Perhaps the most exciting news about June is that I began the website refresh, which is a gargantuan project that I’d been thinking about for a while, but hadn’t really known how to approach, what all it would require.
June’s viewing predictably leaned toward noir and midcentury American cinema: The Glass Key, They Drive by Night, The Asphalt Jungle, Glengarry Glen Ross, and River of No Return. There were also plenty of partial viewings: Ad Astra, The Zone of Interest, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Prestige, Goldfinger, and The Hobbit. Contemporary franchise noise appeared too, with Deadpool, Deadpool & Wolverine, Minions: The Rise of Gru, and Hoppers.
Reading included Hammett’s The Glass Key, selections from Virgil’s Aeneid, Maritta Wolff’s Whistle Stop, beginning Barthes’s S/Z, Repcheck’s The Man Who Found Time, beginning Rudwick’s The Great Devonian Controversy, and Willa Cather’s My Ántonia.
June 1st
— Mina Tavakoli, “Wish You Were Here“, N+1
Rarely do I pine Never do I pine for the cruise ship experience (although I have had the experience back in 199x, when I traveled to Alaska on a cruise ship from Vancouver). But this article fondly reminded me of it and favorably inclined me to celebrity impersonators, which generally I hold pretty low on the artistic totem pole. Maybe just a step above AI?
She touches on the fact that most artists (perhaps ALLLLL artists?!) imitate someone. As my friend Parker put it, the way you fuck it up is your style.
I think he’s right.
And it certainly elevates the impersonator.
— Finished Peter Molnar, Plate Tectonics: A Very Short Introduction and am embarrassed it took me at least 2 months to do so … but my reading patterns are not exactly linear.
June 2nd
— Ad Astra (2019), 123 min.
Directed by James Gray; written by James Gray and Ethan Gross.
Starring Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland.
Released in United States on September 20, 2019.
45 minutes, mostly watching muted
Voiceover, really?! James Gray also directed We Own the Night (2007) and I saw that sometime over the past year and was bemused. It was one of Walhberg’s dramatic roles and mostly I don’t think highly of those. But it was mostly good, including performances from Joachim Phoenix and fucking Robert Duvall. But Duvall’s character was paper thin and the film’s conceit was not especially original.
I did come away thinking, however, that I wanted to see Gray’s other films and that this director had a unique perspective on NYC. I have wanted to see The Yards (2000) and Two Lovers (2008). Apparently his debut was Little Odessa (1994), which I’m fairly certain I saw in the theaters at the NY Film Festival.
But Ad Astra is not worthy. I didn’t watch the entire thing, but what I saw just confused me. Why do I want to go from the Earth to the Moon to Mars and then to Neptune? And the mayday scene? Why shoehorned in?
A car chase on the moon? Really?!
— The Glass Key, Ch. 3-5
Ch 4 describes when Beaumont gets trapped by Shad O’Rory and then brutally beaten by his henchman Jeff (played by William Bendix to extraordinary effect in the 1942 adaptation).
June 3rd
— The Glass Key (1935), 80 min.
Directed by Frank Tuttle; written by Kathryn Scola and Kubec Glasmon, with additional dialogue by Harry Ruskin, based on the novel The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett.
Starring George Raft, Edward Arnold, Claire Dodd, Guinn “Big Boy” Williams, and Ray Milland.
Released in the United States on June 15, 1935.
Viewed on YouTube for 10 minutes before boring my son to death. He only likes pre-code Buster Keaton.
Paul Madvig is played by Edward Arnold and “Ed” Beaumont by George Raft. Arnold you know from You Can’t Take It With You (1938) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939).
1935 version includes the jokes about Paul’s silk socks.
June 4rd
— Finished Hammett, The Glass Key
June 5th
— D-Day the Sixth of June (1956), 106 min.
Directed by Henry Koster; written by Harry Brown and Ivan Moffat, based on the novel The Sixth of June by Lionel Shapiro.
Starring Robert Taylor, Richard Todd, Dana Wynter, Edmond O’Brien, and John Williams.
Released in the United States on May 29, 1956.
A love triangle thwarted by D-day!
Viewed on Great Entertainment Television, channel 29-2 in Philadelphia!
— The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), 142 min.
Directed by Robert Aldrich; written by Lukas Heller, based on the novel The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston Trevor.
Starring James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, and George Kennedy.
Released in the United States on December 15, 1965.
— Hoppers (2026), 104 min.
Directed by Daniel Chong; written by Jesse Andrews.
Starring Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, and Dave Franco.
Premiered at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles on February 24, 2026.
June 6th
— Gemünden, Lucretia Martel, Chap 3 on La Nina Santa
“The Holy Girl” was, for some time, my favorite of the Martel Salta trilogy, although I admit that i felt a bit sheepish for this opinion because I am a man not far from the age of the doctor who engages in some molestation. I feel embarrassed for this.
The author’s account is quite developed and permits me to regain my previous opinion, as it is justified by developed argumentation …
— The Zone of Interest (2023), 105 min.
Directed by Jonathan Glazer; written by Jonathan Glazer.
Starring Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller, Medusa Knopf, Daniel Holzberg, and Sascha Maaz.
Premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2023.
Watched only the first some 20 minutes, to the point where one of the boys is staying up late looking at gold teeth. M fell asleep.
June 9th
— Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), 135 min.
Directed by Steven Spielberg; written by Steven Spielberg.
Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, François Truffaut, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey.
Premiered in the New York City on November 11, 1977.
Watched the last hour with rapt attention, waiting for Richard Dreyfuss to be anally probed.
This was on AMC and at the end Spielberg and Ben Mankiewicz were talking (the film was shown to draw attention to Disclosure Day, his newest release) and the former confirmed that he and Lucas traded 2.5% of their movies (Lucas’ was Star Wars) because Lucas was uncertain how his would fare …
I was a bit shocked that Truffaut would agree to be in this film … now CETK seems so dated, so dull in many respects. And the primary character is just leaving his family! What?
And, as Mary pointed out, why did Barry need to be abducted, only to be returned a few days later?
June 10th
— NYRB on AI’s upbringing, the role of the literary agent, the problems with the Labour Party
— Knicks Vs. Spurs, Finals, Games 4
June 11th
— The Aeneid
Written by Virgil; translated by Robert Fitzgerald.
Published by Vintage (1990), 464 pp.
Reading Book 2, “How the City Was Razed”
Reading as part of the marketing efforts of X company to create buzz about Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (2026).
Cuz … I was thinking about how could Matt Damon really assume the role of Odysseus? Certainly Damon’s had at least one role (that I can think of) as a dubious character (The Talented Mr Ripley [1999]). But he doesn’t have a lot of experience in these roles.
And Odysseus requires an actor who has a certain air of mischievousness. Josh Brolin comes to mind immediately, particularly like roles in Sicario (2015). I also loved him in Hail, Caesar! (2016) [in which, to be fair, everyone was awesome save George Clooney, whose character was a bit tired].
In the Aeneid Ulysses is an enemy, one of those who razes Illium. But I also discovered that Ulysses had tried to avoid the Trojan war by feigning madness, only to be revealed in fraud by Palamedes, whom Ulysses would eventually have killed (this is referred to in the beginning of Aeneas account).
— The Big Lebowski (1998), 117 min.
Directed by Joel Coen; written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.
Starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, and John Turturro.
Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 1998.
Watched first 70 minutes, up to point where the Dude visits Jackie Trehorn.
June 12th
— Finished The Big Lebowski
June 13th
— Finished Book 2 of the Aeneid
The second part of Book 2 focuses on the destruction of Troy and Aeneas’ eventual decision to escape with his family.
— Knicks vs. Spurs, Finals, Game 5
— The Man Who Found Time: James Hutton and the Discovery of Earth’s Antiquity
Written by Jack Repcheck.
Published by Perseus Publishing (2003), 256 pp.
Read through the Prologue.
June 14th
— Barcelona Grand Prix
— Whistle Stop
Written by Maritta Wolff.
Published by Random House (1941), 447 pp.
Read the first 70 pp.
— Masters of the Air (2024), “Part One”
Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga; written by John Orloff and John Shiban, based on the book Masters of the Air by Donald L. Miller.
Starring Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Barry Keoghan, Nikolai Kinski, Stephen Campbell Moore, Sawyer Spielberg, Isabel May, and Nate Mann.
Aired on Apple TV+ on January 26, 2024.
Lucian wanted to watch this, and it certainly falls squarely into his interests. Of course, most of the episodes are made heavily with AI.
June 15th
— Whistle Stop, 70 pp., Finished Part One
When I started reading this I was really enjoying it. There are a lot of respects in which it’s a very compelling novel. The characters are fully fleshed out and I have been moving through it quickly.
But you know me, too much pleasure in reading and I get suspicious.
In part, having finished part one, I’m a little uncertain what this novel is about. I guess, ironically, I was expecting a hard-boiled detective story. Whereas, this is a family drama, as far as I can tell.
Obviously the mother dotes unhelpfully on Kenny: he doesn’t deserve this special treatment. And it seems clear who is the father of Dorothy. I think Chapter 9, in which Dorothy kills the cat, was the first big surprise.
As well, I’m given pause by the descriptions of the ways that characters decide on their actions. For example, Kenny is the central character in many respects, but the closest we come to insights into his thinking is in his exchange with Rita Sibley before the accident. We are limited to his perspective, whereas it seems clear that he is deceiving himself in a number of ways.
By contrast, I found the description of Carl’s psychology more compelling. A younger man who falls in his brother’s shadow, who’s deeply unhappy.
Last thing, I’m looking for the author’s appearance and I haven’t found it, so much. You see it in the instances when the narrative moves from the perspective of a character to some sort of objective judgment. On page 73, for example, it moves from Rita’s thoughts about herself to a description of her as actually being beautiful, albeit with one flaw.
There are features of this which mark this as early novel, such as imprecise uses of language. But I’m not sure that this is a fair ground for critique given that it is the author‘s first novel.
There are also interesting features, like the repeated instances in which the mother asks various family members to collect some raspberries for her, each time being mostly ignored. That is insightful.
— Dr. No (1962), 109 min.
Directed by Terence Young; written by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather, based on the novel Dr. No by Ian Fleming.
Starring Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord, Anthony Dawson, Zena Marshall, John Kitzmiller, and Bernard Lee.
Premiered in the London on October 5, 1962.
As M would say, there are a few features of this film that make it a little rape-y. Like when the photographer has her arm held behind her back and when the secretary resists James kiss and then is asked if she thought he came for the view.
— Masters of the Air (2024), “Part Two”
I was captivated by the fact that a live band was playing for them. I mean, a live band! Of course, who would go to a dance with merely pre-recorded music …
June 16th
— Whistle Stop, 50 pp.
— S/Z
Written by Roland Barthes. Translated by Richard Miller.
Published by Hill and Wang (1974), 271 pp.
Progress: First 5 pp.
June 17th
— They Drive by Night (1940), 93 min.
Directed by Raoul Walsh; written by Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay, based on the novel Long Haul by A. I. Bezzerides.
Starring George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page, and Alan Hale.
Released in the United States on August 3, 1940.
Had watched this film before, but only the opening scenes in which Raft and Bogart’s characters are driving, and so therefore missed the primary narrative event.
In the film light-activated garage doors drive insane the antagonist, Lana Carlsen, played by Ida Lupino. I like films in which a device is somehow crucial to the narrative unfolding, the Chekhovian gun, as it were. For example, I wrote about the function of the voice recorder in the film Sudden Fear.
— Whistle Stop, 10 pp.
— Man Who Found Time, Chs. 2-3
June 18th
— Law & Order (1991), “The Wages of Love”
Directed by John Beymer; written by Robert Nathan.
Starring Michael Moriarty, Chris Noth, Paul Sorvino, Richard Brooks, Steven Hill, Dann Florek, and Jerry Orbach as defense attorney Frank Lehrman.
Aired on NBC on September 24, 1991.
June 20th
— Deadpool (2016), 108 min.
Directed by Tim Miller; written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, based on the Marvel Comics character created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld.
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapičić, and Leslie Uggams.
Released in Hong Kong on February 9, 2016.
June 21st
— The Prestige (2006), 130 min.
Directed by Christopher Nolan; written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, based on the novel The Prestige by Christopher Priest.
Starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Andy Serkis, and David Bowie.
Released in Italy on October 19, 2006.
First 45 minutes.
— Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), 100 min.
Directed by James Foley; written by David Mamet, based on his play Glengarry Glen Ross.
Starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce, and Bruce Altman.
Released in the United States on October 2, 1992.
This movie’s been being shown repeatedly on GreatTV and perhaps that’s why I watched it.
June 22nd
— The Prestige, finished
— Finished Whistle Stop
— Party Down (2009), “Willow Canyon Homeowners Annual Party”
Directed by Bryan Gordon; written by John Enbom.
Starring Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr, and Lizzy Caplan.
Aired on Starz on March 20, 2009.
— Party Down (2009), “California College Conservative Union Caucus”
Aired on Starz on March 27, 2009.
— Party Down (2009), “Pepper McMasters Singles Seminar”
Aired on Starz on April 3, 2009.
June 23rd
— The Asphalt Jungle (1950), 112 min.
Directed by John Huston; written by John Huston and Ben Maddow, based on the novel The Asphalt Jungle by W. R. Burnett.
Starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, and Marilyn Monroe.
Released in the United States on May 12, 1950.
“Don’t bone me!” Sterling Hayden and Sam Jaffe are so beautiful in this film. And I had no idea that the Jean Hagen was the same actress who was in Singing in the Rain!
June 25th
— The Great Devonian Controversy: The Shaping of Scientific Knowledge among Gentlemanly Specialists
Written by Martin J. S. Rudwick.
Published by University of Chicago Press (1985), 528 pp.
Progress: Prologue.
God this is a beautiful freaking book.
June 26th
— Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), 87 min.
Directed by Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson, and Jonathan del Val; written by Matthew Fogel, from a story by Brian Lynch and Matthew Fogel.
Starring Steve Carell, Pierre Coffin, Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, Alan Arkin, Julie Andrews, Russell Brand, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Released in the United States on July 1, 2022.
First 75 minutes with M because of course the Minions are a formative effect on Lucian’s upbringing and it’s important that she know something about this. Predictably, her complaint is that she’s about to have a seizure because of the frenetic editing. And she’s right.
This made me think about the N+1 article that talked about how Netflix films are made to be watched “in the background” and so narrative hints are added liberally to make sure the attention-poor can still follow along as they do other things …
— Hoarders (2024), “Bob“
Directed by George Butts; written by Marcus Goodwin and Matt Wilkins.
Aired on A&E on January 15, 2024.
Viewed on Netflix and therefore broken into two different episodes.
June 27th
— Goldfinger (1964), 110 min.
Directed by Guy Hamilton; written by Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn, based on the novel Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Starring Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, Gert Fröbe, Shirley Eaton, Tania Mallet, Harold Sakata, Bernard Lee, Martin Benson, Cec Linder, Austin Willis, Lois Maxwell, and Desmond Llewelyn.
Premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on September 17, 1964.
Watched the first 30 minutes on the Criterion Channel. These first 30 minutes include the scene where Goldfinger has the beautiful woman murdered who’d been helping him cheat at gin, after she was corrupted by Bond. That image of her spraypainted in gold is sort of famous.
— Party Down (2009), “Celebrate Ricky Sargulesh”
Directed by Bryan Gordon; written by John Enbom.
Starring Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr, Lizzy Caplan, and Steven Weber.
Aired on Starz on May 8, 2009. Season 1, episode 8.
— Hoarders, 15.2 “Bob”
Second part of the same episode as it’s available on Netflix.
— The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), 169 min.
Directed by Peter Jackson; written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, and Andy Serkis.
Premiered at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, on November 28, 2012.
Watched the first two hours with M.
June 28th
— My Ántonia
Written by Willa Cather; introduction by Jane Smiley.
Published by Vintage (2018), 288 pp.
Progress: 25 pp.
— Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), 128 min.
Directed by Shawn Levy; written by Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Shawn Levy.
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, and Matthew Macfadyen.
Premiered at the David H. Koch Theater in New York City on July 22, 2024
June 30th
— River of No Return (1954), 91 min.
Directed by Otto Preminger; written by Frank Fenton, based on a story by Louis Lantz.
Starring Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe, Tommy Rettig, Rory Calhoun, and Murvyn Vye.
Released in the United States on April 30, 1954.
Watched with the sound off most of the time.
Actually I really like Otto Preminger films, particular Advise and Consent, which I think is brilliant (and casts both Charles Laughton and Henry Fonda). This is a film I hadn’t seen.
I think it’s kind of a strange Preminger film. I cannot think of another Western he made, although one might reasonably argue this is not a Western. It’s an Anthony Mann kind of Western, perhaps? Of course, here there’s little love for the setting. It’s purely instrumental.
— The Man Who Found Time, 5 pp.
