Movies I Watched This Week (1/27/25 - 2/2/25)

PRE-ROLL

• i’m still figuring out the chat function here on Substack, but i’m trying to use it to get questions/comments re; this year’s Oscars. if you do have a question/comment, send it through the Substack chat, or message me however, and i’ll be answering/responding in a dedicated post later this month!

• more words from me on DROP DEAD FRED in this week’s edition of Cine-File. playing this Wednesday at Alamo Drafthouse Chicago!

• Traitors Update: UK Season 3 ended beautifully. no notes. cannot wait for it to officially arrive state-side so more people can witness how this game should be played. US Season 3, on the other hand, is teetering on the brink of disaster. a mixture of dull personalities, idiotic personalities, and overly competitive personalities has brought things to the point of all levity, excitement, and genuine strategy being completely lost. depending how this week’s episode goes, I honestly might just abandon this season altogether. what a waste. I’m sorry, Alan.

• for my money, the best “TV” out there can be found on the Dropout subscription channel. it’s a very particular niche of improv comedy and Nerd Shit but I think there is something for everyone on there. most of the shows could best be described as “what if [POPULAR TV SHOW] were run by nerdy comedians?” such as Jeopardy (Um, Actually), Top Chef, (Gastronauts), and MythBusters (Nobody Asked). the most popular show on the channel is undeniably Dimension 20, which can lazily be summed up as “Watch these funny people play Dungeons & Dragons!” it’s not my particular cup of tea, but hey, its become popular enough to literally sell out Madison Square Garden within a day of tickets going on sale, so what do I know?! my favorites on the channel have to be Smartypants (essentially, those funny PowerPoint Presentation Parties, but a TV show), Game Changer (a game show where the “game” changes with each episode, and the contestants have no idea what that game is), and Make Some Noise (a “Whose Line…” adjacent improv show). they post a lot of stuff for free on YouTube, so check it out there to see if subscribing to the channel might be worth it1. it’s good stuff!

• the Grammys were last night! I try to stay semi-tuned in to what’s happening in the contemporary music world, even if I don’t vibe with most pop music these days.2 so what happened of note? uh……”Hell’s Kitchen” won Best Musical Theater Album which, lmao. Sabrina Carpenter is completely juiceless to me and I do not understand the appeal. Chappell Roan remains undefeated and i’m THRILLED she won Best New Artist. The Weekend’s performance was cool! Charli XCX rules. Janelle Monae absolutely owned her Quincy Jones tribute segment. every time Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” won an award, I just laughed and laughed and laughed. Beyonce finally won Album of the Year3, so everything is Okay again! I liked the cute little bits where musicians would pop up in segments supporting local LA businesses, and of course the LA Firefighters showing up at the end, that was really sweet. I hope the Oscars do something in line with this!

THE MOVIES

• PRESENCE (2025, dir. Steven Soderbergh). watched at Alamo Drafthouse Chicago.

  • Soderbergh is undeniably one of my favorite working American directors. he brings an energy and a playfulness and an inventiveness to every project he’s working on, and has one of the most eclectic filmographies of any director out there. his latest - a ghost story where the camera acts as the central POV for our otherworldly protagonist - is perhaps more successful as cinematic experiment than emotional storytelling, the family drama at the center of things continuously leaning further into histrionics in a way that I don’t think serves the piece well. more than anything, i’m fascinated with this film in relation to two features from last year, RaMell Ross’ NICKEL BOYS and Robert Zemeckis’ HERE, both films similarly fixated on the camera’s function and relationship in storytelling. a wonderful moment we’re living in. I have a feeling this will sit better on a rewatch, but it’s just great to see Soderbergh continue to push himself as a director, and hey, Chris Sullivan and Lucy Liu do great with what they’re given. recommended!

    

• BELFAST, MAINE (1999, dir. Frederick Wiseman). watched at Gene Siskel Film Center.

  • i wrote about another Wiseman work recently (LA COMEDIE-FRANCAISE) for Cine-File, but this was my first time seeing one of his works in a cinema. lucky me, it was a four-hour film. even luckier, it’s perhaps one of the greatest documentaries ever made. Wiseman’s journalistic account of the New England port city is expansive and microscopic, exalting and cutting, life-affirming and soul-crushing. that is, it’s about America. we see fishing, hunting, painting, play rehearsals, emergency rooms, fish canneries, visits from social workers, churches, and all else that holds communities together. it’s a titanic work that deserves a much deeper dive than a simple paragraph on this substack, but i’d argue it’s maybe the best entry point into the world of Wiseman one could ask for. I personally can’t wait to dive in for more.

    

• MATT & MARA (2024, dir. Kazik Radwanski). streamed on MUBI.

  • Matt and Mara used to date. now they don’t. Mara is teaching college writing courses and is happily married with a young kid. Matt is an accomplished author and is single. years later, they reunite. that’s all you need, and Radwanski and co. fill this simple work with an effortless naturalism and complexity that makes it a really engaging watch. Deragh Campbell and Matt Johnson shine here tremendously. it’s nice to see a movie that’s just ordinary people dealing with the frustrations and nuances of life. a lovely one!

thanks for reading! anything you watched this week that you’d recommend? what’s your Dropout show of choice? who should have won Album of the Year? have a lovely week!