Author | Lightnews

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 9h

One thing I miss about Rough Trade NYC being in North Brooklyn is that I blind-bought records from them sometimes and once in a while I'd get a Caroline Rose out of the deal. Love their stuff, loved their solo show tonight!

1

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 11h

BONE LAKE, BLACK PHONE 2, and SHELBY OAKS... just a stunning run of horrible wide-release horror cinema. So glad I got to see INFLUENCERS in the middle of it.

3

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 1d

Hahahaha @sbmorrison.bsky.social with a truly exceptional and thoughtful gift

9

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 1d

I don't think she actually cried but I would say that E was visibly moved when she realized we got a family Switch 2 to go with the new Pokémon game she got for her birthday.

7

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 1d

It's impossible for me to truly dislike MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN because it makes sense for at least one Frankenstein movie to be directed by an egomaniac ultimately ill-equipped to manage his creation.

1 20

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 3d

My latest Together Again zig-zags across four different decades of Sydney Pollack directing Robert Redford. HAVANA is about as good as I heard! (Not very.) JEREMIAH JOHNSON was way better than I remembered! www.avclub.com/together-aga...

Sydney Pollack found a New Hollywood comfort zone for Robert Redford

Over three decades, Sydney Pollack guided Robert Redford, his favorite leading man, through an unpredictable filmmaking wilderness.

www.avclub.com

1 3 9

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 4d

Movies (like say the new HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE) are more aware of parenting foibles/rules than ever before but for some reason absolutely NONE of them can depict the extremely common recommendation that under-1s sleep without blankets/pillows in a crib.

5

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 6d

The horror lifestyle is alive and well at The Twisted Spine in Williamsburg

6

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

I'm gonna consider myself etc.

1

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

Every time I hear it, I'm struck anew by just how shockingly terrible "Starships" is. How do you follow up "Super Bass" with such an LMFAO-ass song?

1

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

email x delete key

3

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 11d

IS THIS THING ON? finds Bradley Cooper, Filmmaker, in lower-key mode than his last two showbiz stories. Maybe, when it comes to some of the details, too low-key?? My review out of NYFF: www.avclub.com/is-this-thin...

Will Arnett is a stand-up guy in Bradley Cooper's modest dramedy Is This Thing On?

Bradley Cooper's showbiz dramedy Is This Thing On? features great turns from Will Arnett and Laura Dern, as well as an enjoyably small scale.

www.avclub.com

4

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 12d

Diane Keaton took rom-coms seriously. How many other performers with four Best Actress nominations got half of them for romantic comedy? www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...

From Annie Hall to Something’s Gotta Give: Diane Keaton was the quintessential comedy queen

The late actor won an Oscar for leading a romantic comedy in the 1970s and set the blueprint for many of the women who followed her in the genre

www.theguardian.com

1 10

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 13d

I can't pretend I've completely chucked Woody Allen movies from my cinephilia -- it's complicated, as one of Keaton's fave directors said -- but it is remarkable to see how many performers succumb to Allen shtick with his scripts, and Keaton brings stuff completely her own and original.

Mike D’Angelo @gemko.bsky.social · 13d

I haven’t seen RADIO DAYS since its theatrical release but would still include Diane Keaton singing “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” (which is literally all she does in that film) among the loveliest interludes in cinema. A tiny part of her range but it’s what I thought of first.

7

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 14d

And in case you were tempted to stay in and watch Netflix instead, well, maybe don't! THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 is bad! www.polygon.com/the-woman-in...

Keira Knightley's new Netflix thriller doesn't hold water

The Woman in Cabin 10 should be a clever Gaslight-style thriller, but it forgets the cleverness.

www.polygon.com

1 2

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 14d

HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, in limited release after NYFF but before Netflix, didn't ever really detonate for me. www.avclub.com/a-house-of-d...

Kathryn Bigelow drops a scary yet impotent stockpile of duds in A House Of Dynamite

A House Of Dynamite imagines a frightening potential for nuclear disaster, then gets stuck in its own supposed geopolitical importance.

www.avclub.com

1 1

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 14d

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN: THE MUSICAL has its moments, even if it's got plenty of Bill Condon clunkiness www.pastemagazine.com/movies/bill-...

Jennifer Lopez Goes Full Musical in a New Kiss of the Spider Woman

Kiss of the Spider Woman, an Oscar favorite 40 years ago, returns to the big screen as a musical starring a locked-in Jennifer Lopez.

www.pastemagazine.com

1 1

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 14d

TRON: ARES is dumb but it looks and sounds great and that's the ballgame, folks! www.avclub.com/tron-ares-re...

Tron: Ares is a blockbuster from another decade, and that's not entirely bad

Tron: Ares has cutting-edge visual effects and snazzy digital cinematography, but some of its sensibility is oddly turn-of-the-century.

www.avclub.com

1 2

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 14d

I also liked Derek Cianfrance's Channing Tatum caper ROOFMAN even if I couldn't resist noting that Soderbergh does this kind of thing better. I too would like to live in a Toys R Us www.avclub.com/roofman-review

A grounded cast balances Roofman's stranger-than-fiction crime caper

Roofman makes Channing Tatum as puppyish as ever, while hinting at a greater economic desperation beneath his charm.

www.avclub.com

1

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 14d

I see a lot of people don't care much for Luca Guadagnino's latest, but I don't know, I thought it was pretty interesting and thoughtful and not at all the anti-cancel-culture screed I've seen described elsewhere. Can we not have movies about how everyone is frustrated and sad and angry???

1

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 14d

There are lots of movies out this weekend so let me round up what I've seen and I'll add IS THIS THING ON? (which is not out this weekend but you can see in NYC maybe, and last I checked definitely on Monday, at NYFF) when that goes up at 6:30. First: AFTER THE HUNT www.avclub.com/after-the-hu...

Luca Guadagnino isn't simply seeking provocation with his uncomfortable After The Hunt

It may be hard to believe that Luca Guadagnino isn't courting controversy, but After The Hunt is less of a button-pusher than it seems.

www.avclub.com

1 2

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 14d

Last #NYFF movie, last predawn wakeup, last beard day??

7

Reposted by Jesse Hassenger

Marisa LaScala @martogo.bsky.social · 15d

The best part of the best job I've ever had: Toy testing! After testing hundreds of toys with hundreds of families, these emerged as the best of the year. (E's favorite was the interactive Toothless, because she's in her dragon era.)
www.goodhousekeeping.com/childrens-pr...

We Tested More Than 200 Toys to Find Our 2025 Best Toy Award Winners

After being evaluated in the GH Institute Labs and at home with kids, these toys rose to the top.

www.goodhousekeeping.com

1 3

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 16d

I'm roughly the 11 millionth person to point this out, I know, but I'm far from the most Potter-dismissive person on the internet. Seeing that play after reading the books absolutely *electrified* E. The show seems destined to please only those who already like it sight unseen.

3

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 16d

I know if it had come out circa 2023, I probably would have been locked in to watch the whole thing with E regardless of anything else, but my god, is there a major franchise-y thing in the works that seems as absolutely fucking cursed, perhaps even damned, as Harry Potter: It's TV Now?

1 1 10