I haven’t seen many movies this month, so it was a treat to get to The Museum of Modern Art for Eleanor the Great Monday afternoon. It was part of The Contenders 2025 series. I had thoughts, and here are some of them. No big spoilers.

Overheard after the movie: “I could really relate to it. Lying was one thing my family was good at.” Eleanor’s lies are told with the best of intentions, which somewhat justifies them. They’re still lies, though, so she does pay a price. The script by Tony Kamen doesn’t just tug on the heartstrings, it gets them in a vice grip and doesn’t let go. That said, though the happy ending is a bit too pat, it didn’t bother me.

Worth seeing for June Squibb and the rest of the cast. Overall, a well-done first feature by Scarlett Johansson.

No longer in theaters, as far as I can tell, it can be streamed just about everywhere.

AI: Threat or Menace?

 If you’re not gaga over AI, you’re not alone.

Let me rephrase that. If you think AI is the greatest thing since sliced bread, you are pretty much alone. Josh Marshall has the data.

“As this Politico piece from a couple days ago points out, something like 80% of Americans think AI should be robustly regulated and fewer than 20% of Americans think AI will have a positive impact on America over the next 20 years. These are shocking numbers, to put it mildly. AI is running only slightly ahead of child molesters in the public imagination.”

The Grand AI Disconnect

Kalispell and Billings, Montana, of all places

 

Here’s a story that wasn’t reported anywhere that I saw. You can call me crazy if you want to, but I sense a trend.

Thanks to Amanda’s Mild Takes‘ “*****’s for the Week.”

Candidates backed by blue money prevail in red city elections

"Roofman" — Reviewed on Letterboxd

Don’t let the insouciant title fool you. Roofman isn’t all that funny. Some clever wisecracks, sure, and I did laugh out loud when Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), the eponymous Roofman, told Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst) that his name was “John Zorn,” an apparent reference to the avant-garde musician. Aside from that, it’s a high anxiety thriller sometimes, a love story based on deception for most of the last half, and a biopic of a for-a-time successful criminal all the rest of its 126 minute running time.

As Manchester’s Army buddy, Steve (LaKeith Stanfield), says of him, “We both know that doing things the right way is not your superpower.” He or someone else says that Manchester is some kind of genius and really dumb at the same time. That is played out again and again, as Manchester gets away with something thanks to his superb observation and planning skill, only to put himself in jeopardy because what he wants more than anything is a family and the love of a good woman. The ride that director Derek Cianfrance takes the audience on spends a considerable chunk of the movie on Manchester’s winning over Leigh’s daughters, to show, apparently, that he’s a softie at heart.* It also explains the ending, which is well telegraphed yet comes as something of a surprise.

Roofman is well worth seeing for Channing Tatum’s charismatic performance, both clothed and — SPOILER ALERT! — nude. Actually, to correct what I said about there being nothing funny about it, the sequence when store manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage) discovers Manchester standing right in front of him is funny.

Rated R for language, nudity and brief sexuality. Apparently no animals were harmed, though the only animal I saw was a duck that Manchester feeds in the prison yard. As for explosions, no cars were blown up. However, there is a spectacular fireball that’s caused by Manchester’s inexperience as an arsonist.

* A producer and a writer were in a meeting. The producer says, “I love the script, I think it’s great. I’d like you to make the kid more sympathetic.” The writer says, “Sure. what did you have in mind?” The producer says, “Give him a puppy. Give him a limp.” The writer says, “Give the puppy a limp?” The producer says, “How the hell should I know? You’re the writer, you figure it out.” Shorthand: “Give the puppy a limp” for make a character sympathetic, as Cianfrance and co-writer Kirt Gunn do for Manchester.

Andrew Scott to star in Ian Charleson biopic

 

From Gay Star News’ Facebook news feed:

Andrew Scott to play gay icon Ian Charleson

Andrew Scott is preparing to take on what is already being described as a career-defining role, portraying revered Scottish actor Ian Charleson in Elsinore, a newly announced biographical drama from StudioCanal, first reported by Variety.

The film will be directed by Simon Stone, who makes the leap from actor to filmmaker, with a script by BAFTA-winning writer Stephen Beresford, best known for Pride. Together, they focus on the final and most intense period of Charleson’s life, as he prepared for and delivered a legendary turn as Hamlet while living with AIDS.

Scott will also serve as a producer on the project, deepening his creative involvement beyond the screen. His casting has been met with widespread acclaim, with Stone calling the pairing of actor and subject a rare alignment. “Andrew Scott is one of the greatest actors of his generation,” he said, drawing a direct parallel to Charleson’s own standing in British theatre.

While Charleson reached global audiences through Oscar-winning films such as Chariots of Fire and Gandhi, his most enduring impact was forged on stage, where his performances — particularly in Shakespeare — secured his reputation as one of the great actors of his era.

"I like your Epstein Files T-shirt"

 

I don’t know what all the fuss is about a few little redactions. It’s the most transparent regime—I mean “administration”—in American history, maybe since the Roman Empire

Everything is going according to The Plan!™ update

Gallup has surveyed voters on what they think about the president since Harry Truman was in the White House. TL, DR: It’s looking bad for the Dotard Leader. Here’s an excerpt from Ed Kilgore’s article in New York magazine.

“A quick scan shows that *****’s terrible standing among independents right now places him in some dangerous territory.

“To start with, that 25 percent job-approval number among independents is significantly lower than any ***** registered in Gallup’s monthly surveys during his first term. His job-approval rating among independents was at 39 percent the day he lost his 2020 reelection bid. And it was still at 30 percent in January of 2021, immediately after the January 6 Capitol Riot made him look dead politically for a good while. He’s in uncharted territory right now.

“Let’s compare this terrible standing among the unaligned with the famously unpopular presidents of the past. At this same point in his one term as president, Joe Biden’s job-approval rating among independents was 37 percent. It hit an all-time low of 27 percent among independents in November 2023, before improving back to 37 percent by the end of his term. George W. Bush actually did worse late in his second term when the bottom was falling out of the economy; his October 2008 job approval among independents was at 19 percent, but that wasn’t much worse than his 25 percent approval rating among all voters. Bill Clinton briefly plunged below 30 percent among independents during his rocky first few months as president, but he was up to 44 percent prior to a disastrous 1994 midterm election and eventually 67 percent by the end of his presidency. Richard Nixon didn’t reach *****’s low levels of job approval among independents until he was in the depths of the Watergate scandal; he hit 23 percent when impeachment proceedings against him began and 22 percent the day he was forced to resign.”

Read the article here after you prove you’re not a robot: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/*****'s job approval among independents is astoundingly low