Here's what I watched and read last week...
MOVIES
Project Hail Mary (2026), directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is definitely one of the best films I’ve seen this year so far. I love the novel, and I thought they did a great job adapting it for the screen. Ryan Gosling is amazing. Definitely check out the film on the big screen - the special effects are excellent.
The Fantastic Four: Four Steps (2025), directed by Matt Shakman, is a very entertaining film from Marvel's Cinematic Universe. I have not seen all of the MCU films since the third phase, but I really enjoyed Fantastic Four. I particularly like the film’s 1960s look and style. The film even piqued my interest in the next Avenger films.
American Graffiti (1973), directed by George Lucas, is one of my all time favorite movies. The story takes place over one night and is confined mostly to the cars cruising the strip. The film does not follow a traditional narrative structure. Rather than focusing on one main character, the film crosscuts between four characters, Curt, Steve, John, and Kerry. If there is any star of the film it is the music. As much as I love Star Wars, I wish Lucas made more of these types of films.
Michael Clayton (2007), directed by Tony Gilroy, is an excellent thriller about a fixer, played by George Clooney, who works for a big law firm in New York City. The performances from Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and Tom Wilkinson are outstanding. Some of the movie was filmed where I grew up in the Hudson Valley. One of my favorite scenes takes place at the Moodna Viaduct. I highly recommend it.
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), directed by Hayao Miyazaki, is a great one from the legendary Japanese animator. I teach this for my film course and always enjoy watching it. I particularly love the film’s European architecture.
Is This Thing On? (2025). I was mixed on Bradley Cooper’s new movie. The story was a little too jumpy for me. And some of the dramatic moments were not believable. But I did like the way they shot the movie.
TV
I Am Chris Farley (2015) is a very good documentary that chronicles Farely’s beginning as a comedian at Second City to SNL and his final years in Hollywood. Farley was an amazing talent. I can watch his SNL skits over and over.
I am catching up on the new seasons of Family Guy and Futurama. Both are starting out very good. I even went back to American Dad!, which is on Fox again. The first episode of the new season is fun. I got burned out on American Dad! when I watched it on TBS. But I really enjoyed what I watched from the new season.
BOOKS
I read a very good article on teen and youth films by Timothy Shary. Shary provides a great overview of the history of young people in cinema. He offers different sub-genre of teen movies that begin with what he terms “The Multiplex Generation,” which is really about Generation X and older Millennials. The article ends in the early 2000s. But his book, Teen Movies: A Century of American Youth, explores more recent Generation Z movies.
