movies

  • dumb money (2023) - watched this on the plane. if you remember this time, it was bonkers and kind of beautiful at the same time. (4/5)
  • the gentlemen (2019) - watched this in the plane, guy ritchie definitely has a style. fun, solid cast, a couple of novel twists. (3.5/5)
  • please don’t destroy: the treasure of foggy mountain (2023) - watched this on peacock. i fell asleep through a chunk of it. i honestly couldn’t tell you the plot. i’m mostly just noting it here so i don’t subject myself to this again.
  • jules (2023) - is this a movie about an alien or getting old? kind of thin, kind of amusing. i’m not sure it was worth the $5.99 we paid to rent it.
  • 3000 years of longing (2022) - i’ll admit, i’m a bit of a tilda swinton fan. this was clever, fun and didn’t leave you waiting for it to pick up at any time. definitely recommended.
  • freelance (2023) - when you’ve seen pretty much everything in the delta lineup that you can stomach already. well, you’ll watch this. it was an amusing john cena, allison brie vehicle.
  • master gardener (2022) - ok, i guess. it was a lot more compelling in the trailer.
  • american fiction (2023) - shrug emoji.
  • unfrosted (2024) - this was a lot of fun. worth the hype.
  • the leisure seeker (2017) - watched this on the plane to KEF and it’s a bit of a tear jerker. if you’re feeling your mortality and in a long term relationship it’s a sobering end.
  • womand at war (2018) - there should have been a lot more attention on this one. solid story, interesting interactions socially,
  • hit man (2024) - someone explain to me why there was so much press around this movie? it was kind of(?) an amusing plot but ultimately kind of boring and painfully contrived.
  • poor things (2023) - yeah, that was every bit as quirky and good as everyone said it was. i’m not sure why we didn’t see this earlier.

tv

or whatever we’re calling episodic streaming these days. likely with misc. other stuff thrown in.

  • ricky gervais, armageddon (netflix) - meh. there were a few nuggets in there. clearly he’s riffing on the whole woke thing here. some of this was clearly pretty half-baked and one has to assume that he’s sanded things down before he get out there on tour with this content.
  • monarch: legacy of monsters (apple tv+) solid, i’m honestly curious to see where this goes. update: not far.
  • slow horses: season 3 (apple tv+) it’s pretty rare for a series to get better as it goes along. this was a lot of fun.
  • ricky gervais, armageddon (netflix) meh. there were a few nuggets in there. clearly he’s riffing on the whole woke thing here. some of this was clearly pretty half-baked and one has to assume that he’s sanded things down before he get out there on tour with this content.
  • true detective: season 4 (max)
    • 2 episodes in, totally hooked. update - i savored this one week-by-week. i thought it had a rather satisfying conclusion. i don’t care what the times says, i had fun.
  • wednesday (netflix) - amusing and well written.
  • mr. and mrs smith (amazon prime) - a fun twist on the whole spy/assassin thang. totally engrossing. well worth watching.
  • house of the dragon (max) i started this coming back from NANOG90 on the plane. i’ll probably keep at it on future flights. can’t say i’m sucked in. but it’s pretty solid entertainment. certainly not game of thrones good though.
  • northern exposure (the 1990s) this is a bit of a reset. 1990s TV is kind of slow TV. i have to admit, i’m kind of sucked in. the acting’s not that great, the writing’s kind of slow and the premise is kind of insulting. with all that, they hired actors who looked like they were legitimately from alaska. the story line is kind of slow. i never got to really watch this in the 1990s, i’m seeing it with fresh eyes.
  • fisk (netflix) - 20 minute chunks of probate wry. this was better than expected. oddly fun. we burned thru the available seasons.
  • the gentlemen (netflix) - that movie i saw on a plane … i guess it got turned into a TV series. more guy ritchie, getting a little cliche, but still lots of fun and an amusting way to turn your brain off when you’re tired.
  • 3 body problem (netflix) - loved the books, couldn’t quite hunker down for the tencent version. i’m really hoping this one delivers. (update: it did. please keep rolling with the rest of the books.)
  • sweet tooth (netflix) - a couple of episodes in. i’m bored. bailed.
  • constellation (tv+) - noomi rapace, space drama … we forgot we started this. didn’t finish.
  • fallout (amazon) - lots of fun. interesting and surprisingly complete world building. i’m really hoping that this gets picked up for another season.
  • bodkin (netflix) - watched this when on holiday in the faroe islands, entertaining without bogging you down.
  • laurie kilmartin: cis woke grief sl*t (amazon) - apparently, she pissed off the “right” with an abortion joke, this comedy special was pretty solid. i leaned into it.

podcasts

  • the daily (nyt) - bite sized coverage of whatever’s going on. chances are if you’re reasonably plugged into the scene, you’re going to be ahead of them, but there’s usually a solid take on things.
  • arms control wonk - honestly, jeffrey lewis is kind of tedious, but the research and the coverage of missile tests, nuclear weapons issues, and the coverage on iran is first rate. it’s a peek into a world that requires incredible wonkiness to really grok and kind of looms over all of us.
  • ~burn the boats~ - it’s not that i don’t agree with this guy. it’s just that the saw was getting a bit dull and repetitive.
  • the ezra kline show - consistently one of the best researched and developed podcasts that i’ve ever heard.
  • wedge live: the best minneapolis local politics coverage. full stop.
  • RIPE labs podcast - topical and ahead of the US on a number of fronts.
  • rational security - if i’m looking for the wonky legal take on something in the news, these folks have the goods.
  • matter of opinion - ross douche-hat apologia vehicle, with a supporting cast.
  • cafe
  • ~blister~ yeah, i get it, you’re great at skiing.
  • gear:30 - yeah, it’s more buying stuff, but i kind of like their take on outdoor gear and sometimes they have guests on that are way more interesting than they are.
  • marginal gains
  • the drive: peter attia, md
  • BHA podcast and blast with hal herring - don’t let hal herring’s country voice throw you off (and it will) the dude’s incredibly sharp, well read and has great guests on his show. one of, if not the, best conservation podcasts i’ve heard. (and i’ve heard a couple)
  • adventure journal - a couple of middle-aged dudes grappling with the fact that they’d like to be living more adventurous lives, talking gear, oh and they have a magazine that’s pretty awesome.