weekly digest: wacky road trips and murderous river cruises...
everything that happened at Flick Filosopher from Monday, February 14th, to Sunday, February 20th
It’s just over a year since I moved this weekly digest email from Mailchimp to Substack… and I remain pleased to have done so. Substack is definitely having tech-culture problems that are purely of its own making (similar to the recent Spotify/Joe Rogan blowup), and reconciling those with my own ethics and ideals is something I am struggling with. But for the same reason that small indie artists and podcasters may not be in a financial position to pull their work from Spotify the way the likes of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell are, I — and other indie writers of all stripes — remain dependent on outfits like Substack if we’re to have any hope of making anything close to a living with our work.
That said, if you’re enjoying my work and are able to do so, I’d love to have you join me as on the paid side of this Substack, if you haven’t already, or if you’re not already one of my Patreon patrons. (My exclusive stuff is the same on both platforms.) Feel free to explore the Flick Filosopher Substack site to get a taste of what else you get as a paid subscriber — I continue to expand the bonus material.
I am a completely independent film critic. No one tells me what films to cover or what to write about them, and no one edits me in any way. Which means I don’t get a paycheck from anyone to do what I do. FlickFilosopher.com has no ads, no guest posts, no paid link placements, and no sponsored content of any kind. (I do have affiliate links for Amazon and Apple on the site, and in some Substack emails. I get a small — usually very small — kickback when you buy something through those links. I cannot tell who clicks through those links, and I cannot see who buys what.) I am working on removing all trackers and other insidious cookies from Flick Filosopher; the last thing to do there is move away from Disqus for comments at the site, and I hope to do that this week. (Disqus’s cookies track commenters across the web.)
In short, apart from occasional small syndication fees for some of my reviews (which dropped to nothing during the pandemic as those newspapers were forced to cut back or shut down entirely, though a couple of them are starting to come back), my work is paid for by my readers. By you.
I know money is tight for lots of people these days, but if you’re in a position to support a writer whose work you enjoy, I would appreciate your support enormously.
Thank you!
—MaryAnn
PS: Huge mega thanks to those of you who are already paid Substack subscribers and Patreon patrons. Many of you have been with me for many years… and I am tremendously grateful for your continued patronage.
new at flick filosopher, Feb 14–20
new and ongoing cinema releases, US/Can, Feb 18
Action adventure Uncharted and on-the-road comedy Dog are new and exclusively in cinemas; more… [get the full rundown]
new and ongoing cinema releases, UK/Ire, Feb 18
On-the-road comedy Dog is new and exclusively in cinemas… and there’s not much else. [get the full rundown]
new and ongoing dvd/blu/vod releases, US/Can, Feb 15–18
The King’s Man arrives on premium VOD and Hulu; Oscar-nominated documentary Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom is new on demand; much more… [get the full rundown]
new and ongoing dvd/blu/vod releases, UK/Ire, Feb 14–19
The French Dispatch is new on Disney+; The Electrical Life of Louis Wain arrives on premium VOD; more… [get the full rundown]
Dog movie review: magic mutt
Wounded veterans in reluctant-buddy road trip. Allegedly a comedy, but I don’t see much evidence for that. The schmaltz may be slightly more convincing than the comedy, but it’s a low bar to get over. [read the review | cinemas US/UK]
Death on the Nile movie review: Kenneth Branagh steps in the same river twice
This should be salacious! We should revel in the seething jealousy and simmering resentments! But there’s not much suspense or engagement in waiting for someone to die, nor in finding out whodunnit. [read the review | cinemas US/UK]
loaded question: what’s the most romantic movie you’ve ever seen?
My choice is easy: the infinitely wise, moving, and — yes — funny Truly, Madly, Deeply, starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. [reply at Flick Filosopher | reply at Substack | reply at Patreon]
what I’m bingeing
Inventing Anna [Netflix globally]: finished! not without its problems (the framing story with the journalist has a lot of issues, though I like Anna Chlumsky), but its mess of greed, image, social media, class, and money is a sorry tale of our confused cultural priorities
Tweet of the week…
coming up at Flick Filosopher…
Peter Dinklage in Cyrano, finally coming to cinemas
Oscar-nominated CODA, returning free to cinemas this week
Moonfall (I’ve almost gotten my head around it…)
The Matrix: Resurrections
time-traveling ghost story Last Night in Soho
Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical Belfast
psychological neo-noir Nightmare Alley, from Guillermo del Toro
French freak-show Titane
based-on-a-videogame action-adventure Uncharted
And more!
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