fernanda Torres gives one of the best performances of the year, if not the decade so far, in I’m Still Here, itself a searing, stomach-turning tale of a family living during Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 70s. It almost hurts to watch, but it feels vital, especially now.

Maria Bakalova telling me she read my previous features and was really excited to speak with me (so much so that we went over our allotted interview time) is something I’ll need at least 4 business days to fully process.

Hard Truths: completely bowled over by this. Every burst of anger or humor flattened by the silence that comes from having to exist like this, having to live with pain you simply cannot communicate. Marianne Jean-Baptiste with the performance of the year? Decade? Life? Unreal

Nosferatu…I need to pray. And shower in holy water for like 25 minutes.

Having seen all the Best Actor contenders…my personal six of the year: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist Colman Domingo, Sing Sing Sebastian Stan, A Different Man Timothee Chalamet, A Complete Unknown Daniel Craig, Queer Andre Holland, Exhibiting Forgiveness

A Complete Unknown is a fine look at the enigmatic Bob Dylan, who bucks convention to be himself. The film doesn’t quite know who that is, but introspection isn’t the goal here. James Mangold does his best work capturing the excellent performances. Timothee Chalamet’s work is subtle but commanding.

This should be a fun chat tomorrow!

Watched The Piano Lesson for the first time since TIFF, and it plays better on second watch. The exploration of familial duty versus personal fulfillment hit for me. Danielle Deadwyler is sensational, but I really locked into Corey Hawkins’ work this time around. Also, Danielle and Ray Fisher…yes.

Fell into a rabbit hole over on Twitter of people proudly showing off the pictures they took of Wicked all during the runtime and I think what’s most dispiriting, not to be dramatic, is how many people defend theirs or others behavior as something you should adjust to and not simply being respectful