The displeasure associated with turning another year older continues to be worse than actually turning another year older.

Happy 35th to me! 🥳

Setting up my new AirTag was a fun, but short experience. Usually, a new Apple gadget comes with days of messing around with it. The point of these seems to be to forget about them until that unfortunate day when you actually have to worry about them. 🍎

Steven and I are continuing our monthlong series of western films on More Movies Please! If you were thinking it’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid this week, then you’d be correct. Congratulations! Enjoy a brand new episode as a reward.🎙

My second COVID vaccine is knocking me for a loop today. I’ve got a whole body ache going on and it is unpleasant, to say the least.

Still totally worth it, though. Screw this disease!

Newly wed to Maxim de Winter, played by Laurence Olivier, the new Mrs. de Winter, played by Joan Fontaine, moves into her husband’s sprawling estate, the Manderley house. She’s given a cold greeting by the current staff of the house, and especially by the severe Mrs. Danvers, played by Judith Anderson. Maxim’s deceased former wife still lives deep in the hearts and minds of everyone. They’re not happy about the new Mrs. de Winter taking up residence in the former home of the woman they all loved (albeit some more so than others). Mrs. de Winter faces scorn and mockery, driving her to tears and despair. However, there’s a great mystery surrounding the titular character: was her death truly an accident, or were there more nefarious actions that caused her demise?

I saw a review of this film on Letterboxd that made an effort to explain that while this film can indeed be seen as a tragedy, it’s necessarily not for the reason most people think. The young Mrs. de Winter is surely not having an ideal time at Manderley. Who would want their marriage to include a distant husband and his callous house staff? She’s made to be the one who’s tormented at great length. However, the reviewer posits that we should take greater notice of the pain that Mrs. Danvers is feeling. Indeed that the unrequited love Mrs. Danvers held for Rebecca was also a great tragedy in this film. User “nathaxnne” writes:

We only see Rebecca through the eyes of those who remember her. It is important to not privilege one remembrance above any other, but Mrs. Danvers’ recollection burns most fiercely, her love not only surviving death but allowed for the first time to become one with the current manifestation of Manderlay [sic] in its decor, its routine, a shrine to her beloved, and finally joining her in death.

I found this to be a fascinating take on the film. So much of its running time is spent trailing Mrs. de Winter as she’s tormented by the “ghost” of Rebecca. She’s forever looking for a peaceful, joyous life with her new husband, only to be met with indifferent or distracted responses. We’re made to relate to her plight and detest her poor treatment at the hands of Mrs. Danvers. But we seldom do anything without a reason, and Mrs. Danvers is acting on the pain and heartbreak she feels over the loss of the person she loved. Maxim is all too willing to leave Rebecca in the past, and for good reason, but his desire is not shared by everyone. Sadly, what results is summed up in nathaxnne’s review:

Rebecca is a ghost story where those who are left behind are haunted, even in the potential absence of a spectre.

This is a fascinating film, and easily one of Hitchcock’s best. It deserves to be seen by more people and shine as brightly as any of his best-known works.

The Criterion Collection interviewed Oscar-winning VFX artist and film historian, Craig Barron, for their recent re-issue of this film. This video was a fun and fascinating look at how they achieved the vast and impressive shots of the great Manderley house, as well as providing a quick snippet of Hitchcock’s moviemaking history. Enjoy! 🎞

I received my second Pfizer vaccine earlier today, and I couldn’t be happier about it. As many people have already said, any discomfort I may feel from this shot is well worth dealing with if it means helping myself and those around me stay safe.

Kaunus, Lithuania. July, 2010. 📷🗺

In this week’s episode of More Movies Please!, there’s gold to be had, bandits hot on the tails of our heroes, and Bogart’s really not doing too well.

Yep, we watched and talked about The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Listen now!🎙

• The Sisters Brothers: Between the sibling bickering and the unsettlingly realistic violence is a tale of love and sadness. Love for your brother, both by blood and found. Sadness for lost opportunities and half-realized dreams. All this is done under the guise of a western and it’s an engrossing magic trick that the filmmakers pull off. (★★★★)
• Kong: Skull Island: The best thing this film has going for it is the glorious, beautiful cinematography by the talented Larry Fong. He elevates a fairly weak story to respectable heights. Otherwise, it’s hard to connect to any of the characters, save for John C. Reilly’s excellent Hank Marlow. Samuel L. Jackson is one-notey and there’s not a lot going on between Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston. It’s got thrilling moments, but not a lot of heart. (★★★)
• In a Valley of Violence: It’s fascinating to watch a film that’s so derivative of works from other directors. Ti West, director of this one, definitely thinks of himself as Quentin Tarantino making John Wick. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but this one never tries to be anything more than its influences. I think the cast did a fine job with the script they were given. The dog murder was extremely tough to watch, though, and lessened my enjoyment of the film. (★★★)
• The 39 Steps: I haven’t seen many Hitchcock movies yet, but every time I have the opportunity to see one I feel delighted. This film was one of his early, British-era films, and by all accounts, remains one of the strongest films in his filmography. I had a delightful time watching it. Robert Donat and Madeline Carroll made for an excellent pairing. They played off each other so well. (★★★★)
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters: As the third film in this new, I don’t know, “Titans” series, this one had less substance than either 2014’s Godzilla or Kong: Skull Island. It sure had a lot of stylish monster battles, though. It featured a plot with a very Thanos-esque motivation of wiping out a large portion of the world’s population so that the planet can “heal.” Ultimately, its reliance on destroying cities over telling a better story made this one less effective than Avengers: Endgame. (★★★)
• Sound of Metal: This is one of those films that I feel utterly grateful to have seen. It’s a film to luxuriate in, even as it dwells in depths of despair at times. The towering performances from both Riz Ahmed and Paul Raci are going to stick with me for a long time. They both deserve every single accolade they receive for their beautiful work on this film. (★★★★½)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much: Harrowing, weirdly humorous in places, and brisk as hell. This film tells the story of a kidnapping and the lengths that parents will go to return their child to safety. Peter Lorre gives a memorable performance as the said kidnapper. He brings a gangster attitude to his role, making him seem more menacing than the character otherwise would. This guy doesn’t care what it takes to accomplish his assassination mission, even if it means killing an innocent girl to do it. (★★★½)
• The Long Kiss Goodnight: Next time I’m just going to watch The Bourne Identity and follow that up with La Femme Nikita. I think that would make for a far better time, and it would basically be the same movie. Except, you know, way better. (★★½)
• Soul: When Joe falls through away from the Great Beyond, through endless black and white depths, and comes out into the Great Before, I was awestruck. No other movie I’ve seen this year caught my attention and admiration as firmly as this one did. What followed that opening sequence was a touching story that shows there’s more to life than just chasing a dream. If you spend all your days in pursuit of something intangible, you may wake up one morning wondering how you missed living your life. (★★★★★)
• Mortal Kombat: Mortal Kombat is supposed to be a tournament. There is, however, no tournament held at any point. The film contradicts itself from the very start. What follows is nonsensical, not thrilling, and messy. What a shame that so much money was spent on creating a film that’s an utter bore from beginning to end. It’s clearly the first in what will most likely be a series of Kombats, mortal or otherwise, so at least there should be more of this nonsense in the future to look forward to. In the meantime… Man, this movie was bad. Just unpleasant all around. (★½)
• Rebecca: I thought this one was going to be more of a ghost story. To my surprise, it turned out to be a tale of unrequited love and murder. It’s dressed up as a troubled romance between two people. Laurence Olivier has skeletons in his closet like you wouldn’t believe, and Joan Fontaine is the poor woman who has to bear the brunt of his past. In the background is the titular Rebecca, who, despite being long dead, continues to torment all who live and work at the Manderley mansion. Whether it’s with the new love between the main characters or the old love still held by the understandably severe Mrs. Danvers, there’s angst and turmoil. It’s a classic for a reason, and still as entertaining as ever. (★★★★½)
• Shoplifters: How could anybody be ready for the gut punch this film surprises you with at the end? I know I certainly wasn’t expecting things to go the way they did. I thought this was just going to be a simple story about a family of shoplifters who fall under some hardship. While it is that, there’s a lot more happening under the surface. It’s too good to give away. What has stuck with me the most is the moment one of the characters shares with the young girl who has only known apathy and abuse. She hugs the girl close and says that love isn’t violence. Love is a hug freely given, and it lives in your heart. (★★★★½)
• Godzilla vs. Kong: Somehow the filmmakers found a way to stretch a thirty-minute story into a two-hour smash fest. This was nothing but destruction porn. What I found worse to endure was the frequent pain inflicted on the titular characters. And for what reason, ultimately? Godzilla was a savior of humans. Kong was a savior of humans. They should have some interesting common ground. It would have been far more interesting to have had Mecha-Godzilla be the thing they team up against from the start. Well, who cares about any of that nonsense? Let’s instead use a human-caused misunderstanding between them as an excuse to have them beat each other nearly to death. Cruelty, now that’s entertainment! These Titans are maybe too forgiving of the species that keeps trying to murder them. (★★)
• Collective: You ever watch a film that feels like it’s on simmer nearly all the way through? You know something is building underneath you, but you’re not sure what it old be, and why are you starting to feel warmer than usual. This film uses its entire running time to tell what amounts to four separate stories: the tragedy of a catastrophic fire that took the lives of many young concertgoers, the journalists who uncover the governmental corruption that led to the deaths of many more victims, the minister of health who took on the role after his predecessor was ousted, and a young, badly scarred woman learning to live again after the tragedy. These stories wind around each other, each giving more information to the entire story. By the end, what everyone has gone through turns the simmer into a boil that quickly escapes the confines of the pot, leaving you gobsmacked at how corrupt a government can be, and how quickly it can spread its disease throughout an entire country. (★★★★)

Total movies watched: 14

Compared to last month, I’ve seen far fewer movies. Seems I spent more of my time watching tv shows. I may not be able to record those on Letterboxd, but I still had a good time watching stuff in April.

Be sure to follow me on Letterboxd! 🎥

The Fountain was written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. It was released in 2006. The film was produced by Protozoa Pictures and New Regency. The title card is a shot from the film with no discernible title designer.

Spanning three disparate times and places in the universe, The Fountain tells the story of conquistador Tomás Verde who has been tasked by his queen, Isabella, to find the Tree of Life. It’s located deep in Mayan territory, and she believes it will be the key to saving her kingdom. It also tells the story of Tom Creo, a modern surgeon who is desperately trying to find a cure for a brain tumor that’s ravaging his wife, Izzi. The third story is that of Tommy, a futuristic space traveler who is guiding a tree toward a dying star. He believes that its magnificent explosion will bring back his long lost love. Hugh Jackman plays all three versions of Tom, and Rachel Weisz plays his counterpart.

By this point in my life, I’d seen Aronofsky’s previous film, the disorienting, beautiful, and despairing Requiem for a Dream. I don’t think I’d ever seen something so full of style and confidence. How remarkable that it was only his second full-length film! When The Fountain came out, I knew it was something I had to see. I’m still shocked, all these years later, that it didn’t do very well, and is seen as one of his weaker works. I still believe that many of its detractors weren’t ready for its winding narrative, or that it demanded critical viewing and not just simply blank witnessing.

I could hardly walk out of the theater after I saw it; I may have instead stumbled out into the bright sunlight. It filled my head with so many impossible questions. I was in complete awe of the production and the performances. Imagine my surprise that its budget amounted to what the industry now affords to a small independent film. It’s still something that gives me chills as I watch it. It asks such huge questions, like to what lengths would you go to save the people you love and how do you view your purpose in this world? It demands a lot of you.

This one has gained a quiet, yet passionate fan base. It deserves more, and I implore you to watch it with an open heart. 🎞

It’s been too long since I took the time to talk to a therapist, but I changed that this last week. I’m not sure what this path ahead of me will entail, but I’m proud of myself for taking this positive step. I want to work on doing all I can for my mental health.

Corona, CA. February, 2019. 📷🗺

Never having to use LinkedIn again is enough of a motivation to risk utter destitution and infinite job-related hopelessness for the rest of my life.

What it’ll take for me to comfortably be able to use my iPad Pro as my main computer:

• Real external monitor support, as in not just mirroring the iPad screen on the external display. Pillarboxes begone!
• The ability to route audio to and from more than a single location. I’m imagining an iPad version of Rogue Amoeba’s Audio Hijack here. An iPad version of SoundSource would also be much appreciated.
• Improvements to multitasking. I’m not sure what those could be, and I’m generally okay with how things are now, but I won’t ever mind things becoming easier to use.
• Dramatically improved keyboard shortcut support. I’m talking being able to run an action anywhere, anytime.
• Pro-level apps. I don’t work in Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro all the time, but when I do, I’d be happy to do it on an iPad.
• I wouldn’t say no to a second Thunderbolt port.

What I probably won’t want to ever do on an iPad (and am okay with):

• Handbrake¹ transcodes. I’m sure the iPad could be capable, but I’d feel better about doing sustained media transcoding on a machine with a fan. I’m not even sure if I’d be able to run an app like that in the background, so an iPad would probably be out anyway.

All of this seems like I’m saying I should just use a Mac. Fair enough. However, I want to use my iPad Pro as my main computer. I think it’s an amazing device, and I really love iPadOS. That’s it. It just needs to close some gaps.🍎

With iOS 14.5 out now, I can’t wait to revoke the ability for me to be tracked across apps and websites from every damn app on my devices. This is a sweet and much-needed feature that I’m going to luxuriate in. 🍎

On More Movies Please!, we’re continuing our month of animated films with one of the most delightful Disney films about an alien who crash lands on Earth and befriends a young Hawaiian girl that’s ever been produced. We watched and talked about Lilo & Stitch!🎙

If the Oscars keep going the way they have been, then this might be my favorite broadcast ever. I love the intimacy of it, as well as the laidback atmosphere. Facing serious restrictions, they’ve found a way to make it fun. 🎥

Soul was written by Pete Docter, Mike Jones, and Kemp Powers, and was directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers. It was released in 2020. The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios. The title designer was Laura Meyer.

A down on his luck jazz musician named Joe Gardner, voiced by Jamie Foxx, gets the opportunity of his lifetime. He’s invited to play in The Dorothea Williams Quartet, and would have been able to if he didn’t immediately fall into an open sewer and die. But he doesn’t want to miss out on his big break, so he escapes the “Great Beyond” and falls again into the “Great Before.” Joe is mistaken for a mentor to the new souls in the Great Before and assigned to the incredulous Soul 22, voiced by Tina Fey. At that time, he has no luck in helping them find a passion. With the help of the eccentric soul, Moonwind, voiced by Graham Norton, Joe locates his body back on Earth, but accidentally takes 22 along with him. Instead of returning to his body, 22 lands in it, and Joe inhabits the body of a nearby cat. The pair need to find a way to get Joe back into his body before his big show that night.

Gosh, there’s a lot that goes on in this film. It’s hard to keep the synopsis condensed. Suffice it to say, this film has a lot of depth. It is 100% worth seeing. I was enamored of Onward, Pixar’s other 2020 film, so I was hopeful that Soul would be able to match the bar that the other one set. After watching it, I can say that Soul is undeniably the better film, and I loved Onward. I may not be a jazz musician, but I think anyone, especially those with an artistic inclination, can relate to both Joe and 22. We’re all looking for our purpose in life. We’re all looking for our calling. The lucky ones are able to find it. Those who can help others find their calling are truly special people. My goal in life is to find the satisfaction that Joe achieves at the end of this film. Do I need to be rich and famous? No. I mean, I wouldn’t mind being rich, but that’s not what’s going to make me happy. Feeling content with my life, and being able to inspire others, is a journey worth going on.

I’d love for you to take a look at the opening sequence.¹ The combination of music from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross² with the stark, black and white animation gives it a chilling, lonely, awe-inspiring feel that completely took me aback. Witnessing this instantly sold me on the movie. I had to rewatch this bit several times. I was thrilled to be seeing a true piece of art. 🎞

There are few things that hurt worse than waiting like a foolish fool to purchase a domain name only to have it bought out from under you.

Guess I’ve got to go with “domainname.biz.co.paris.com”.

On April 20, Apple hosted their “Spring Loaded” event, in which they debuted several new devices and services. Some offered peculiar iterations, while others are helping to lay the considerable track ahead of Apple’s future.

Much like every other event they’ve held in the past year and change, this one was pre-recorded. It had an extreme amount of polish, an efficiency to their information (its running time came in at about an hour), and some humor and fun were sprinkled throughout. I love the style of these events, and I hope they continue them for a long time to come.

This one was not nearly to the scale of other events they hold throughout the year. It was no WWDC. It was, however, one of a handful of smaller events they typically hold in which they talk about new hardware. This one was no exception.

i. Quick bits

There’s an updated Podcasts app. It includes their new Channels feature, which can collect the various shows of a podcast network under a central banner. Creators are now able to offer subscriptions to premium shows.

There’s also a lovely new purple iPhone 12. I’ve been using and enjoying a silver iPhone 12 Pro Max, but a color like this purple is making me reconsider my choices. Why can’t the pro phones feature colors like this? Do pro users not like color or personality? Gold just doesn’t cut it!

ii. AirTags

The oft-rumored product is finally here! I’m happy this one didn’t turn into another AirPower type of fiasco.

I don’t know if I’ll ever have a use for these—I tend not to lose things very often—but there are a few people in my life who could benefit from them.

At just over one and a quarter inches in diameter and weighing in at measly 11 grams, they’re quite discreet. They’re not the sort of thing to add extra bulk to your key ring or bump around in your bag. They’re so small that it’s a good thing they’re full of helpful tracking technology. These AirTags themselves could be pretty easy to lose!

They were designed from the beginning to work with the Find My app. This means you’ll be able to locate them on a map whenever you open the app. They also come with a small speaker which can emit a signal noise to guide you to them. Got an iPhone 11 or 12? Then you can use the Precision Finding feature to give you an on-screen guide to where your lost item is hiding. This is a great implementation of the U1 chip that Apple now includes in these devices.

Best of all, everything is designed with privacy in mind, and the battery in AirTags is user-replaceable. A standard coin cell battery will give it new life. They’re $29 for one and $99 for a pack of four.

iii. Apple TV

On the one hand, the new Siri Remote looks to be a great step up from the previous version. It’s a genuinely good iteration, and I’m going to be getting one when they become available.

On the other hand, the updated Apple TV 4K box still comes in two storage sizes—32 GB and 64 GB— and it is still expensive as hell—$179 and $199, respectively. And there was sadly no mention of any Apple TV sound bar.

When it comes to this product line, I don’t get what Apple’s thinking. Price-wise, they’re being outmatched by nearly every other device on the market. Heck, every modern tv sold these days has all of these streaming apps available for download, even Apple’s TV app. Why buy a second box that can do everything a tv can now?

At these prices, it’s getting harder for even me to find a reason to stick with Apple on this one. You can be certain that anyone who doesn’t care as much as I do about an Apple experience sure as hell won’t be dropping upwards of $200 on one.

Apple continues to be moving blindly in this market. Unfortunately, they’ve also started shooting themselves in the foot with the Apple TV.

iv. iMac

The M1 line continues to grow with this striking and colorful update to what is surely Apple’s most popular desktop computer.

It carries the ghost of the previous generation’s design but differentiates itself in enough ways to make it a desirable machine for anyone who wants a great Mac desktop experience. It’s a shame that there’s still a chin at the bottom of the display, but I guess we can’t have everything.

On the plus side:

• There’s no more ungainly bulge on the back of the machine.
• It has a spacious 24” 4.5K Retina display.
• It comes in six vibrant and joyful colors, plus a silver option.
• There’s finally a 1080p FaceTime camera!
• The M1 processor makes this thing move at screaming speeds.
• The audio situation is phenomenal—its six-speaker system makes for immersive music and video watching. Heck yeah it can do Spatial Audio!

I’ve got an M1 Mac mini and display combination that I adore. However, if I were in the market for a new desktop computer, I wouldn’t think twice about purchasing one of these in whatever new color strikes my fancy.

They start at an affordable $1,299.

v. iPad Pro

The M1 line continues to grow with this phenomenal update to the iPad Pro.

I’m feeling a distinct sense of déjà vu here…

Ah yes, the most powerful iPad around becomes even more impressive now that it’s running a desktop-class chip inside. I’m a little surprised Apple would move in this direction with the iPad Pro. In the past, they’ve liked to have a distinguishing factor between their different product lines. I guess when you’re making your own CPU chips you have the opportunity to throw the rule book out the window.

This begs the question, though: when are pro-level apps going to come to the iPad Pro? If it’s using the same chip that can easily run Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro on their other computers, then there’s no good excuse why their pro tablets can’t do the same. My best guess is, as usual with these devices, it’s a software limitation. For a long time now, iPad’s software has been lagging hard behind its hardware.

It’s time for iPadOS to step up and become the powerful and capable operating system it’s always wanted to be. I’ve got big hopes for this year’s WWDC. There’s an opportunity for Apple to right a lot of wrongs with this device, and they need to nail it this year.

There’s also a new and crazy good display in the 12.9” model. I’m talking Pro Display XDR level good, and all within the .25” depth of this tablet. Thanks to a remarkable array of over 10,000 mini-LEDs, this thing is going to be awe-inspiring. If you’re a professional filmmaker or photographer, this could be a great update for you.¹

Also:

• 5G!!! 5G 5G 5G 5G 5G…
• A Thunderbolt/USB 4 port.
• An Ultra Wide front camera with a new Center Stage feature. Have the camera automatically follow you around when you’re on a FaceTime call.
• A new Magic Keyboard color: white!

If you’ve gotten an iPad Pro since the gobsmackingly good 2018 model came out, then this may still be a relatively minor update. If you’ve got the money to burn, then go ahead and get one. Who am I to tell you what to do with your bucks? I’m happy to keep my 12.9” iPad Pro from 2020. It’s still amazing.

These new models are pretty damn snazzy though. They start at $799 for the 11” and $1,099 for the 12.9”.

vi.

This was an excellent event for Apple. They dropped some products that are not only appealing at the moment but will help dictate where the company is heading.

AirTags show that they’re interested in continuing to develop a wide range of products that fit a smaller niche. Not everything has to be the freaking iPhone.

The new iMac proves that Apple’s still got a sense of whimsy, while also telling the world that they’re going to continue being the most enviable computer maker around.

The iPad Pro update shows that there’s not another tablet maker out there creating more powerful tools than these. They continue to make advancements that are the envy of the entire tablet market.

The Apple TV… Well, it needs to find itself. That thing is lost in the weeds.

If they can keep this trajectory going, then 2021 is going to be a great year for Apple. 🍎

My visit to the DMV today was not the hellish experience for which the place is so well known. Instead, it was both a complete bore and a great cure for the random “should I get a job at the DMV?” thoughts a person might have.

Ahead of Apple antitrust hearing, Sen. Klobuchar calls AirTag launch ‘timely’

This just in: monopolist in the item tracking industry is pitching a fit now that their kingly status is being threatened.

Look, go after Apple, et al. There are some legitimate concerns there. AirTags are not one of them. Tile knew this day was going to come and proceeded to do not a damn thing to make their product more desirable than Apple’s. Furthermore, the Find My app is now open for Apple’s competitors to use.

While you’re at it, Congress people, take a look at the real anti-competitive offenders: the telecoms and internet service providers.

Now that the new iPad Pro has an M1 chip inside it, there’s no reason for that tablet not to run pro level apps. Right, Apple? Where is Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad?

It’s going to be a long wait for WWDC this year… 🍎

Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center. Santa Ana, CA. December, 2016. 📷🗺

There are certain films that can forever change how you view the entire medium. The phenomenal, 100% oil painted Loving Vincent can do just that. Steven and I talk about it in the latest episode of More Movies Please!🎙🎥