Welcome back to the 4 Favorites series! Told you I’d get back to publishing these more regularly.
I liked keeping my thoughts short and sweet in the last 4 Favorites newsletter, so I’ll do the same here. 280 characters per movie.
In addition to the movies listed here, I also really enjoyed “The Beekeeper,” Jason Statham’s latest You’ve-messed-with-the-wrong-guy murder fest. It is the reason why January Cinema was invented, and if I hadn’t watched “The Thing” last month, it would have made the cut.
I also wrote some things recently:
Margot Robbie actually did get nominated for “Barbie”
Warner Bros. needs to release “Coyote V. Acme”
The latest book about Marvel Studios is a bit too worshipful of Disney and Marvel, but it’s still a great feat of reporting when it wants to be
On the TV side, I’m enjoying “True Detective: Night Country” and season 2 of “Reacher.” Send me your TV and music recommendations! I’m always looking for new stuff.
But now, as Vin Diesel says … THE MOVIES:
“American Fiction”
Come for the timely satire of what it's like to be Black in a white publishing industry, stay for the deeply felt family drama. It's like "Bamboozled" with more heart and a little less venom. I love that Jeffrey Wright got nominated for this.
In theaters now and also available to purchase on VOD.
“Anatomy of a Fall”
"I don't speak French. You don't speak German. So we compromise and speak English."
This French courtroom drama about whether or not a woman pushed her husband to his death is full of nuanced observations about the miscommunications, compromises and everyday intimacies of marriage.
In theaters now and also available to rent or purchase on VOD.
“Godzilla Minus One: Minus Color”
Godzilla has been a metaphor for so many things that it's hard to come up with any new takes. "Minus One" makes him a stand-in for rage at the way Japan discarded an entire generation of men as kamikaze pilots in WWII. I was sobbing by the end. The black-and-white is beautiful.
Not available to stream; currently awaiting a physical media release date.
“The Thing”
I finally watched this after seeing this season of "True Detective," which shares a lot of the same themes as John Carpenter's classic. What can I say that hasn't already been said? This is a fantastic paranoid horror movie with incredible special effects. Fear will get us all.
Available to stream on Paramount+ and also available to rent or purchase on VOD or purchase on physical media.
That’s all, folks. If you liked what you saw here, click that subscribe button (promise I won’t send any annoying emails) and tell all your friends!
This newsletter is written by me and edited by my favorite person, Taylor Tompkins. Views expressed here are my own and don’t reflect the opinions of my employer.
If there’s anything you want to see covered in a future newsletter, let me know!
You can find me in other corners of the internet as well. There’s Friends At Dusk, my podcast about Christopher Nolan films; my personal website (which focuses on pop culture, stories about religion and my journalism clips); a Twitter account and a Letterboxd account. Subscribe away.