“The world needs a hermit in the woods as much as a preacher in the pulpit.” —Claire Thompson (Kerry Condon), Train Dreams (2025)

Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams can confidently sit alongside other haunting films about our place in the universe. (Works by Robert Redford and Terrence Malick come to mind.) If you are not still thinking about it days after seeing it, you should check your pulse. #Filmsky

Caught Stealing is Darren Aronofsky’s After Hours—a lean, effective New York crime noir that nevertheless feels nostalgic for the halcyon days of pre-gentrification Lower East Side and the dreamers, schemers, and bleeders who lived there. #Filmsky #caughtstealing

“Venezuela, that was some mean bush.” —Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) reminiscing about a past mission, Avatar, 2009 (!)

Marty Supreme is a showcase for Timothée Chalamet's phenomenal talents. Beyond that, your appreciation of Josh Safdie’s athlete saga will depend on your tolerance for the director’s hyperkinetic style and the trope of the driven genius who alienates everyone around them. #Filmsky #martysupreme

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If there was any doubt, the satisfying series finale of Stranger Things made it clear that the show was never about fastidiously crafted lore but sharply drawn characters. Giving each member of its vast ensemble a satisfying emotional coda was the episode’s singular achievement. #strangerthings

Ari Aster’s #Eddington is THE horror film for our times. The man behind Hereditary and Midsommar trains his eye for the ominous on the long, hot summer of 2020 and effectively captures the moment American society cracked and something dark was summoned through the fissure. #FilmSky

“Hey, Turner! How do you know they'll print it?” —CIA Deputy Director Higgins (Cliff Robertson) setting whistleblower Joe Turner (Robert Redford) straight as to who is in control, Three Days of the Condor (1975) #FilmSky

Pluribus’ 1st season proved to be a wild, provocative ride of the highest caliber. Vince Gilligan does the impossible by making the shopworn alien-invasion-by-assimilation premise feel fresh. It's conformity vs. individuality, with an enticing argument made for the former. #TVsky #Pluribus

In One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson delivers a thrilling chase film featuring standout performances. However, I found its oft-cited political relevance overrated, as the film does not so much engage with politics as merely use it as a backdrop for the action. #Filmsky

With Wake Up Dead Man, Rian Johnson takes his penchant for beautifully shot, exquisitely cast, zeitgeisty whodunits to church, and the results are divine. Come for the mystery, stay for the carefully observed character study of people wrestling with belief in ultimate things. #Filmsky

I have not heard much chatter about The Long Walk, and that's a shame. Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about young men on a state-sponsored death march is surprisingly moving, even as it maintains the gritty tone the dystopian premise demands. #thelongwalk #filmsky

The cleverly designed mayhem in Edgar Wright’s The Running Man does justice to the 1987 action classic, even as the new film represents a darker take on the source material—particularly its depiction of a gleefully cruel USA where empathy is discouraged and propaganda rules. #Filmsky

Setting aside my mixed feelings about the unnecessary transformation of such an excellent antagonist as the #Predator into a hero, #Badlands is, on its own, a fantastic action picture whose loud, explosive sequences are, ironically, reminiscent of the 80s original in the best way. #Filmsky

Guillermo del Toro’s lush adaptation of #Frankenstein brims with, well, life. From the vibrant primary color palette to the impassioned performances, strong emotions reign in this retelling of the classic tale as a story about the folly of trying to live through your children. #Filmsky

In The Lowdown, Sterlin Harjo brings the winning hangout vibe of Reservation Dogs to a beautifully realized rambling murder mystery anchored by another fantastic performance from Ethan Hawke as Tulsa "truthstorian" Lee Raybon. #TVsky

In Richard Linklater’s fascinating Blue Moon, Lorenz Hart, as portrayed by a never-better Ethan Hawke, is the picture of charming self-delusion in a film that finds the famed lyricist in a frantic battle against professional jealousy over one illuminating evening. #bluemoon #Filmsky

"Fear will keep the local systems in line." ―Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing), Star Wars (1977)

“O what a circus! O what a show / Argentina has gone to town / Over the death of an actress called Eva Perón / We've all gone crazy / Mourning all day and mourning all night / Falling over ourselves to get all of the misery right.” —Che (Antonio Banderas), Evita (1996)

“I have often thought that in the hereafter of our lives, when I owe no more to the future and can be just a man, that we may meet, and you will come to me and claim me as yours, and know that I am your husband. It is a dream I have” —King Arthur to Guinevere, Excalibur (1981)

Noah Hawley’s pilot for Alien: Earth is one of the strongest I have seen in a long time. It quickly and effectively establishes its own compelling narrative while building on a solid IP foundation without succumbing to empty or mercenary fan service. #AlienEarth #TVsky

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is an enjoyable introduction to Marvel’s First Family. And yet, despite the clever Mad Men-inspired production design and solid performances, the whole thing felt less like a movie event and more like an undercooked pilot for a Disney+ TV show. #fantastic4 #Filmsky

“This is not a war any more than there's a war between men and maggots... This is an extermination.” —Ogilvy (Tim Robbins) waking up to the truth of the situation, War of the Worlds (2005) #Filmsky

“I don’t need your help! I’m goddamn Mister Terrific.” —Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) saying all that needs to be said, Superman, 2025 #Filmsky #Superman

“No one seemed shocked or surprised…. Because we always end up in the same ugly place…. most of us experience tragedies like Genosha as a bit of déjà vu before getting on with our day.” —Dr. Valerie Cooper (Catherine Disher) discussing the Massacre of Genosha, X-Men ‘97, 2024 #TVsky #x-men

James Gunn brings his trademark folksy humanity to Superman. The film finds Supes battling not only Lex Luthor but his insecurities as an outsider. Gunn brings the Man of Steel down to earth, a development that may offend purists but is not entirely unwelcome. #Filmsky #Superman

75 years ago, Billy Wilder showed us how noir is done. #Sunset_Boulevard #Filmsky

Twenty years ago, Steven Spielberg channeled H. G. Wells and reminded all empires that there is always someone out there with a bigger stick. #Filmsky #waroftheworlds

“It's annoying that we have to fight elections for our cause/ The inconvenience—having to get a majority/ If normal methods of persuasion fail to win us applause/ There are other ways of establishing authority” —Argentinian dictator Juan Peron (Jonathan Pryce), Evita, 1996 #Filmsky

“I have a feeling in a few years, people are going to be doing what they always do when the economy tanks. They will be blaming immigrants and poor people.” —Mark Baum (Steve Carell), The Big Short, 2015 #FilmSky

After a rather generic start, Ballerina ups its action game as it picks up speed with some truly inventive and visually striking action set pieces that make it abundantly clear that it belongs in the world of John Wick. #FilmSky

Though feeling more like a rough draft than a finished movie, MI: The Final Reckoning still makes for a satisfying trip to the theater. However, it suffers compared to the elegance of Dead Reckoning and the propulsiveness of Fallout, which remains the crown jewel of the series. #FilmSky

Rewatched Lawrence of Arabia last night. Going on 60+ years, David Lean’s meditation on war, colonialism, and the power of myth-making remains as relevant and stunning as ever. #Filmsky

With a strong sense of time and place, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners tills new narrative ground while providing satisfyingly traditional genre thrills. Like the blues music at its center, the film spins a unique supernatural horror tale rooted in the American Black experience. #Sinners #FilmSky

PBS’ We Want The Funk! Stanley Nelson and Nicole London’s buoyant documentary trip down funk’s memory lane is a must-see for fans of the slapped bass, black history, and joy itself. Like the music at its center, the doc is artful, hopeful, and generous. #funk #Filmsky

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a further security breach, national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his highly competent, non-DEI defense secretary, also emailed schematics for a new space-based weapons system to a staff writer at The New York Times.

"Charles Xavier entrusted me with his dream, and it does not ask you to love or embrace my kind as your own, but merely to accept that this is a shared world… and that my kind, like yours, have the right to live in it.” —Mutant leader Magneto (Matthew Waterson), X-Men ‘97

“From this day on, the official language of San Marcos will be Swedish… In addition to that, all citizens will be required to change their underwear every half-hour.” —Presidente Esposito (Jacobo Morales), newly installed leader of San Marcos, Bananas, 1971

Will Nolan’s #TheOdyssey be his attempt at a Harryhausen flick? Regardless, I'm there for it!

“The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness. It is never more alive than when we’re asleep… if I could do it again, I’d wake up early and be fighting these bastards from the start! Fight the Empire!” —Maarva Andor (Fiona Shaw), Andor S1 E12

“I don't deserve this... to die like this. I was building a house.” —Sheriff Little Bill Daggett, Unforgiven (1992) RIP Gene Hackman

“Kneel before Zod.” —General Zod (Terence Stamp) from Krypton to the American president, Superman II (1980)

As a movie, #CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld could’ve been worse. It could have been Deadpool & Wolverine.

In a country that still struggles to make room at the table for its Black citizens, the presence of a Black body in a white space, such as a popular superhero film franchise, will inevitably feel “political.” #CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld

"Where are you going to run? Where are you going to hide? Nowhere... 'cause there's no one like you left." —alien pod wife Carol Malone (Meg Tilly) to unassimilated husband, Body Snatchers (1993)

Caught up with the bloodily frothy Abigail where a game cast appears to have a blast with a preposterous premise full of the ‘ol cartoonish ultraviolence. The story makes for a great left-field addition to the vampire movie canon. File it under “midnight movie potential.” #Filmsky #Abigail

"This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual elected officials, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental."

Captain America: Brave New World is a solid, if not particularly groundbreaking or stylish, entry in Marvel Studio’s long-running narrative arc. Anthony Mackie and a cast of pros help the movie past some clumsy exposition and dialogue to deliver an entertaining conspiracy yarn. #Filmsky #marvel