4 stars out of 5
Since splashing onto the movie scene with 1989’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape, director Steven Soderbergh above all else seems to choose whatever project will be fun for him at a given time, regardless of genre. For Black Bag, he sinks his teeth into an old-fashioned drawing room whodunit. (“Someone in this room has committed a murder, and before daybreak I intend to find out precisely who it was.”) Hired to craft such a classic cinematic tale is one of the most dependable big-league screenwriters of the past 20 years, David Koepp (Spider-Man, Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible, Jurassic Park). Armed with a top-notch cast, the result is a sharp, clean, good time at the movies.
Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett are married British agents. He’s fussy, she’s sultry. They’re open with each other — except on black-bag (top secret) assignments. For example, a colleague lets him know that one of five co-workers is going to leak a very dangerous MacGuffin to the enemy. One of those co-workers: Blanchett.
Fassbender sets out to find the traitor, who may very well be his wife. Instead of a drawing room, he arranges a dinner party with Fassbender’s right-hand man James (Regé-Jean Page of Bridgerton), Freddie (Tom Burke who was Orson Welles in Mank) who was passed over for that spot, Freddie’s girlfriend Clarissa (Marisa Abela a.k.a. Teen Talk Barbie) who has a crush on Fassbender, and staff psychiatrist Zoe (Naomie Harris, Moneypenny in recent Bonds) who has heard a secret or two. Not invited is their boss Pierce Brosnan, so old that I didn’t recognize him at first.
Steven Soda-bread and Koepp blend sexual tension, satellites, humor, poison, and a polygraph machine into a neat little spy thriller. Bonus points for Squeeze’s “Up the Junction” on the soundtrack. If you’d like to know a little more of the plot before deciding to watch, I’d tell you but… black bag.
Movie Review: Black Bag
Aquarium Playlist, 3/11/25
EPISODE #632: ST. PATRICK’S DAY 2025 (FEAR)
a tribute to the 30th anniversary of the Rogue’s March album Never Fear
Rogue’s March — “I’m in Love — But Not With You” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Joe Hurley & Rogue’s March — “I Knew This Would Happen”
Siouxsie & the Banshees — “Fear (of the Unknown)”
Public Enemy — “Fear of a Black Planet”
CR & the Nones — “Living in Fear”
John Cameron Mitchell & Eyelids — “Waves of Fear”
Radioactivity — “Fear”
UV-TV — “Fear”
White Fence — “Fear”
Matthew Sweet — “Feel Fear”
The Auteurs — “Fear of Flying”
Best Coast — “Fear of My Identity”
Robbie Robertson — “Fear of Falling”
Rogue’s March — “Shut Up and Drink”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: Parthenope
3.5 stars out of 5
In the past handful of years, I’ve become lightly addicted to vintage, melancholy summer-by-the-shore movies, with extra points if they’re European. They’re generally slow-paced, in beautiful settings, sexy, with complicated relationships, and often contain a coming-of-age element. Parthenope is a modern Italian film that checks all the boxes yet still wasn’t fully satisfying.
This is the third movie I’ve seen from writer/director Paolo Sorrentino. First was the pretty good and very interesting This Must Be the Place starring Sean Penn as an aging goth rocker. More recently was the very good, semi-autobiographical The Hand of God about growing up in Naples.
For Parthenope, Sorrentino returns to his beloved Napoli. The story begins in 1950, shortly before our protagonist is born. But she is destined for big things, at least according to the Commander, a garrulous older fellow who arrives by boat, carrying a gift for the baby-to-be: an ornate carriage that will serve as her bed. And when it’s time to choose her name, it’s the Commander who suggests Parthenope, the original name of their city of Naples.
We rejoin the tale in the summer of 1968, and va-va-voom what a hottie Parthe has grown into! She even makes her older brother Raimondo feel funny inside. I was enjoying the movie but as we hit the streets of swingin’ Napoli, everyone was a little too stylish and it reminded me of lazy period pieces where they forget that not all cars in any time period are new; there are always old clunkers around.
Newcomer Celeste Dalla Porta does a fine job playing Parthenope from ages 18 to 32. There’s confidence throughout: She knows she’s gorgeous, and does know how to tease, yet proactively follows the advice of Pat Benatar and never uses sex as a weapon. And though Parthenope appreciates all the attention, all she really wants is to attend university and study anthropology.
This led to another problem with the movie for me. As we meet Parthe again in 1973, she is presented as the woman who has it all: smart and beautiful. Now, it’s not like I expected to become an expert in anthropology from watching this, but most movies do a better job of showing a studious person. Maybe she’s telling Raimondo and friends that no, she can’t play beach volleyball because she has three books open on a desk and she’s wearing glasses and there’s a pencil behind her ear! See, it’s easy. But Sorrentino just expects us to accept it. She’s in school! She’s a genius!
Ah who cares, it’s summer, Raimondo suggests traveling to Capri with sis and her long-suffering boyfriend Sandrino. That’s when we non-Europeans are thrown a couple of bones: Parthenon runs into Gary Oldman (who probably didn’t have to think too hard about accepting a small part as a noted American in an Italian resort), and also we get a little Sinatra on the soundtrack. Later, a seemingly random mention of Billy Wilder really made me smile. (As another tip of the cap to old Hollywood, Sorrentino gives Parthenope a trait of always wanting to have a ready rejoinder ”like in old movies.”)
The fascinating characters one meets in life — if one is open to it — is another key theme here. In a restaurant, an agent sees how striking Parthenope is and insists she go to Naples’ top acting coach to become a movie star. Or later, returning to anthropology, she visits San Gennaro (the church, not the sausage-and-peppers feast) where the archbishop is a real creepy dude.
And as Parthenope ages, we get a bit more depth. There is tragedy to deal with, and the fading of youth, and the question of whether to settle down or not, or to leave Naples.
It doesn’t add up to a great movie, but I did think it improved into something worth watching. Especially if you can’t afford a trip to Italy right now.
Movie Reviews: 2025 Oscar-Nominated Short Films
LIVE ACTION
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (Croatia)
4 stars out of 5
It’s 1993 in Eastern Europe and military personnel have stopped and boarded a passenger train, demanding to see everyone’s papers. Tension builds as the officers get closer and closer to the compartment we’ve become familiar with, including a family and one young man without papers. Will the father stand up for the young man, and possibly risk his family’s well-being? Trump’s asinine “plan” for Gaza has brought ethnic cleansing back into the headlines, giving this film added urgency.
Anuja (India)
3.5 stars out of 5
Young Anuja and her older sister work in sweat-shop conditions in a textile plant. A local teacher is aware of Anuja’s mathematical skills and wants her to take an entrance exam for boarding school. Is she willing to leave the life she’s known, and possibly risk her sister’s livelihood, for a chance to better herself? The young non-actress really makes you feel like you’re there in the crowded streets, rooting for her.
I’m Not a Robot (Netherlands/Belgium)
3 stars out of 5
A cute sci-fi dark comedy based on website CAPTCHAs that make sure you’re human. It’s a clever conceit but doesn’t have much more to say.
A Lien (USA)
4.5 stars out of 5
We follow a young family rushing to the dad’s green-card hearing in the all-too-real current immigration control chaos. The frenetic camera work adds action-movie intensity to the proceedings, and the wife/mom actress conveys the terror of possibly having her family torn apart. A waiting-room TV showing Trump at a rally is a nice touch. The film really rattled me.
DOCUMENTARY
Instruments of a Beating Heart (Japan)
4.5 stars out of 5
It’s the end of the school year in Japan and first graders are forming an orchestra to play Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” to welcome next year’s first-grade class. In this simple, achingly sweet story, we learn so much about human nature, friendship, empathy, compassion, tough love, Japanese culture, student/teacher dynamics, victory, defeat, resilience, etc. This was filmed in 2022 and the kids’ little covid masks add just another tug to the heart.
Incident (USA)
4 stars out of 5
A harrowing film constructed fully from surveillance-camera and police body-cam footage. It shows — in a Chicago neighborhood already reeling from another recent case — the shooting of a civilian by an officer and the immediate aftermath. It’s thrilling and frightening to witness the scene “live.”
I Am Ready, Warden (USA)
3.5 stars out of 5
Out of appeals, John Henry Ramirez faces execution for the brutal murder of a stranger. Through interviews with Ramirez, the victim’s son, the new district attorney, Ramirez’s “surrogate mom,” etc., the film examines the morality of death sentences, the possibility of prison rehabilitation, contrition, forgiveness, Texas death-row culture, and more, slowly unfolding to an emotional conclusion.
The Only Girl in the Orchestra (USA)
3.5 stars out of 5
Director Molly O’Brien presents this joyous, triumphant profile of her aunt, double bassist Orin O’Brien, who in 1966 became the first female musician in the New York Philharmonic. Though Leonard Bernstein was an early champion, not everyone was so supportive. We see how Orin overcame the challenges with a smile on her face and an unceasing dedication to her artistry.
Death by Numbers (USA)
3.5 stars out of 5
We meet Samantha Fuentes, who was shot during the 2018 Parkland high school massacre. She generously shares her journals with filmmakers, and the text serves as narration throughout. As difficult as her physical recovery was, the film zeroes in on her emotional and psychological recovery as Samantha prepares to confront the shooter in court.
ANIMATION
Magic Candies (Japan)
3.5 stars out of 5
Young Dong-Dong (!) is a loner who happens upon some candies. Trying the first one, the sofa starts talking to him (shades of Pee-wee). Each candy leads to another unexpected conversation. It’s cute but didn’t have the emotional resonance I was hoping for.
In the Shadow of the Cypress (Iran)
4 stars out of 5
In the Shadow of the Cypress Lies the Seed of the Sacred Fig, Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire… starting with the title, I must admit I didn’t totally understand this film. We have an older man and younger woman who I first thought were husband and wife, then realized were father and daughter. He’s violent and so she leaves their humble seaside home. But she’s stopped in her tracks by a beached whale just outside. This whale is a metaphor. Through flashbacks we learn Dad was a seafarer who experienced trauma. The whale is the trauma, and they’re trying to set it free? The animation is beautiful, anyway.
Yuck! (France)
4 stars out of 5
Diverse families are at a summer camp site and kids are hanging out together, getting grossed out when they spy older people kissing. And why do their lips start glowing? So disgusting… well, until two of the kids have glowy lips too. This is a sweet little movie whose simple animation nods to South Park. And there’s a sweet, simple message too: We can’t stop human attraction; it wants what it wants, who it wants, when it wants, where it wants.
Wander to Wonder (Netherlands/Belgium/France)
4.5 stars out of 5
This was the weirdest entry and, of course, my favorite. A kindly old host and maker of a kids’ TV show has dropped dead at home. His miniature stars live on, continuing to make new episodes that no one is seeing. As time passes and they run out of resources, their situation gets more desperate. Recommended for fans of dark comedy.
Beautiful Men (Belgium/France/Netherlands)
4 stars out of 5
Another dark animated comedy from Belgium, France, and the Netherlands — what’s going on over there? Three middle-aged brothers travel to Istanbul (not Constantinople) for hair transplants. While they wait in the hotel, their sibling rivalries and insecurities take center stage.
SNL 50
Chris Pine
hosted 1 time.
2025 Kennedy Center Honors
“President” Donald Trump replaced the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees with braindead loyalists, who immediately installed him as the once great organization’s chairman. Soon after, the Kennedy Center announced the slate of 2025 recipients for its Honors.
• Kid Rock
• Scott Baio
• Arnold Palmer’s schlong
• Hannibal Lecter
• The Hamburglar
• Kyle Rittenhouse
• Snidely Whiplash
• Morganna the Kissing Bandit
• Bernhard Goetz
• A plastic straw in a glass of motor oil
Aquarium Playlist, 2/11/25
EPISODE #628: VALENTINE’S DAY 2025 (HEARTBREAK II)
Erika Sherger — “Valentine” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Stevie Wonder — “Tuesday Heartbreak”
Laura Cantrell — “Don’t Break the Heart”
Bruce Springsteen — “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”
Elvis Presley — “You’re a Heartbreaker”
Sensational Country Blues Wonders — “I’m a Heartbreaker”
Fascinations Grand Chorus — “Sunny Day (A Tale of Heartbreak)”
Pale Lights — “Another Broken Heart”
La Sera — “Break My Heart”
Johnny Cash — “Sea of Heartbreak”
Roseanne Cash — “The Way We Make a Broken Heart”
The Hypos — “Heartbroke Town”
Sweet Nobody — “Why Don’t You Break My Heart”
Los Campesinos — “Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats”
Tiny Lights — “Flowers Through the Air” r.i.p. John Mastro
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
4.5 stars out of 5
Despite being made in Iran by Iranians, this is not Iran’s submission as Best International Feature for this year’s Academy Awards. That’s because writer/director Mohammad Rasoulof made the film — which is highly critical of Iran’s theocratic government — in secret, and then fled to Germany. Three of his lead actresses have followed suit, while another is — chillingly — not being allowed to leave the country. That the authoritarian rule on display seems increasingly feasible here as well, under the second Trump regime, only adds greater urgency to the film.
We meet career bureaucrat Iman, finally promoted to investigative judge. He quickly learns that his own understanding of due process is irrelevant in his new position; Iman is also issued a gun as the job will likely earn him enemies. Meanwhile, we meet his wife Najmeh and two daughters: college student Rezvan and high-schooler Sana. Even in this strict society, they are modern girls, interested in fashion, music, and social media. Najmeh explains to them that with Dad’s new post, they’ll have to be much more demure in public, to not draw any attention to the family and Iman.
But the daughters can’t help but be fascinated by the female-led protests in the streets sparked by the suspicious (real-life) death of young Mahsa Amini, arrested for not wearing her hijab. The girls hear shouts of “down with the theocracy!”, and see on their phones the violent crackdown by the police, while none of this is being covered honestly by the state-run media. The growing protests creates great conflict at home, the girls realizing that their dad is now part of the problem (signing off on arrested protesters), with Mom caught in the middle.
Sohella Golestani is brilliant as the mother. She shifts seamlessly from nurturing wife, caring for her husband who is riddled with anxiety from the new job, to scolding mom who is dreaming of the better life now possible for her family. Then ultimately we see her overarching need to be a protective mom at all costs. This transition is moving and heartbreaking.
We see Iman (actor Missagh Zareh) go in the other direction; it’s frightening as we see humanity drained from him. And the girls — actresses Mahsa Rostami and Setareh Maleki — each know when to take a stand despite knowing the price they’ll pay at home. (Interestingly, one of the only bits of English we see in the movie is a decorative sign in the girls’ room reading Never Ever Give Up.)
Director Rasoulof cleverly ratchets up the family tension to match the rising tension in the streets. In a harrowing touch, he frequently inserts real cell-phone footage of the brave protests and the over-the-top police response. And when things reach the boiling point, Rasoulof goes full Hitchcock the rest of the way out; the message being that the government has created an untenable situation where no one can be trusted.
Mohammad Rasoulof, his cast, and crew risked so much to get this important story out there. That they accomplished it with finessed filmmaking, honest writing that blends the political with the personal, and extremely heartfelt performances deserves our attention, our praise, and hopefully motivates us to be vilgilent for our own rights.
Aquarium Playlist, 2/4/25
EPISODE #627: TERRY MCCARTHY
Theme chosen by 2024 contest winner… Terry McCarthy! All songs by Terry McCarthy unless otherwise noted.
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Kirsty MacColl — “Terry”
“It’s Beautiful”
“The One Never Came”
“Constellation Nora”
“Stay With You”
“Your Side of the Story”
“Margery Anne”
“Just Today”
The Porchistas — “The Tierney’s Tavern Song”
The Nutley Brass — “Head Over Heels”
Bern & the Brights — “Heart Wide Open”
“Anything To Have You Here”
“By Any Chance”
“Most Sorry”
Marianne Faithfull — “Something Better” r.i.p.
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Aquarium Playlist, 1/28/25
EPISODE #626: WORDS
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Monkees — “Words”
UV-TV — “Only Kind Words”
Lee Hazlewood — “Words Mean Nothing”
Jimmy Cliff — “Action Speaks Louder Than Words”
Buddy Holly — “Words of Love”
The Ladybug Transistor — “Words Hang in the Air”
Ella Fitzgerald — “Too Marvelous for Words”
Radiohead — “These Are My Twisted Words”
James Mastro — “Three Words”
The Magnetic Fields — “All my Little Words”
Boyracer — “Stand By Yr Words”
Elvis Costello & the Attractions — “Pretty Words”
The Connells — “Unspoken Words”
Dany Laj & the Looks — “In Other Words”
Lucinda Williams — “Words”
Garth Hudson — “Little Island” r.i.p.
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Jack Silbert, curator