What are you watching? - 2025

Not About Food
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The Accountant 2 (2025) - dir. Gavin O’Connor

After 2016’s The Accountant, both the director and stars were eager to start in on a sequel. The first film was a modest critical and commercial success, and there was surely enough to the concept of Affleck’s autistic savant accountant Christian Wolff bouncing off Bernthal as his wisecracking mercenary brother. But churning tudio leadership and a focus on larger blockbusters over more mid-budget, adult-centered content meant the project was stuck in development hell for 8 long years.

So, worth the wait?

Sure. The first film was reasonably enjoyable for a high concept action flick, with the same amount of care and thought as, say, one of the better Jason Statham “murder machine kicks righteous ass” films. If it had a standout flaw, it was that the film took itself a little too seriously, which meant Affleck’s ‘on the spectrum’ mannerisms came off as kinda flat and cheap. The whole robotic, affectless schtick that is a lazy person’s instant characterization of what ‘autism’ looks like.

The sequel doesn’t really solve these problems, so much as lean into them for the comedy potential. There’s a LOT more humor inherent here, now that it’s essentially become a buddy-cop Odd Couple dynamic. The plot here is especially silly, inventing a ‘spontaneous savant syndrome’ where brain trauma turns people into tactical geniuses or some such, but as with most of these films, the details are pretty immaterial. We want to see Affleck and Bernthal argue, misunderstand one another, some awkward comedy where Ben’s social failings suddenly become positives (here, his sudden joy and skill at country line dancing) and the aforementioned righteous ass-kicking. And, in that sense, the movie delivers on its promises.

Now, I could, if were so inclined, go off on how this film portrays neuro-atypical people, how not every one on the spectrum is a math or pattern recognition genius, and on and on. It’s actually pretty egregious if you’re in the mood to be angry about it. But firstly, I don’t think that’s really my argument to make. I’m not part of that community. And secondly, while it almost certainly isn’t representative of any typical reality, neither is Lord of the Rings or The Substance or any other film about some ‘heightened reality’. These are characters with superpowers, every bit as silly as someone in a cape and spandex. But the handwavy explanations for them are just marginally more grounded than “alien super-race” or “magic lion blood”. The film doesn’t expect you to believe these people ACTUALLY exist. It’s just contemplating a fun story where they DO exist.

If you liked the first well enough, the sequel will make for a decent evening’s entertainment. Currently streaming on Amazon Prime in the US.

3 out of 5 amusingly unfunny tax-accountant jokes.

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Yeah. I felt like this picture delivered on just about everything you could want or expect from this franchise and the comedy between the main brother characters is a welcome relief from Affleck’s flat affect in this role and the fairly intense occasional violence.

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On YouTube, Mozart’s clarinet concerto, Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. I’ve loved this piece for a long time, but I’ve never seen it performed. I love the stamina of the soloist, all those breaths.

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I just started watching Murderbot on Apple TV. It’s a cheesy sci fi show. Alexander Skarsgård is the best part of the show, as the sarcastic Muderbot, who is hooked on a cheesy space soap opera. His internal funny thoughts to the mostly stupid humans is amusing.

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Mars Express (2023) - dir. Jérémie Périn

In the year 2200, private detective Aline and her robot partner Carlos (an artificial ‘backup’ of her deceased human partner) are trying to arrest a hacker who is jailbreaking robots, allowing them to break the directives that keep them from harming humans, or even swearing. Earth has become a slum of the un- and underemployed, thanks to mechanical labor, and the same is threatening to happen on the domed cities of Mars. Of course, there’s a wealthy industrialist (isn’t there always?), anxiety over new artificial ‘organic’ intelligence, with questions about what constitutes life and sentience.

The film also contains beautiful futuristic design, with expressive characters animated in vibrant blues and yellows and soft pastel pinks and greens. It’s taking a lot of cues from very obvious sources, Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, as well as noir classics like The Big Sleep and Chinatown. But if the pieces are somewhat familiar, the arrangements are new, and really well executed. The animation is generally excellent, with a lot of design choices leading to really interesting effects. Some of the robots have ‘projected’ holographic faces. Which means when they ‘touch’ their own faces, their hands block the projection, and bits of them flicker away. And it’s little touches like this that make this and especially notable entry into “animated sci-fi for grownups” genre (subgenre? sub-sub-genre?)

It’s available for digital rental/purchase at various outlets including Prime and Fandango. I was fortunate to see it at my little microtheater, so I would DEFINITELY consider the $5 rental fee absolutely worth it. I saw it in French w/ subtitles, but I believe there’s an English dub available if you have a preference.

4 of 5 drinks for a pointedly sober detective that decides to jump off the wagon, as they so often do.

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I caught this last summer and thought it was great! Need to give it another watch soon.

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I treat myself to two or three movies to own on physical
media each year (a self imposed limit so as not to be utterly irresponsible).

This is one I am putting in the list for consideration this year.

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Dogma (1999) - dir. Kevin Smith

Yay!! Dogma is back!! After almost 20 years(!!), Kevin Smith’s 1999 religious satire (and part of the “View Askewniverse”. Smith was doing this 10 years before Marvel!) is being restored and prepped for a new (presumably) Blu Ray and 4K release. The DVD came out in 1999, the original blu ray was in 2008, and the film has been mouldering inside the Intellectual Property dungeon of Miramax, the empire controlled by convicted rapist and cartoon ogre Harvey Weinstein. It’s been impossible to stream, and Smith, though he’d been trying for years, was understandably reluctant to pay Weinstein off, esp. during the initial revelations and ensuing trial. Meanwhile the out of print blu ray has been going for $100+ on eBay.

But apparently, inthe Miramax liquidation, an independent group bought a group of Miramax owned films, Dogma included. The new owners reached out to Smith and were more than happy to work with him to get the rights back.

Which brings us to today. Since 6/5, and going in through at least this week, the film is back for a limited run in theaters, with home releases following later this year. If it’s been a minute since you’ve seen it (and unless you got some sort of release back in the day, it probably has been), it’s well worth revisiting. Affleck and Damon play Bartleby and Loki, respectively; two angels sentenced to eternity on earth as punishment for questioning God. George Carlin has an outstanding supporting roll has Cardinal Glick, spokesman for the new Catholicism WOW!™ rebrand, replete with “Buddy Christ”. You’ve also got Alan Rickman, Jason Lee, Selma Hayek, Chris Rock, and even Bud Cirt and Alanis Morissette. And, of course Smith and Jason Mewes as Jay and Silent Bob.

It absolutely holds up just as well as you remember it. Catch it in the theater if you can, or at least keep an eye out for when it becomes home-viewable soon! I’ll be picking up the new edition of the disc, whenever it comes out, while my partner smugly waves her vintage 1999 VHS copy at me.

4 out of 5 really annoyed Metatrons.

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It aged very well. Not sure where I saw it recently, but it wasn’t in the theater.

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I was actually able to watch a pirated version on YouTube a little while back, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don’t remember when I saw it the first time, but it was at least 20 years ago, well before memes were a thing. When all the “Buddy Christ” memes started coming out, I thought, “Man, that looks so familiar,” but I couldn’t place where I’d seen it before. Loved Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, George Carlin, and Linda Fiorentino (be still, my beating heart!).

IF there is a hell, depending on whose version of Christianity is right, Damon and Affleck are definitely going there, or definitely not. It’s really a binary thing, no gray area whatsoever!

[Edited to correct the medium]

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Italian TV is almost as bad as Italian pop music, but when it’s all that’s available, ya gotta check it out.

Sky UNO was showing Foodish, a competition between 4 chefs for the best version of a particular dish, all from the same city. The first episode we saw was in Milan, and the dish was cacio e pepe. One of the judges (who was wearing the dumbest hat ever) looked familiar somehow. He turned out to be Joe Bastianich, whose command of Italian was rather impressive. The hat is also apparently his trademark :woman_shrugging:t2:

The first chef gets to come along to the next competitor’s place and vote on their dish, and so on, until the winner is chosen: the prize being the honor to slap a Foodish sticker on their restaurant’s door (or counter top, depending on the kind of place) plus 1,000€ price money.

It was nice to see just how much (kitchen) and conversational Italian I understand — if only I spoke as well :wink:

The second episode we watched was set in Naples, with competitors making a montanara, which is apparently a thick, small fried pizza-ish thing with whatever toppings the chef deems appropriate.

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Finished Dept. Q. Eh.

Coulda probz been edited down to fewer episodes, and it was kind of unbelievable.

The highlight for me was Alexej Manvelov.

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I finished it Wednesday night. I thought it was really good, although I did wonder if they were ever going to rescue that poor woman. I agree about Alexej Manvelov, those soulful eyes. Fingers crossed for more seasons.

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The embouchure on that one!

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When I first looked him up it said he was a Swedish actor, which I found a bit confusing :wink:

I thought he was the most likable character, too.

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I found that confusing too until I found this.
Alexej Manvelov is of Kurdish descent. He was born in Moscow to a Russian mother and a Kurdish father from Syria. He grew up in Sweden.

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Yup. Looked him up as well & that made a lot more sense — e.g. his looks & excellent accent, although I first thought it was meant to be a Turkish accent.

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Bring Her Back (2025) - dir. Danny and Michael Philippou

Poor Piper and Andy. These Aussie step-siblings just lost their father, their only remaining parent. 13 year old Piper is mostly blind, and is set to be sent into foster care while Andy is sent to a group home 'til he’s 18, a mere three months from now. But Andy objects, and they both end up living with Laura, a former social worker herself and previous foster parent.

But something with Laura is… off. She initially presents as a little kooky and well meaning, but that slowly morphs into some rather strange practices. She doesn’t seem to like Andy very much. And there’s her other foster child, Oliver, who is nearly catatonic and non-verbal. Stuff ensues, but there is no hilarity. No hilarity at all.

The Philipou brothers’ scored a hit with 2023’s Talk To Me, which took grief and wedded it with addiction and a supernatural twist to make something that was genuinely scary and squirm inducing, with moments of shocking viciousness punctuating a tense and uneasy atmosphere. Here, they’re exploring similar territory; the story centers on grief and trauma. You wouldn’t be wrong in comparing the general vibe to Ari Aster’s Hereditary. Bring Her Back isn’t quite as effective from a plotting perspective. It’s not hard to see what’s coming, and the revelations aren’t anything that hasn’t been done in lots of other films. But for sheer bodily brutality, this one is up there with The Ugly Stepsister in sequences that will have you clutching your knees to your chest and watching from between your fingers.

The performances are also uniformly excellent. Billy Barrett and Sona Wong as Andy and Piper seem to have an authentic relationship, and react to their situation like the adolescents they are, rather than tiny adults. Sally Hawkins as Laura is fantastic. She has the ability to summon up that sort of crazy-weird energy similar to Amanda Plummer, Lori Petty, or Kate Dickie. Even at a relatively tight 98 minutes, the middle section drags a touch, and, ultimately, it’s a touch less satisfying as a whole than I might have wished, but those are relatively small rough spots in an otherwise VERY effective film.

3.75 out of 5 shattered teeth. Yeah, it goes there. And a lot worse places.

Currently in theaters, but likely not for much longer. My local first runs are only showing it for limited late-night screenings. I expect it will hit streaming in a few weeks.

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We just finished watching all four seasons of Banshee, on Max, and really enjoyed it. Thank you for the recommendation @damiano! Who knew that such a peaceful Amish town could have so much violence and crime :grinning: They had some of the best choreographed fight scenes. I didn’t realize that the ‘criminal sheriff’ played Homelander on The Boys series on Prime.

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We finally dove into S2 of Severance. The recap didn’t help much, but I slowly got back into it again. I shoulda just rewatched the first season when I had the chance :crazy_face: