weekly digest: when even the escapism isn't very escapist...
everything that happened at Flick Filosopher from Monday, May 23rd, to Sunday, May 29th
There was no Weekend Watchlist this past weekend. I’m very sorry about that. It will be back this coming weekend.
It was a bad week in many ways for me. I try to stay positive, but it seems as if the world is collapsing ever more rapidly around us: another school shooting in the US isn’t enough, but now we also learn that the police stood by and let it happen; yet more evidence of the utter narcissistic callousness of the UK prime minister, and still he and his craven supporters double down on their fascist plans to quash protest and remove all accountability for themselves. The price of everything is going up. So is despair, everywhere.
It all has me struggling to write. And yet again, another lost week behind me, I will once more attempt to find a way through it.
I did do something fun this week: saw this promo for Jurassic World: Dominion in Trafalgar Square in London. (I figure the film is gonna end up being at least an inadvertent, if not actually intentional, metaphor for global warming, but I haven’t seen it yet, so I can just pretend it’s pure fantasy for a little while longer.)
And I also spent an entire day at a conference in Westminster, which was a little bit enraging (see the Twitter thread below) but mostly encouraging.
Hope your week is a good one.
—MaryAnn
new at flick filosopher, May 23–29
new and ongoing cinema releases, US/Can, May 27
Top Gun: Maverick is new and exclusively in cinemas; more… [read more]
new and ongoing cinema releases, UK/Ire, May 25–27
Top Gun: Maverick is new and exclusively in cinemas; more… [read more]
new and ongoing dvd/blu/vod releases, US/Can, May 24–27
Docudramas Ted K (about the Unabomber) and Aline (about Celine Dion) arrive on VOD; more… [read more]
new and ongoing dvd/blu/vod releases, UK/Ire, May 23–27
Icelandic buddy cop comedy Cop Secret is new on VOD; documentary Val (about Top Gun actor Kilmer) arrives on premium VOD; more… [read more]
Top Gun: Maverick movie review: we’re well into the danger zone [pictured]
With its melancholy regret and bittersweet nostalgia, this is far superior to the 1986 blockbuster. But as the sun goes down on American imperialism here, the last-gasp celebration of it unsettles. [read the review | in cinemas pretty much globally]
loaded question: what are some films with good representation of people with disabilities?
Honestly, it’s tough to think of many films that do a good job of this! But Tod Browning’s controversial 1932 film Freaks might be, at least, better than many others. [reply at Flick Filosopher | reply at Substack | reply at Patreon]
what I’m bingeing
Bridgerton Season 2 [Netflix globally]: getting close to the inevitable wedding here…
Obi-Wan Kenobi [Disney+ globally]: caught the first two episodes as they premiered last week; I’m always up for some Star Wars, and I love Ewan McGregor, but there some potentially traumatizing stuff happening here, not least surrounding the collapse of the Old Republic, which feels frighteningly relevant at the moment
Night Sky [Prime Video US/UK/possibly other regions]: just got one episode in so far, but I love the premise, about a couple played by the terrific Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons who have *checks notes* a portal to another planet under their shed
Tweets of the week…
For those of you as enraged by the absolute trashing of Amber Heard and the damn-near deification of Johnny Depp, some resources for understanding what is happening:
This one is from the previous week, but it’s related and vitally important:
coming up at Flick Filosopher…
I swear I’m actually gonna get to some of these sometime this week!
horror Men, starring Jessie Buckley
Memory, the latest Liam Neeson action thingy
trips through multiverses with Everything Everywhere All at Once and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Oscar Best Picture CODA
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, for my sins
adventure comedy The Lost City
historical revenge drama The Northman
Moonfall
time-traveling ghost story Last Night in Soho
Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical Belfast
based-on-a-videogame action-adventure Uncharted
And more!
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