Something Old, Something New for MAY 2026! 

Television

Now that The Pitt is over, I am not actively watching a medical show for the first time in over a year…I might have to go to the hospital and follow some nurses around. 

Something New: 

The Terror: Devil In Silver- May 7th on AMC+ / Shudder

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that every British actor, deep in their soul, passionately longs to do a ‘New York’ accent on camera. Dan Stevens has accomplished this here as a blue collar stiff who finds himself wrongly committed to a (satanic?) psych ward. Tbh, this third season in the Book of Terror, feels strangely like a reskin of Legion (a show I passionately loved), or maybe Dan Stevens just can’t stay out of the psych ward. Anyway, I feel compelled to let people know The Terror has decided to have a third season, a full seven years after season two aired. I loved loved loved season 1 of this show (you know where this is going), and I actually worked on the much less critically acclaimed season 2. And so to find that AMC+ has resurrected this once promising franchise from the grave is…. Well, I can’t say nothing! 

Couples Therapy - May 15th on Paramount+

Pound the alarm!!! The fifth season of Couple’s Therapy is almost upon us! If you have not watched this show, it is literally real life couple’s therapy, led by the world’s greatest therapist, Dr. Orna. This show has everything: stirring insight into the therapy process, a voyeuristic view into other people’s relationships, and pearls of wellness wisdom from the best-dressed mental health professional in the greater New York area. Through watching this show, I have cultured deep empathy, and also total derision for some specific book-writing and fire-starting men. 

Spider- Noir - May 27th on Amazon Prime

Okay, hear me out. I didn’t think I’d have this on my bingo card either. I am pretty much fully anti-anything that ends in -verse or has a cape, and only watched this trailer because Nicholas Cage is the titular Spider, and you know, had to see what was going on there. But uh, guys - it looks legitimately kind of good. Cage first took on this role in Into the Spiderverse (a Verse I’m going to allow) and now they’ve made a whole series! I mean let’s go I guess, let’s go! If you watch this in color you are a coward.

Something Old:

The Terror S1 (2018) Streaming on AMC+ / Shudder

Legitimately one of my favorite seasons of television of all time, this icy hellscape came to me right in a depression crest, and boy did it make it feel good to feel bad. Based on the doorstopper historical fiction novel about two British ships that went missing in the 1800s (one of them literally called the HMS Terror….feels like a bad ship name). A stacked cast of every Brit actor boy you’ve ever seen in anything, just enduring the absolute worst. One of the only shows I’ve found to be actually scary, it creates a vibe of ice cold misery that you will never see again. If you are not into polar bear demons and graphic depictions of frostbite, then I cannot help you. 

Movies:

Happy Devil Wears Prada 2 month to all who celebrate, the youth crave traditional print media!

Something New:

Silent Friend - May 8th

The titular friend is a gingko tree! This film from Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi follows three different generations who interact with the friend-tree where it grows in a German university’s courtyard. It’s been a festival darling, with an ethereal sweeping trailer starring both Léa Seydoux and THEE Tony Leung. If that isn’t interest piquing, then I dare say you are no friend of trees!

Is God Is - May 15th

First time director Aleashea Harris adapts her Off-Broadway play of the same name. Two sisters set out on a journey across ye old America to revenge themselves on their abusive father.The  IRL version was lauded for its genre mash of Western, thriller, family drama, and semi-Biblical morality play. I, for one, always welcome a vengeance mash moment!

I Love Boosters - May 22nd

If the Devil Wears Prada doesn’t have enough fashion for you, may I invite you to Boots Riley’s newest feature! His follow up to 2018’s joyously unhinged Sorry To Bother You (that featured the best earrings on screen), I Love Boosters make the fashion the text as Keke Palmer and her band of starlets take the fashion world by storm, literally. Everything is colorful, everyone looks amazing, Will Poulter is here. I am seated!!

Backrooms - May 29th

I am probably not going to see this movie, as I loathe existential terror, but I still wanted to call it out because I think it’s interesting, and I know some of you are sickos! I have watched many videos of “backroom” spelunking on TikTok, the spooky trend of creators documenting abandoned malls, derelict caves, or mysterious underground tunnels. Sometimes these are edited for greater haunted effect, but all of them have the unsettling tenor of the best early internet CreepyPastas. The TWENTY-YEAR OLD DIRECTOR (vom) of Backrooms is one such creator who rose to fame for his viral Backroom Youtube shorts. The fact that this has become an A24 film, with such banger actors as Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, highlights how much online storytelling and mainstream media have overlapped. Anyway, thank you for coming to my TED talk, let me know if this was good!

Something Old:

The Beast (2023) - streaming on Criterion / Canopy

Even though Spring is here, the theme of my ‘old’ reccos is ‘feel bad.’ Oh well! The Beast is deeply, deeply unsettling in about a hundred different ways, so unsettling that it becomes almost sublime. Léa Seydoux and George MacKay play star-crossed lovers whose lives intersect over the course of different time periods from the Victorian era to a sci-fi fantasy future. It is romantic, harrowing, chilling and the looming threat of AI only makes it more upsettingly prescient as time goes on. Léa Seydoux is incredible INCREDIBLE in this film. I am recommending it, but also you can’t blame me for adverse reactions. That is the law. Blog law. 

Books:

Something New:

The Sane One by Anna Konkle -  May 5th

If you have not watched Pen15, then get thee to Hulu. Anna Konkle is the co-creator of the funniest, poignant, and damningly accurate portrayal of millennial pre-teenhood this side of 2005. Her memoir covers the same ground, branching into her young adult years, and covering the rocky divorce that defined her younger years (and, spoiler alert, also seen on Pen15). If you are missing being horrified by the candid details of your own past, Na is back to deliver the goods.

Prestige Drama by Séamas O’Reilly  - May 5th

This is the kind of story idea I wish I could execute (except for the being deeply Irish bit). In “Prestige Drama” (A+ name), a movie star travels to a small Irish town to research her upcoming role in a…you guessed it, prestige drama. Of course she goes shockingly missing and the Greek chorus of the filmmakers and townsfolk are left to investigate the mystery and pick up the pieces. It’s a comedy, and we both love an Irish mystery and a Hollywood send up!

Something Old: 

Revenge by Yoko Ogawa (1998)

For the last of my feel bad reccs, may I humbly present to you Yoko Ogawa’s book of short stories simply entitled “Revenge.” You may have heard of Ogawa’s work, as her biggest hit “The Memory Police” is being made into a Charlie Kaufman movie (love the book, hype for the movie), but this is the collection that made me first fall in love with her sparse, poetic, and pitch black writing style. “Revenge” is a pin-neat collection of short horror stories that delicately intertwine with each other, and methodically work together to create a beautiful, unnerving ambiance.

!!!!SPEED ROUND!!!! 

• Jury Duty Season 2: Company Retreat- I didn’t live recommend this, but I did watch it and I liked it more than season 1! This season they are really manipulating the unsuspecting “lead” to fulfill a narrative arc, which is very The Game codes, but also makes you wonder at what point they are going to destroy someone’s reality forever.

• Despite being first cast on season 4 of The White Lotus Helena Bonham Carter was OUSTED in exchange for Laura Dern. We love the Dern ofc, but as a long term Mike White collaborator maybe he found her easier to….control? After the exit of Cristobal, I’m growing increasingly suss of Mike’s motivations here.

• Did we all see The Drama and can agree once again a Haim is the villain???

• As joyous as “Love on the Spectrum” was almost every couple has announced their break up! Woe to the republic!

• My favorite movie of 2024 was I Saw the TV Glow (sorry, Louie) and I am very excited that Jane Schoenbrun has TWO big projects this year: their Friday the 13th remake entitled Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (starring Gillian Anderson!!) AND an almost 1000 page speculative fiction book “Public Access Afterworld”. Look out for more queer fandom exploration and more goo!

Okay this last section is going to be an update on the TikTok journey. I have purchased a microphone and am confronting the existential horror of talking straight to camera ❤

XO, MD ❤

God, I hope it’s warm outside when you’re reading this. I’m writing in the middle of March, and my spirit is low, low with ice rain and snowstorms. A message of misery from the past to the future.

Thankfully, it doesn’t matter if the weather outside is nice or not, because there is a TON of new content coming out this month and you should spend all your time inside catching up.

Something Old, Something New for APRIL 2026! 

Movies

Last month, the first ever casting Oscar was given out to Cassandra Kulukundis for One Battle After Another, presented to her by Chase Infiniti. The Academy carted out the stars of the nominated films to say nice things about all the CDs, which was well and good, but Chase was the only actor up there who read for her role — and read for it many times. Cassandra looked for that role for like three years! That’s casting baby!

Something New: 

The Drama - April 4th

I don’t need to tell you too much about this because it’s been advertised to within an inch of its life and we have Zendaya crushing another press tour with DRAMATIC fashion lewks. Obsessed with her dropping the IRL marriage rumors just in time for this to premiere. That’s synergy baby!

The Christophers — April 10th

The more time goes on, the more I have become a Soderbergh obsessive. To paraphrase Blank Check’s JJ Bersch in their podcast’s substack: anyone can be an auteurist about a guy who makes a good film every five years, but maybe true auteurism is the guy who makes a movie (or two) every year, who made a black-and-white, silent, Trent Reznor-scored version of Raiders for fun (you can actually watch it at the link), who pretended to be a little ghost, who made Ocean’s 12 AND Magic Mike, who shoots on an iPhone because he can, who directed, shot, and edited 20 episodes of a period medical drama. So yes, this is a movie where the luminous Michaela Cole and Ian McKellen talk about art, and life, and stuff, but it’s also another entry in the long, unhinged, and brilliant career of Steven Soderbergh. Let’s see your fav do that.

Hamlet — April 10th

Hamlet is really having a moment thanks to 2025’s Hamnet. If he won’t be James Bond, then at least Riz Ahmed can have a go at another landmark character. Set in a modern day London and infusing the racial and social tensions of the city into the work, this Hamlet looks to freshen up the classic text. Also, Joe Alwyn cements his place as ‘best supporting brother’ in this as Laertes, and honestly love this career move for him.

Mother Mary — April 17th

Okay so those who know me, or have had any kind of loose conversation with me about actors, knows how I feel about Anne Hathaway (derogatory). So you KNOW I must be interested in this film to OVERCOME that little detail. In David Lowery’s newest outing, a Gaga-esque pop star reunites with her ex-bestie (once again, the luminous Michaela Cole) to make a dress for her pivotal upcoming performance. The vibes? Haunted. The songs? Charli XCX. The supporting cast? FKA Twigs….wait why isn’t she the lead of this…. The friendship? Toxic. The dress? A death metaphor possibly. But wait for real, why wouldn’t you make FKA Twigs the lead? Hello? David?

Something Old:

The Green Knight (2021) — Netflix, Kanopy

Okay while I wait for David Lowery to call me back about Twigs, let’s revisit his back catalogue with 2021’s The Green Knight. In this retelling of Arthurian story ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’, Lowery blends fantasy with the very form of legend and storytelling. It’s a movie that feels like a dream you’ve had before, like a story that’s been told so often it begins to distort and overflow the banks of its original mold. Also absolutely incredible colors AND a little fox buddy. And Dev Patel rules (Skins hive stays winning).

Television:

Okay that’s a lot of movies, but the way I also had to pair down this TV list to make this not a 30-minute read. April is APRILING!

Something New:

Love on the Spectrum S4 (Netflix) - April 1st

Martha likes: confessional storytelling, cats, and Steven Soderbergh. She doesn’t like: New Jersey traffic patterns, not having an update on Dani’s love life, and Anne Hathaway.

Beef S2 (Netflix) - April 16th

Three years after Beef S1 became a runaway hit, we finally have a season 2. If you don’t feel like watching S1, it’s an anthology so you are free. Literally a show about two people who are having a disagreement, season 2 boasts a stacked cast, and even shorter episode count (complimentary!) We got Oscar Isaac, Carrie Mulligan, and Song Kang-ho in his first American TV series (I have a Sodey-level obsession monologue ready about him too!) 

Kevin (Prime)- April 20th

Animated series about a housecat (the titular Kevin) who decides to break up with his owners after they break up, and strikes out on his own in NYC. We love cats but we also love Aubrey Plaza who co-produces the series with Joe Wengert (if you watched You’re Next after my recco last month, this will be a callback), and Jason Schwartzman is the voice Kevin, of course! All episodes drop 4/20, I wonder if that means anything?

Something Old:

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins (Peacock)

My Something Old for TV has really turned into my apology space for failing to recommend a show I went on to not only watch, but love. This was really a miss for me, especially since it stars my romantic-obsession Daniel Radcliffe as a henley-wearing documentarian (sweat emoji). This is from the Tina Fey-verse of writers: Robert Carlock and Sam Means, and guys it is GOOD. Tracy Morgan is one of the funniest people to ever be on television, Erika Alexander (in a hilarious return to sitcoms!) and the always unhinged (complimentary) Bobby Moynihan. This show made me laugh real laughs. Like real actual lols. An lmao, even.

Books:

Something New:

Go Gentle by Maria Semple — April 2nd

TV writer turned novelist, she is best known for her breakout novel “Where’d You Go, Bernadette”, a very funny and moving book, with a less good movie adaptation. Cone of silence admission: I have not loved her subsequent books BUT with her new book about a Stoicist divorcee who gets pulled into an international crime syndicate, I am READY to get hurt again!

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon — April 7th

In a home of smart appliances, a roomba self-actualizes after overhearing her owner read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ to his dying wife. She/it names herself Scout, and along with her other sentient appliances, set out on an adventure. Kind of adorable, kind of ominous. The Brave Little Toaster for a new world order.

Something Old: 

Gif by ImmortalAMC on Giphy

Love Nina: Dispatches from Family Life by Nina Stibbe (2013)

Another book I am evangelical about with sort of a Semple-esque tone (synergy baby!) Satirical author Nina Stibbe’s first book is in the form of IRL letters she wrote to her sister while acting as nanny to Stephen Frear’s children. If you like irreverent witty writing and commentary on day-to-day life (sound like any writing you know?) I cannot recommend this enough. Like “Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging” for adults. Part diary, part look into the upper crust of London, part coming of age memoir, 10000% hilar.

!!!!SPEED ROUND!!!!

• One of my writerly friends Kat has started her own Substack detailing her adventures in Taiwan! If you like the funny conversational tone of this blog, but wish it was wiser and more coherent, I suggest you give her a follow! 

• On X-Files watch: Himesh Patel has been cast opposite Danielle Deadwyler, love Himesh, am hype for this, and am willing to forget about Yesterday!

• Speaking of the 90s, the long-awaited Buffy reboot was officially staked with LOTS of BTS drama 

• But beloved cult show Firefly is rising from the dead with an animated series 

• I am longing to play Pokopia…but I don’t have a Switch 2, and I guess I’m an adult…unless…? 

• Last month I joined the elite club of traumatized viewers of Sirat, and now whenever I complain about anything (like being a grown up non-Pokopia player), Alex helpfully reminds me it could be worse and I could be in Sirat….powerful reframing.

• It is my intention this year to create a companion TikTok for this newsletter! I’m saying it now so you cannot legally judge me for being cringe, and so I actually, you know, do it. Stay tuned!

XO, MD ❤

IDK about you, but I spent all February DEEPLY entrenched in the Olympics and all the drama contained therein. If you watched Glitter & Gold (as per my suggestion), you too would have been devastated by Evan and Maddy’s gold medal loss to the “sinister energy” wielding French. Or perhaps you are more of a biathlon fan and followed the Norwegian guy who confessed, on live television, to cheating on his girlfriend of six months — a mere three months into the relationship (why did he tell us all that). Or the biathlon gold medalist who was convicted for fraud after stealing her coach and teammates’ credit card!!! She won another gold btw; her credit card victim came in 80th. Brutal.

The biggest triumph though belongs to alt-girl icon Alyssa Liu, who bravely showed the world what a functioning nervous system looks like. May we know her, may we be her. 

And now media to fill the void of snow-based organized sports: 

Something Old, Something New for MARCH 2026! 

Television

A-listers, get your A-lister’s here!

Something New: 

Vladimir — March 5th on Netflix

Insane to imagine Rachel Weisz as a down-on-her-luck anything, much less a not-super-hot author and English professor in a disappointing marriage, but this is what we are called to do! Based on the novel of the same name, Rachel tries to escape her boring unhot life by Babygirling Leo Woodall — sexual chaos ensues (hopefully!)

Scarpetta — March 11th on Amazon Prime

Speaking of our babygirl, Nicole Kidman stars as Patricia Cornwell’s detective Kay Scarpetta. Nicole Kidman IS forensic pathologist Scarpetta. Nicole Kidman WILL play Virginia’s Italian-American Chief Medical Examiner, Kay Scarpetta. There’s so much camp in the setup alone, and I haven’t even told you that Jamie Lee Curtis and Ariana DeBose are the co-leads. Already picked up for two seasons!

These guys don’t cast themselves ya know!

The Oscars — March 15th on ABC / Hulu

Guys, it’s film’s biggest night on TV! We’re all winners here! I have never won an Oscar ballot, so I am not going to bog you down with predictions and also the Oscars are more indicative of marketing prowess than awarding artistic merit and recognizing cultural sea change BUT movies are amazing and I like to see people get prizes (see: the Olympics). Also the first year of CASTING to get an award!

Bait — March 25th on Amazon Prime

Riz Ahmed wrote and stars in this miniseries about a British actor’s audition for James Bond sending his life into an existential spiral. It’s a comedy…I think…. Although I would welcome Riz Ahmed in Her Majesty’s Secret Service! Love an actor playing an actor, love a British comedy moment, love a six-episode commitment, love Riz Ahmed’s face.

Something Old:

Crashing (2016) — Streaming on Netflix

Speaking of six-episode British delights: before Fleabag, Phoebe Waller-Bridge penned and starred in the delightfully acerbic romcom Crashing. Like New Girl on PCP, Crashing follows an unlikely group of roommates living together in an abandoned hospital. Lots of sexual insanity, bad decisions, and scathing witticisms ensue. Also featuring an early-in-his-career Jonathan Bailey!! Guys, you can watch it on Netflix!

Movies:

Something New:

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come — March 20th

The sequel to 2019’s bloody comedy/thriller Ready or Not. Unlike Now You See Me, it didn’t take them three movies to capitalize on the obvious followup title. Ready or Not launched its directing duo (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) into the spotlight, where they proceeded to relaunch the Scream franchise and make Annabel (a vampire child eats criminals, etc). Ready or Not was a bloody campy good time, about how the rich stay rich via merciless blood ritual (tg it’s fiction!) This second outing is going even harder with Buffy herself entering the fray alongside Pitt-Zaddy Shawn Hatosy and David Cronenberg. Insane and I love it!

A Magnificent Life — March 27th

Cast your mind back to the whimsy and freedom of 2003: maybe you were gearing up for a midnight screening of Return of the King or omging over Madonna and Britney kissing on TV, OR MAYBE you were being charmed by a silent French animated comedy about little old ladies rescuing a cyclist from the mafia! Well good news for you, the director of Triplets of Belleville is out of retirement with a new animated biography feature about French writer and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol. This whole bit is going to be funny to like, three people.

Something Old:

You’re Next (2011)

The aughteens saw a sea change of the reigning indie genre mumblecore giving way to the rising intellectual horror of A24 and Neon. But what if I told you…you could have both at once. Enter action/horror/comedy, You’re Next. A cast filled with mumblecore and rising indie filmmakers, in a remote house, brutally attacked by masked strangers. Simple, yes — but sometimes the best things are, like a freshly bloomed flower or a perfectly made pancake. Also if you have ever wanted to see Ti West absolutely get got, boy do I have good news for you.

Books:

Something New:

Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran — March 10th

The year? 1928. The place? An all girl’s school chock filled with secrets and latent same-sex attraction. The plot? A girl has plunged to her death and her school chums with names like Evelyn and Emily have to unspool the mystery before it’s too late. The obstacle? GHOSTS OBVIOUSLY. Gothic haunted schoolgirl mystery, here I come.

The Keeper by Tana French — March 31st

I have extolled the literary virtue (read: fangirled out) of Tana French’s mystery novels here in the past, so I am HYPE to announce she has a new one this very month! This book is the last in a trilogy following an American ex-cop who has moved to the Irish countryside to escape past trauma and death. You’re never going to believe it though guys, even in this rural community he has found NEW trauma and death to contend with. Vibier and more atmospheric than her Dublin Murder Squad series, they are still captivating mysteries centering on a small town community that seems intent on committing new and varied crimes. The first two entries in this triptych are The Searcher and The Hunter; read those first and then meet me back here.

Something Old: 

Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat and Tears by Michael Schulman (2023)

How can you not be romantic about Hollywood? In this gloriously researched book, Schulman traces the history of motion pictures through the lens of the Academy Awards. A true BTS look at how the Oscars have been both a shepherd and obstacle to careers, art, and business. If you, like me, love learning new things via the voice of gossip and fabulous anecdotes about celebrities, this is for you! Thank you Anna for the recco!

Someone to Follow: 

Stormy
I share this with caution, because whenever I go down a TikTok brain rot hole, it is always with my friend Stormy here. Stormy is a self-taught seamstress who makes sparkly dresses on a wing and a prayer. She cuts without measuring, she pins directly on her bestie, she has a rich lore with her stupid ex. Her outfits always come out cute, and before you know it you’ve lost 2 hours of your life. Enjoy at your own risk.

!!!!SPEED ROUND!!!!

• With post-ER depression setting in, The Pitt has once again delivered by forcing the ED to go analog! The big white board and charts of ER are back! It’s practically the same show! (unless you are the Michael Crichton estate, then no it’s not) 

• Since Letterboxd is saving cinema, feel free to follow me! This article derides ‘pithy one-liners’ as reviews and, unfortunately, that is what I do deliver there. 

• If you missed Alyssa Liu’s gold-winning free skate, I urge you to watch what mental wellness looks like.

• Ryan Coogler is rebooting my, and his mom’s, favorite show The X-Files and just cast Danielle Deadwyler. Ryan has already proved his vampire proficiency this year, and I am ready to continue to receive!

• While directors like Edgar Wright seem to have strayed from the heart of their style, I am pleased to report that Sam Raimi’s love of multi-textured goos is alive and well in Send Help. See it in a theater!

XO, MD ❤

It’s February, the month of love, and I got you all, my beautiful followers and readers, an early Pitt Season 3 renewal and a Golden Globe for Zaddy Wyle. Yes, I did that. It was me.

Something Old, Something New for FEBRUARY 2026! 

Television

I would be remiss not to let you know that CBS’ FBI series has its third spin-off coming out this month…FBI: CIA. Which, I’m sort of obsessed with as a concept. Even in the face of the apocalypse, CBS perseveres. 

Something New: 

The Winter Olympics Milano Cortina - February 6th on NBC/Peacock

It is time again for the Olympics!! Let’s be honest, it’s harder than ever to feel any modicum of patriotism for this embattled nation. But there is never, never, a time when I won’t be excited for figure skating and curling. The ONLY ice I will support is if DANCER immediately proceeds the word. If you are looking for someone to cheer for, may I suggest Alysa Liu — a world champion figure skater who has come out of retirement at 20 (lol) for one last go. She has cool hair, piercings, and skates to Lady Gaga. Or perhaps Amber Glenn, figure skating’s first out LGBTQ+ woman and world champion! If that’s not enough, think of all the shipping that can be done on a Men’s All Star Hockey Team! Also luge!

Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing - February 1st on Netflix

Okay this premieres earliest in the month, but I needed you to read my little Olympics tee off first so when you see the title of this show — you will be PRIMED for it. Yes, this is a Netflix sports doc about three ice dancing couples competing for gold — dancing across the ice for gold! Nothing gives drama like ice dancing; remember mega-hot Canadians Tessa and Scott’s Moulin Rouge routine? Well this year, choose your fighters — maybe you will go for Evan and Madison of Team USA, they are married IRL and the favs. Or maybe Piper and Paul of Canada, who have never medalled in the Olympics. OR maybe you are extra spicy and want to back Laurence and Guillaume of France? Without being reductive they are…extremely French (he broke up with his long-time skate partner, and is coming out of retirement with a new girl to try and reclaim glory!)

Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model - February 16th on Netflix

ANTM pretty much defined my life as a teenager. When you are a 5’8” 14-year-old, with a 5’8” bestie — there is only, ONLY goal in your life — and that is to be recognized for your height and potential for racial ambiguity by THEE Tyra Banks on America’s Next Top Model. Was there a show that better defined the agony and the ecstasy of the aughts? Reality Check purports to dive deep into the show’s scandal-ridden run and I can’t WAIT to see what they pull out. Was it the time Tyra made the girls pose as different races? Or made a girl whose friend just died pose in an open grave? Or maybe it was that time Shandi cheated on her boyfriend in Europe, or when Brittany’s white girl weave started decaying her scalp? Or when she made Melrose pose as both Donald AND Melania Trump? For better or for worse, we will never know television like this again.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - Already out on HBOMax (new episodes Sundays)

Ya okay I know this came out a month ago, but in my defense, I assumed it would be bad. After suffering through the first season of House of the Dragon I had pretty much cancelled my passport to Westeros — but my interest was lured when I heard the absolute best thing I can hear about any show: “it’s only 30 minutes.” And reader, it is. Also, blessedly, it has nothing to do with any battle for ANY of the seven kingdoms, or dragon eggs, or multi-generational incest romances (cue Jimmy from You’re The Worst). It’s just about a would-be knight and his weird bald little friend at a ren faire. AND Daniel Ings is a party boy Baratheon! But Martha, who’s Daniel Ings …. Well, I am SO glad you asked.

Something Old:

Lovesick (2014) — Rent or Buy on Amazon / AppleTV (it’s worth it!)

Originally, and incredibly, titled Scrotal Recall, Netflix changed the name to Lovesick to make this rom-com more ‘palatable’ and less ‘scrotum associated.’ Cowards! Lovesick follows adorable Johnny Flynn as he calls all of his ex-lovers to tell them he (and potentially they) have the clap. Accompanied by his besties Antonia Thomas (who once accepted my marriage proposal on Twitter) and Daniel Ings (who I just talked about!!!), Johnny has to figure out how to adult, be in love, and overcome the meddling of his pals. Really just an adorable show filled with British actors, and VERY funny. You don’t even have to look at that many scrotums!!

Movies:

I’m going to share only two takes about the Oscar noms this year:

• It’s casting’s first year to be nominated (yay!). Great noms here for movies that have really beautiful casting work! The off-beat period faces of Marty Supreme or the insanely stellar ensemble of The Secret Agent don’t just assemble themselves ya know! 

• WHO does Park Chan-wook have to bury in a hole to get nominated for something???

Not a lot is coming out new new this month that I am excited about, but some indie cinema is getting wider releases! Sorry if you were fancy and already saw these at the festivals, or on a screener, or in Alexander Skårsgard’s basement.

Something New:

Pillion - February 6th

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw described this movie as a “BDSM Wallace & Gromit”, and I really can’t think of a more appealing descriptor! A romance between so hot he’s on fire Vampire Eric  dom motorcycler Alexander Skårsgard and glowed-up sub Dudley Dursley. I love all the words I’m typing, like guys, are we in or are we IN?

Sirāt — February 6th

None of the little ‘a’ modifiers are working on my keyboard, and that’s really been a challenge for these last two entries. ANYWAY, this Spanish film has had a critical darling run at festivals, and is now Academy Award nominated! It follows a father and son going to a rave in the middle of nowhere Morocco, on the search for their lost family member — she got lost at another rave. Raves! Dancing through the end of the world feels extremely appropo!

Something Old:

Bones and All (2022) - Netflix

Do you get that my theme this month is like unconventional love stories? Like, for Valentine’s Day? I feel like Bones and All got slept on a little bit, but I really enjoyed it! Before his big Challenger’s year, Luca Guadagnino used his Call Me By Your Name muse Timmy in this YA adaptation about cannibals! Yes, a YA love story about cannibals! This whole movie is a vibe, and eating people has never seemed so romantic. One of my favorite Timothee Chalamet performances (ya that includes Marty Supreme), and a genuinely terrifying Mark Rylance

Books:

Something New:

She Made Herself A Monster by  Anna Kovatcheva — February 10th

Something I always try to remind myself about the creative process, is that at the end of the day you should just write the thing you would want to read. Whether that’s an extremely conversational aughts-style media blog OR a novel about a girl 19th century vampire hunter who frees women from domestic abuse. Take what you love, smash it together, and put it in the world!

Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novack -February 10th

Case in point: this is a novel about a sex worker turned assassin. Repeat, a sex worker turned assassin. My girl Catherine Lacey blurbed this with a blurb so blurbalicous that they that they proudly placed it right on top of the book: “Murder Bimbo is Gone Girl for the Luigi Mangione era”. 🤌

Something Old: 

Gif by ImmortalAMC on Giphy

Nobody Is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey (2014)

Speaking of my girl Catherine, blurber mentioned above. I read her debut novel Nobody is Ever Missing at a… let’s say transformative time in my life. The book follows a young woman, who, fed up and burnt out of her personal and professional life, spontaneously runs away to New Zealand. Definitely not relatable at all. She writes in a beautiful, almost poetic, first person prose that sounds potentially annoying on paper, but I promise is not. Highly recommend to anyone who has ever had the urge to just keep driving into the sunset, or fake their death and start anew. 

Someone to Follow: 

Matt Bernstein
Taking the news in is harder and harder these days, but also staying informed is more important than ever. But also the news media is in a rapid decline. Such is the crux of life in the end times. There are a number of political influencers, but I like Matt because he has interesting informed takes. Also his nails are always long and pretty to look at, so there is always that to enjoy at least.

!!!!SPEED ROUND!!!!

• I can’t believe this update has come, but I have FINISHED all 15 seasons of ER. It was not easy, and seasons 13 and 14 were….rough (John Stamos was introduced as a paramedic who struggles with reading; no I am not kidding). But what a journey it has been: 26 series regular actors, 3 severed series regular limbs, and 331 episodes. I am thrilled to report the series finished strong, with Amy Madigan pulling in as Linda Cardellini’s mother, and Angela Bassett adopting Rooney Mara’s biracial infant. Long live the ER! 

• Every year, I look forward to this video countdown of the past year’s best films by critic David Ehrlich — he is an amazing editor, and even though I don’t always agree with his ranking, I always learn about a cool movie(s) I missed! If you love movies, highly recommend carving time out for this! 

• Finally, FUCK ICE. Even ER had a storyline in 2008 where Dr. Parminder Nagra heroically shelters a pregnant woman and her husband from ICE. Below are some links of places with super easy ways you can go to get involved! Donate money or food, call on behalf of immigrant legal aid, hound your reps, and educate yourself about anti-ICE actions: 

  • https://www.standwithminnesota.com/  

  • https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/donate/ 

  • https://www.nilc.org/action/ 

  • https://5calls.org/

My one month late resolution is to lean into my little newsletter this year - so stay tuned for more exciting updates and perhaps other mediums! Putting it in writing means I have to do it!

XO, MD ❤

Thank you everyone who has subscribed and read my writing in 2025! I can’t wait to board the great vessel of new content and sail with you all into 2026.

Also stay (or scroll) to the end for a BONUS of my TOP movies/TV/books from this past year! Bundling  content up to give you MORE (an additional paragraph) for LESS (the same price of free).That’s right, we’re looking back, we’re looking forward, our two faces scanning the past and future simultaneously like Janus himself.

Something Old, Something New for JANUARY 2026! 

Television

Okay Bryan Fuller must have heard me hyping him up, which led him to say ALL THIS about a third season of Pushing Daisies. Bryan, you and I both know that this is never in a million years going to happen, as much as we both enjoy seeing Lee Pace in that apron. But I’m glad this is what’s in your heart!

Something New: 

THE PITT S2 — January 8th on HBO Max

One of my motivations in returning to recommendation-based first-person writing last (!!) year, is that I wanted to do my part to make everyone watch The Pitt. This was an entirely selfish motivation as I wanted to create more people to talk about The Pitt with. Unfortunately The Pitt led to an obsession with ER, so I’d like it if all of you watched that now, too.

The Pitt is the best of serialized network television — a model that, between streamers and cable, we have wandered too far from. A 15-episode series, airing weekly, with A, B,and C plots, acted out by working television actors, and sometimes with a little morality lesson about the healthcare system thrown in as a treat. Doesn’t feel like a lot to ask, but if ‘10-hour movies’ are the disease, The Pitt is the cure! Oh and it didn’t take three years to shoot a second season. The one-day shift of Season 2 takes place on the 4th of July, and I, for one, am ready for some fireworks related injuries.

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dial - January 15th on Netflix

Nothing is cozier in winter than a snuggly little murder mystery set amongst England’s upper class. Is there anything that warms the spirit more? Agatha Christie is best known for her classic detectives Miss Marple (little old lady, garden appreciator) and Hercule Poirot (mustachioed, obnoxious) but they were not her only crimesolvers. Seven Dials is unique in that it sees socialite Lady Eileen Brent, a teen It Girl, take up the metaphorical magnifying glass. Obvi there have been many a Christie adaptation, but this one is from Chris Chibnall (more on him in a second) and, because there are only five actors in Britain, stars Martin Freeman, Helena Bonham Carter and Mia McKenna Bruce.

Something Old:

Broadchurch (2013)

Okay so if Agatha Christie creates “feel-good” cozy murders, Broadchurch is definitely a feel-bad murder mystery (complimentary!!!!) Chris Chibnall (see above) former Doctor Who writer penned this absolutely devastating series about the murder of a boy in a small English beach town. Ya it’s as depressing as it sounds but the acting is TOP TIER. Chibnall brought over the best Doctor (Tennant, duh) as a jaded detective and paired him with an on-the-rise OLIVIA COLMAN. The whole thing is jam-packed with Brit goodness including a pre-fame Jonathan Bailey and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Truly one of the most devastating season finales (again complimentary) — prepare to ugly cry and enjoy saying “Mill-ah” in various accents.
*Gracepoint is not acknowledged on this blog

Movies:

2025 was an amazing year for movies, especially international cinema! Is 2026 going to be able to compete? Who will get the first casting Oscar? Is the Tom Cruise /Iñárritu movie going to be good??? So many mysteries to unravel in 2026!

Something New:

28 Years Later: Bone Temple - January 16th

In my heart, I am 13-years-old and can’t believe they named a movie ‘Bone Temple.’ Coincidentally, I was also 13 when I saw 28 Days Later in theaters and fell in love with both zombies and Cillian Murphy’s ice blue calf eyes. Unfortunately, the zombie genre is hard, and years of The Walking Dead shambling along has all but rendered it inert. UNTIL last year’s 28 Years Later, helmed by OG director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, made a triumphant return. It was violent, poignant, shot on 100 iPhones, and featured Ralph Fiennes covered in iodine. THIS is what movies should be. Although Boyle is not back for the second film in what is, I guess, a sequel trilogy, Cillian is and so is my boy Jack O’Connell (Skins hive stays winning). 

The Moment - January 30th

I am legit interested in this upcoming satirical mockumentary from Charli XCX, and not just because I am a digital It Girl and all my cool It Girl friends will be in it. Presumably, the titular “Moment” is 2024’s Brat Summer coupe, where everything was lime green and Charli almost made Kamala president from vibes alone (take me back!) I am here for Charli’s foray into films, and think this is an interesting way to go from a pop star who hit the zeitgeist after a having been around the block (not an age knock, as she is younger than me and I am only 22). I really hope this is as good as the album!!!

Send Help - January 30th

Mousy office worker Rachel McAdams (lmao) is trapped on a deserted island with her asshole CEO Dylan O’Bryan after he threatens to lay her off. Reminiscent of 2022’s Triangle of Sadness,  but in today’s economy, who amongst us wouldn’t want to test their survival mettle against the head of their company in a life-or-death situation, immediately triumphing because your millennial grit has shaped you into the perfect worker, only for the entire economy to collapse over and over as you look to advance in the work force. Anyway, this seems fun, and because it’s Sam Raimi, there’s sure to be some cathartic body horror.

Something Old:

Sunshine (2007)

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s follow up to abovementioned 28 Days Later was this sci-fi thriller about a group of astronauts trying to restart a dying sun. I’m not usually into “outer space,” we have enough problems down here, but Sunshine is a gorgeous, heartbreaking movie that absolutely scared the shit out of me. It also has one of the all time best ensemble casts — Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Chris Evans (pre-Marvel!), Michelle Yeoh, Benedict Wong, and Cliff Curtis HELLO. So if you wake up one morning, and it’s a particularly beautiful day, and you walk outside and see a rep theater marquee that says Sunshine, proceed immediately inside. 

Books:

My 2025 book read count was 20! I’m super happy with this number as last year it was 7 (things happen). Sure, I’m not winning the pizza party, but at least we’re keeping up and making it through. If you read more than that and would like to be celebrated - DM me or drop a comment and I will immortalize your triumph.

Something New:

Is This a Cry for Help by Emily Austin — January 13th

I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but let’s be real. Libraries are the one good thing we have left in this world, the one sturdy bastion against the tides of destruction. In this novel, a librarian in the midst of a mental breakdown must take up her duties and battle bookbanners and reference desk requests alike. Who amongst us cannot relate.

How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley  - January 20th

When two sisters in 1980’s Wyoming off their Indian immigrant uncle, they blame, what else, colonialism. Sounds right to me! The novel investigates family, heritage, and of course, the legacy of living in this, our postcolonial world. I appreciate an author who understands everything is better when viewed through the lens of murder. Which leads me too….

Something Old: 

Gif by ImmortalAMC on Giphy

In the Woods by Tana French (2007)

Okay remember three months ago when I said I was a huge mystery snob and had a Tana French shrine? Well, it’s time to become a believer! Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad book series (of which In the Woods is the first) are the BEST in mystery writing ! French’s background is in theater and acting, which really shows up in how she writes character and frames (haha) suspects. Nuanced, haunting, imaginative — if you have not read these and have even an inkling of interest in the word ‘detective,’ get thee to a bookstore (or library!!). Plus the second one is a straight up Secret History fanfic (complimentary!!!)

Phew, the theme of this month’s New Year’s blog turned out to be murder! Who would have thunk.

!!!!SPEED ROUND!!!!

For our bullets this go round, I am here to bring to you the BEST (aka my favorite) TV, BOOKS, + MOVIES from 2025!! What were yours???

BEST TV:

• The Pitt - I’ve already dedicated a thousand or so words on why this is amazing 

• Andor - Imagine if a senator stood up like this AND processed their grief through dance! 

• Severance - I have a such a crush on Adam Scott and this whole season really spoke to that.

• ER - As you know,this show has taken over my life. We’ve made it to season 12 and things are starting to get… a little weird. We’re currently working with a multi episode storyline starring John Leguizamo and Callie Thorne as cocaine fueled lovers and Shea Whigam as a murderous ex. Also an episode just titled ‘Darfur’. God I miss 2005.

BEST FILM:
I loved so many movies this year! If you missed my FILM FESTIVAL recap, I go into relentless detail about a lot of my favorites!

• The Secret Agent — bright colors, an outstanding ensemble, the spirit of the 70s, Wagner Moura’s silky voice 

• Black Bag  - Sodey forever, compact storytelling, my husband Tom Burke, impeccable outerwear

• One Battle After Another - honestly my favorite Leo performance?? 

• The French Dispatch — I revisited this after not loving it in theaters and what a delight to be able to unpack so much after all this time! Print media forever! 

BEST BOOKS:

• Katabasis - grad school is hell, and so is being a woman it turns out 

• Intermezzo - Sally decides sad boys need love too 

• Circe  - can’t believe it took me so long to read this EXTREMELY on brand for me book. Greek mythology girls unite! (Alternate joke: Christopher Nolan could NEVER!)

Manifest the content you want to see in 2026 and stay golden xoxo

MD

Something Old, Something New for DECEMBER 2025! 

Television

It’s become increasingly clear that my thought process of what this newsletter is going to be has become a part of what this newsletter is going to be. What is the mind, but the media of the self? Think about that. 

All this is to say that when I am thinking about what to recommend, I really want to curate something beyond what is going to come up as a banner ad on every website you visit. Not that I wouldn’t recommend something on a banner ad if I was, personally, hype for it.

But all THIS is to say — yes of course there are things premiering this month, but I’d RATHER take a step BACK into November and look at some things I missed, things that you could BINGE in December.

Something New(ish): 

Blossoms Shanghai — November 25th on the Criterion Channel

This show technically came out in China back in 2023, but it has only become available to the US this month thanks to our friends at the Criterion Channel (and let’s be real, they ARE our friends). Blossoms Shanghai is the first television show from Wong Kar-Wai, master of romanticism, lord of the yearn, and lover of California Dreamin’. The series follows one man’s rise and fall in 90’s Shanghai, against a number of plots and heavenly mis-en-scene. Bright lights, beautiful women, the pain of existence, just in time for the holidays!

Squid Game: The Challenge S2 — on Netflix

HEAR ME OUT. Obviously I watched the first season of Squid Game with the rest of the world, it was great, step on me Gong Yoo, etc. But I had very little interest in reentering that world with seasons 2 and 3, and nothing drives me crazier than when a character is like “we have to go back and repeat x” (except for on Lost of course) simply to create a sequel. Enter Squid Game: The Challenge — the reality series inspired by the narrative. Here is why, briefly, I believe the reality show rises above sequel series:

• There is no plot armor. The contestants all have an equal shot of winning, no ‘character’ is protected by being important to the story. When you get someone’s eclectic backstory (i.e., pentecostal escapee or Alaska fisher lass) they could still be offed at a moment’s notice! Drama!

• There is no side plot with the main mask guy and his billionaire cronies. Less lore, more mind games.

• Speaking of mind games — often more interesting to see what real people will do in a Squid Games — like turn into a Karen, have a menty b, or heroically sacrifice themselves for a friend. It’s interesting to see the demographics that consistently are able to rise above, and those that melt down (men).

• This is late stage capitalism for real, for real. What could be a better snapshot of our times than 400 people applauding their imprisonment in a death game simulator? Give in!!

Something Old:

Dead Like Me 2003 — streaming on Tubi, originally on Showtime

This is a Bryan Fuller foreshadowing, but before there were Pushing Daisies or homoerotic Hannibal’s, there was Dead Like Me, a two season premium cable dramedy about grim reapers in Seattle. Sure, Bryan Fuller abandoned it halfway through the first season, as is his trademark, but the series reflects his signature wry humor, love of death, and ultimate wonder for the world. Mandy Patinkin guides a rag-tag group of deceased humans who must perform their grim reaper duties, every episode receiving a post-it note with the name of the doomed, and escorting them to the afterlife. If you like your comedies tar pitch black with a heart of gold, this is for you! 

Movies:

Many of the movies coming out this holiday season I covered in my Film Festival post — but of course there are EVEN MORE.

Something New:

Merrily We Roll Along — December 5th

It may be Wicked season, but you also have the opportunity to see my favorite musical on screen this December! This is a filmed version of the most recent Broadway revival starring Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez, which I saw IRL and thoroughly enjoyed! I first fell in love with this musical when I was but a tot, and thought it was glamorous to fantasize about a successful entertainment career — and I still love it now that I am old and filled with regret! A musical for every stage of your life! Sondheim forever!

Dust Bunny — December 12th

Okay the foreshadowing has already paid off! If you are like me and are constantly checking Bryan Fuller’s imdb page to see what projects he’s signing on for and then dropping out of, maybe you’ve already been aware of his first feature film Dust Bunny. Starring Hannibal himself, as a literal monster assassin. Why not! The lack of marketing has made me suspicious of the quality, but I’m going to watch it either way, so.

The Testament of Ann Lee — December 25th

Last year filmmaking power couple Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold co-wrote The Brutalist, a historical fiction film about dudes building stuff with Corbet directing. THIS YEAR they have written a historicalish film about ladies building a radical religious movement with Mona directing! This is what true love must be. The Brutalist didn’t really interest me as I don’t care for Brutalism or Adrien Brody — but I LOVE Amanda Seyfried and musicals! A lid for every pot! On Christmas Day as you gather round the tree, know that I am watching this in 70MM in a trance state.

Something Old:

Sense + Sensibility (Dec 14-16th for the 30th anniversary)

December movies are really all coming up Martha. Sense and Sensibility is the movie that defined my childhood. We all had a VHS we wore out the tape on; mine was this. I dressed as Marianne Dashwood for Halloween, I wrote a fan letter to Emma Thompson, I was seven years old. For the film’s 30th anniversary they are bringing it BACK to theaters, and I highly recommend you go. Beyond it being just, objectively the best movie ever, it also won Emma an Oscar for adapting the script, and marked Ang Lee’s first English language film. Winslet, Rickman, Grant, fields, sheep, pining, empire waists — what else do you need from an art?

Books:

Something New:

The Curse of the Cole Women by Marielle Thompson — Dec 2nd

There sure have been a lot of novels about inter-generational family curses this year, or maybe it’s me that’s drawn to them every month. Either way, it’s giving It Didn’t Start With You. Three generations of cursed (literal) women, doomed to be lighthouse keepers on an island and repeat the same tragic beats of their forebearers. Moving to a lighthouse kind of sounds nice, but I assure you, in this scenario, it is tragic.

A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls by Adam Morgan — Dec 9th

A biography about a real one, and a dive back into the history of magazines! Margaret C Anderson had a dream in her heart — to write about books, run her own magazine, and smash hot babes. She accomplished all this and more. Eventually put on trial for the charge outlined in the title (lol) Margaret was a political agitator who brought James Joyce to America, suffragette, and slept with some showgirls along the way. A hero for her own time and ours!

Something Old: 

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (1817)

Keeping the Jane Austen theme alive, while Sense and Sensibility is my favorite JA movie and this is my favorite of her novels! A more overt send up of not only high society in Bath (her least favorite place) but also of the Gothic novel itself. Your girl’s got jokes. Mean girls, illicit book-reading, balls, ghosts, hot broody guys, what’s not to like? Besides, who amongst us has not run screaming through a mansion in a fit of literature-induced lady — hysteria! Who. Amongst.

Someone to Follow: 

Taryn Delanie Smith
Taryn is my everything influencer right now. She’s a Miss America runner up, so she’s bringing you the fashion and beauty you could expect to see.  Need more? She’s remodeling her 200 year old farmhouse! And YET she is also a comedy CLOWN girly, and has been making some of my favorite funny bestie content. Scrolling her feed gives you a full MEAL of content.

!!!!SPEED ROUND!!!!

• Season 9 /10 of ER update — when we started watching this, our agreement was to stop when Clooney left. That was 5 seasons ago. Look, the guest cast in this thing is insane — Julie Delpy as a lying floozy, Don Cheadle as a med student with Parkinson’s! My biggest regret about leaving casting is I cannot make it my life’s mission to systematically audition every long-running costar from ER. Kristin Minter, would I have had a cmail for you! A dream unrealized. 

• The New Yorker at 100 is coming to Netflix this month (Dec 5), and feels like a cozy family watch 

• Connected to the above: As a recent finisher of the Wes Anderson Criterion Box Set, The French Dispatch had a 180 redemption for me as a movie. A beautiful tribute to writing and the artistic process, which sadly feels all too in jeopardy these days. 

• For years, the rights of Dogma (one of Kevin Smith’s best movies) have been held captive by the evil Harvey Weinstein. This year, after decades, they were finally wrestled back and as a result, a steelbook copy is coming out in December! I’ve always loved Kevin Smith, and he was one of the only Hollywood figures to make any sort of reparations regarding his collaboration with Weinstein. The perfect stocking stuffer for any recovering Catholics or stoner Atheists on your gift list. 

Happy Holidays friends and readers! I will see you later for BOTY list -unless I succumb to the ennui of winter and cold.

XO, MD ❤

As subtly foreshadowed in my previous blog, I have a very exciting MID-MONTH supplement! One of the things that drew my unblinking, unlidded eye of fire towards Montclair, NJ was their film nonprofit Montclair Film. They support not one, but TWO independent movie theaters and run their own film festival every year. YES this is also an advertisement to move to Montclair!

Last year, over the festival’s two weekends I saw a paltry nine movies. This year, with renewed commitment to film going, and accompanied by friends (who I wore down into film going) — I am pleased to have brought that number up to 11 feature films and 2/5ths of the Scorsese documentary.

As we look forward to this annual season of award, I thought it would be fun to put together a completely subjective guide to upcoming films based on what I saw therein.  Hopefully you can target some films you might love or hate!

Everyone loves a list and a bullet point! 

Presented in the order I remembered seeing them:

EVERYTHING I SAW AT THE 2025 MONTCLAIR FILM FESTIVAL

Gif by neonrated on Giphy

What: Sentimental Value 
What, cont: Aging film director Stellan Skarsgård attempts to reconnect with his semi-estranged daughters through the power of moviemaking. Emotions ensue. 
Who: Directed by Joachim Trier, Starring Stellan Skarsgard, Renate Reinsve, Inga Inbsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning, the platonic ideal house 
How: In the theater Nov 7th!
MDO (MD’s Opinion, trying out a new abbrv.) I did not see Worst Person in the World and was therefore unfamiliar with Renate Reinsve’s game. She. is. the. one. Actually all the actors turn in absolutely effervescent performances. I wish I could watch the last scene over and over. 
Watch It If You Love: Beautiful acting, eldest daughter catharsis, filmmaking as therapy, Architectural Digest home tours
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Sentimentality, values
Popular Thematic Thrulines: magic of the movies, actors playing actors, Hamlet, Netflix, beautiful homes, one long take to rule them all

What: No Other Choice 
What, cont: When Lee Byung-hun is laid off from his longtime job making paper, he executes a murderous plan in order to secure his next role. Economic panic ensues. 
Who: Directed by Park Chan-wook, Starring Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin  
How: In theaters Dec 25 (limited) 
MDO: If you read the Nov blog, you know I am Director Park STAN. All of his films are so beautifully crafted, no one is doing it like him. Ugh, Decision to Leave was so good. He makes it feel so good to feel absolutely terrible, and No Other Choice is no exception — and it’s a comedy (sort of!)
Watch It If You Love: Director Park, existential dread, beautiful things, terrible things, pulp
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Being reminded that late stage capitalism is here to doom us all, classical music 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Beautiful homes, Netflix, the state of the world today (bad!)

What: It Was Just An Accident 
What, cont:  In Iran, a rag-tag group of former government prisoners must decide if a man they have taken hostage is their torturer, and if so, what to do about it. 
Who: Directed by Jafar Panahi, Starring Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Majid Panahi, Hadis Pakbaten, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
How: In theaters now! 
MDO: Director Jafar Panahi himself has been arrested by the Iranian government multiple times, subsequently banned from filmmaking, and then made a Palme d’Or winner in secret. If that’s not enough, Panahi is a MAESTRO of tone control, a regular tonal Lydia Tár. In turns the film is harrowing, hopeful, funny, sentimental, and bone chilling — often within the same scene.
Watch It If You Love: Effortless ensemble acting, ACAB, movies as protest, TONE 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Existential dread, literal dread 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: the state of the world today (bad!), one long take to rule them all

What: Hamnet 
What, cont: Adaptation of the novel that delves into the life of Shakespeare’s wifey, Agnes, and how the death of their son inspired thee Hamlet. 
Who: Directed by Chloé Zhao, Starring: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn
How: In theaters November 26th 
MDO: This movie really couldn’t have been more my jam. I am (famously) obsessed with Paul Mescal, and also like any good ex-theater girly, Shakespeare and his oeuvre. One may say this film is engineered to deliver its ending, but the ending WORKED for me ya’ll. IT WORKED. 
Watch It If You Love: Shakespeare, witch women who emerge from the forest, dramaturgy 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Grief, lack of indoor plumbing, the embrace of the natural world 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Actors playing actors, Hamlet

What: Magellan
What, cont: A sort of biopic looking at the latter half of Ferdinand Magellan’s life, his travels, and his colonizing.
Who: Directed by Lav Diaz, Starring: Gael García Bernal 
How: no wide release date 
MDO: Lav Diaz is renowned as one of the leading directors of slow cinema, and when I say slow I mean like his films are usually between 3 and 9 hours. So at 2 hours 36 minutes, Magellan is practically a breeze! I had never seen anything quite like this, and it was a singular filmgoing experience. He holds frames for minutes at a time, pausing to listen to the rain in the forest, or watch a community go about their day. Watching it feels more like walking through a museum, with every painting in turn beautiful, brutal, and arresting. Not a film for a chill Friday night, but definitely worth seeking out if you are interested in expanding your film horizons (as long as it’s not to a land that you then ruthlessly colonize). 
Watch It If You Love: Expanding your horizons, ASMR, seeing colonizers get got 
Don’t Watch It If: You need a movie with “accessible narrative” and “dialogue”, 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Singular!!

What: The Secret Agent 
What, cont: Part family drama, part spy thriller, part 70s pulp cinema dream. A man returns to his hometown in 1970s Brazil, trying to escape the ghosts of his past literally and metaphorically.
Who: Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho , Starring: Wagner Moura
How: In theaters  Nov 26 (NY), Dec 5 (LA) 
MDO: I’ve listed these movies in no particular order, but after distance and reflection from the festival, I am ready to say that this was the film I loved most coming out of it. And I’ve stuck it here right in the middle!! Chaotic! The Secret Agent is an explosion: bright and colorful, unapologetically bold in its narrative, riotously scored, and absolutely packed with brilliant performances. The Secret Agent creates its own complete universe informed by history, and the language of the movies. Wagner Moura also turns in a real movie star performance that is both emotional and hot. Make movies hot again!! 
Watch It If You Love: Wagner Moura’s silken vocal stylings, One Battle After Another, being horny and sad, legs
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: The 1970s, tension, being reminded that dictators are bad
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Magic of the movies

What: Hedda 
What, cont: An adaptation of the classic Ibsen play Hedda Gabler set in the (19)50s, but Lovberg is a lesbian instead of a dude. 
Who: Directed by Nia DaCosta, Starring Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots 
How: Streaming on Amazon Prime 
MDO: Glad I gave you the context of my theater girliness earlier in this post - it strikes again! Love Ibsen obvi, and I am always down to see an updated Hedda Gabler. DaCosta makes some changes to the text, which are interesting, but don’t feel entirely baked through. It looks very pretty, and everyone is locked in, but it feels a little too ‘yassified’. As an adaptation, it could have been changed even more to brush up the themes to a modern era, or kept in tact to better illustrate the message of the original work. Wish this had been louder, gayer, sexier, and more audacious.  Beautiful gowns though. 
Watch It If You Love: Saying ‘slay’, Nina Hoss, vibes 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Parties where no one goes home, ambiguous accents
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Beautiful homes

What: Nouvelle Vague 
What, cont: A fictionalized account of the ‘making of’ Godard’s New Wave cinema masterpiece  Breathless 
Who: Directed by Richard Linklater, Starring Guillaume Marbeck, Aubry Dullin, Zoey Deutch 
How: Streaming on Netflix
MDO: I’ve seen some critics say this movie is superfluous, but I’m here to say I was CHARMED. It’s hard not to love something when Linklater wants you to love it! Makes you feel like you’re back in film school going to class and then spending 12 hours of your Saturday shooting a cantankerous 22-year-old’s short film (complimentary). Somehow Linklater has made two movies this year (this and Blue Moon) about the greats of two different mediums that feel simultaneously in total conversation and world’s apart. Never change, Linky!!! 
Watch It If You Love: Crushing on young Truffaut in your history of cinema text book, French New Wave, being romantic about everything 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Film boys being film boys, smoking
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Magic of the movies, Actors playing actors, Netflix 

What: Resurrection 
What, cont: Honestly, idk. An anthology…sort of … about dreams…and story telling… and consciousness? 
Who: Directed by Bi Gan, Starring: Shun Qi, Mark Chao, Jackson Yee 
How: US Release TBD
MDO: Just because I can’t really articulate what this movie is about does not mean I didn’t love it! The official logline will tell you this is about a future where humanity has lost the ability to dream - which ya I guess! Literally it’s a half dozen vignettes stitched together to form a dreamlike tapestry spanning time. It’s noir, it’s futuristic, it’s not not Blade Runner coded? It has a long take that will blow your mind. If you get the chance to see this, my suggestion is just to submit. It’s worth it! 
Watch It If You Love: Day dreaming, visceral sound design, being transported through time and space
Don’t Watch It If You: need to “understand” what’s “happening”
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Magic of the movies, one long take to rule them all

What: Jay Kelly 
What, cont: Fictional movie star “Jay Kelly” (played by George Clooney) looks back on his life, legacy, and the sacrifices he made in pursuit of stardom. 
Who: Directed by Noah Baumbach, Starring: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Greta Gerwig 
How: In theaters Nov 14, on Netflix Dec 5
MDO: George Clooney plays a sort of avatar of himself - an internationally famous movie star reflecting on his own fame blah blah. But this movie struggles to decide whether it wants to be about George Clooney specifically or not George Clooney - just like it struggles to commit to emotional sincerity or biting Hollywood satire. ‘Jay Kelly’ has details both ripped from Clooney’s own life, but then also huge areas of difference - and is painted seemingly as a Tom Cruise-style action star. I will say though, I am not really a ‘Sandler-head’ but he was GREAT in this. Also HUGE missed opportunity to include E.R. at a climactic moment. Major. Giant.
Watch It If You Love: George Clooney! Unresolved sexual tension with Laura Dern, reflecting on your legacy 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Unresolved emotional beats, George Clooney 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Magic of the movies, Actors playing actors, Netflix

What: Rental Family 
What, cont: Brendan Fraser works for a talent agency in Japan that sends actors to perform as friends and family into people’s real lives. 
Who: Directed by Hikari, Starring: Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto
How: In theaters Nov 21 
MDO: I feel like this is the kind of movie that doesn’t get made anymore, it’s just about people doing their best and being buddies, feel good stuff! At it’s best, adorable Brendan Fraser roams around Tokyo learning life truths and connecting with children. At its worst it has some uninvestigated themes and ideas that borderline on horrifying the more you think about them. I will say there was one scene in this where I did legit lmfao. 
Watch It If You Love: Suspending your existential horror for feel good vibes, actors doing their best, Japan! 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Ignoring potential lifelong trauma, actors doing their worst 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Actors playing actors

And bonus! I saw 2 hours of Mr Scorsese because that’s all they were showing and I need to wait to get another Apple product for the free AppleTV+ sub to find out what happens in his post Taxi Driver career!

What: Mr Scorsese 
What, cont: A documentary about the man, the myth, the legend. 
Opinion: If you like Mr. S, you will like this. Bless this asthmatic cinema loving little man, we are so lucky he survived doing all that cocaine in the 80s. 
Counter Opinion:   As the young man behind me so succinctly said when the lights came up “I thought there was going to be action, that was just old guys yapping” 

Happy movie watching! Just realized that due to my own self imposed structure, I have to write a whole ‘nother thing by the end of the month.

Okay love you bai! 

A small housekeeping - after receiving reports from vigilant followers of the subscription emails getting buried in inboxes/ going to spam, I turned to the experts of YouTube.com for help! After much struggle, I am pleased to announce I bought a domain name!

While this site is still hosted on Behiiv, it is also MarthaDee.com and emails should be coming to you from that server which should hopefully make your inbox like them more. I haven’t had to learn this much internet since I programmed “Monster Hospital" to autoplay on MySpace, so please bear with me. 

Also, look out for a very exciting movie-centric supplement post coming soon! Spoiler: I went to the Montclair Film Festival and saw 12 movies!!!! 

November is THE MONTH for premiers apparently, so dive in and be thankful for these offerings. The best part of starting a new blog is being able to reuse all my old jokes! Wait did I already re-use this re-use joke last month?

Don’t worry, no vampires this month Jasmine!

Something Old, Something New for NOVEMBER 2025! 

Television

Not only is Stranger Things still on but it’s ending in three “volumes” AND being shown simultaneously in theaters. Is this something we want? That we asked for? Lily Allen doesn’t think so!

Also speaking of what we want, I would be REMISS not to mention that the Ryan Murphy x Kimmy K Kollab All’s Fair is coming out this month. The trailer is just absolutely fascinating, not a SOUL under 40 save Teyana Taylor - which, what insane timing for her after OBAA. The colors, the clothes, the SKIMS fabric chairs in the office. So much to take in. I’m not condoning this, but I’m also …not not.

Something New: 

I Love LA - November 2nd on HBO Max

The long awaited show from It Girl Rachel Sennott, full of all her It-People friends (Jordan Firstman, Odessa A’zion et al). A group of quirky misfits like, totally, trying to make it in LA via influencer-adjacent cringe activities is a tale as old as time, but hey, I do love LA. 

Plur1bus - November 7th, 2025 on AppleTV+

Writer Vince Gilligan is best known for creating THEE Breaking Bad BUT before he was a ~*~*prestige ~*~* drama creator, Vince was but a lowly writer on the greatest show of all time aka The X-Files aka the OG OTP. All this is to say, in Pluribus (er Plur1bus?) he is leaving his drug days behind and returning to his sci-fi ROOTS. In Pluribus, an (alien??) virus has taken over the world, making everyone inexplicably happy…except for grumpy Rhea Seehorn whose bad attitude makes her humanity’s de facto savior. I will be honest with you, I don’t really see the problem here and am ready to succumb to the happy virus, kind of seems like a nice change of pace. But I’m willing to be persuaded otherwise, Vince!

Something Old:

Gif by theknick on Giphy

The Knick - Streaming on HBO Max

As my loyal (as of three months) readers know, my passion for The Pitt sent me back in time to central-line the glory of ER. But what if you could go even further back in time to when modern medical techniques were still being invented, like in 1900 by an opium addict!  The Knick is a medical miracle — starring Clive Owen, introducing Andre Holland, with every episode directed by the GOAT Steven Soderbergh.  These new age doctors rely too much on “antibiotics” and frown on “injecting drugs into your feet.” Not so at The Knickerbocker Hospital of New York, my friends! 

Content Warning: Everything

Movies:

November 7th is really THE DAY this month, buckle up and get thee to a movie theater!

Something New:

Die, My Love - November 7th

We stan a woman succumbing to madness, especially if it’s J Law, ESPECIALLY if she’s married to Robert Pattinson ESPECIALLY ESPECIALLY if Lynne Ramsay is the conductor. It’s Feel Bad Fall and ladies — we are coming out of the wallpaper and creeping along the floor. 

Gif by neonrated on Giphy

Sentimental Value - November 7th

The new movie from the director (Joachim Trier) and star (Renate Reinsve) now with Papa Skarsgård and the littlest Fanning. Papa Skarsgård is an aging film director struggling to reconnect with his adult daughters after a childhood of neglect through the medium and magic of filmmaking. Absolutely incredible acting across the board, including from a house.
More on this in my Film Festival supplement coming soon!

The Running Man - November 7th

Pro: I love Edgar Wright!
Con: His past two movies have…been lacking
Pro: Seems timely!
Con: But we’ve already had many Squid Games
Pro: People love Glen Powell!
Con: But is that suspicious???
¯\(ツ)/¯

Something Old:

Giphy

The Handmaiden (2016)

To continue to unceasingly tease my upcoming Montclair Film Festival supplement - mostly to ensure that I actually write it - doing a little tie-in. One of the movies I saw that I will feature in the supplement, that I am definitely going to get to writing right away, was No Other Choice, the new feature from Park Chan-wook. I am a Director Park stan from the beginning of his oeuvre (er from JSA, I haven’t seen the Cyborg one), but his films in the last ten years have just been all killer no filler. The Handmaiden is a loose adaptation of the novel Fingersmith, wherein a young (lady) thief starts working for a noblewoman in an attempt to get into her pants and thus her wallet. Erotic complications ensue, and when I tell you this movie is lush, beautiful, sexy, and Director Park really likes to get weird with an octopus.

Books:

Something New:

The Rose Field by Philip Pullman -  October 23rd

But Martha, this date is cleary October, when obviously this is the November blog — how could this happen? Agh I KNOW, you got me! I couldn’t believe I missed this somehow for last month, and during my full meltdown Alex reminded me that this is my blog and I can do whatever I want (huge if true). Even though it is anathema to me to break my own carefully constructed rules, I simply MUST put this in front of you -— whatever the cost to the natural order.

Philip Pullman is the author of the His Dark Material book series — one of the most important/influential in my life!  The Rose Field is the final book in Pullman’s Book of Dust supplemental trilogy and therefore the final chapter of the overall HDM world. The series follows Lyra, a plucky young girl who, like me this month, is also forced to confront the natural order of the world along with the physical animal manifestation of her soul, Pan (I have one of these as well). If you love talking animals, soft magical realism, and want to attack and dethrone god — these books are for you!!! 

 Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite  - November 4th

Oyinkan made a splash with her first novel, the darkly comic My Sister The Serial Killer and is back at it again. Her new novel similarly explores themes of familial pressure, defining yourself as an individual, and trying to convince everyone you aren’t a reincarnated family member. These things happen. Oyinkan wields her wickedly sharp tone to flay open the family ties that bind us.

Something Old: 

Katabasis - RF Kuang (2025)

Continuing to really push my self-imposed boundaries here with a book that came out one month before I started the blog as ‘old’. But hey I am feeling wild and empowered to color outside my own lines I guess! You probably know RF Kuang for her bestseller Babel, which sees college students in a world where magic is invoked by language translation, confront systematic racism in a hellish alternate Victorian era. Katabasis, by contrast, sees grad students in a world where magic is invoked by logic, confront systematic imbalance in literally Hell! Honestly, both books are so much fun, especially if you have also spent too much time in academia, read a lot of books, or tried to travel to Hell and back.

Someone to Follow: 

Kseniia the Rhinestone Lady
This Danish woman is decorating for Christmas by  gluing a rhinestone onto the side of her house for every follower she gets. I have been watching this from the first rhinestone and now she has almost  two full sides done. She 3D-printed her own rhinestone sorting device to put on sparkles faster, sometimes a rainy day thwarts the gluing.  There’s really not much more to it than that — but her steady pursuit of the project is incredibly soothing, and sparkly. If you give her a follow, she’ll be forced to glue on a rhinestone for you too!

!!!!SPEED ROUND!!!!

• Look out for a Film Festival Special Report coming to you soon! Again, speaking it into existence here.

• I valiantly tried to see One Battle After Another in VistaVision, but the Regal’s machine was broken, leaving me and 100 other New York hipsters to resort to …. Digital. But I loved it of course! Probably the PTA movie I have most enjoyed since Magnolia! I said it!!

• On the ER front - currently season 7! Carter had a very unfortunate goatee, Dr. Benton deserves a public statue, and Sally Field is Maura Tierney’s mother!! TV does NOT get better!

• Reporting from Halloween - GDT’s Frankenstein movie is not not ER-coded (I know I am unwell)

• In non-ER television watching, I finished Only Murders In the Building - I’ve been seeing a lot of rumbling that this season wasn’t as strong as previous, but they all kind of feel on par to me? Not like it was last season of The Bear!

Have you seen anything I missed? Did your VistaVision work? Do you like these colors? I picked them at random tbh. Did this email make it’s way into your inbox????

XO, MD ❤

First of all a huge thank you to everyone who subscribed last month! It meant a lot to me that so many of you were still interested in checking out my random reccos after almost a half decade away. 

In fact I enjoyed writing September's entry so much that the pure serotonin of pressing publish completely annihilated the knowledge that committing to this blog meant having to start over for next month, and the month after that, and the month after that, and the month after that. That’s how writing gets ya!

It’s officially Spooky Season, altho, tbh, every month this year has felt pretty horrifying. If anything, let October be an opportunity to embrace death and demise in, like, a more fun and intentional way! In that spirit (get it, like a ghost), I bring you:

Something Old, Something New for OCTOBER 2025! 

Television

Shoutout to Noah Wyle for winning his first Emmy, for what I am considering a lifetime achievement award for fake doctoring. Thanks to Dr.’s Carter + Robby, I fully believe I could intubate someone. Visualize the chords!!

Something New: 

Talamasca: The Secret Order - October 26th on AMC

I mean if you read last month's blog this shouldn’t be a surprise.  AMC has been working away on a little Anne Rice cinematic universe (“the Immortal Universe”) for the past couple years managing to turn out the VERY good Interview With the Vampire and the very much LESS good Mayfair Witches. This is their new attempt to create connective tissue within the Rice-a-verse, by following the adventures of an in-world secret society that keeps tabs on the supernatural. Think Giles from Buffy, but some of the researchers get to be girls. I have various hopes and reservations about this series which I will detail below:

• Hope: I love vampires, this is more vampires.

• Reservation: I don’t trust AMC with spin-offs anymore 

• Hope: Lady Grantham is a psychic detective

• Reservation: Most of what the Talamasca does in the book is p boring, lots of tea drinking

• Hope: Jason Schwartzman is a vampire!!!! Why!!! I live!!! (And die!!) 

  Ball’s in your court AMC! 

Down Cemetery Road - October 29th on Apple+

Look. At. Emma. Thompson’s. Wig. 
(The effort of a lifetime deciding where to put the apostrophes on this blog. First Dr.’s, now this.)
One can easily assume the wig will carry the bulk of this mystery drama, but in the unlikely event it falls down on the job, my terrifying wife Ruth Wilson is also here to solve crime. The trailer is giving “don’t worry, we’ve got jokes” - which for a show about a bomb and missing child, can only be a good thing.

Something Old:

Over the Garden Wall  - Streaming on Hulu

There is no vibier Spooky Season vibe than Over the Garden Wall, think leaves, think pumpkins, think the glory days of Cartoon Network, and woods-dwelling monsters that will eat your soul! Self reflect this month and ask if you are a Wirt or a Greg, or maybe a Jason Funderberker.

Movies:

A ton of stuff is coming out this month so I'm only soft mentioning Frankenstein up here because you all already know. Still want to call out an opportunity to see Oscar Isaac in a billowy shirt tho. Also we’ve really decided that tall guys can do anything, huh.

Something New:

If Had Legs I’d Kick You - October 10th

What is spookier than motherhood! If this and Die, My Love (November blog!) are to be believed, probably nothing! I would watch Rose Byrne do anything, and I would certainly watch her feel big feelings and do existential battle with womanhood. And I guess I would watch Conan O’Brian be a therapist too, why not. Rose Byrne also has the best American accent, I will not be accepting alternate opinions on this.

The Mastermind - October 17th

Every month a new Josh O’Connor movie I guess! Look I love him too, but maybe he should pump the breaks just for half of a sip of a second. To paint you a real quick picture of this Kelly Reichardt movie: it’s the 70s, we got art thieves on the run, Josh is here, living a double life and grappling with the American dream natch, and we got a Haim and Bill Camp. What else do you need?

Something Old:

The Orphanage (2007)

In honor of the season, this is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. I really don’t like watching horror movies (real life is scary enough imo) so it’s not a huge competitive pool BUT I have been haunted by the little mask boy in this movie every day since 2007. Truly, if I think about it too much, for too long, I will throw up. Anyway if you haven’t seen this and you do not value your peace, enjoy I guess!

Books:

Something New:

Herculine by Grace Byron -  October 7th

Debut novel by Grace Byron whose Insta handle @EmoTrophyWife, really speaks to me on a soul level. Her first book follows a trans protagonist whose demons are literal and stalk her about on the streets of NYC. She escapes to a commune for transgirls, but there has never been a good thing to happen at a commune in the horror genre (or maybe ever?). Cults, guts, and the horrors of writing ensue (relatable!)

The Salvage by Anbara Salem  - October 7th

One of my favorite shows is season 1 of The Terror — truly the feel-bad prestige cable event of a generation, loved every second (call me, Adam Nagaitis!). The Salvage is already giving me Terror vibes, it follows a marine archaeologist (sure!) who ‘salvages’ a ship only to find it’s haunted! Hopefully with the souls of the men who were burnt to death and/or rotted from scurvy on board. A girl can dream!

Something Old: 

Gif by ImmortalAMC on Giphy

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (1987)

Mysteries are my favorite genre of anything, and of COURSE I’m a huge snob about them, because truly good ones are so hard to find! Hit me in the comments if you have a recco, and yes I already have a Tana French shrine. The Decagon House Murders is a classic, zero frills, Agatha Christie-style locked room mystery, written by a mystery lover, for mystery lovers. Yukito has a series of murder mystery ‘house’ novels, all of which are a delight — if you like And Then There Were None and the idea of a literal puzzle box — you will like this.

Someone to Follow: 

Cogey
Cogey is a glamour satirist, combining vintage beauty with modern despair. She covers horoscopes, dating, and the horrors of the everyday with a hundred wigs and perfect cat eye. I want her to teach me how to get her eyelashes and how to get through every day without melting down

!!!!SPEED ROUND!!!!

To cap off I am going to try something new and give you some quick media bites, because EVERYONE loves a bulleted list: 

• My current video game obsession is Tiny Bookshop, where you open a…tiny bookshop and then make recommendations to the denizens of a vaguely European town who are absolute fiends for reading. Moira is our girlfriend, Fern needs to get their goddamn life together. 

• In season 5 of ER Noah Wyle grows a pre- Dr. Robby beard and wow 

• October is also  the month of my new home Montclair NJ’s Annual Film Festival! I had so much fun last year, saw a ton of movies, and blogged about it to no one. Who knows what could happen this year!

• I feel like Ethan Hawke’s character on The Lowdown is just who he is (complimentary)

As this newsletter evolves I am always open to your (The Reader) cherished and dreaded feedback - what do you want to see more of? Less of? I am rudderless without you, my beloved bloglings.

XO, MD ❤

Now the year is 2025 and I work in media, and my brain has finally exited a fight or flight survival mode, so it is ONLY LOGICAL to launch a new blog that covers ALL media. Not just television, not just movies, not just books, not just creators — actually okay that’s all it covers. 

I will be bringing you highlights of all things media for the upcoming month, curated by me and what I think is cool and interesting. If something is not to your liking, you are welcome to make a demand or light threat towards me, as we call that engagement. 

But Martha, the present is wretched and consuming newness only fuels my constant undying dread. Phew, I get it babe, and I too long for a return to the womb-like nostalgia of the past. That’s why in addition to previewing a release from the terrifying and uncertain future, I am also going to unearth a jem from from the annals of history, probably like 2005 if we’re being real. A one stop shop to engage your brain in media, entertainment, and you know, a few jokes. 

Wait, there’s more! I deeply internalized your feedback from last time, and so I have made the decision to depart from my beloved Internet relic Tumblr to bring you a publication you can get in your email, like a newsletter! Like, literally. Never look at social media again! I can come right to you. 

So without further ado, I bring you:

Something Old, Something New for September 2025! 

Television

Easing right in with our old standby genre! Oh, and I should mention this is not going to be everything I’m going to watch. In this economy! Please. I’ve learned and grown since last time, I know my limits! 

Something New: 

Task - September 7th on HBOMax

This title really makes me laugh, like, what if someone had a task! Spiritually, this could be the title of every television show. But in this case it’s really meant to stand for Task Force, namely one led by zaddy Ruffalo, who is just getting zaddier by the year (do we still say zaddy as a nation?) Cops and robbers, or task force leaders and home invaders in this case, aren’t really my thing, but this show comes from Brad Inglesby the creator behind Mare of Easttown. I totally ignored Mare when it aired and disregarded all recommendations for it, and that was my bad because it turned out to rule. Sorry Brad, sorry Kate, sorry to my community. Also we are back in PA, so maybe more accents!

The Lowdown  - September 23rd on FX

Zaddy Alert again! Sorry, I’m locked in to it now. The Lowdown’s zaddy is Ethan Hawke, as a Tulsa journalist trying to uncover, what else, the truth! The official FX website for this show describes him as a “truthstorian”, which…might be worse than zaddy — but we can push past! This series also comes from an acclaimed writer, Sterlin Harjo, who helmed critical darling Reservation Dogs for FX. Harjo now returns to the dusty plains of Oklahoma for a corruption mystery with noir vibes. You know, I myself am in some ways a truthstorian if you think about it.

Something Old:

Okay, because I am coming to you more than halfway through the year there is a lot we did not get to talk about together, namely this year’s best show The Pitt. There is nothing I love more than a gritty medical documentary and The Pitt brings that energy in a tidy procedural style package. After shows that are billed as 12-hour movies and Netflix sludge meant to be watched while you scroll TikTok, The Pitt is what TV should be. An ensemble of almost too hot for their profession archetypal characters, snappy medical jargon, and social lessons about the state of healthcare. The only problem - there were only 15 episodes. 

What’s a girl to do? Only one answer-

ER (1994-2009) With 15 seasons and over 300 episodes, this is the antidote. Guys, I never watched this show in the 90s but it is A+++, I’m talking West Wing level tier good. This is a show with a young George Clooney in every episode, and he is not even the best part of the show. The way I feel about Anthony Edwards in this - unhinged, I am unwell for that man. Every episode is a performance waiting for an Emmy, every guest star credit crawl a gift basket of delight. Also a baby Noah Wyle, so if you want you can pretend this is Dr Robby from The Pitt’s origin story. And of course, social lessons about the state of healthcare. 
Gen Xers, do NOT tell me what happens! This show is my one true joy and I am sharing it with all of you!!
Avail to stream on HBOMax

Movies:

As much as I (famously and publicly) love TV, I have clocked way more movie hours. Phew, feels good to get that truth out there. Follow me on Letterboxd, the last good social media! I have extremely tepid takes, and I really need more likes on them.

Something New:

Preparation for the Next Life - September 5th 

Is there a finer genre of indie movie than the RomDram? Extra points for adopted from a novel! In Preparation for the Next Life, two star-crossed lovers meet in New York City (the third character in any good story) and hammer out a life together. One, a recent immigrant, the other a US Army Vet. One, a fresh- faced ingenue; the other, the porn-addict brother from White Lotus S1 (who I actually really like btw). However, my real hype is Bing Liu’s new movie (and first fakey), and I am excited to see what he’s got in the tank. But, more on him in a second (maybe in the Something Old, see how cohesive this new blog style is, we are really on an artistic journey together. We are all Truthstorians here).

History of Sound - September 12th

Paul Mescal is in love with Josh O’Connor in the past and wears little glasses. Need I say more. 

Something Old:

Minding the Gap (2018)

Circling back to Bing Liu, Minding the Gap is his first movie - a documentary he shot over his teen years and 20s, and it is beyond. It’s a film about skateboarding yes, but also about boys, and trauma cycles, and friendship and art. It’s staggering and it should have won the Oscar over that movie about the mountain climbing guy. Bing is climbing the mountain of generational toxic masculinity! Anyway, everyone should see this. 

Books:

I am super excited about this one! I’ve never been in a book club because I take things “too seriously” and “yell too much about books” — but now we can all be in our own book club together and talk AS LOUD AS WE WANT!

Something New:

Somebody Is Walking On Your Grave by Mariana Enriquez - September 25th

As we all know, the coolest books are about ghosts and death and stuff. Somebody is Walking On Your Grave is a style-bending mashup from Argentinian author Mariana Enriquez where she spins her life story through the device of visiting grave yards of the world! Wednesday Addams eat your heart out. Her previous book, Our Share of Night was also a multigenerational novel about a family dealing with their history, trauma, and of course the fact they are literal monsters. Goths unite.

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison - September 9th

Goths stay in line! If you don’t know Rachel Harrison, she is the Bailey School Kids of feminist horror (complimentary). Her books span the monster gamut from werewolves to satanic cults and also hit hard on issues like, what if my friendships aren’t the same in my 30s!!! Play Nice sees an influencer (natch) tasked with cleaning out her childhood home where the ghosts are literal AND metaphorical. A24 could never. 

Something Old: 

Gif by ImmortalAMC on Giphy

Interview With A Vampire by Anne Rice (1976)

If you think I am not having a full vampire summer, you are wrong. I am sleeping in a coffin and eyeing up carotids.To bring it back to television — AMC’s adaptation of this book is really everything to me, it’s sumptuous, gay, and has a swimming pool of blood. But of course nothing beats the original series for feeling like a pre-teen reading all night in front of an open vampire-friendly window. One of the most enduring cinnamon roll x alpha pairings, plus killer children, the antebellum South and lots and lots of blood.  Please hit me up if you want to talk vampire lineage and Maharet dream casting! 

Finally for my last category, now that I’ve traded auditions for TikTok and have fully plugged into the matrix of the  creator economy, I humbly offer you a little dessert. An influencer treat if you will, of someone new to follow.

Someone to Follow: 

Kelly (Milky) Tran
To ease you into the world of content creators, Kelly spans the gorge of film and social - an aspiring writer and director with more than a few short films already under her belt, Milky also uses her narrative skills to create relatable, stomach-churning reels about, what else,- adulting. Although she posts her gen z fits, pole dancing, and extremely committed branded content spots, her ongoing series “ 3 Adult Things That Happened to Me, As An Adult” is her piece de resistance. Adult things can befall us anytime, like being too shy to talk to your neighbors, getting bedbugs from a hookup, or confronting generational trauma!

XO, MD ❤