weekly digest: including a holiday discount on subscriptions
the little bit that happened at Flick Filosopher from Monday, December 11, to Sunday, December 17
In my ongoing quest to figure out just what the hell is wrong with me (that phrase — “what the hell is wrong with me?!” — is one I have been silently screaming to myself in the depths of night when I wake up for no reason) I just this past week discovered the concept of functional freeze. It resonates! This is why I written no new reviews this past week, maybe, probably, who knows. I’m working on thawing my freeze, if that’s what it is, so I hope to share some reviews this week…
Anyway! Here is my Christmas gift to you, which you can also make a Christmas gift to me: sign up as a paying subscribers to this very Substack between now and December 31st, and you’ll get a full 50 percent off for the first year. No code or secret access needed. A mere 25 US bucks to support one of your favorite film critics, for a full year!
It really would mean the world to me if you became a paying supporter (if you aren’t already, and I know that lots of you are). I’ve said this before, but one super-rich patron willing to give me, say, a million bucks a year would be nice, but I genuinely would find it far more gratifying to have a million people giving me a single buck a year. (If even half-off at Substack is too much of an investment, you can tip me via Paypal here.)
—MaryAnn
PS. Next Monday is Christmas Day, so I think the next weekly digest will be a day or two after that.
new at flick filosopher, Dec 11–17
daily stream: the political power and religious delusion of the US–Israel relationship
2021’s ’Til Kingdom Come is on Prime in the US, BBC iPlayer in the UK. [read more]
daily stream: the Israeli men in charge of policing Palestine
2013’s The Gatekeepers is on Prime and Apple TV in the US; not streaming in the UK. [read more]
daily stream: traveling hopefully to Palestine
2013’s Inch’Allah is on Prime in the US; not streaming in the UK. [read more]
loaded question: are three-hour-plus movies damaging to the overall entertainment environment? [pictured]
Is there anything definitive that can be said about movie runtimes, or is it always a matter of It depends… [reply at Flick Filosopher | reply at Substack | reply at Patreon]
what I’m watching and bingeing
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters [Apple TV+ globally]: still loving this…
The X-Files [Hulu US/Disney+ UK]: didn’t get back to this week, I’m a terrible excuse for a geek
For All Mankind S4 [Apple TV+ globally]: I just wanna go to Mars, is that too much to ask? obvs, in this timeline, it is…
Doctor Who [Disney+ US/BBC iPlayer UK]: no more new to watch, just waiting for Christmas and Ncuti in trousers at this point…
coming up at Flick Filosopher…
Wonka, though I’m scared…
Jeffrey Wright in American Fiction
based-on-fact family wrestling drama The Iron Claw
might see the new Aquaman movie to torture myself?
thriller The Royal Hotel
Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon
Meg Ryan and David Duchovny in rom-com What Happens Later
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
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
the latest MCU entry, The Marvels
murder mystery Anatomy of a Fall
more London Film Festival coverage
Dumb Money
Kenneth Branagh’s latest Poirot, A Haunting in Venice
based-on-a-true-videogame Gran Turismo
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, maybe?
mockumentary Theater Camp
gay romance Passages
alien-contact dramedy Jules
documentary Kokomo City
Meg 2: The Trench
Joy Ride
tween classic onscreen Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.
And more!
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