The amusement and mild revulsion to this news affirms what I always thought about HER: it is a bad movie precisely because it is not sufficiently disgusted with its hero, who is a loser.

The driver

This Friday I am seeing Terminator 2: Judgement Day in 70mm. If I set the over/under of white men over 38 in that theater at 80 percent, which are you taking?

Today is the 30th anniversary of Homerpalooza, and it's mostly been my experience that Abe Simpson was wrong. You can still be "with it," kinda, in middle age. I do think of him, however, whenever I encounter a band or artist I don't recognize and it turns out they just went big on TikTok.

In maybe the most Alan-coded thing I'll ever do, at this year's DC/DOX I will moderate a discussion for The Last Critic, a documentary about Robert Christgau. It's a fun film, and should make for a good discussion! If you're in the DC area, please swing by to see what band shirt I end up wearing.

I grew up with strict Romanian parents, so parts of Fjord sound a lot like my own childhood. I cannot wait to see it, but I am also kind of dreading it. Also, kind of funny that I look kinda like Sebastian Stan here.

The Big Sleep The Tunnel My Year of Rest and Relaxation

I have seen folks slagging this season of For All Mankind, but I am digging it so far. It reminds me of Battlestar Galactica in its prime: characters are put in impossible situations with few choices, which leads to action that is courageous and sometimes confounding.

I would remove The Transit of Venus and add American Tabloid.

Everyone in line for The Mountain Goats show looks exactly like what you would expect (myself included).

I never met a financial thriller I didn't like, and then I saw The Deal. I can't decide what's worse: Selma Blair as a Manic Pixie Dream Analyst, or Angie Harmon's tortured Russian accent.

I don't have much to add to the ongoing Odyssey casting discourse, except to say in retrospect we as a culture ceded too much ground to the chodes when the all-women Ghostbusters remake happened. They were taught they can influence studios, and now we have Musk implying Nolan a race traitor.

Medium Rare is basically what would happen if one of the Washington Post podcast bros won huge on Polymarket, decided he was a genius, then ran for office.

Manhattan Brooklyn Queens Staten Island The Bronx And the face Stacy Keach makes afterward.

Ok, one last push, and I'll shut up I promise. Instead of reviewing the latest in the "YouTuber makes a horror movie" pipeline, I wrote about the art film where arguably the world's hottest actor stares at a tree. It's way more compelling than it sounds, and might inspire you to lead a better life!

Bluesky's value and whether it's an echo chamber is a constant topic of conversation and anxiety here, but this observation more than anything is what keeps me here. For all its flaws and circlejerk tendencies, the lack of algorithms necessarily prevent this from happening.

It wasn't just Geese.

Once you get past the terrible title, IS GOD IS is one hell of a pulpy revenge thriller. Effectively a Black feminist response to Kill Bill, it has a lot on its mind and some terrific performances - Sterling K Brown as the Big Bad was a highlight for me. My @spectrumculture.bsky.social review.

Great to see @taylorruckle.bsky.social get nominated for his phenomenal music reporting. Congrats, Taylor!

They cracked the case! Now I need to know what The Great Mouse Detective doesn't understand about mice, or what Chicken Run doesn't understand about poultry.

Diarrhea Planet's "Ghost with a Boner."

City Paper gives me a lot of latitude. Basically they don't care what new releases I cover, as long as they open locally. That means I often must decide between buzzy movies and smaller art films that need the help. I prefer the latter, even if sometimes I feel like I am writing with invisible ink.

@deck.blue ever since a new update within the past week, I get stuck on this screen for long periods and the app will not load at all half the time. What gives?

The upcoming revenge thriller IS GOD IS suffers from a truly awful title. The crowd I saw it with last night was totally into its pulpy exploitation vibe, plus a commanding heel turn from Sterling K Brown, but thanks to the title, word of mouth is close to impossible.

You thought Tony Leung was smoldering when he looked at Maggie Cheung with erotic ennui? Wait until you see his enigmatic regard for a 200 year old ginkgo tree (yes, really).

Silent Friend made me think about the giant tree across the street from my house, and how it will be there long after I am not. It's the kind of movie that slows down life so that we may SEE, not just LOOK. It opens at wide on Friday, including at AFI Silver in the DC area. Go see it.

Yup, excellent trailer. It reminds of the extended Cloud Atlas trailer, which also used M83's music to great effect. I think there is something about those huge-sounding synths, building and building simply without resolution, that stir our emotions.

Meg Statler as Mary Todd Lincoln may the first chaos goblin approach to the role since Cole originated it. Holy shit.

Home Front put on a KILLER show when I saw them in Baltimore last Saturday (don't just take my word for it, I spotted Turnstile's Brendan Yates in the crowd), so I'm glad KEXP posted their recent in-studio performance. If you like punk or synth pop, they might be your new favorite band.

What happens when a horror movie is all concept and no style? Maybe like Affection, a micro-budget riff on Don't Worry Darling without any specificity. You'll be so bored you'll have no choice but to figure out the twist. My @spectrumculture.bsky.social review.

Among my "favorite" Rex Reed reviews: the time he was confused by The Dark Knight because Jack Nicholson already played the joker, or his factually incorrect attempt to spoil The Cabin in the Woods (apparently he fell asleep at the screening).

Rex Reed was a sharp writer who, later in life, became a walking cautionary tale through smooth-brained obsolescence. When you start dinging movies because you're too racist or misogynistic to give them a fair shake - as he did over 20 years ago - it's time to throw in the towel.

Every time there is a new round of frustration over what The Alamo Drafthouse has become.

If you had a chance to see Blue Heron this weekend, I hope you will take a look at my review which went up late Friday. Over on LB, I get into more spoilery territory about why the film resonated with me so much. Unfortunately, it is a sad story.

This is terrific and alarming. In order for AI to work as intended, companies hire thousands of independent contractors as trainers, subjecting them to countless indignities and labor law violations, all while they have Gen Z supervisors with slippery standards no boundaries.

You all have it wrong. The ultimate millennial song is "Sleep," track 3 off Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor, particularly starting around the 7 minute mark.

The Russos need to fuck off. It is kind of remarkable how everything they say is profoundly idiotic and anti-art. I can’t wait until their shitty new Avengers movie underperforms because no one gives a fuck that Magneto appears alongside Hawkeye.

I have no doubt Blue Heron will make my top ten list at the end of the year. It's as good as you've probably heard. It expands wide today, playing in the DC area at AFI Silver and AMC Hoffman. Go see it, and bring a friend.

Ok, a couple things. 1. Yes, I slept on Wolf of Sleep Hollow, but I was pleasantly surprised! Cummings' unique writing and editing sensibility really elevate the material. 2. I think Celine Song could do a killer Passionate Friends remake.

Blocking doomers. We've had GCB polls showing Dems up 10, Trump's approval (which will drive results) is dogshit, and you're saying that making winning the house a point harder means we're a one party state? Go back to Canada.

5/8/92: Carl Franklin's stunning masterpiece One False Move w/Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Cynda Williams From us, via Cineaste: midcenturycinema.org/wp-content/u... More: @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social: www.vulture.com/article/one-... @wmboyle4.bsky.social: www.criterion.com/current/post...

Earnest music post: The new Broken Social Scene album fucking rules.

I went to my local and accidentally ended up at a DC mayoral campaign event.

This is a good interview and I am curious to see the HBO documentary, but as someone who has attended multiple years, for all intents and purposes All Things Go is a present-day Lilith Fair.

The law has never been more applicable, and I think should stop the practice until we figure out what is going on.

I want Odysseus to have the same accent as he does in Hades 2 because he's a hottie I'm still figuring out how to romance.

Charlotte Rampling and Nadia Tereszkiewicz are mesmerizing in Two Pianos, the latest Arnaud Desplechin drama about messy people who barely contain their worst impulses. My @spectrumculture.bsky.social review.

Baltimore: actually, I believe I like the Greatest Charm City That Reads in America. (real heads know)

RFK Jr. would probably get along with the gang.