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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 3h

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.

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 3h

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?

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 1d

I cannot emphasize enough that TRON: ARES is a pleasure to watch and to listen to, so much so that it almost (ALMOST) doesn't matter that it stars Jared Leto, who is not capable of the Keanu thing he's aiming for here. Reviewed: 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

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 1d

What's a normal number of movies to watch in a month? Is it 14? What if it's only six days into the month? Still 14 maybe?

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 2d

One IMAX after another

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 3d

Happy (some) anniversary to THE HIGH HAT www.polygon.com/millers-cros...

This Coen Brothers gangster movie came out days after Goodfellas and flopped

Miller's Crossing didn't grab mainstream audiences, but it's a clever Coen Brothers riff on gangster movies

www.polygon.com

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 3d

With you. The degree of separation between Black's movies is generally overstated.

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 5d

I didn't talk about all the stuff I love about ALMOST FAMOUS in this piece because what I love about ALMOST FAMOUS is, to begin with, everything. www.pastemagazine.com/movies/camer...

25 Years Later, Almost Famous Remains Perfectly Uncool

Cameron Crowe poured his heart and soul into Almost Famous, an unusually gentle movie about rock and roll debauchery.

www.pastemagazine.com

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 7d

Honestly, it totally works as high-end haunted-house experience. (It is pricey, which I luckily didn't have to deal with as a critic. But there is a lot of entertainment value!)

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 7d

I do anonymous quote @katemckean.bsky.social in this review

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 7d

Marisa was a bit withering that I was hired to review MASQUERADE, the immersive Phantom of the Opera experience, because I've "never seen the Broadway version" and "recoil at Andrew Lloyd Webber" but you know what? I had a nice time. www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/s...

Masquerade review – Phantom of the Opera is back with a new gimmick

An immersive, experiential reworking of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-running musical turns it into something resembling a mostly fun theme park ride

www.theguardian.com

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 7d

Lots of bittersweet stuff about your kid growing up, but I do treasure hearing, for example, that E apparently used to watch GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE quietly burning with jealous rage over her magical dollhouse filled with alive cat friends

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 7d

That time when a young woman's fancy turns to thoughts of drawing Bender

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

Bonus track: Last Thursday after the Bigelow movie I went to Times Square and caught THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 2. Guess which I preferred?? www.pastemagazine.com/movies/renny...

The Strangers: Chapter 2 Is Actually Pretty Good for an Hour

The Strangers: Chapter 2 isn't less pointless than its predecessor. But for two-thirds of its running time, it's better-crafted fun. Really!

www.pastemagazine.com

Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

Aaaaaand my fave so far: Kelly Reichardt's THE MASTERMIND (you gonna top that, Bradley Cooper??) www.pastemagazine.com/movies/kelly...

Kelly Reichardt Pulls Off Another Quiet Heist with The Mastermind

Kelly Reichardt follows a low-key but still dangerous art heist in The Mastermind, the latest in her terrific run of movies about getting by.

www.pastemagazine.com

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

Aaaaaand my fave so far: Kelly Reichardt's THE MASTERMIND (you gonna top that, Bradley Cooper??) www.pastemagazine.com/movies/kelly...

Kelly Reichardt Pulls Off Another Quiet Heist with The Mastermind

Kelly Reichardt follows a low-key but still dangerous art heist in The Mastermind, the latest in her terrific run of movies about getting by.

www.pastemagazine.com

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

LATE FAME is giving mid-2000s Woody Allen, I'm sorry to say www.pastemagazine.com/movies/kent-...

A Former New York Film Festival Programmer Becomes the Programmed with Late Fame

Dafoe is typically excellent as a poet undergoing a rediscovery, but the latest from Kent Jones doesn't feel especially contemporary.

www.pastemagazine.com

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

JAY KELLY gets my lowest Noah Baumbach rating...... 7.1 out of 10!!! www.pastemagazine.com/movies/noah-...

NYFF: George Clooney Looks Back at a Fake Career in Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly

In Noah Baumbach latest, George Clooney plays Jay Kelly, an actor looking back. Is it the character or movie who feels incomplete?

www.pastemagazine.com

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

Less keen on the what-if theatrics of A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE 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

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

Lots of folks seem down on AFTER THE HUNT but it struck me as a potent story about perpetual disappointment... www.avclub.com/after-the-hu...

www.avclub.com

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Bean are excellent in ANEMONE. Hard not to think the rest has been afforded some leeway. www.pastemagazine.com/movies/danie...

NYFF: Daniel Day-Lewis Returns with Family On His Mind in Anemone

Daniel Day-Lewis and his son Ronan bring plenty of artistic integrity to Anemone, but there's some self-indulgence here, too.

www.pastemagazine.com

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 8d

So I've been at the New York Film Festival hiding from the world. It's not over yet but here's what I've written about so far. Working backward: Maybe this is more for the NJFF? On DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE: www.pastemagazine.com/movies/scott...

NYFF: Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere Isn't So Boss

Paste Magazine is your source for the best music, movies, TV, comedy, videogames, books, comics, craft beer, politics and more. Discover your favorite albums and films.

www.pastemagazine.com

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 9d

[Anthony Crispino voice] You hear about this? Apparently BUGS BUNNY is gonna do the Super Bowl halftime show!

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 11d

The season is nigh

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Jesse Hassenger @rockmarooned.bsky.social · 11d

Happy birthday, buddy!

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