Category Archives: Movies

2025.03.18

Well! Eero support asked me to install their app on a second phone to check an issue. Then they emailed me to ask how I was doing on that. Today, I emailed that I was waiting for them to send me a phone. Stay tuned.

So yesterday the guy from Hayes Windows showed up to do some work I set up last year. The window in the sunroom which I have not rehung in the couple of years since I moved into the house, is now hung. The bathroom pocket window, which has been broken since I moved into the house a couple of years ago is on its way to have two panes replaced and one pane moved for esthetics. Along with it went one large lower broken window from a bedroom, and the wooden storm window from the lower stair pocket window, which was not in good shape the last time I put it in after I bought the house a couple of years ago. (Why have time and weather not healed it?) Of course, snow is predicted for tomorrow.
https://hayeswindows.com/

Ya think?
The Star Tribune’s Deena Winter and Jeff Day report: “The city of Minneapolis withdrew its request that a controversial pastor’s nonprofit get a nearly $650,000 violence prevention contract on the same day two violence interrupters who have worked for the pastor were charged with multiple felonies in a shootout after a community barbecue last week.” Via MinnPost

Wait for it:
The Pioneer Press’ Steve Karnowski reports: “A federal judge dismissed the charges Monday against a Minnesota man accused of hiding a stolen pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in the 1939 musical ‘The Wizard of Oz’ after prosecutors informed the court that he died on Sunday.” Via MinnPost

Gold hits record high over $3,000 amid rising geopolitical tensions; Thames Water receives six takeover offers – business live
https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2025/mar/18/gold-hits-record-high-over-3000-geopolitical-tensions-weakening-us-dollar-oil-stock-markets-inflation-business-live-news?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-67d917018f08d273c01e5858#block-67d917018f08d273c01e5858

‘It’s back to drug rationing’: the end of HIV was in sight. Then came the cuts
The abrupt halt to US funding threatens to undo decades of advances, dramatically increasing infections and deaths, but some see an opportunity for Africa to lead the response
Kat Lay, Global health correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/mar/18/global-health-trump-usaid-cuts-hiv-aids-2030-drugs-vaccine-research-africa

Why is Gavin Newsom handing Steve Bannon a megaphone? It’s becoming clear
Margaret Sullivan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/17/gavin-newsom-steve-bannon-podcast

Harvard offers free tuition to students from families earning under $200,000
Ivy League school is latest US university to make step with aim to make it affordable to ‘more students than ever’
Marina Dunbar
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/17/harvard-free-tuition

​How a tiny village in a deserted part of Spain became a centre for gay weddings
A couple of hours’ drive from Madrid, Campillo de Ranas has played a huge role in promoting same-sex marriage – and revived the fortunes of the ‘black villages’ of Guadalajara
Paul Richardson
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/mar/18/how-a-tiny-village-in-a-deserted-part-of-spain-became-a-centre-for-gay-weddings

‘A very deep bond of friendship’: The surprising story of Van Gogh’s guardian angel
Deborah Nicholls-Lee
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250317-the-surprising-story-of-van-goghs-guardian-angel

How sex with Neanderthals changed us forever
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0kytlx7/how-sex-with-neanderthals-changed-us-forever

The Matrix film producer files for bankruptcy
João da Silva
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgwzp2jpneo

2025.03.16

Russell T Davies: gay society in ‘greatest danger I’ve ever seen’ after Trump win
Exclusive: Doctor Who writer says he feels ‘a wave of anger heading towards us’ and hostility in UK as well as US
Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/16/russell-t-davies-gay-society-greatest-danger-ever-seen-trump

Back to cash: life without money in your pocket is not the utopia Sweden hoped
Miranda Bryant
Nordic countries were early adopters of digital payments. Now, electronic banking is seen as a potential threat to national security
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/16/sweden-cash-digital-payments-electronic-banking-security

Rocks and racism? How geologists created and perpetuated a narrative of prejudice
Kathryn Yusoff sparked a culture war with her latest book, suggesting slavery and white supremacy informed the work of geology’s founding fathers. Here, she and other experts suggest that attitudes have changed little since
Miriam Frankel
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/16/rocks-and-racism-how-geologists-created-and-perpetuated-a-narrative-of-prejudice

Unearthed notebooks shed light on Victorian genius who inspired Einstein
Michael Faraday’s illustrated notes that show how radical scientist began his theories at London’s Royal Institution to go online
Donna Ferguson
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/15/notebooks-michael-faraday-victorian-scientist-einstein

They had a fairytale American childhood – but was radiation slowly killing them?
Sophie Williams
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2e7011n03vo

The ancient drink serving the world for 13,000 years
Scientists have found evidence of ancient beer production from different kinds of crops all over the world.
From our modern point of view, beer might just be a mind-altering beverage. But in fact, it has played a significant part in human life since near the dawn of civilisation.
Video by Pierangelo Pirak
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p09h36ld/the-ancient-drink-serving-the-world-for-13-000-years

The fascinating history of the f-word
It’s one of the most versatile words in the English language, but where does it come from? Lexicographer, etymologist and broadcaster Susie Dent activates the f-bomb and takes us on a journey through time.
Animation by Adrian Hartrick and Dominika Ozynska
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p08fy0xs/the-fascinating-history-of-the-f-word

How Covid-19 changed the way we die
The pandemic forced many people in England and Wales to reflect how they might die with dignity, and the numbers of those wanting to die at home is on the rise
Harriet Sherwood, Pamela Duncan and Matthew Pearce with graphics by Tural Ahmedzade
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/16/how-covid-19-changed-way-we-die-england-wales

Demon-child movie wows China – and smashes global box office records
Virtually unknown in the west, Ne Zha 2 is the world’s highest-grossing animation at £1.6bn – outdoing Inside Out 2 – just weeks after its release
Amy Hawkins Beijing
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/16/ne-zha-2-animation-chinese-box-office-inside-out-2

‘I’ve always felt a little neurospicy. But it’s my factory setting!’ Natasha Rothwell on taking The White Lotus by storm
Michael Hogan
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/mar/15/ive-always-felt-a-little-neurospicy-but-its-my-factory-setting-natasha-rothwell-on-taking-the-white-lotus-by-storm

2025.03.08

Dustin Nelson at Bring Me the News reports the Twin Cities Book Festival is saying farewell to the State Fairgrounds. The Rain Taxi-run event will host its 25th fest at St. Pauls Union Depot, organizers announced on Thursday. Via MinnPost

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz bring Black art ‘Giants’ to the Minneapolis Institute of Art
Also this weekend: Digital art by a Japanese trans artist at FKM Gallery; art and poetry exploring the immigrant experience at Indigenous Roots, and a performance festival spotlighting composers of color at MacPhail Center for Music.
by Myah Goff
https://sahanjournal.com/arts/twin-cities-weekend-arts-events/

Texas cities run short of MMR vaccine as measles outbreak drives demand
Pharmacies are struggling with supplies as fatal outbreak expands and health secretary sows disinformation
Melody Schreiber
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/texas-mmr-vaccine-measles-outbreak

Mormon church rocked by child sexual abuse allegations in California
Look-back window results in nearly 100 allegations against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/mormon-church-child-sex-abuse-allegations-california

‘She is evil’: Amy Coney Barrett under attack by the right wing after supreme court USAid ruling
Conservative justice who frequently votes with the far-right side of the supreme court faces backlash for recent ruling
Adam Gabbatt
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/amy-coney-barrett-under-attack-by-right-wing

‘Etched in my mind’: witness to South Carolina firing squad execution describes killing
Brad Sigmon was executed on Friday for the murders of his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 2001
Guardian staff
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/south-carolina-firing-squad

‘I’m on the side of the workers’: the Minnesota senator calling out Trump and Musk
Tina Smith is leaving at the end of her term, and says she would call Musk a dick even if she had to face re-election
Rachel Leingang
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/tina-smith-minnesota-senator-interview

Anora is nothing new – Hollywood has always been obsessed with sex workers
Anne Billson
Mikey Madison is the latest in a line of actors dating back to Janet Gaynor to win Oscars depicting the sex trade. Why this is, and whether it lessens the stigma of such work, is an open question
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/07/hollywood-obsessed-with-sex-workers-anora-mikey-madison

Athena spacecraft declared dead after toppling over on moon
Robotic private spacecraft touched down about 250 meters from its intended landing site on Thursday
Richard Luscombe
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/07/athena-spacecraft-mission-dead

‘We’re fairly different’: life in New Zealand’s remote self-declared ‘republic’
The tiny town of Whangamōmona on the North Island maintains some eccentric traditions – past ‘presidents’ have included a goat and a poodle
Anna Rankin in Whangamōmona
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/08/whangamomona-new-zealand-self-declared-republic-feature

This is how we do it: ‘After mutual cancer diagnoses we didn’t have sex for five years. Then we discovered toys …’
Jill and Bob became more like housemates than lovers during an illness-enforced break, but a delivery of sex toys brought back the fun
As told to Olivia Ladanyi
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/08/this-is-how-we-do-it-mutual-cancer-diagnoses-sex-toys

2025.02.28

For one Minnesotan, a new heat pump brings comfort and savings Even in one of the coldest cities in the U.S., Kathy Palmer’s heat pump helps displace gas heating, lowers heating bills, and makes her home more comfortable.
by Alison F. Takemura
https://www.minnpost.com/other-nonprofit-media/2025/02/for-one-minnesotan-a-new-heat-pump-brings-comfort-and-savings/

‘Come back strong’: 19 Bar reopens in Minneapolis nearly a year after major fire
Nicole Ki
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/02/27/19-bar-reopens-in-minneapolis-after-major-fire

St. Patrick’s Day parade returns to Minneapolis after 5-year hiatus
Nick Halter
https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2025/02/27/st-patricks-parade-returns-minneapolis-columbia-heights

Senate GOP demands Walz apology for ‘fascists and Nazis’ comment; Walz says he was talking about actual neo-Nazis
Gov. Walz said his comments, which Senate Republicans posted to social media, were not about President Trump or Republican voters.
Author: Danny Spewak
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/politics/senate-gop-demands-walz-apology-for-fascists-and-nazis-comment/89-9a40b189-5c5f-4977-b3b9-c59de7bea4b5?ref=exit-recirc

Preserving your family’s immigration journey: Where to start
Last week, Sahan Journal and MPR News hosted a live community conversation, titled “My family immigration story — and yours” — about how artists, historians and community leaders record and preserve their community history.
by Katelyn Vue
https://sahanjournal.com/immigration/minnesota-family-immigration-history/

‘They’ve lost my trust’: consumers shun companies as bosses kowtow to Trump
Americans are using their wallet to hurt where it matters – including during Friday’s planned ‘economic blackout’
Lauren Aratani in New York and Guardian community team
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/feb/28/trump-consumer-protests-companies

Disney’s Snow White to Mickey 17: 10 of the best films to watch this March
Nicholas Barber
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250227-10-of-the-best-films-to-watch-this-march

‘I was born to be an actor’: Twice-knighted Derek Jacobi on nearly 70 years on the stage and screen
Christopher Luu
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250226-derek-jacobi-influential-interview-katty-kay

Is there no such thing as Italian cuisine?
Thomas Fabbri
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250227-is-there-no-such-thing-as-italian-cuisine

Jim Gaffigan, Italian Flicks, Queer Soup Night: This Week’s Best Events
Plus fiber arts, art books, and A Bar of Their Own turns one.
By Racket Staff
https://racketmn.com/jim-gaffigan-italian-flicks-queer-soup-night-this-weeks-best-events

2025.02.14

‘We’re like sitting ducks’: the right’s ‘war on woke’ has a well-tested playbook to take down academics The campaign against Claudine Gay, Harvard’s first Black president, has become a blueprint increasingly wielded against women and scholars of color Alice Speri https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/14/chris-rufo-jo-boaler-academics-woke

‘No one wants to pay $25 for breakfast’: US restaurants are cracking under inflation It’s not just eggs, but coffee, orange juice and bacon, making life especially hard for diners, bakeries and brunch spots Danielle Renwick https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/14/restaurants-inflation-egg-prices

Dating apps could be in trouble – here’s what might take their place Fiona Macdonald https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7zxgxdggjo

Stars pull out of shows and positions at Kennedy Center after Trump takeover Issa Rae, Ben Folds and Shonda Rhimes among those who chose not to associate with the institution and president Adrian Horton and Benjamin Lee https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/feb/13/kennedy-center-trump-issa-rae-shonda-rhimes

‘It changed my life’: Get Millie Black, the thrilling Caribbean crime drama shaking up TV
Booker prize winner Marlon James is breaking into television with his rave-reviewed cop show. Its creator and star talk wigs, unfinished business – and what it’s really like being queer in Jamaica today
Ellen E Jones
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/feb/14/marlon-james-get-millie-black-the-thrilling-caribbean-cop-show-tamara-lawrence

‘Another woke disaster from Hollywood!’ How Captain America joined the culture wars In the latest film from the Marvel franchise, Captain America: Brave New World, a Black hero squares up to a raging red baddie trashing the White House. Cue the conservative outrage … Steve Rose https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/feb/14/woke-disaster-hollywood-how-captain-america-joined-culture-wars

Tilda Swinton decries ‘internationally enabled mass murder’ at Berlin film festival Actor speaks out against ‘the unacceptable complacency of our greed-addicted governments’ as she picks up a Golden Bear award for lifetime achievement Andrew Pulver https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/feb/14/tilda-swinton-berlin-film-festival

2025.02.13

Riley Moser, Frankie McLister at WCCO report: “The Department of Education announced Wednesday it is investigating the Minnesota State High School League for allowing transgender student-athletes to compete in sports consistent with their gender identity.” Via MinnPost https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/education-department-mshsl-title-ix-investigation/

Tommy Wiita at Bring Me the News reports: “Eden Prairie-based UnitedHealth Group has agreed to pay $20.25 million to settle a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Labor, after it was found to have wrongly denied thousands of medical claims via its third-party administrator.” Via MinnPost https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/unitedhealth-group-to-pay-20m-to-settle-lawsuit-over-denied-coverage

The Star Tribune’s Paul Walsh reports: “A woman lured a man she met on a dating app to a predawn meetup in north Minneapolis, where her accomplice fatally shot him as part of a carjacking plot, according to criminal complaints filed Wednesday and Thursday.” Via MinnPost https://www.startribune.com/charge-carjacking-victim-killed-after-being-lured-on-dating-app-to-predawn-meetup-in-minneapolis/601221200

Nick Longworth at FOX 9 reports: “Minnesota lawmakers are considering a new bill that would stiffen the penalties for those who engage in the prostitution of minors.” Via MinnPost https://www.fox9.com/news/minor-prostitution-penalties-law-change-proposal

Kevin Drum is in hospital and doing poorly. https://jabberwocking.com/health-update-89/

Rape under wraps: how Tinder, Hinge and their corporate owner chose profits over safety Match Group has known since 2016 about abusive users on its dozen dating apps, but leaves millions of people in the dark Emily Elena Dugdale and Hanisha Harjani https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/13/tinder-hinge-match-investigation

It’s a cowboy show out there’: the deadly lottery of the snakebite antivenom industry Investigation reveals ineffective products being sold across Africa, with poor regulation and shortage of effective medication leading to needless deaths By Paul Eccles, Andjela Milivojevic and Rachel Schraer. Additional reporting by Shafa’atu Suleiman and Laura Margottini https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/feb/13/its-a-cowboy-show-out-there-the-deadly-lottery-of-the-snakebite-antivenom-industry

‘Here lives the monster’s brain’: the man who exposed Switzerland’s dirty secrets Inspired by Che Guevara, Jean Ziegler has spent the past 60 years exposing how Switzerland enabled global wrongdoing. His enemies accuse him of treason By Atossa Araxia Abrahamian https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/feb/13/here-lives-the-monsters-brain-the-man-who-exposed-switzerlands-dirty-secrets

London’s first Roman basilica found under office block Archaeologists hail discovery of near-2,000-year-old structure as one of most significant recent finds in the city Esther Addley https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/feb/13/londons-first-roman-basilica-found-under-office-block

From Timothée Chalamet to TV’s latest epic series: Six reasons the 2025 Berlin Film Festival is set to make waves Hugh Montgomery and Nicholas Barber https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250212-six-ways-the-berlin-film-festival-will-make-waves

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

‘Crossing’ Review: Stories to Tell
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Levan Akin
In Levan Akin’s fascinating drama, two strangers connect in Istanbul.


In “Crossing,” Achi (Lucas Kankava) and Lia (Mzia Arabuli), right, are two strangers heading to Istanbul to search for Lia’s niece.
By AMY NICHOLSON

‘Great Absence’ Review: A Mystery of Disappearance
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Kei Chika-ura
A skillfully directed Japanese mystery dips into the strangeness of dementia for those who stand by and watch.


Mirai Moriyama in “Great Absence.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

— Of Possible Interest —

Zoë Jackson at the Star Tribune reports Minneapolis is out of the running as a host for the Sundance Film Festival.

This will probably be the last time I shamelessly steal the New York Times movie reviews — I have cancelled my subscription to that newspaper.

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

MaXXXine
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Crime, Horror | Directed by Ti West
Mia Goth returns to Ti West’s horrorverse as an actress fleeing a mysterious stalker and a traumatic past.

Mia Goth in “MaXXXine.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Space Cadet
PG-13 | Comedy | Directed by Liz W. Garcia
In a lightweight comedy, the actress plays a bartender who dreams of becoming an astronaut. One problem: She has no qualifications for the job.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Last Summer
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama, Thriller | Directed by Catherine Breillat
Few directors get as deeply under the skin as Catherine Breillat, a longtime provocateur who tests the limits of what the world thinks women should do and say and be.


Samuel Kircher, left, and Léa Drucker in “Last Summer.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Green Border
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Agnieszka Holland
Agnieszka Holland focuses on the Polish-Belarusian border as a Syrian family tries to make it to the European Union.


Jalal Altawil, far right, in “Green Border,” directed by Agnieszka Holland.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Hummingbirds
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía Contreras, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falcó, Jillian Schlesinger
The young directors Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía (Beba) Contreras stargaze, watch fireworks and discuss their lives in this documentary filmed in Laredo, Texas.


Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía (Beba) Contreras in their documentary “Hummingbirds.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Kinds of Kindness
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Yorgos Lanthimos returns with a twisted fable triptych about dominating and being dominated.


From left, Margaret Qualley, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe in “Kinds of Kindness.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Janet Planet
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama | Directed by Annie Baker
Annie Baker’s debut feature film is a tiny masterpiece — a perfect coming-of-age story for both a misfit tween and her mother.


Julianne Nicholson, left, and Zoe Ziegler in “Janet Planet,” set in the summer of 1991.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

The Bikeriders
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Crime, Drama | Directed by Jeff Nichols
Austin Butler, Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy star in a romanticized drama about a fictional motorcycle club in the 1960s.


From left, Boyd Holbrook, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy in “The Bikeriders.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Page Hurwitz
A new Netflix documentary showcases comedy as a source of queer liberation, featuring Margaret Cho, Tig Notaro, Joel Kim Booster and more.


Bob the Drag Queen in the new Netflix documentary “Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution.”
By CHRIS AZZOPARDI