Here's what I watched and read this past week...
MOVIES
Toy Story 5 (2026), directed by Andrew Stanton, is a very good film that focuses on technology and children. The animation is great, with some nice moments that explore the themes of connection, friendship, play, and imagination. We did not see the 3D version. But you can tell there were some shots made specifically for 3D. Toy Story 5 is not as great as the first three movies, but it is definitely worth watching.
Pavements (2024), directed by Alex Ross Perry. I am not really a fan of Pavement’s music, but I thought it would be interesting to learn about their history, particularly how they became a big indie band in the 1990s. The documentary seems to oppose this approach. I felt it was very indie rock snobbish. These were the people I avoided in the 1990s.
Talk Radio (1988), directed by Oliver Stone. This film is often overlooked in Stone’s body of work. But it may be one of his best, especially given the rise of social media. I wrote about the film in my book Cinema of Confinement, discussing how Stone creates a space of paranoia within the confined setting of the radio station. Tension lies between Barry and his listeners. Who are his fans? Who are the threat? My book is available through open access and can be downloaded if you want to check out the chapter.
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), directed by Jack Clayton, is a good atmospheric horror film based on Ray Bradbury’s great novel. I was skeptical about watching it because I love the book so much. Johnathan Pryce and Jason Robards give great performances. It is a quick watch and is available for streaming on Disney.
The Sheep Detectives (2026), directed by Kyle Balda, is a very good whodunit movie with some very nice moments. I loved Nicholas Braun (aka Cousin Greg from Succession) as Denbrook’s only police officer. The CGI sheep worked, but I would rather see real animals. However, given the complexity of the plot, it makes sense that they took the CGI route. Nevertheless, the film gave me some Babe vibes. I highly recommend it.
TV
The new Lord of the Flies is a pretty good series on Netflix. Although, I personally prefer the black and white version from 1963. I thought that some of the episodes could have been shorter. There were also many unnecessary close-up shots of characters looking directly at the camera. I am unsure what that was all about. It is hard not to think of the great TV series, Lost, which I am guessing drew some inspiration from Golding’s novel.
BOOKS
Ghost Town by Tom Perrotta is a good and very engaging coming-of-age book, involving Jimmy, a thirteen-year-old growing up in an Italian American community in New Jersey in the early 1970s. Perrotta strongly captures the time period with some very interesting characters. The story reminded me of the collection of short stories he wrote in Bad Haircut: Stories from the Seventies.
Bradbury Speaks is a great collection of essays written by Ray Bradbury. I enjoyed reading all of them, especially the ones on Los Angeles and Paris. Other standouts were, “How Something Wicked Came,” “Mars: Too Soon From The Cave, Too Far From the Stars,” “Mouser,” “Lord Russell and The Pipsqueak, and “Any Friend of Trains is a Friend of Mine.”
