Hamilton: I saw Hamilton live sitting in the very last row of the balcony and thought it was incredible. “Satisfied” is transcendent, and look – I’ve read the 2020 reflections on Hamilton, and some are fair but the bar in America right now is INCREDIBLY low – delivering a successful and relatively universally beloved Broadway musical about history that puts people of color front and center without calling attention to it was and is special stuff. This was good shit, pal. Think the main Hamilton guy I saw live was better. ****1/2
First Cow: A movie set in 1820 with fur trappers on The Trails, lots of hiking and running water and conversation. It’s beautifully made, but didn’t grab me. After seeing a few of her movies, I may be too impatient for Kelly Reichardt. ***1/4
Sometimes Always Never: A wild movie that never really delivers on its premise, though it does deliver Bill Nighy as a distressed father obsessed with Scrabble looking in vain for his missing son. Lots of great scenery and acting, though it doesn’t quite hit. ***1/2
The Old Guard: Netflix is completely cornering the big dumb action movie market, and here Charlize Theron leads a cast of superheroes who have been saving the world for hundreds of years and have all kinds of secrets. They make zero secret that they want this to be a franchise, and I can’t say I’m excited for it but I also can’t deny this scratched a low key itch. **1/2
Money Plane: This has got Edge and Kelsey Grammar swearing at each other alongside pretty much every dumb action trope. Zero surprises and fantastically stupid. **3/4
