14.03.2026 11:14
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Poster for A Beautiful Mind (2001). A closeup of a thoughtful looking man in a suit and loose tie with a distorted, blurred figure and background over his right shoulder. Tagline reads: “He saw the world in a way no one could have imagined”.
A man with stubble in a suit looks panicked as he stands in front of a blackboard with maths formulas scrawled on it. Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind (2001)
#BestPictureCatchup Film 27 - A Beautiful Mind (2001). Ron Howard’s biopic of mathematician John Nash and the way he experienced the world gets bogged down by its own plot twist but it remains compelling thanks to hugely empathetic performances from Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly. #Filmsky
My #LastFourWatched for #LetterboxdFriday
Poster for The English Patient (1996). A man stands on a desert landscape with the sun setting, looking back over his shoulder. Tagline reads “In memory, love lives forever”.
A man drives a truck through the desert, beside him a woman sits and gives him a wry smile. Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient (1966)
#BestPictureCatchup Film 26 - The English Patient (1996). Anthony Minghella’s sweeping wartime romance is languid in its pacing, but is also layered, sensual and visually arresting, exploring passion, trauma and memory through an enigmatic unreliable narrator as played by Ralph Fiennes. #Filmsky
Of course it's bloody Meta. It means they don't have to clean up their mess by trying to off-load their compliance to someone else while simultaneously scraping more data.
^stares in Verhoeven*
Someone drew the short straw at The Guardian
Poster for Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Image of a black chauffeur and an elderly white lady wearing a hat reflected in a car’s rearview mirror. Tagline reads “The funny, touching and totally irresistible story of a working relationship that became a 25-year friendship”.
A black chauffeur smiles as he drives, the elderly white woman in a pink dress and hat sits in the back and looks annoyed. Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
#BestPictureCatchup Film 25 - Driving Miss Daisy (1989). It might lean on stereotypes and arguably shut out the far more layered Do the Right Thing at the Oscars, but Bruce Beresford’s film is wry and emotional and has two great lead performances from Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy. #Filmsky
Men will literally genetically engineer a new type of onion instead of sharpening their kitchen knife www.thetimes.com/article/ab55...
Poster for Rain Man (1988). Two men walk down a road with trees on other side. One wears a beige jacket and slacks, the other a black suit jacket and sunglasses and carries a rucksack in one hand.
Two men sit side by side, one young and wearing a dark jacket looks at the other older man in beige staring off into the distance. Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man (1988)
#BestPictureCatchup Film 24 - Rain Man (1988). There’s a valid discussion to be had about the exploitation of autistic characters as plot devices in fiction, but this mismatched brothers road movie is always engaging and the accomplishment of Dustin Hoffman’s performance is undeniable. #Filmsky
in case you've never seen it, this is Roger Ebert on The Mummy
rfk standing very normally in a steak and shake
leland palmer in the black lodge
America’s problem is far worse than Trump. The problem is that once in power a president can apparently do anything, no matter how crazy, and it seems there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it.
To restore democracy and create a fairer, safer, greener world, we need massive taxes on the ultra-rich. As in the 1940s. People get confused about this. The main purpose of such taxes is *not* to raise revenue. The point is to stop the few dominating the many. It's an essential democratic measure.
Poster for Out of Africa (1985). A neatly dressed woman and a rugged man sit on the ground with African plains behind them.
A man and a woman in safari clothes on the bank of a river, the man washes the woman’s hair with a jug and she laughs. Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in Out of Africa (1985)
#BestPictureCatchup Film 23 - Out of Africa (1985). Sydney Pollack’s Kenya-set romantic epic is a bit of a slog that tip toes around colonialism in Africa, but almost every frame could be hung in a gallery and many moments with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford make you swoon. #Filmsky
My double review of Cold Storage and The Bluff - secondcutpod.substack.com/p/double-fea...
Poster for Terms of Endearment (1983). Black and white image of a mother and daughter posing outside their house. Tagline reads: “Come to laugh, come up cry, come to care, come to terms.”
A mother and her adult daughter in their pyjamas lying on their stomachs on a bed, drinking tea and talking. Debra Winger and Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment (1983)
#BestPictureCatchup Film 22 - Terms of Endearment (1983). Like all of James L. Brooks’ dramedies, this could stand to be a little shorter, but Shirley Maclaine and Debra Winger are forces of nature as a loving mother and daughter going through personal trials. #Filmsky
My double review of Cold Storage and The Bluff - secondcutpod.substack.com/p/double-fea...
"Badenoch has ranked MPs based on how well they are performing on X..."
5 to go…
Poster for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). A family photography of a smiling father, mother and their young son.
A man and a woman sit at a cafe table, the man leaning forward and pointing aggressively at the woman. Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
#BestPictureCatchup Film 21 - Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). Robert Benton’s exploration of a messy custody battle is understated and honest in depicting its characters warts and all, while delivering huge emotional punches and showcasing the best of Dustin Hoffman’s talents as an everyman. #Filmsky
Poster for Patton (1970). Image of a medal-bedecked general saluting against the background of an American flag with silhouetted tanks moving across the bottom.
A general with his bull terrier dog sitting behind him speaks to soldiers from his Jeep. George C. Scott in Patton (1970)
#BestPictureCatchup Film 20 - Patton (1970). George C. Scott’s performance as the often brilliant, but egotistical, eccentric and controversial American general won him an Oscar (which he turned down) but the film also works equally well as a muscular war movie and a sly satire. #Filmsky
This is going to be soooo bad
Yep Hadley Freeman reprinted this lie in her Guardian column, and refused to apologise for it.
The Graun printed the most graceless retraction possible, never retweeted it or apologised z
Sigh. These all had to start with a great original.
Go and watch Hoppers.
Poster for Gigi (1958). A woman’s winking face over the stylised red film title against a white background.
At an opulent bar, a man with a suit, top hat and cane sits at a table with a bottle of champagne while a young woman in a green coat and yellow hat stands next to him. Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan in Gigi (1958)
#BestPictureCatchup Film 19 - Gigi (1958). Vincente Minnelli won Best Director as well as this musical taking Best Picture, and while it looks lavish, this story of a Parisian playboy’s relationship with a much younger woman is far from romantic, coming off creepy at best. #Filmsky
Thinking about Rob Reiner quite a bit these days. Especially how he had incredible instincts for what not to show, how to imply things so you don't have to explain them, when to show violence and when to show the reaction instead.
Poster for Around the World in 80 Days (1956). Cartoon of two men being carried away by a hot air balloon with the film title written in the fabric, while a train, ships, a cart and an elephant move across the top. Tagline reads: “It’s a wonderful world, if you’ll only take the time to go around it!”
Three men and a woman in Victorian dress sit together on a train. Robert Newton, Shirley MacLaine, Cantinflas and David Niven in Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
#BestPictureCatchup Film 18 - Around the World in 80 Days (1956). There’s some undeniable cultural insensitivity here, but this epic adaptation of Jules Verne’s globe-hopping adventure is a feast for the eyes and packed full of famous cameos and film references. #Filmsky
I’ve spent years, decades, obsessing over the Bush Administration’s Iraq WMD lies, writing about them, debunking them.
I can think of no lie about Iraq WMDs told by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al that comes even close to the enormity and absurdity of this lie from Donald Trump.