Kevin McLenithan
@mclengthyname.bsky.social
Editor by day. Film critic by night. Internet Puddleglum 24/7.
The worst I can think of is Don DeLillo's THE SILENCE. Had to apologize to the rest of my book club for selecting that one when it was my month.
Jeremy Dauber@jeremydauber.bsky.social · 2d agoHere's a question for the literary-minded among you for a project I'm working on: what is the worst novel written by a great author? I'm thinking of examples of where everyone - particularly at the time - went, "ooh, swing and a miss there." Juvenilia not included; reputation has to be established.
Iranian cleric honestly a little let down to discover the United States is actually an Indecisive and Middling at Best Satan.
Delighted to be returning to TIFF for Seeing & Believing this September!
Don't make me tap the sign, Odyssey discussers
Kevin McLenithan@mclengthyname.bsky.social · 10mo agoLots of talk about the deleterious effects of social media on relationships and public discourse, but I think we overlook how it's seemingly robbed many people of the time-honored skill of silently rolling your eyes and moving on when you witness somebody saying something stupid or annoying
Tobey Maguire sighing irritably before pulling on his tights one more time
Paul Eric@pauleric70.bsky.social · 2w ago🇨🇳 China's nuclear fusion research has completed a massive magnet weighing 582 tons. The goal is an "unlimited energy" artificial sun. They plan to start the first power generation by 2030. A safe, CO2-zero ultimate energy race.
As the Lake Street Screening Room shutters its doors, Richard Roeper offers a tribute to the iconic movie watching space, citing memories of watching films with Siskel & Ebert:
A Home Away from Home: Goodbye to the Lake Street Screening Room
A loving ode to a place that shaped Chicago film criticism.
rogerebert.com
Wolfgang Petersen's TROY is annoying for many reasons, but the one that sticks in my craw is that it has the perfect Odysseus in Sean Bean and then completely wastes him. Lightning in a bottle, and Petersen just uses it to grill a burger.
I really liked Nolan's ODYSSEY and disagree with a lot of Emily Wilson's critiques of it, but my main takeaway from her piece is that she thinks a Robert Eggers version would have been way better, which I can't argue with
Me: *smiling politely as the cashier rings up my groceries* Servo, singing: Emily at the store. Buying her groceries. Crow: Six individual yogurt cups _and_ a Diet Sunkist? Sounds like a party! Mike: Back in Minnetonka, we call that the Spinster’s Delight. Me: *gesturing for the cashier to hurry up*
*crashes through wall like the Kool Aid Man* Who's ready for some Balrog Discourse!!
Matt Darling@besttrousers.bsky.social · 2w agoEveryone is angry about this (and I agree it will be hard to pull off) but the Balrog is a Maiar, same as Gandalf. It speaks Uruk, it has plans and strategies.
People with a very specific childhood will immediately hear the line delivery and music in their heads, crystal-clear. The suckiest of Proustian madeleines
Brian Actors Guild@spocksbrian.worstpossible.world · 3w agoHi, this is Chris! Welcome to Adventures in Oresteia!
Ancient Greek stories are about inevitability. A perfect fit for Nolan's preoccupations with time and duty. I loved THE ODYSSEY. Review here:
The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan makes the ancient feel immediate.
seeingandbelieving.substack.com
gonna poke my head through the social media doorway and have a look around. maybe also narrow my eyes for good measure
Taking a break from my social media break so I can share @dodgyboffin.com's DISCLOSURE DAY review. Never bet against Spielberg! open.substack.com/pub/seeingan...
Taking a social media break for a while, friends. Catch you all on the flip side.
Simmons should have gotten a Best Supporting nomination for JJJ, and I will die on that hill
MLB@mlbbot.bsky.social · 2mo ago"He's a menace ... I WANT SPIDER-MAN!" J.K. Simmons is at the Mets game tonight and ran into a familiar face 😂
A livestream of a volcano in the Philippines captured a meteor crashing to Earth today. What are the odds? Mayon Volcano, Location: Albay, Luzon, Philippines
Gift link to the NYT summary of “Magnifica Humanitas,” Pope Leo’s encyclical on A.I. and humanity, and here are some extra significant bits that have to do with labor and the dignity of the worker www.nytimes.com/2026/05/25/w...
Oscar Isaac deserves credit for being, as far as I know, the first major actor to capture the tech bro CEO, in Ex Machina. Those guys were all over the news by then, but movies were still doing the "babbling nerd with a pocket protector" thing. Also accurate: what he really wants is slavery.
Rian Johnson already made one of the best SW movies. If they brought him back to make a whodunit where all the characters are Old Republic Jedi, it would (A) make a bazillion dollars and (B) kill off all the chuds in the SW fanbase by giving them all rage-induced heart attacks. Everyone wins!
weinberg@weinbergs.bsky.social · 3mo agohow would you fix Star Wars to make it popular again? in movie theaters I mean.
What must have really gotten under Trump's skin about Colbert, beyond the persistent taunts and the obvious lack of respect, is that he found success without losing himself—he proved that you can make it without shrinking what's left of your soul. The bigger he got, the better he seemed to be.
A @jmayward.bsky.social sighting in the wild (at the excellent coffeeshop bookstore that is probably too cool for me)
thanks to my voraciously reading 5-year-old, I have recently discovered my most lame-dad-coded opinion: the Captain Underpants books are Bad, Actually
Chalk me up as conflicted about IS GOD IS
Is God Is
An eye for an eye, and a lit match for a lit match.
seeingandbelieving.substack.com
Not the most revelatory list, since all three are on the Guardian 100, but oh well: The Remains of the Day Middlemarch War and Peace
John Wiswell@wiswell.bsky.social · 3mo agoSay a group of friends is making their own Top 100 Best Novels List. Your friends ask you for your recommendations. What are the first three books that come to mind? No overthinking. Share the first three greats that hit you.