The basu! Guide to the Movies

#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...