Between MARTY SUPREME and COLD STORAGE, it has been quite the day for on the nose song choices in films.

PERSPEX ISLAND all the way

What are you playing first on your boombox?

Good gag from the HACKS duo, but I thought the comic relief in HAMNET was the bit where Jessie Buckley shows up at her husband's play and starts loudly questioning everything as if she has never heard of theatre and I couldn't stop thinking of ZOOLANDER. "Is this a theatre for ANTS?!?"

Just moved into a smaller place and I'm finding myself shedding a lot of 90s/00s dystopian fiction at the moment. Staring at the George Saunders shelf - he was my guy, amazing human, but Jesus when am I ever going to be able to face any of that again?

I can't fucking believe we're doing this again.

Post a picture you took to bring some zen to your feed.

Got to my bus stop five minutes early, Google told me the bus had arrived seven minutes early and left. Sent five minutes fuming and making alternate plans, then looked up and it arrived right on time. Not sure what that's about, other than object lesson #66,345 in not trusting Google in 2026

As someone who has seen Mallrats more times than I care to admit, this is a fascinating profile that has a couple twists along the way. Crazy how even mentioning the word "Scientology" to a former Scientologist provokes a Pavlovian response of hostility and near-immediate legal action.

Living in both Houston and Portland world class American bands would play at a bar near you several times a week for less than $10. You might have to stay up til 1 AM on a Monday night but it was worth it.

v good list of independent media orgs to follow/support in this post's replies

Listening to records as I unpack in our new rental in Green Bay (side length is good to make sure I'm not getting lost on a side quest), which is as good an excuse as any to repost the greatest warning label in the history of recorded music.

Pretty excited that U ARE THE UNIVERSE is coming to Letterboxd Video Store - a Terror-Fi deep cut that I loved that just vanished into the ether. Short precis: guy is alone on a spaceship. The Earth blows up. He's the last living human. Or is he? Tearing up just *thinking* about the ending.

Fucking love Ahleuchatistas and have been very intrigued by "what if Autechre but solo guitar" and have no idea they came from the same mind.

Every single time I rewatch it. Is there a 4K? I should buy that immediately.

I think we could positively improve the future if we gave all these people exceptionally needy tamagotchis

Hey New Zealand, NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE is the hardest I laughed last year, has more than one jawdropping "how the fuck did they do that" segment, and is playing theatrically in a *very* limited engagement nationwide- tonight and Friday and maybe that's it? Don't miss out!

HELICOPTER CANADA is the first film I've seen using the "Smilebox" aspect ratio. Thought I'd hate it, but the dimensional illusion works surprisingly well. (The disc also provides 2.35:1 and 2.77:1, if you can't roll with the Smilebox.)

Farewell to French composer Éliane Radigue (1932-2026) who taught us the radical power of slowness, of patience, and attention stretched to the threshold of perception. Her work will continue to resonate—slowly, endlessly—like a tone that never quite fades.

These days I just pick up Bluesky first thing and say to myself, okay, which absolute titan has fallen during my slumber?

Siri is this Communism

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, appears to have deleted his tweet after these Democrats responded

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

This is our regular reminder that - according to IRD in 2023 - the richest 350 families in AoNZ pay an effective tax rate of only 8%. The reaction of the government to this news was to tell IRD to stop collecting the data, and give the families a tax cut #nzpol

Have no idea about this show, spreading because I didn't know the one thumb up is bad and have reserved the two thumbs up for top tier, meaning I have algorithmically hurt creators I like because the world is stupid

Fun when you move after 11 years to discover which of the utilities that you haven't needed to use tech support with for ages have completely gone to shit. (Yes. I'm looking at you, Slingshot.)

After a truly lousy week of celebrity deaths, Prince Andrew's arrest is a much-needed treat for my morning coffee.

If I was in Petaluma, I'd be putting my bid on "Lot Of Hand Tools, (2) Chainsaws, And 10” Porter-Cable Beam Saw" in. (And if you don't know SRL, I'm sure there's a great doc somewhere, but DESOLATION CENTER touches on them along with lots of great bands, and has an AMAZING stinger.)

One that works quite well is ED WOOD and PLAN 9. Did that once as a Halloween double feature at home.

Donnie Darko / Evil Dead seems a solid option

Leave it to Soderbergh to just offhandedly nail the thing about the Coens.

Attn @bevanshortridge.bsky.social - I reckon this is one the Hollywood would consider

This is one of those things I cannot believe has never been done before and yet I have never heard of it being done before and it is genius. TRUE ROMANCE / STREET FIGHTER trilogy next? (Also how deep can you go - is there a movie where people go to see a movie where people go to see a movie ...)

Really can't emphasize to those of you in Wellington, Blenheim and Christchurch how glorious Jim White and Marisa Anderson are live. Don't miss out.

Testify.

I have moved the newsletter from Substack. Here's a post at F&S explaining how and why. I've learnt a lot in the process so if you are a Substacker thinking about leaving, DM me and we can talk.

NZ vinyl peeps (shopping in Auckland but I imagine others have ideas): any tips on the best sized cardboard boxes for moving records?

Make that tonight! marisaanderson.bandcamp.com/album/swallo...

Jim White and Marisa Anderson are touring NZ. Starting tomorrow in Auckland, followed by Wellington, Blenheim and Port Noise in Christchurch. Textured duo guitar/drum instrumental beauty. Can't wait.

Reviewing my writing on Wiseman, I forgot that I went super-long on the unfairly maligned MONROVIA, INDIANA, in which I try on the theory that Wiseman was the best director of the 2010s. boxd.it/jAVu

In 2008, on NotComing.com, we published a comprehensive feature on Frederick Wiseman, including reviews of each of his films and an interview. I had ignorantly thought of this as a career retrospective — in the years since, he made *ten* more films. www.notcoming.com/features/wiseman-interview/

Deleted about twenty sentences here but I am really not okay about this news. Not many filmmakers where at 96 their passing stops you short, where it felt like they still had more gas in the tank after accumulating such a massive and revolutionary body of work.

Thoughts and prayers to all the soundies recording outside in Auckland today on this, the most cicada-y day I've possibly ever experienced, where *inside* it's drowning out my record player (Admittedly I'm listening to sparse drone music - but I'm inside! The doors are closed!)

Jonathan King's excellent BLACK SHEEP (2006) is having a screening at Auckland's Academy Cinema, on Thursday 26 February, 8.15pm. The sequel - BLACK SHEEPS - is due out in the not too distant future. www.academycinemas.co.nz/movie/film-t...

i often think about this review

Doomscrolling.

Sometimes, racist muhfuckas just need someone to talk to. variety.com/2026/music/o...

The funniest movie I saw last year - and possibly the most jawdropping - is now in cinemas in America. (Two weeks, NZ.) Yes, it's based on a series. No, you don't need to have seen it, or know a damn thing. As Negativland used to say, copyright infringement is your best entertainment value.

I feel like there have been whole years, possibly decades, of America's history where this whole fiasco - the FAA shutting down an entire city's airport for ten days, without notifying the military or anyone else - could bring down the head of an agency. In 2026, it's a footnote in the day's news.