Midweek Update

You may have noticed a massive gap between Substacks during the months of August and October. I wish I had some grand excuse, but really there was nothing that I felt compelled to write about. However, sometimes I need to dig a little deeper. Also, if you’re good enough to subscribe to my ramblings, I should provide you a little more.

With that in mind, I’m going to start sending these midweek updates on Wednesday. They won’t be op-eds, but rather a brief update on what I’m watching, reading, and playing. So without further ado…

What I’m Watching

It’s always easy to follow me on Letterboxd, although that’s only for movies, not TV shows. You may note that I’m watching a lot of horror. That’s largely due to participating in “Hooptober”, an annual event where the organizer sets parameters for certain movies to watch over the course of 31 days. It started on September 15th this year rather than October 1st, and while I’m 20 movies in, I feel like it’s a strain to keep going. I kind of just want to watch the movies I want to watch rather than slogging through The Brain Machine because I need to watch a Joy N. Houck Jr. movie. So whether I clean up the remaining 11 or not remains to be seen because not only are there are other movies I’d rather watch, but we’re now getting into prestige drama season, which brings us to…

The Banshees of Inisherin: This is only Martin McDonagh’s fourth feature (I spent far too much time trying to convince myself he had done a movie between Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri, but no!), and yet he has such a clear voice and style where no one else is coming close to the stories he’s telling. Dark comedy comes in all different flavors, but McDonagh’s tales are particularly sad, and The Banshees of Inisherin is probably his saddest yet.

Although the film is set in 1923, it feels like a timeless tale of loneliness, and certainly a parable for our disconnected times. The main conflict is between Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell), who can’t understand why his friend Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) doesn’t want to be friends anymore. It’s a relatively simple premise, but McDonagh mines it for maximum pathos. It’s a film I know I’m going to keep turning over in my head.

Also, as a side note, I continue to marvel at Colin Farrell because we don’t often talk about his dubious early 2000s output. Farrell seemed like a handsome face no one knew what to do with, so he ended up getting cast in stuff like The Recruit, S.W.A.T., Phone Booth, and Alexander. It wasn’t until In Bruges (also McDonagh) that he showed a particular skills for sadness and comedy that eschewed his good looks. That’s not to say every film since has been a hit, but I feel like his selection of roles has been far more interesting. He also has cemented himself to such a point that not even something like Winter’s Tale can rub off on him.

Tár: I hope that the movie doesn’t get reduced to “a film about cancel culture” because that’s really only a small slice of it. It’s largely a movie about power—how it’s used, abused, and tends to consume those who wield it. The dramatic tension, which writer-director Todd Field uses beautifully, is that those who amass power tend to have some combination of relentless talent and drive, and we admire them for that. But then we expect that they can somehow compartmentalize that behavior as if it wouldn’t spill over into other aspects of their life. Field never looks to excuse bad behavior, but the film does empathize with an overwhelming need for control to the detriment of all.

Blanchett, is, as usual, amazing. Watching her performance, you feel grateful to be alive during a time in which she is creating new work. At only 53, Blanchett has shown herself to be one of the great actors of her generation and arguably of all-time. What makes her so gifted in a role like this is she knows how to show the dark side of affluence that always gains the audience’s understanding. We should write off characters like Lydia Tár or Jasmine Francis from Blue Jasmine. They can (and often are) venal, self-serving, and obsessed with status, and yet Blanchett finds their humanity.

I might have more to say about Tár in a latter issue, but for now, I’ll simply say check it out. The trailer makes it look surreal and Lynchian, but it’s not really that. It’s a character study that also serves as a reflection on how we currently address powerful people in our culture. The hardest thing to follow for the layman are the finer points of conducting and classical music.

Over on TV, my wife and I caught up with Only Murder in the Building, which remains great. My biggest qualm with the show has nothing to do with the series and more to do with Hulu. Hulu: why are you airing this in the summer?! It’s clearly a fall/winter show! Look at how the characters are dressed! Look at how cozy the vibe is! This is not a summer series!

We’re also making our way through Rings of Power and House of the Dragon, two shows that are flawed, but also captivating enough to keep watching every week. I’m also keeping up with She-Hulk, a show where I really don’t know what to make of it. Sometimes I think it’s fine for what its is as an episodic series, and then there are other times where I think the writing is a little lazy (especially the fourth-wall breaks, which feel more appropriate to a character like Deadpool, whose personality is about breaking rules, rather than a lawyer). I’m curious to see where it lands with it season finale this week.

I’m also slowly making my way through Season 4 of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, the first season of The Sandman, and Season 3 of Nathan for You. My wife and I are also rewatching 30 Rock as our comfort show, and it holds up incredibly well.

What I’m Reading

Still making my way through Jewish People, Jewish Thought and Anything You Can Imagine. I’ll have more to say on the latter soon as I intend to finish it this week. I also started up a series of short stories by Shirley Jackson, and I need to put my head down and tear through Saga: Volume 10, although after a four-year absence of my favorite comic book series, I’m both eager and not eager to catch up since catching up means I’ll have to go back to waiting for the next volume (I don’t do monthly reads anymore; TPBs only).

What I’m Playing

I started up Stray for PS5. It’s a little basic (so far it’s “Where should the cat jump?”) but it’s pretty to look at, and I should have it finished before God of War: Ragnarok arrives next month.