Slowly going through the "Fun City" collection on Criterion. Watched "You're a Big Boy Now" (Coppola writing and directing a not entirely successful proto After Hours romp), Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) with a crisp, cruel performance from Robert Shaw, and Little Murders, the strangely prescient satire by Alan Arkin with a wonderfully, casually indifferent (nihilistic) performance from Elliot Gould. Looking forward to revisiting Dog Day Afternoon tonight.
Beyond that, I enjoyed The Residence as a lighter viewing experience (and featuring your own Miss Virginia's Uzo Aduba as the inimitable Detective Cordelia Cupp), and am slowly getting through Paradise. And I just finished the delightful Abbott Elementary, which gets high praise from me for being a heartwarming show with good people struggling in a world that is not particularly kind or unkind toward them--just mostly indifferent--and yet they still CARE. Resonates in every frame of that show. And it's good hearted, as well.
I love this window into your watching patterns! I will be adding items to my queue thanks to you. I ladored The Residence – it was absolutely custom-made for Uzo. She's perfect for that part and no one else could've done it.
It was really a droll performance, but not in that meta wink-wink way you think of with some shows. It felt genuinely rooted and never got in the way of the prime mystery.
Also, I really liked the end episode's explication of the theme. Very much in the vein of the Story Incubator mission!
Love the analysis about attention. Look forward to watching Adolescence. Do you know the work of screenwriter Brian McDonald? Fascinating ideas about story that have influenced my own writing. Invisible Ink (book) and You Are a Storyteller (podcast) break down story structure in novel ways.
Thank you for this! Brian McDonald is great! Do let me know what you think of Adolescence when you've had a chance to watch -- I think we are each in our unique ways charting the casual erasure of girls' and women's lives, and this series definitely marks an interesting moment in that pattern.
Slowly going through the "Fun City" collection on Criterion. Watched "You're a Big Boy Now" (Coppola writing and directing a not entirely successful proto After Hours romp), Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) with a crisp, cruel performance from Robert Shaw, and Little Murders, the strangely prescient satire by Alan Arkin with a wonderfully, casually indifferent (nihilistic) performance from Elliot Gould. Looking forward to revisiting Dog Day Afternoon tonight.
Beyond that, I enjoyed The Residence as a lighter viewing experience (and featuring your own Miss Virginia's Uzo Aduba as the inimitable Detective Cordelia Cupp), and am slowly getting through Paradise. And I just finished the delightful Abbott Elementary, which gets high praise from me for being a heartwarming show with good people struggling in a world that is not particularly kind or unkind toward them--just mostly indifferent--and yet they still CARE. Resonates in every frame of that show. And it's good hearted, as well.
I love this window into your watching patterns! I will be adding items to my queue thanks to you. I ladored The Residence – it was absolutely custom-made for Uzo. She's perfect for that part and no one else could've done it.
It was really a droll performance, but not in that meta wink-wink way you think of with some shows. It felt genuinely rooted and never got in the way of the prime mystery.
Also, I really liked the end episode's explication of the theme. Very much in the vein of the Story Incubator mission!
Agree!!
Love the analysis about attention. Look forward to watching Adolescence. Do you know the work of screenwriter Brian McDonald? Fascinating ideas about story that have influenced my own writing. Invisible Ink (book) and You Are a Storyteller (podcast) break down story structure in novel ways.
Thank you for this! Brian McDonald is great! Do let me know what you think of Adolescence when you've had a chance to watch -- I think we are each in our unique ways charting the casual erasure of girls' and women's lives, and this series definitely marks an interesting moment in that pattern.
Cool. Not the erasure part but the commonality part. 😀 I look forward to reading more of your work & getting to know you better.
Same!!
Thanks for another informed and informing essay. I love reading what you write, and always learn from you.