Watch This

Some weekend recs

Hi. Today, some recs for ways to pass the hours during your long weekend. And down at the bottom is the recording of the terrific Q&A we did with On My Block creator Lauren Iungerich.

Movie Stars

As I mentioned, I like movies again! Turns out, many of them are good. Here are a few good, non-Spielberg movies I watched recently.

We went this week to the Aero Theater in Santa Monica to see Chungking Express. I first watched this back in November, just to watch something different, and it’s lingered in the back of my brain since then. Somehow it was even better on this second watch. It’s not a movie with secrets. It is what it is. But I do recommend going in knowing nothing about the movie.

It’s on Max and the Criterion Channel.

The Aero screening was part of American Cinematheque’s “Friends of the Fest,” which I mentioned last week. My friend Rico Gagliano introduced the movie and, once you’ve watched, I definitely recommend listening to his podcast about how the film was made, as well as the story of star Faye Wong’s cover of the Cranberries’ “Dreams.”

Cinema Paradiso is another one that I somehow missed when I was younger. I guess I always thought it would be kind of draggy and, for lack of a better description, “Oscary” (my least favorite genre). This too we went to see at the Aero, and I was delighted by how sweet and funny and moving the film is. It’s a coming-of-age story about a kid in a tiny village in post-war Italy and his love of movies and his friendship with the theater’s projectionist. I’m remembering the film’s ending right now and tearing up.

You want the “international cut” of the film, by the way, which is the most widely available one anyway. The “director’s cut” is unnecessarily long, according to reviews.

Cinema Paradiso is on Paramount+ and Hoopla.

Rye Lane, which is on Hulu, gives me hope for the future of romantic comedies. More than any rom com I’ve seen in a long time, Rye Lane feels like a step forward in the genre, a beautifully shot, kinetic, and very funny Before Sunset-ish riff starring two dead charming actors. It’s alive in the way of the films of the indie boom of the mid-90s and in a way that most studio-fermented rom coms are very much not.

Cannot wait to see what director Raine Allen-Miller does next.

Okay, this one is not for everyone. Tsai Ming-liang’s The Hole (1998) is a bizarre but heartfelt horror-drama-musical about end-of-the-millennium anxiety. It takes place during a pandemic that makes the sufferer act like a cockroach and then die. The dual protagonists live in a crumbling apartment building above and below each other. They come to hate and then understand each other through a hole in his floor/her ceiling.

The Hole is on Kanopy, and it’s the kind of movie you just have to give yourself over to.

Which reminds me of another movie that you just have to see to believe…

Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes is a bonkers sci-fi comedy about a bunch of friends and acquaintances in a cafe who discover that their computer monitor can show the future—but only two minutes into the future. It’s a low budget farce that, once it gets going, does not slow down, but the actors are incredibly charming and give the whole thing some weight, and the filmmakers explore their premise to the utmost extent. It’s the kind of movie that gives me hope for someday making my own thing. They clearly had a lot of fun.

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is on Tubi and (I think) Amazon Prime.

Book Stars

Writers and actors will want to read Bob Odenkirk’s memoir, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama. Bob doesn’t hold back, especially in the first half, about the state of comedy in the 80s/early 90s and his time writing for SNL, nor does he pull punches on himself as he moves to LA and tries to launch his writing and acting career.

The book is so in Bob’s voice that it feels like having your funniest, silliest friend tell you his life story and the lessons he’s learned along the way. What’s clear from the book, and which I’ve always known to be true about Bob in our few meetings, is his passion for unique comedy—he’s always supportive of that thing that could only be made by the individual who made it. The weird thing that comes from your vision, that would probably not be embraced by the masses but would be extremely meaningful for a small, loyal fanbase.

All right, that’s enough entertainment for you to last the weekend. So, I’ll leave you with this six-hour playlist for your barbecue or hanging around the house time. It’s another playlist that I made to be the soundtrack at Little Dom’s restaurant—music that you’re always glad to hear but won’t interrupt your meal. Like, there are no harmonicas on it.

What are you watching/reading/listening to these days? What has you excited or inspired? Please tell me! I’m always looking for recs.

Finally, below is the recording of the Q&A with On My Block and Awkward. creator Lauren Iungerich. This was a truly terrific conversation with so much practical advice imparted by Lauren. And your questions were excellent! If you want to attend the next one (or listen to any past Q&As), upgrade your subscription now: