gbeer.bsky.social
Cinephile and TV writer/producer working across drama and documentary. Credits include Madiba (BET), The Dictator’s Playbook (PBS), Age of Samurai (Netflix), An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet (Bloomberg), and Mayday (Nat Geo)
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Chief Broody!
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Spielberg has had an amazing career, but that is his best film.
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“I’m hysterical and I’m wet!”
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True Detective had a version of this problem too, I think. It makes me more appreciative of those show runners who don’t seek to center themselves (but were so successful they could have gotten away with it) like, say, Vince Gilligan or Jesse Armstrong.
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Thank you for everything, Steve. Can’t wait to see what comes next.
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Excellent piece. A lot of BTS history I didn’t know.
Sometimes you hear people say the cinema of the 1950s was too square, not daring enough. They need look no further than this movie. Brilliant, shocking, more timely than ever.
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I love this movie. A one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Look forward to checking out the discussion and interview!
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As a kid, I first noticed him in the wonderfully weird 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Then it was a special joy to slowly wind my way back through his career as I got older and eventually arrive at M.
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Yes, so much to chew on! It knocked me off balance at first. Upon reflection I see what an achievement it is. Foremost for me: Spike, Isla, Jamie, Kelson are all such real and richly defined characters, even in the midst of all that tone and genre shifting mayhem. And the ending. Holy sh*t!
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This is a great overview and analysis of a fascinating and consequential time in Ontario history. Thanks!
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I just saw this. Still processing. Really enjoyed your piece and it’s helping me get my head around it. Boyle is a madman (complimentary).
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By fluke, I recently saw Moonraker. Of course it was preposterous, but it was also extremely fun. We don’t need a turgid Bond.
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Loni Anderson's character was supposed to be the bombshell but I fell hard for Bailey Quarters
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A few overlaps in either title or filmmaker. The fun thing is that I think I could make a list of ten new choices tomorrow
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Powell and Lombard ought to be be household names like, say, Bogie and Bacall. I'm sure they once were. But I think a lot of people, even movie buffs, unconsciously see modern film history starting at Wizard of Oz/Casablanca/Kane and the 30s get missed. (at least I think that’s what happened to me).
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Glad to find this. I've been obsessed with My Man Godfrey since seeing it for the first time only recently. Literally a perfect film. Hilarious, touching, provocative. 90 years old and feels totally modern.
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A gateway drug can take on many forms!
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He made so many great, perfectly crafted movies. Two that sometimes get lost in the shuffle, worth rewatching or discovering anew: Fail Safe and Prince of the City.
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This resonates. My 16yo found the documentary Room 237 on Youtube, then went down all the online rabbit holes of Kubrick lore, and only THEN actually watched The Shining. Very weird for me as an old school cinephile!
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The movie theatre I used to frequent as a kid became an evangelical church. An improvement for some, no doubt, and fair enough. But man, I was heartbroken.
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Great piece. I only recently watched Sorcerer and Clouzot’s Wages of Fear (s/o to Criterion Channel), and yes—some key differences between them, as you point out. But both completely blew me away. I still can’t decide which one is better, or even which one I like more. It’s a fun little dilemma.
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Yes! A masterpiece for sure. Because Loach is so passionately political sometimes people forget what a magnificent filmmaker he is. From Kes to Riff Raff, to Land and Freedom, I, Daniel Blake and others, he is first and foremost a master storyteller.
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Ditto. GREAT movie.
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He's also great, and unsettling, in this other strange but brilliant masterpiece -
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This movie destroyed me as a kid - in the best possible way.
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Fascinating episode about Wilder. It says so much about art and how difficult it is to make that the same guy who made Sunset Boulevard (still breathtaking and shocking and haunting today) made those borderline embarrassing late career films.
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"Let's put a Whoa, Nelly on the tomfoolery!" Col. Potter, MASH
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Yes, although I have heard it occasionally (maybe in a movie) used as almost a term of endearment. Like a publican addressing his beloved regulars as 'the punters'.
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also interesting is the evolution of the British slang term "punter" which can mean someone easy to fleece - but it's not as harsh as mark or chump.
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Now imagining 'Previouslies' at the start of, like, Empire Strikes Back or Die Hard 2. Can't stop laughing.
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Ferrari deserves way more attention
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Bravo
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What she does in Interiors is incredible. When she shows up it’s like a bomb goes off.
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Has Wolf Hall been mentioned? It covers all those bases and then some.
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Along with this and the other titles mentioned, s/o to Watership Down, Secret of Nimh, Labyrinth, The Journey of Natty Gann, Stand By Me (and others!). It's a special thing to be truly haunted by a movie as a child.
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Just rewatched 28 Days in preparation. Can’t wait.
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I've heard others express the same feeling. In fact, it's precisely what my wife thinks about TV vs. movies.
(personally, I love good TV but I remain a passionate cinephile).
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Also obsessed with this. On balance, I'd say the British and French are generally more consistent when it comes to getting lived-in period costumes right. Even a film as elaborately costumed as Ridley Scott’s The Duellists feels completely authentic, and the film is all the stronger for it.
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Ditto for Topsy Turvy. Everything, down to tiniest historical detail, rings true
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He was always great on screen. And besides being a real hero, he did so much to help the public understand (and destigmatize) the psychological effects of combat. He spoke powerfully about the painful memories and constant nightmares he endured following WW2.