The basu! Guide to the Movies

#WonderWoman1984 So, a wish that gives you everything you want in the short term with a bunch of unintended consequences destroying everything you love in the longterm…but enough about the Warner straight-to-streaming release strategy, let's talk about the movie🤣! Fun old-school romance/action-adventure…with a tiny side of comic-book superhero-CU IP-world-building fate-of-the-future-of-cinema-hanging-in-the-balance. Nice work, again, by Jenkins by focusing on the human elements of the story, and for letting the DP give us such wonderful, bright, saturated colours. It's always a relief nowadays to see something not colour-graded to within an inch of its digital life. Nice work, too, by Wiig, fun as a tongue-in-cheek super-villain, and Pascal making up for all that non-emoting he has to do in #TheMandalorian by doing *all* the emoting. But, yeah, the day is saved, again, by that tremendous chemistry between Gadot and Pine😍. Boy, if I had a Dreamstone I'd wish

#TheFlightAttendant (#HBOMax) Good, clean, ahem, airport-read fun! So, ahem, addictive, once you start you just can't stop…until the final episode(okay, fiiiine, I'll stop). I mean, how many tones can you pack into one show👏?! Fabulous stuff from Neely, who's propulsive(🤗), wall-to-wall score keeps things *speeding* along. And, my goodness, Cuoco is a revelation here. I mean, I must be the only person on e(/E?)arth who hasn't seen #TheBigBangTheory(😧), but d*mn, dude, not only is she sensational in front of the camera, but this could be the first step in a Reese Witherspoon-esque behind-the-camera empire. Look, it's a teeming cast *full* of un, on-point performances, but gotta say that Gomez, Mamet(fantastic!), & especially, the great Perez(give her *all* the #Emmys now!) steal the show. It's not, uh, streaming, it's HBO…Max? Okay, gotta work on that… PS. Sooooo, umm, beneath all that giddy whodunit fun, was the show actually about add

RIP #JohnLeCarre Sadly, I'm not much of a book reader(TBH's the reader in the family, an *un*stoppable force of literary nature😳!), with my days of Enid Blyton, Alistair MacLean, Franklin W. Dixon(he's real, right?!), Michael Crichton, Stephen King, Ruskin Bond long behind me…but I gotta say the few times I did make the effort I almost always turned to the great le Carré. Look, we always heard about him growing up, especially from Pipi(naturally!), and when I finally picked up The Spy Who Came in from the Cold…man, I had to re-read it as an adult because it was so…at that age I wasn't quite ready for a non-#RogerMoore spy. But even then, the effect it had on me…😲 C'mon, a nondescript man walks up to a telephone booth in the dead of foggy night and whispers a seemingly innocuous question and receives a seemingly innocuous answer and…bang!…we're off! His books were incredible, but I suspect what kept his name in the limelight were also the film and T

#Mank Finally, the definitive answer to the most pressing question of our time: who truly created the Best Movie, Ever![Tied], the wunderkind polymathic genius who changed cinema as we know it, or the washed-up intermittently successful nobly-self-destructively-alcoholic(is there any other kind?) screenwriter and his 300(😳!)-page first draft! E(I?)nquiring minds want to know…and they shall, over the course of two-and-a-half luxuriously black-and-white-d hours! G*d bless Fincher, and his exacting standards for this whirlwind-yet-deliberative exhausti-ve/ng *in*side-baseball tour of Hollywood history… so many names, so many faces, so *much* history, so much chutzpah, I mean, it's like if someone decided to make the definitive movie about Raging Bull and instead of focusing on, oh, I dunno, Scorsese and/or De Niro, they decided to make the whole thing about…Mardik Martin(which, come to think of it, I would *totally* watch - what an incredible character he was!). G*d bless Fi

#FBF so how about a #Flashback Movie? 😁 #CitizenKane (1941) Best Movie, Ever! [Tied]* Gosh, *all* those years ago, my first film class(can you imagine, *study*ing cinema, what a Western concept😂!), and we had all those classics: Singin' in the Rain(my sister was right all along, wha?!), Soylent Green(slept through the 2nd half so I missed the…ya know…😲!), Day for Night(Truffaut!), Nashville(Altman!), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari(I was waiting all term for this, promptly fell asleep, and then when I finally made it to film school[a school for cinema, what a parent-heart-attack-inducing concept🙂!], promptly fell asleep again🙄), and so *many* others (including some non-US/Euro films right? Let's just say they showed us #SatyajitRay & #Kurosawa🤗), like Night and Fog(just…my g*d…even now when I think of that first experience watching it…and…yeah…)… …including, right off the bat, the big kahuna, the one whispered in our collective unconsciousness since birth, the

#HillbillyElegy The much-awaited peel-back-the-curtain all-is-revealed look-at-how-the-other-half-live deep-dive into the scourge of Appalachian opioid addiction…in Ohio?! Wha?! 😲 Okay, so that was unexpected, as was the fact that movie isn't quite the crime against cinema that all those snooty movie reviewers would have you believe. It's a well-made, never-boring film that manages to come up with a happy ending…basically a Ron Howard 😃 Great work by the cinematographer(all those nicely saturated, natural-looking daylight cinematography…what a novel concept!), and, of course, Close and Adams, who turn in #Oscars-attention-worthy work(again), and sadly will be snubbed(again!). But, gotta say, Bennett stole the whole show, even if she was given the least to do out of the quartet. Kid was a much-touted prospect coming out of the "minors" but it seems like she hasn't been given too many high-profile at-bats in the "big" leagues, but has been st

#Antebellum Good, clean #Westworld-Meets-#TheVillage fun. Oodles of slick craftsmanship by the young directors on *display* (right from the opening moments), and it's just a matter of time before Hollywood hands them the key to a franchise. Massive kudos to the DP & colour-grader, I usually whinge about digital cinematography but Luque does an incredible, saturated job here. Nice assist, too, from the epic-style composers, and the great Zophres's costumes(especially the, uh, middle-section[no spoilers😬!*] ones, Monae pulls them off with smashing confidence). Malone's great, hopefully she's not getting typecast, and Sidibe's a lot of fun, the kid really should be getting more higher profile work. So, yeah, don't think too long and hard about it(the filmmakers certainly don't), just go along with the expertly-crafted crowd(sigh…☹️)-pleasing thriller ride. * Speaking of spoilers, look marketing is a tough gig these

#Roadkill (#PBS) To paraphrase the great Tony Reali, Stop me if you've heard this before: a charismatic politician scrambles to deal with his many shady dealings coming out in the open all the while aspiring to higher office. Delicious stuff from Hare, so much interweaving plot threads, so much behind-the-scenes politicking, so much bureaucracy, so much wicked bon mots ("Justice is not a notion, it's a department of state, a badly-run one at that" 🤣😳), so much humanity of the everyday people actually affected by all the wheeling and dealing. So much fun! The cast has that one glorious recognisable name at the center of it all, acting his proverbial a** off, and dude, does Laurie deliver, I mean, give the man *all* the #Emmy's! But, don't forget all those other, less recognisable faces who do such a great job, hopefully they'll start getting higher profile stuff on this side of the proverbial pond: Brady, Bennett-Warner, Torrens…so much ensemble!

#TheUndoing (#HBO) Come for the wealth porn, stay for the over-the-top soapy fun, kid actor Jupe turning in another great performance, the inimitable Sutherland Sutherland-ing up a *storm*, and for Grant turning over to the dark side. As a committed Grant-ophile, I can't wait for his #Denzel-esque stream of against-type roles👏! PS. There's a fascinating class-struggle story somewhere in there about De Angelis & Cordova having the temerity to darken the steps of the rich and fabulous, but that's a story for another show… - - - #DavidEKelley #SusanneBier #AnthonyDodMantle #HughGrant #NicoleKidman Noah Jupe #DonaldSutherland #MatildaDeAngelis #IsmaelCruzCordova(so awesome in #BerlinStation!!!!) #EdgarRamirez #LilyRabe #NomaDumezweni @undoinghbo @hbo @susannebier

RIP #Maradona Larger than larger-than-life, saint, scoundrel, taker of breaths, breaker of hearts, boggler of minds, shaker of heads, bringer of smiles, heaver of sighs, taker of breaths…all the astonishing highs and devastating lows that life has to offer all rolled up into one blinding, charismatic package. Remember, *all* those years ago? All I heard was Baba go on and on about #PaoloRossi this and Paolo Rossi that. But something else was brewing in #Mexico86, something entirely magical(like that t-shirt that magically showed up with the green chap in the sombrero leaning on the football, man, did I *love* that shirt!) was brewing. We had one of those old-fashioned antennas, on a 10(15? 20? it's all larger-than-life at that age)-foot pole that you used this giant dial to slowly turn(no really, I once ran outside and that d*mn thing was physically turning!) to try and get such faraway exotic channels like Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Riyadh, Muscat even! And, for wha

RIP #SoumitraChatterjee Still can't believe it, what a massive loss this is for Bengal…India…cinema…*all* of us really. Seemed like he was always part of our lives, and always would be. As long as I can remember, his name was uttered with awed reverence/glee/laughter/that familiar affection with which Bengalis always seem to refer to their heroes, like they're just one of us. By the time I caught up to him he was already in his venerated phase. Ma took me to the film festival in Doha to see Ghare Baire…what a treat to see my first #SatyajitRay film, on the big screen, and what a treat to see so many other legendary figures, and there he was, amongst all those legends, the one and only: Soumitra. He was always Soumitra, no? No -da/ji necessary, the one, familiar, familial, name was enough. And what a treat it was to go back and discover his filmography with the one, the *only* Satyajit. What a run they had together, I daresay(I dare, I *dare*!), perhaps the *grea

RIP #AlexTrebek Growing up, we got the iconic theme music (ta-da ta-da ta-da tad-tada-tad-dum, right? I could *never* carry a tune😟) and clever answer-in-the-form-of-question setup through pop-culture osmosis before we saw a second of it, so by the time we actually got around to watching Jeopardy there was something warmly familiar about the whole thing, even its sternly genial(is that an ox-*and*-a-moron🤓?) host, who(m🤔?) we had never seen before, but instantly felt had always been part of our lives from the *very* beginning. Such was the magic of Alex Trebek. When I first got to Film School (remember those halcyonic[since we're throwing around a bunch of -ics around here🤗] days?), they showed us a bunch of iconic short docs (shot on film😱! remember *those* 🎞 days?!), was it all the same doc, were they different docs?, who amongst us can say?, there was #CalWorthington from #WorthingtonFord(did he bring a live tiger to the shoot?! er, bad choice of words😬, yikes😱,

#AllInTheFightForDemocracy Good, stirring stuff as inspiration is made on from the legendary Garbus. The historical section, especially, was pretty eye-opening, and(he added parenthetically), quite aggravating. Thankfully, there will always be the many who will continue to push back against those that seek to disenfranchise major portions of the populace. Hopefully, the timeliness of this will, err, ebb over time… now that, truly, would be such stuff as dreams are made on… - - - #LizGarbus #LisaCortes #StaceyAbrams #AndrewYoung #CarolAnderson #AllIn #TheFightForDemocracy @allinthefilm @amazonprimevideo @lizfgarbus

#TotallyUnderControl Like one of those dystopian Hollywood thrillers where a mysterious virus threatens the world and it's up to a few brave people to risk it all and cut through the hogwash and save the world…except it's true😳…& we're not yet saved😱! Another eye-opening, informative, impeccably-crafted, nerve-jarring documentary from Gibney, the hardest-working man in the doc bizness(&, dude, he's turned it from an eat-your-veggies endeavour into a self-sustaining *business*[man😂], well done!). Look, AG's really set the tech standards for documentaries(to the point where it's sorta intimidating for the rest of us😬?!), but man, does he outdo himself here, coming up with all kinds of doo-dads(I think that's the technical term for them) to try and film this in the middle of a raging pandemic. And wait, did I see an updated version of #ErrolMorris's famed #Interrotron? Seriously, kudos to the team for pulling this all off. Great st

Man, can you believe it, SeanConnery, *the* SeanConnery, the one whose name would be uttered with such awe by both Ma and Baba as far back as any one of us can remember, is no longer with us? How did that happen?! I'm pretty sure the first time we saw him was in #DarbyOGill, and I was like, man, he seems like fun. Then I think we must've seen him in Orient Express, I used to love those kinds of movies as a kid…and then, the *big* one, #IndianaJones! I mean, he was *perfect* no?, as Indy's dad, that smirk, that bluster, that swagger, that heart underneath it all…*perfect*. And, I began to understand, oh, right, SeanConnery! Time for a true confession: before ye olde #DanielCraig came along, #RogerMoore was my favourite #Bond (and maybe, still is😬?). And then, *much* later, we finally watched Goldfinger (we weren't allowed as kids, and I actually listened!), and Dr. No, and From Russia, and…well…yeah, I finally understood. The irony is that he never wanted to be

#BoratSubsequentMoviefilm / #Borat2 He's baaaack…and better/funnier/darker(🤭) than ever! Can it really have been almost…*15* years since the first one came out? Remember the pop-cultural event that was? I mean, unlike my throughly hip sister who was all in the know about #DaAliGShow, I had little to no(and little left town a long time ago🤣) idea who or what a #Borat was. The commercials were funny, but that movie, my G*d!(as Ma says!), that was something less. Thanks to the sui generis(sorry, been reading a lot of NYT lately😬) #LarryCharles was an event, no? The reaction in the crowd that opening night, before all the memes flooded our brains(there were memes back then, right?), wowwowweewa…sorry couldn't resist🤪! A *lot* has changed in the intervening years, right?, so it couldn't just be the same-old, same-old this time out, no? TBH was right, as funny and outrageous as the stuff is in the second movie is, there really is an undercurrent of, dareIsay?, matu

At long last, #Dodgers (& #TommyLasorda) have their #WorldSeries! True story: *Way* back when, Ma and Baba decamped for this mythical land called Los Estados Unidos(👍Duolingo) leaving my sister and me with our grandparents (we *definitely* got the better end of that bargain!). Among the exotic presents they brought back for us (which included toys from a movie I had never heard of, something called #StarWars?!) was a cap (back then hats to us were of the Western kind, the movie genre that is, not, ya know, *the* "West") with "LA" on it. Man, I loved that thing…wore it *all* the time, for *years*, but it was only after I finally came to this "LA" that I realised it wasn't just an "LA" cap, no, it was actually a…*Dodgers* cap. I'd been a fan all along and I didn't even know it! #LATogether (finally) behind a manager's pitching decision 😂! That bullpen: #Floro, #AlexWood(where's he been🤩?!), #Graterol(😂), #Victor

#OnTheRocks Sofia & Bill together again - be still my twee, indie heart! Fun, sweet, slightly sad, hangout movie, and really, who better to hang out with than Murray oozing his trademark charm, and Jones, oozing her trademark wary, winning warmth…and #NYC, oozing its trademark for-those-in-the-know-and-that-doesn't-include-you-invisible-velvet-rope vibe. But, yeah, TBH was right (as always!)… Slate kinda stole the show😲! And, dude, lookit Phoenix, if they're not careful they might just have a #DeanWareham-esque second career scoring rueful NY-indie-ish films with their trademark catchy indietronica(TM?) sounds🤗. Can you imagine #LostInTranslation was, wait for it… 17 years ago🙀?! Oof, what a run we were in back then… one awesome indie movie after another, one awesome indie band after another, and in those perfectly synergistic indie times, sometimes we would get one awesome indie movie soundtrack after another. Man, life sure was full of indie possibility bac

#FreeRayshawn (#Quibi) You’d think that with production values this awesome, the action this epic, the acting this good, and an ending so eye-opening... you’d *think* the powers-that-be would want this to be on the biggest personal-screen possible…but, then again, who am I to judge the best and the brightest and the richest in the media biz🤷‍♀️? Seriously, this one has Fuqua's imprint all over it: impressively stylish action triggered by superb actors in tight high-tension quarters, never allowing for a dull moment (which, to be fair, might be hard to find in 7-minute episodes). Look, I know the media schadenfreude(h/t TBH's #Duolingo🇩🇪) is strong with yon Quibi, but ya know, I thought it was a cool concept with some intriguing shows, perfectly suited to my infinitesimally small attention-span… …wait, what was I prattling on about? Anyhoo, enjoy…while you can! - - - #SeithMann #AntoineFuqua #MazMakhani #FrankZito #LaurenceFishburne #StephanJames #JasmineCephasJones #

#Aggie Well-meaning look at a remarkable woman, someone a philistine like me had never heard of, but thanks to whom a whole generation was exposed to contemporary art. You know those conspiracy type films, right, where a dogged reported stands in front of a wall drawing lines between all these disparate events and it all comes to a central point where the puppetmaster is revealed, right? Well, in this story, a self-described shy, retiring, housewife from Ohio became the center of the contemporary art world for much of the latter half of the 20th century! What a story! - - - #CatherineGund #AgnesGund #RoyLichtenstein #JohnWaters #JasperJohns #EllsworthKelly #MarkRothko #GlennLigon #KaraWalker #BryanStevenson #AvaDuVernay #MoMA #ArtForJusticeFund @strandreleasing @aggiemovie

#HonestThief Good, clean #Neeson shoot/blow-em-up fun. In the ever-expanding *infinite* universe of #LiamNeesons (I think I've seen all but two👏) this is a very solid entry. Some interesting plotting, some cool setpieces, a cast full-of name-brand actors…a good-time-was-had-by-all vibe. Credit the writers for trying to put some heart in between all the action. Ya know, I've enjoyed Donavan since his #BurnNotice days, kid's been steadily putting in some fine work, how come he doesn't have his own line of DTV B-movie actioners? Now, *those* I'd see! - - - #MarkWilliams #LiamNeeson #KateWalsh #JeffreyDonavan #RobertPatrick #JaiCourtney #AnthonyRamos #JasmineCephasJones(#Hamilton reunion!) @honestthiefmovie

#ColorOutOfSpace Awe-bl**dy-some! In the ever-expanding *infinite* universe of #NicCage DTV quickie gonzo* B-movies this is in the *very* upper percentile! Absolutely *tremendous* DP/compos/prod design-ing, especially when you consider the limited budget. Speaking of gonzo…yeah NC's full-bore awesome, but gotta say, the kids are definitely all right: Arthur, Meyer, Hilliard(creepy😱!), & esp. Knight who shows some real laid-back star charisma. And, man, that's some super-stylish directing from Stanley…poor chap hasn't made a feature in like 25 years…I understand that Hollywood's a quirky place, and that the career vicissitudes in said mythical place can be quite whiplash-inducing, but man, is this nuts…*25* years?! My goodness…hopefully this will resuscitate what should a fabulous directing career. C'mon #Marvel, don't be ageist, give him a call! Somewhere, the great #JohnCarpenter is beaming with pride! * At this point they should just

🤗 A bit of an anti-climax given how nerve-racking the #NBAFinals had been so far, but ya know, at this stage in my life, my heart is thankful for the night off! I mean, one second, the #Heat were up, and I slumped into my customary defeatist position on the sofa, and the next…#Rondo and #KCP and #CaruShow ignited a #Lakers run for the ages, and the next thing you know…well, the rest, as they say, is history (despite a slightly nervous Vogel timeout in the fourth quarter when the lead precipitously dipped below 20!). Congrats to the one, the only, #LeBron for joining #DannyGreen, the great #RobertHorry, and, who can forget, #JohnSalley?, for winning titles with three different teams…of course, he's the only #FinalsMVP from three different teams(for now…until #Kawhi #Djokovic-es himself into that stat!). Man, LBJ's GM-ing skills are something else, so many essential contributions from the likes of #DwightHoward, #MarkieffMorris, #Kuzma (TBH's fave)… …and of c

RIP #EddieVanHalen Guitar G*d to *millions* and an essential part of the summer soundtrack of our youth(because, back then, it was always summer, no?). It was on one of those many(fun, before I discovered my fear of flying) #GulfAir flights that I discovered #VanHalen. Back then, if the kids can believe it, you had audio programming in different channels when you plugged in these strange rubber two-pronged neckphones. I cycled between rock, oldies, and comedy (so many awesome #TheGoonShow, er, shows, but that's a story for another #TBT day…), always embracing the opportunity to not expand my horizons. And because all of them were on a loop, if you timed it right you could listen to your favourites multiple times by returning to the channel. I listened to #WhenItsLove, oh, maybe a 1000 times! What a strange, fun bunch! What album names: 1984(an album name that's simply a year?), OU812(an album name made up of a series of unrelated letters and numbers? ohhh…), For Unlawf

RIP #BobGibson One of *the* greatest, and most feared #baseball players, if not athletes of all time. An indelible part of sports and cultural history. Honestly, I only came to know of him because of the number of times he was mentioned on #PTI by #Kornheiser and #Wilbon, and they would rattle off his *incredible* numbers, marvel at his intimidating mound presence(he should've trademarked that term!), show the clips of him, like a modern-day superhero, doing unbelievable things in front of our eyes. The numbers are just too much, no? NL #MVP, 2x #CyYoung, 2x #WorldSeries MVP, 9x #AllStar, 9x #GoldGlove, 9x 200+ Ks, 3,117 K, 251 W, 2.91 ERA…okay, now comes the fun part… 255(😳!) CGs, 8 CGs in 9 starts in WS(😮!), 92 Ks in 81 IP in WS(🤭!), 1.89 ERA in WS(😲!), 17 K in WS game(😵!)…he *batted* .303 in 1970…and wait, in 1968, he won 22 games, completed 28 of his 34 starts, had 268 strikeouts, 13 shutouts, with an ERA of, get this…1.12(😱!) They lowered the mound next year

#OnceUponARiver Remarkable debut by both filmmaker and lead actress(*debut* - she literally has no other credits😮!). Wonderfully modest coming-of-age story that definitely does not sand down the rough edges of what the experience is like, but one that also takes time to accentuate those warm, beautiful, (sadly all-too)fleeting in-between moments which also define that pivotal time in our lives. You have to give massive credit to kid director Rose for taking on such a logistically challenging endeavour as her first feature, that, too, on a *micro* budget. She's helped out quite a bit by DP Hornsby's wonderfully naturalistic lensing(ha! love that term!), and Rae's understated music. But, finally, it's the great ensemble that carries the whole thing. All the supporting characters add so much, which is necessary given the episodic structure, esp. Ashton(from #BeverlyHillsCop! wasn't he awesome in that?!!!), who delivers the emotional gut-punch. And, lea

RIP #MichaelChapman Not quite the household name as some of the other star cinematographers, but when you have a career that stretches from #Spielberg & #Scorsese to Space Jam, and everyone/thing in between, well, you have to be considered one of the all-timers. Just look at the list of movies he worked on as a camera operator: Husbands, Klute, The Godfather…Jaws! And then, just look at the genre-defying work as a cinematographer: The Fugitive, the severely underrated Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Scrooged, Personal Best, The Man with Two Brains, The Lost Boys, and, of course, the 1-2 MS punch of Taxi Driver & Raging Bull! Look at the list of directors, I mean, he's a one-man collection of film history right there: SS, MS, Coppola, Ashby, Cassavetes, Pakula, Schrader, Towne, Reiner(*both* of them), Kaufman, Schumacher…so boldfaced just one name will do! Look at the run he had in the 70s, he wasn't a part of cinema history…he *was* cinema history! And t

#TheBrokenHeartsGallery Delightful…just bl**dy delightful! Best #GenZ-Rom-Com-That-I-Was-Already-Vibing-With-And-Then-Don't-Go-Breaking-My-Heart-Just-Put-It-Over-The-Top-Starring-A-Scene-Stealer-Who-Gets-Her-Own-Rightful-Mainstream-Spotlight-All-The-While-Sharing-It-With-Fellow-Scene-Stealers-All-Nicely-Put-Together-By-A-First-Time-Writer-Director-Aided-Immeasurably-By-The-Spotify-Definition-Of-Perfectly-Breezy-RC-Music, Ever! Seriously, that kid Vishy(c'mon, ya know that's her #desi petname😂) just absolutely stole #Blockers and you were thinking, ya know, if only Hollywood would…but ya know what, Hollywood did, can you believe it, Hollywood *did*! Kid's just had a spectacular, (if slightly-oxymoronic)under-the-radar, rise up the ranks (supporting in TV series, supporting in indie high-profile TV movie, starring in indie film) and wow, her own starring role in a mainstream romantic comedy…without too much sturm-und-drang about her ethnicity, she's just one

#TBT so how about a #Throwback Movie? 😁 OnTheBasisOfSex (2018) Well-crafted, stirring biopic that thankfully follows the turning-point-in-heroine's-life rather than the dutiful cradle-to-grave model. Almost like a real-life superhero origin story. Massive credit to director Leder for guiding us through the complex legal battle at hand without ever losing sight of the characters at the heart of it all. Nice work by the ensemble, esp. young Spaeny, and vets Root, Waterston, Mulkey, & esp Bates(it's a defining fact of life, no?, we could always use more Kathy Bates👍!). But, I was not expecting this to be the two-hander it was, and Jones and Hammer are fantastic together. Their easy chemistry, commitment to their roles, it's what ultimately elevates the whole thing, and makes it worthwhile, especially in retrospect… - - - #MimiLeder #FelicityJones #ArmieHammer #KathyBates #SamWaterston #StephenRoot #CaileeSpaeny #JackReynor #JustinTheroux #ChrisMulke

#MurderInTheWoods Good, clean, bootstrapped-80's-slasher-homage fun. As TBH remarked, they brought a giant hunting knife but no torch, er, flashlight…I was like, hah, #millennials (or #GenZ-ers🤔?, okay, fine, Gen-Zers)😂… …but ya know what, instead of whinging about how Hollywood does a terrible job about Latin(o?a?X?) representation, preferring to shoehorn in them into lazy genre categories, these (millennial? GenZ?)kids pulled themselves up with their, er, bootstraps(that's what kids still do these days, right?), and pulled off a cheeky slasher flick on a micro-budget, in only 15 days, and managed to get Trejo(yes, *that* Trejo) to, ahem, boot. Good for them! The cast is a lot of fun, esp. scene-stealing Wise, the twist is cool (even if TBH figured it out, okay, now she's just showing off), and good for Trejo for lending a hand, the guy's the very definition of a mensch…and I know from personal experience👍 Kids these days…I tell ya…always doing what t

#21Bridges Good, clean, dirty-NYPD-action-thriller fun. In this day and age of slapdash indie-action movies, it's so nice to see a spare-no-expense, production-values-up-the-wazoo, awesome-music, tremendous DP-ing (actually lighting all those city blocks!) turn-off-your-brain-and-enjoy flick. So nice, also, to see such a name-brand cast rising above the plot (TBH, as usual, saw the twist coming from a mile away🤭), with special honours to that kid James, he's already had one h*lluva career-start, and it's only the beginning👍! And, yeah, it's wonderful to see the effortlessly commanding Boseman at the center of it all. He really was something, no?, at home in larger-than-life comic-book spectaculars, noble-minded period pieces, and gritty contemporary action-thrillers. So much range… PS. "The trigger…" "You'd better have *perfect* diction to call me that…"😳😬 - - - #BrianKirk #PaulCameron #HenryJackman #AlexBelcher #Anthon

RIP #DianaRigg Legendary star of stage and screen(*all* of them) with the kind of career length-and-breadth few can dream of. The funny thing is that even before I knew of her, I knew her…in those old video tapes the British expats would bring back with them and make available in the lending library. There was this strange, exciting, super-fun spy show that I fell in love with, and had no idea that it shared the same name as the ultimate cinematic franchise, and that impossibly-cool woman doing those impossibly-cool things was the one and only *Dame* Diana Rigg. I knew of her, of *Dame* Diana Rigg, by the time I watched her so-awesome intros to Masterpiece Mystery, that's *Dame* Diana Rigg I would tell TBH… Of course, I knew her principally from The Avengers, and as the best Bond Woman(tied with Eva Green) from #OHMSS, and from the awesome Muppet movie, and, of course, as the *razor*-tongued #OlennaTyrell from #GoT(that's *Dame* Diana Rigg I'd tell TBH…), but,

#TENET Mere mortals: don't try to understand it, feel it! Feel the larger-than-life, LieMax theatrical experience, where every cough, sniffle, sneeze will make you feel the same life-threatening dread as the Protagonist. Feel the Red Team/Blue Team attention to detail, right from the opening company logos! Feel the *massive* scale(they crashed a 747😮!), the massive score (Goransson takes the baton from Zimmer and sprints with it🎶🎹🥁💪!), the massive globe-hopping, the massive time-altering, mind-bending, reality-reshaping, if-you-dig-deep-enough-you'll-see-it's-not-all-empty-calories-critics-be-d*mned concept underpinning the whole thing. Feel the #JamesBond/#MissionImpossible-with-touches-of-#Hitchcock's-MacGuffin/Cool-Blonde homage. Feel the incredible craftsmanship on full display, those costumes, the cinematography…and especially the deft, seemingly impossible editing, that how-did-they-do-it? VFX (give them the #Oscars now/later, it won't m

#TBT so how about a #Throwback Movie? 😁 #MessageFromTheKing (2017) Terrific, down-and-dirty, gritty, sleazy, violent, LA-neo-noir directed with stylish panache and centered on a remarkably contained, yet furious lead performance by Boseman. This is the kind of thing that blows up an algorithm, right? That neverending parade of quickie, cheap, indie B-action all starring well-known actors, all featuring well-trod tropes, all made for a price, all turn a quick profit before moving on to the next one (I've probably seem them all🤣!)…how do you tell the algorithm that no, this one's a step above? You say, look at the cinematography, wow, instead of the usual-usual flat-digital turn-the-gain-up stuff we get texture, we get quality, we get, dare I say it, some cinema? *Massive* kudos to Lenczewska. You say, hear the music, this hasn't been dashed off on someone's Mac just to fit the post schedule. You say, look at the flair and tersely stylish direction by genre specia

RIP #ChadwickBoseman Gone way, way too soon. That all-too rare leading man: someone with serious acting chops to match that simmering slow-burn charisma. I discovered him, I suppose, with the rest of the world with his seemingly out-of-nowhere leading-man hello-world performance as #JackieRobinson, and man, did he hit the ground running. 13 movies in 7 years - he clearly was a man on a mission! The biographical figures came fast and furious: #JamesBrown, #ThurgoodMarshall. And then, of course, the role that launched him into the stratosphere: #TChalla… In that whirling, eye-popping movie populated with all manner of larger-than-life screen-burning actors and characters, he was the cool, studly, calm at the center of it all, giving the audience that much-needed emotional through-line. Usually, these "overnight" success are either industry-mandated "manufactured" stars…or they're the kind of actors who've been there for a while, toiling away, ho

#TBT so how about a #Throwback Movie? 😁 #BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure (1989) Okay, what I'm about to tell you may shatter all your preconceived notions of the foundations upon which time and space and our universe is built: I had never seen Bill and Ted…😱😱😱😱😱 Somehow, after my many years of college, many years of movie-watching, many years of whiling away ye wee hours of the morning glued to the television, somehow, someway, I had managed to miss this seminal, coming-of-age experience. For that, I am truly sorry. I am truly sorry for all that time I have missed out on a most excellent, most charming, most sweet, most fun, most goofy (if a slightly white-ish male-ish view of history😇) movie featuring two of the most awesomest leads you'll ever find. Credit to the screenwriters, too, because once that whole key plant-and-payoff happens, well the time-bending floodgates open! And, man, who would've thought that some 30(!!!!!!!!!!) truly-odd years late

#Bloodshot Good, clean, #TheTerminator-Meets-#EdgeOfTomorrow better-than-expected B-Movie fun. Kudos to the producers for managing to do all that globe-trotting on a non-unlimited budget. Kudos, too, for Vin, so good at what he does, and for keeping on doing that that thing he does so well. Gotta say, though, that kid Lamorne Morris steals the show, didn't realise he was British (Narrator: He's not🤣) PS. Guy Pearce, man, *still* going strong💪! PPS. Don't look now, but there's an entire generation of action directors weaned on the work of one #MichaelBay, at some point we'll have to acknowledge that he's a genre unto himself, so would that make it what, Bay-sian?, Bay-esque? Bay-rrific? A lot of food for PhD thought… - - - #DavidSFWilson #SteveJablonsky (The One, The Only)#VinDiesel #LamorneMorris #Guy Pearce #TobyKebbell #EizaGonzalez #SamHeughan #JohannesHaukurJohannesson #TalulahRiley @bloodshot @davidsfwilson @sonypictures @valiantent

#BoysState Tremendous #BugsyMalone-Meets-#MrSmithGoesToWashington-Meets-#LordOfTheFlies fun…except it's all real😲! I mean, the inevitable feature adaption will be a moot point, because this thing looks, feels, acts like the best of the awards-season mid-budget narrative fiction films of yore: from the impossibly high production values (man, it must nerve-shredding for a neophyte to break into the world of documentary films these days - the crafts[wo]manship bar has been set impossibly high!) to the pitch-perfect(ahem🤣) casting, to the kind of rising tension/stakes they apparently teach you in film school(the lessons never took with me🤦‍♀️), all building to the absolutely-perfect almost-too-good-to-be-true ending👍! And the casting, hoo boy, can you come up with a better leading quartet than these four? And all the other characters on the periphery… man, seriously, dynamite stuff, absolutely dynamite. And yeah, the sort of devils-bargain rationalisation that you talk yourself

#TheOldGuard Good, clean turn-off-your-brain fantasy-sci-fi-ish ensenble-action-adventure fun. Of course, the honest, raw human moments in between all that mayhem (including some of the cooler close-fighting this side of Bourne!) gives away the fact that we have a proper filmmaker at the helm here, not some Johnny-come-lately neophyte action hack. Speaking of mayhem: "There was an unanticipated amount of carnage"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 PS. I've said it once, I've said it a million times, that Schoenaerts needs to be a star! - - - #GinaPrinceBythewood #CharlizeTheron #MatthiasSchoenaerts #ChiwetelEjiofor #KiKiLayne(from #IfBealeStreetCouldTalk👏!) #HarryMelling(remember him #TheBalladOfBusterScruggs😮?!) #MarwanKenzari(Jafar from #Aladdin👍)! #LucaMarinelli @oldguardmovie @gpbmadeit @netflix #OldGuard

#TBT so how about a #Throwback Movie? 😁 #TheDog (2014) One of those headspinning truth-is-stranger-than-fiction-way-stranger stories that the good documentaries, uh, spin so very well. If "The Dog" weren't a real person, you'd have to make him up! You always hear that tagline, right?, the [blank] was only the beginning…that was never truer here. I mean, yeah, we've all seen #DogDayAfternoon, but there's so much more that happened before..and after😲. Wojtowicz himself is a terrific character, and kudos to the documentarians for digging beneath that charismatic, seemingly-fun surface to hint at the darkness beneath. And, kudos, also, for giving a showcase to his mom, a star in her own right! And how about all that early gay rights activism footage…real eye-opening stuff. An informative, absorbing, entertaining documentary about a quintessential New York character. - - - #AllisonBerg #FrankKeraudren #JohnWojtowicz #TheresaWojtowicz #Sidn

#PerryMason (#HBO) Terrifically entertaining, especially the early LA-PI-noir stuff, and the later courtroom drama is agreeably comforting. G*d bless HBO and its production values, this thing looks like tens of millions of bucks! Give the casting director a raise, this has to be one of the better ensembles put together in recent Cable TV memory: Lithgow, Whigham, Rankin, Taylor, Root, Chalk, Falcon, Howard, Lange, Patrick, Mays, Corddry(whew!)…but, yeah, I've resisted the Rhys hype-train(is that what the kids call it😜?) so far, but between this and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, maybe it's time for me to finally check out #TheAmericans😂? And, dude, Maslany, her post-#OrphanBlack bump was way too short, hopefully her stirring performance here will make Hollywood take another look. But, gotta say, the MVPs are Rylance and the great Blanchard👍 Totally looking forward to Season 2! PS. Anyone else miss #BoardwalkEmpire😭? - - - #RobertDowneyJr(yes, that #

#DoctorSleep Look, I normally don't watch horror, but when TBH wants to and when one-name film-school DP-G*d #Fimognari's involved…well, then, what choice does one have? Thankfully, this is less horror and more engaging, eminently-watchable, YA-ish supernatural mystery-thriller directed with languid nihilism by kid director Flanagan. Thank G*d(s) I've only seen #TheShining(a terrifying TBT story for another day😱!) 1.65 times (incl. in this)…any more and I'll be hearing the ER's siren calls. And it's one thing for G*d #Spielberg to do it, but man, the guts that these kids have to go *there* - no, literally, there, *all* the way there…man, the courage of youth, amirite?! And, thank all the g*ds for Ferguson, who plays the rare female villain, and plays her with all her creepy-cool glory. One of these days Hollywood will finally give her the post #MissionImpossible-breakout star vehicle she deserves… Sooooo, TS isn't really about a haunted hotel

#TBT so how about a #Throwback Movie? 😁 #TheInnocents (1961) 🤭 Quite simply: one of *the* greatest (horror)films of all time, and one of *the* most *terrifying* experiences of my life! basu! - when will you learn, man, when will you bl**dy learn?! Why?! Why?!!!!!!!! The only way I could get through this was to watch it in the brightest, broadest daylight with *all* the windows *wide* open, and the sounds of unlicensed socially un-distant revelry all around... ... until you realise that the point of the whole brooding, gothic, *stunningly*-photographed #blackandwhite *wide*screen #CinemaScope affair is that even in this warm bright broad daylight you're not safe😱! This has to be one of the the most impeccably-crafted movies I've ever seen - the aforementioned cinematography (each methodically-framed shot is worthy of, uh, framing), the spare, unnerving sound design(incredible!), the production design(stunning!), the costumes(fabulous!), it boggles the min