Dir. Joseph Kosinski. Starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly Joseph Kosinski and Tom Cruise are a director-actor match made in Hell, and not in the fun Herzog-Kinski way. I imagine that the two of them plus Christopher McQuarrie and whichever other Tom Cruise pets helped make this film are probably even copacetic with each… Read More Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Dir. Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer. Starring Jack Quaid, Maya Erskine, Ed Begley, Jr. Dir. Jennifer Westfeldt. Starring Jennifer Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph FOMO is a very Internet term, although I think in most cases it refers to the life that takes place outside the bounds of one’s phone or TV or laptop. Sure,… Read More Plus One (2019) and Friends with Kids (2011)
Dir. Scott Z. Burns. Starring Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Maura Tierney Dan Jones (Driver) is determined to see his report come out “the right way.” It’s what he tells a New York Times reporter (Matthew Rhys, for the first time in his career meeting someone in secret without wearing a ridiculous wig) when it looks like… Read More The Report (2019)
Dir. Paul Feig. Starring Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph What makes Bridesmaids work several years down the line, and what I expect will make it stand the test of time for at least a couple decades, is its keen eye on the Recession. Annie (Wiig) is one of the only characters in the film… Read More Bridesmaids (2011)
In this episode, we strike out into a discussion of Mad Men, arguably the finest television drama of all time. We try not to linger too long on Dick Whitman; we spend ample time discussing the tragedy of Lane Pryce; we giggle over the possibility that Archer’s Cherlene might go on tour with Ramblin’ Don… Read More Baumann and Burch, Episode 21: The Allman Brothers feat. Ramblin’ Don
There’s practically a mythology of alternate history stories. Newt Gingrich co-authored a series of books about what might have happened if the Army of the Potomac had lost a major battle (like Gettysburg, but different) above Washington. I’m linking to one Bill Simmons article about “what ifs” of the 2007 basketball season, but in sport… Read More Mad Men S2E11, “The Jet Set”
Seeing Things Secondhand 