weekly digest: I am not a robot

the very little that happened at Flick Filosopher from Monday, February 5, to Sunday, February 11

Feb 12, 2024

Got a review posted this week: yay! But not much else: boo!

In related news — because robots don’t get tired or depressed 🙄 — I feel like this might be my new motto:

Think I might start collecting the examples of appalling AI-generated “journalism” I’m seeing online, because it’s everywhere already, including in movie and pop-culture stuff, and it’s infuriating. Especially when you know it’s being used to plump up SEO in order to trick search engines and drive traffic… traffic to garbage.

Anyway, it might take me longer to write something than a chatbot, but at least you’ll always know it comes from an actual human being, and not an algorithm, and represents an authentic human emotional and intellectual response to a movie.

—MaryAnn

PS: Feels weird to mention, with me not keeping up with reviews as well as I’d have liked, but I’m gonna do it anyway: If you’ve been wanting to support my film criticism but aren’t interested in subscribing to my Patreon or my Substack, yet you’re also leery of PayPal, I’m happy to announce that anyone can now make one-time or recurring donations via PayPal even if you don’t have a PayPal account; you can simply use a debit or a credit card. Thank you for your support!

new at flick filosopher, Feb 05–11

now make donations via PayPal even without a PayPal account

Make a one-time or recurring donation via PayPal with a debit or a credit card without needing to sign up for a PayPal account. Easy peasy. [read more]

Argylle movie review: just *argh*

A vacuous multitentacled exercise in pop-culture marketing, and a crass, confused, charmless showcase for Matthew Vaughn’s goes-to-11 hyperactive “style” of unconvincing CGI and frenetic fight scenes. [read the review | cinemas US/UK]

loaded question: what’s an article of clothing from movies/TV that you covet?

And would you actually wear it? [reply at Flick Filosopher | reply at Substack | reply at Patreon]

what I’m watching and bingeing

Slow Horses S2 [Apple TV+ globally]: didn’t get back to this last week…
Constellation [debuting on Apple TV+ globally Feb 21st]: I’ve been previewing this new sci-fi thriller series starring Noomi Rapace; first couple episodes are giving “Gravity, but make it weird”…
The X-Files [Hulu US/Disney+ UK]: continuing with this, still in S1… and it’s incredible how good this show was right off the bat, and how well it holds up 30 years later

coming up at Flick Filosopher…

sure-to-be-meme-a-riffic non-MCU Marvel flick Madame Web
Ava DuVernay’s Origin
Paleolithic thriller Out of Darkness
Andrew Scott in All of Us Strangers
the absolutely brutal The Zone of Interest
Paul Giamatti in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers
Wonka, finally
Jeffrey Wright in American Fiction
based-on-fact family wrestling drama The Iron Claw
thriller The Royal Hotel
Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon
Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn
Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in May December
Priscilla’s problematic romance with Elvis
teen comedy Bottoms
Barbie, finally, for real, promise
murder mystery Anatomy of a Fall
mockumentary Theater Camp
gay romance Passages
tween classic onscreen Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.

And more!

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