Movies in 2026 229

 

Hokum (Adam Scott, 2026)

And the second half of my unexpected horror doubleheader was Damien McCarthy's Hokum. It tells the story of a very skeptical writer, who is also more than a bit of a total jerk, who travels to a town in Ireland to spread his parents ashes. I didn't like it as much as Obsession, but I still liked it quite a bit, and there were some very creepy moments. Adam Scott gives a fine performance as the writer. There are so unlikeable characters in the film that it's difficult to care more about them, but it was still a finely crafted piece. Recommended.

The Old Man by the Sea

 Yesterday I pushed a book to the front of my queue, one that I purchased several months ago, but which seemed oddly timely at this moment. Previously, I've championed the New York Review of Books series, which features so many books that have somehow slipped under the radar, and which the editors there feel should get more love. They have almost universally proved to be great choices. I picked up Domenico Starnone's The Old Man by the Sea, before I even realized the almost cinematic joke I was playing on myself.

I recently read Starnone's The Trick, which I liked quite a bit, and I'm looking forward to delving into this latest, The Old Man by the Sea.  I am considering, and here I'm mainly kidding, that I'm going to bring every Italian novel I own on this first trip over, so that I can sit at cafes and attempt to pass as an Italian (that is, until I open my mouth and the illusion coming crashing down). I do want to get Italian versions of the some of the shorter ones that I've already read, hoping that this helps with my Italian lessons.

Of course, it seems particularly appropriate for this moment as we plan for our upcoming move. The process has been challenging, and doesn't seem like it's going to be any less challenging in the near future, but we do have a place to live lined up (not the apartment we wanted) in a sea side town (not the town we wanted), but it's still a seaside town in Italy, which makes my statements above the very definition of #FirstWorld Problems. 

I am an old man and I will be living (and doubtless soon dying) by the sea.

Movies in 2026 228

 

Obsession (Curry Barker, 2025)

Yesterday I enjoyed a rare movie doubleheader (not in the Criterion Channel universe, obviously) when I was able to watch a movie with my son in the afternoon and another one with Janet in the evening. Plus, they were both recent releases, this was almost unheard-of. Gary had texted me in the morning to ask if I wanted to see a movie, and, like all dads, I jumped at the opportunity to spend time with my son (well, not my dad, naturally, but others). He suggested that we watch last year's huge hit, Curry Barker's Obsession, which I had somehow never seen. I don't know what I need to say about it, since I'm probably the last person in North America to see it. I can say that I definitely liked it. It's not a terribly original story, in that it's about a wish for love that goes terribly awry, but it was beautifully constructed - especially the cinematography. Inde Navarette, as Nikki, was especially  good. Highly recommended.

The Legend

 One of the things I was most looking forward to on the Winnipeg trip was to visit the Bud Grant statue outside of the Blue Bombers stadium. As I've discussed way too often, my first introduction to the CFL was, year ago, decades ago, discovering that Bud Grant, then the coach of the Minnesota Vikings, had begun his career coaching in the CFL. Inexplicably, no one at the stadium seemed to understand where his statue was located - they kept directing me to statue for another head coach on the other side of the stadium - which left me a little grumpy, which was stupid on my part because they're doubtless all volunteers. Still, he's Bud Grant FFS! My only defense if that I'm old and my legs are a constant source of great pain, which, I guess, also speaks to my love of the CFL, as these trips are definitely a physical challenge for me. For future reference, he's at the back of the stadium, next to the Blue Bombers store. We didn't get to the statue until after the game, and then I couldn't get back into the store to buy merchandise, which was a very poor business decision  on their part because I would have naturally bought out the store.

Bud Grant is one of only three individuals - along with Warren Moon and Marv Levy - who are enshrined in both the CFL Hall of Fame and the NFL Hall of Fame. In addition to his one NFL title, he won four Grey Cups with the Blue Bombers during his ten years coaching north of the border. And, by all accounts, he was a great guy. My friend Jack and I often lament that we never made it to one of his famous yard sales before he passed.

Movies in 2026 227

 

The Cup (Khyentse Norbu, 1999)

And now, not surprisingly, I'm disappearing down a Khyentse Norbu rabbit hole, the Bhutanese director (and much more) whose film, Travellers & Magicians, I watched the other night. Last night I watched his first film, The Cup (1999). It tells the story, apparently based on actual events, of some monks who  come up with a scheme to acquire (temporarily) a TV and satellite dish - and in the process convince the head of their monastery of the brilliance of this plan - so that they could watch the World Cup final match. A very sweet film, and highly recommended.

The Fugitive

 Yesterday I had the tremendous pleasure of meeting my friend Sheila Liming for coffee and Proust down in Montpelier. She's closing in on her completion of Proust's In Search of Lost Time, and we wanted to get together to discuss The Fugitive (the sixth volume) before I disappeared off the earth. I'll definitely miss her, and not simply because she's the one person I met at Champlain who is happy to get together to discuss Proust. If you're looking for some interesting and thought-provoking books to read, definitely check out some of Sheila's.

Here she is nerding out over the fact that we had underlined exactly the same passage (actually, we had done that many times in the text, as might be expected from folks who share a love of literary works in general, and Proust in particular, would).

The passage in question (Marcel reflecting upon the death of Albertine): 

"Since her memory was linked to every season, the only way of forgetting it would have been to forget all of them, even if it meant that I would have to learn to recognize them all over again, like an old man who has suffered from hemiplegia, learning to read again; I would have had to renounced the whole universe. Only a real death of my self, I told myself (were it not impossible), would be capable of consoling me for her death. I did not realize that the death of the self is neither impossible nor extraordinary; it is accomplished without our knowledge and, if necessary, without our consent every day, and I would suffer from the repetition of every sort of day that not only nature but accidental circumstances of more conventional arrangements could introduce into a season."

13th Man

 You have to lose this statue outside the Roughriders stadium, which celebrates the endless passion and devotion of Saskatchewan fans: the 13th man.

During relative slow points in CFL games, I'll often launch into a discussion of all the ways that the CFL is clearly and inarguably better than the NFL (which I'm sure I've discussed previously on this blog, so I won't repeat myself - at least this time). Now I can add a statue celebrating the 13th man, which is clearly better than any US discussion of the importance of the 12th man.