Herr Gruber

Charlie Connelly1 on the author-turned terrorist who led the attack on the Nakatomi Plaza building… Charismatic, cultured and hugely intelligent, Gruber was perfectly equipped to become a shining light in the reunified Germany that was only a matter of months away at his death. If the ambition, daring and meticulous planning employed in the Nakatomi… Continue reading Herr Gruber

Talented bastard

Steven Johnson on Learning From Get Back: To me, the scenes where we see the Beatles reaching back to an idea they first started noodling on years ago — an idea that we know they will keep cultivating for another few years — are some of the most inspiring moments in Get Back. Yes, for… Continue reading Talented bastard

Ridley Scott

Towards the end of a lengthy snark-fest of a MeFi thread, following an interview in which Ridley Scott blamed the poor box office of his latest directorial project, The Last Duel, on “millennials” came this comment on Scott’s career: Ridley Scott is right about one thing. Blade Runner was ahead of its time. Well, that… Continue reading Ridley Scott

Jarvis sings!

Jarvis Cocker provides the vocal performance for this video of “Aline” from The French Dispatch: Dammit, the cast listed in the credits for that film (which form the backdrop for the video) keep almost persuading me that I really should consider taking a trip to a local cinema for the first time since our first… Continue reading Jarvis sings!

Irresistible

I’m indebted to Tim Bray for the pointer to jwz’s They Live and the secret history of the Mozilla logo, which I must have read at the time but which I don’t think I posted about here: I’m going to draw a line through 1930s agitprop, Ronald Reagan, methane-breathing zombie space aliens, the Mozilla logo,… Continue reading Irresistible

Skyfire

I’m indebted to the Phil and Lisa Ruin the Movies podcast for bringing Skyfire to my attention yesterday. Take a plot that amounts to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom minus the dinosaurs. Throw in a couple of known Western names – director Simon West and actor Jason Isaacs – to help it get some profile in… Continue reading Skyfire

On screen(s) in 2021

Given the way film release schedules have been disrupted over the last year, it feels strange to read an article about Upcoming Must-See Movies in 2021 and contemplate just when and where these might show up. For what it’s worth, out of that selection I’m looking forward to… Malcolm and Marie General rule of thumb:… Continue reading On screen(s) in 2021

QG: HHH

David Squires shares with the world his take on The Queen’s Gambit: Hungry Hungry Hippos edition: A popular tabletop game that requires considerable guile and skill Has to be said, there’s a small part of me that would have really liked to see this.1 And a large part of me that thinks that take on… Continue reading QG: HHH