there are a number of podcasts apps, too many to list. Spotify, PodcastAddict, Apple Podcasts, seem to be popular, but i use AntennaPod. none of that is required to pick up on a few episodes via your browser:
From today’s Washington Post:
Criterion is streaming movies 24/7. I stayed up all night to see them.
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Strange Darling (2024) - dir. JT Mollner
Mollner’s previous film, Caveat, was a creepy psychological horror piece that milked a ton of tension out of a a kind of ridiculous premise. It’s not going to be to everyone’s liking, and it occasionally tries to be a little too profound for its own good, but it’s a really well constructed bit of fun.
Strange Darling exhibits a lot of the same plusses and minuses . It is GORGEOUSLY shot, with really wonderful, skilled camerawork that is some of the finest long-take Steadicam work in horror since The Shining. In fact, the first thing the audience sees are words “This film was shot entirely in 35mm” which seems a little confrontational and is the kind of thing you say about a film when you want to bolster its cinema-cred, because you’re insecure about it otherwise.
And it’s right to be concerned. The movie is a serial killer thriller, and for once, watching the trailers does not, in fact, give away the entire plot of film. It does a great job, through some clever editing, of constantly keeping the viewer off balance, recontextualizing earlier scenes. And a lot of this centers around a lot of societal attitudes on sex, sexual politics, and classic horror movie tropes. What it has to say about this stuff isn’t terrible, though it can be uncomfortable. The problem is that it’s not really saying much that’s that new or profound.
The performances are all around excellent, and as mentioned, the film is an absolute joy from a cinematography perspective. Frankly, worth seeing for that aspect alone. But even if its someone blunt messaging is a bit of a bummer, it’s a great, tense thriller that has some absolute bonkers moments that you might not see coming.
Not for everyone. I don’t even know if I would want to give it another watch any time soon. But this is a well made bit of nastiness, and deserves to find some success. I’ll be on the lookout for the writer/director’s next effort.
If any of this makes it sound like something you might enjoy, I encourage you to see the film with as little information as possible. This is true generally, but for this one in particular, going in as blind as possible will make the experience infinitely more impactful.
Is that the Zoe Kravitz flick? The Times had a not very favorable review of it today. May still check it out once it’s streaming.
I watched it last night, industry copy. I’ll be very curious what you think of it.
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No. I’m not sure which movie you mean. Zoe Kravitz doesn’t seem to have a recent movie out that I can find. And neither does Zoe Saldaña.
Strange Darling stars Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner, along with great smaller roles for Ed Begley Jr., Barbara Hershey, and Giovanni Ribissi, who was also the (unexpectedly fantastic) cinematographer!
A recent comparison might be Longlegs, another serial Killer movie that borrows a lot from Silence of the Lambs but really lost itself plot-wise. Strange Darling is better than Longlegs, but both can be appreciated visually. Of one had to choose, go with Darling. It holds up better as a story.
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i suppose we’re thinking of Blink Twice. hopefully she can continue to develop her directorial point of view, but this was one of the more severe takedowns i’ve read:
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Her (Z Kravitz) directorial debut.
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Ah, this is the one I confused with the movie @Lectroid was talking about.
My bad. I was only on my first cuppa at that point.
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Aha!! I actually was going to go see that one, but decided last moment that Strange Darling looked a little weirder, plus it was a smaller budget indie feature which I tend to favor.
I didn’t realize Kravitz directed it.
Blink Twice does look interesting from the trailers I’ve seen. Maybe if I’m especially bored this week I’ll catch a matinee. I like when actors branch out to other roles (see: Ribissi as cinematographer in Strange Darling, or Emma Thompson or Affleck and Damon as writers (Sense and Sensibilty and Good Will Hunting, respectively. ))
Really loved both those shows although the death count in Mi-5 got a bit disturbing. Lots of stars coming and going in the latter seasons.
Hundreds of Beavers
This is the most delightfully silly thing I have watched in ages
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Hmmm. We bailed on that about 15 min in… should we have continued?
We enjoyed the (good kind of) weirdness of Hundreds of Beavers too. Kept thinking that I couldn’t believe that this movie was holding my interest. Cult classic potential for sure.
It’s not for everyone, but I found it very entertaining in a Looney Tunes kind of way! I recommend watching it with adult beverages. Just when you think it can’t get weirder, it does. The director made this for $150,000. Most of the budget went to animal mascot costumes!
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I’m intrigued… Where can I see it? Had a quick look but it’s not available on any of my streaming sites.
Adult beverages are usually in play for our movie nights, as well as other treats that might enhance the movie watching experience 
It is available for rental streaming (at least in the US) on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
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