Hello, Tuesday
You'll find enclosed, Star Wars, sharks, and Michael Jackson
Checking in…
I’ve been able to get back to the movies this week! It’s been a while since I snagged a showing of a new release, but I found the time to see The Devil Wears Prada 2, among others, at my favorite local cinema. Great times, lots of popcorn.
The newest episode of What Was That About is out now! This week we’re talking about Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, which came out in 2000, and won Best Picture at the subsequent Academy Awards. This movie was a blast to explore on the show, and I hope you enjoy the episode.
In other news, May the 4th was yesterday, and in case you missed my note on your Substack feed, Star Wars is what got me hooked on filmmaking at 7 years old. It was the first time I realized that the backstory of a movie could be just as interesting as the movie itself. Watching the Special Edition Trilogy on VHS was a formative memory, and I treasure the joy those movies still give me all these years later. Thanks for the lifelong passion George! You can check out my personal ranking of all the Star Wars films by clicking here.
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Songs That Should Be In Movies
Every week, I highlight one track from my behemoth Spotify Playlist.
‘I Can’t Handle Change’ from Roar’s likewise titled 2010 EP, alternates between intimate indie-rock garage-band vocals and wide-open cinematic scope, with a processed sound emphasizing the instrumental through reverb, driving drums, and alternating fast and slow tempos.
The song in general seems to deal in feelings of worthlessness, of listless young-adulthood, that terrible point in life where nothing you do feels quite right. In other words, the subject matter of all great coming-of-age films.
You can follow the full playlist here.
The Movies Watched List
I watch a lot of movies. A LOT. Here’s the highlights from the past week:
This week I watched…
Power Ballad (2026) Best performance of Paul Rudd’s career can be found in this extremely entertaining little gem about the value of making art and meaning it. Jonas has a surprisingly nuanced performance here too— toeing the line between empathetic and reprehensible in a way few other actors could pull off. Moved me to tears in the final moments, really stellar ending. ★★★★
Michael (2026) Competently shot and exceedingly well performed, ‘Michael’ successfully resurrects the king of pop with an overwhelming reverence, propping up the myth of the superstar in all his unearthly glory. What it doesn’t do, is provide: context, nuance, subversion, critique, detail, analysis, integrity, subjectivity, or complexity. It never tries to do any of these things, and therefore attempts to excuse itself from such conversations. But it is an undeniable truth that this movie would be a better work of art if it stopped treading water and dug in its heels. I found myself irritated by the twenty-seventh time Michael announced he wanted to “live his own life by his rules.” Additionally, there is no hint towards the underlying psychology of its deeply fascinating central figure, only superficial recognitions of his “difference” and “specialness.” In the end I am left wondering if Michael Jackson even enjoyed making music, even as I am invited to sit in awe of his musical accomplishments. ★★★
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) What the hell, this might be better than the first one? Stylish satire with a winning cast, Hathaway remains charming as ever and Streep delivers every fucking time. So refreshing to see a legacy sequel that has actual aspirations— this movie stakes some ballsy claims instead of just showing me things from the first movie and going “look, it’s that thing you know!” In fact, I’m struggling to even think of one moment where the movie might have done something remotely like that. Also, fears about this movie’s aesthetic choices were vastly overblown; yes, it’s crisply digital, but it feels like a really on-point design choice for a film about the modern state of fashion journalism. Luscious. A bar has been set here. ★★★★
Deep Water (2026) Plane crashes into ocean full of sharks. People die in plane crash, then more people die because of sharks. If you wanna watch a nail-biting hour-and-forty minute suspense sequence where things get worse and worse and then inexplicably get better, watch Deep Water. Plane crash scene is unbelievably intense, had my hands over my mouth the whole damn time. Cast is fine, Eckhart’s fine, Kingsley’s fine, nothing particularly special going on here. But the CGI sharks are surprisingly great. In fact, all the film’s special effects are surprisingly great. Lotta unceremonious shark-related kills, and be prepared for the most generically annoying deadbeat guy ever causing literally every single problem all by himself. ★★1/2
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) Had to close out May 4th with a rewatch of Jedi. Love, hatred, friendship, sacrifice and redemption (with a healthy dose of that trademark Star Wars silliness). Goofy pulpy mythic fairytale fun with characters so familiar that they feel like old friends. Love the special edition for Williams’s ‘Victory Celebration’ piece alone. The final duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader remains the greatest fight scene in the series to this day. May the force be with you! ★★★★★
For more of Elliot’s film reviews, follow him on Letterboxd.
Curation + Inspiration
Fascinating videos about writing, film, or anything under the sun...
In the spirit of the new Michael Jackson biopic, this week’s deep-dive comes from one of my favorite YouTube channels— Defunctland, who covers the history of defunct amusement park attractions.
This particular Defunctland video covers the bizarre story of Captain EO, the strange sci-fi fantasy space adventure film starring Michael Jackson, which was showcased exclusively at Walt Disney theme parks. The number of high-profile Hollywood creatives who got involved in this thing is truly staggering— everyone from George Lucas to Francis Ford Coppola lent a hand— all the more strange when you consider that the finished result was a profoundly weird flop.
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