4.5 stars out of 5
I’ll follow Nathan Fielder pretty much everywhere. For me, that started back in 2011 when he played “Nathan” on TV’s Jon Benjamin Has a Van. His project that I’ve enjoyed the least was The Curse with Emma Stone, yet, I still liked it. So, when I saw that Nathan had made a surprise feature documentary about Elizabeth Holmes — I’d watched the HBO Theranos documentary but not the Hulu docudrama — I knew I’d see it right away.
Unless you’ve lived under a pop-culture rock for the past 10 years and 10 days, you know that Elizabeth Holmes was positioned as — or positioned herself as, and this difference is at the heart of Fielder’s film — a young female Steve Jobs. Her product: a small device that could take a blood sample and from that, diagnose any illness out there. Saving countless lives worldwide! Silicon Valley med-tech went apeshit, investors poured a ton of money into her “Theranos” project, and then found out, no, there was no such working device. She was arrested and jailed on federal charges for fraud.
This film begins a little over a month before her 10-year prison sentence begins. I won’t discuss too much of what happens, but suffice to say Elizabeth and her baby-daddy Billy Evans have allowed Nathan (and a small film crew, including co-director Lance Oppenheim) incredible access, especially from someone who hasn’t been interviewed in years. And I’ll also say that Elizabeth consistently denies any wrongdoing; she and Billy blame this whole mishegas on a communication mix-up. Nathan likens it to the “Who’s the First” routine, or I might also suggest Bill Clinton’s low-point quote, “It depends what your definition of is is.”
If you go into this movie expecting big laughs or blockbuster revelations, you will be disappointed. But if you settle in and get more comfortable with the quirks of Nathan, Elizabeth, and Billy — mind you, I never got fully comfortable with any of them, which I think is another of the movie’s points: These people are a little goofy! — your payoff is a fascinating film, unlike anything I’ve seen before.
A central question here is, to quote the Queen of Soul: Who’s zoomin’ who? Did Elizabeth manipulate the world? Is she manipulating Billy, or is Billy manipulating her? Are they trying to manipulate the public, to “rehabilitate the brand,” with Nathan’s help? Is Nathan manipulating them for entertainment’s sake? We’re in a movie where Amanda Seyfried — who played Elizabeth Holmes in the Hulu series — shows up and seems like the voice of reason. Huh? Billy seems like the bad guy, or at least a bad guy, but is that just distracting us from the sins of Elizabeth and her big teary blue-eyed “Who, me?” act? (But is it an act?) Nathan is certainly charmed by her — in the trailer it had looked to me like they might kiss. Jeez I don’t know! Go see this and get all wonderfully confused for yourself. I guess we’re not much closer to the introduction of a compact, life-saving medical device but, oh well, that’s entertainment!
Movie Review: You Can See Everything
Aquarium Playlist, 10/20/26
EPISODE #706: COUNTING BY TEN
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Marianne Faithfull — “Counting”
Young Fresh Fellows — “Another Ten Reasons”
The Undertones — “Top Twenty”
Chuck Berry — “Thirty Days”
Muddy Waters — “Forty Days and Forty Nights”
Drunken Prayer — “Fifty Foot Locust”
Billy Ward & the Dominoes — “Sixty Minute Man”
Robyn Hitchcock — “1970 in Aspic”
The Individuals — “Dancing With My Eighty Wives”
Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band — “Ninety-Day Cycle People”
David Nance — “110 Blues” [I-80 version]
The Sadies — “120 Miles Per Hour”
Springhouse — “10 Count”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Aquarium Playlist, 10/13/26
EPISODE #705: BLOWIN’ UP
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Los Straitjackets — “Blowout!”
Kiwi Jr. — “Blowin’ Up”
Dinosaur Jr. — “Blowin’ Up”
The Exciters — “Blowing Up My Mind”
The Bongos — “Blow Up”
George Harrison — “Blow Away”
Jeff Lynne — “Blown Away”
Matthew Sweet — “Blown Away”
The 5th Dimension — “Blowing Away”
The Proper Ornaments — “Cremated (Blown Away)”
Phil Seymour — “Don’t Blow Your Life Away”
Almanac Singers — “Blow Ye Winds, Heigh Ho”
Dear Nora — “When the Winds Blow”
Was (Not Was) — “I Blew Up the United States”
Sludgehammer — “Blow Out”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: The History of Concrete
4 stars out of 5
HBO’s How To with John Wilson was a real pleasant pandemic surprise, debuting in October 2020. It presented an ostensible how-to project each week, but was actually — as I described at the time — “a showcase for Wilson’s unerring eye for the absurd via reams of his on-the-street video footage, paired with his halting, nervous-guy narration.” It ran for three delightful seasons.
Three years later, I was intrigued by the seemingly dull title The History of Concrete. But could Wilson expand his 30-minute concept into a 1-hour, 41-minute feature film?
That’s just the kind of challenge Wilson thrives on.
The movie began and I was so happy to have Wilson back. It’s a very particular style of humor that no one else can deliver (and perhaps not everyone can appreciate). In this outing, he revels in self-deprecation as Wilson recounts having his own series and the resultant low level of fame, and then of no longer having a series and figuring out what might be next. We gleefully cringe as he pitches his movie idea to would-be investors. And we do learn a thing or two about concrete (which is not cement, but contains cement) as he travels the country and even to Italy in search of concrete information. (Sorry.)
I was laughing out loud (at one point, he brilliantly tells a whole story simply panning from boat name to boar name), and then realized I’d stopped laughing out loud. OK, maybe 101 minutes was a lot of time for him to fill. But then Wilson’s secret gift emerges, and he may not even admit this: He cares about people. We meet quirky individuals — a gum remover, a tattoo saver, a liquor store employee/bar-band musician, just to name a few. And while a cruder creator might be saying, “ha ha look at these dopes and their stupid jobs,” Wilson lets their goofy humanity shine through, following their passions and their niche expertise. Wilson knows he’s one of them, and one of us.
Aquarium Playlist, 10/6/26
EPISODE #704: TRIP TO MAINE
Vic Chesnutt — “Vernon” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Gold-Bears — “Record Store”
Sourpatch — “Deli Dream”
Cub — “Motel 6”
E.R. Jurken — “Maine Man”
The Zombies — “A Rose for Emily”
Minutemen — “Life as a Rehearsal”
The B-52’s — “Rock Lobster”
The Animals — “Gonna Send You Back to Walker”
Lil Wayne — “Georgia… Bush”
Joni Mitchell — “Chelsea Morning”
Eisley — “Trolley Wood”
Otis Ball — “Crashing Your Wedding”
The Extra Lens — “How I Left the Ministry”
Mudhoney — “Touch Me I’m Sick”
E — “Manchester Girl”
Gang of Four — “Cheeseburger”
Jeremy Messersmith — “Jim Bakker” r.i.p. Jim Bakker
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Aquarium Playlist, 9/29/26
EPISODE #703: TROUBLE II
The Goodbye Party — “Trouble” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Aesop Rock x Blockhead — “Trouble Trouble”
James Mastro— “Trouble”
Freedy Johnston — “The Trouble Tree”
Antietam — “Trouble Net”
Vehicle Flips — “Trouble on the Western Survey”
The Resonars — “If You’ve Got Troubles”
Minor Alps — “If I Wanted Trouble”
Rufus Wainwright — “Trouble in Paradise”
Half Japanese — “Double Trouble”
Magnetic Fields — “The Trouble I’ve Been Looking For”
Warren Zevon — “Trouble Waiting to Happen”
Stray Cats — “I Attract Trouble”
Cadallaca — “The Trouble With Public Places”
Joe Simon — “Trouble at Home”
The Only Ones — “Trouble in the World”
Mighty Sparrow — “No More Rocking” r.i.p.
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: The Uprising
3 stars out of 5
This was not a “ooh I can’t wait to see this movie” selection. Rather, it was a “I’m bored stiff in Maryland and I guess this looks OK” choice. Andrew Garfield, we like him. And writer/director Paul Greengrass made those Matt Damon/Jason Bourne flicks. This could be exciting, even if I don’t really care for period pieces, and this is set in… uggh… 1381.
It starts out well enough. I’m sitting there thinking, “I’m learning!” It’s 14th century England and the population is already reeling from the recent plague. Poor Spider-man lost his whole family! Little wooden crosses in the stubby ground. And now the king’s advisors want to raise money. They basically work around the king because he’s a foppish 14-year-old who wakes up screaming every morning. So the king’s court institutes taxation but without representation. Hey where have I heard that before! So the people rise up… you could call it an uprising, or… the Peasant’s Revolt! What a revolting development!
It goes on like this. There is fighting. And “the king is coming to us.” And “we’re going to see the king!” And more fighting. And more “the king is coming to us.” Felt a little like Monty Python and the Holy Grail except without the laughs. I guess an interesting thing is that, even though they’re totally pissed at him, when the King shows up, the people are all in awe, bowing and what-not, as if the throne has some divine power. That felt so foreign to modern times. What seemed hauntingly familiar: When the peasants’ go all January 6th on the kingdom, their bloodlust drives them batty. Maybe violence is not the answer! Wait, I already learned that in The Odyssey.
A main problem to me is the king character. Now, I can imagine a satisfying tale of a boy king having greatness thrust upon him, and slowly rising to the challenge. But here, the king’s motivation and behavior suddenly changes without explanation… twice.
Supposedly Andrew Garfield’s character inspired the legend of Robin Hood. Psst, Paul Greengrass, make that movie.
Aquarium Playlist, 9/22/26
EPISODE #702: DIFFERENT
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts — “Different” [ALTERNATE THEME]
The Human Hearts — “A Different City for a Different Life”
The Lookout Honeys — “Different Waters”
Big Eyes — “Different Than I Thought”
Heavenly — “Different Day”
Lewsberg — “A Different View”
Wipers — “Different Ways”
Elvis Costello & the Attractions — “Different Finger”
The Stone Poneys — “Different Drum”
The Bangles — “In a Different Light”
Joe Jackson — “It’s Different for Girls”
The Beat — “Different Kind of Girl”
Joey Ramone — “(Venting (It’s a Different World)”
Jill Sobule — “Pilar (Things Here Are Different)”
The Cat’s Miaow — “If Things Had Been Different”
Maita — “I Used To Be Different”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: Coyote vs. Acme
4 stars out of 5
This is a whole lot of fun! I haven’t seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit since it came out but this gave me the same “cartoon characters interacting with humans” satisfaction; instead of the creepy 3D Mickey animation you might see on a Disney Channel commercial at the Holiday Inn Express, it’s much more natural.
Leading the human cast is Will Forte, storefront attorney with the nodding-to-history firm of Avery, Maltese & Jones. Wile E. Coyote, super genius, has had it up to here with faulty Acme products. He sees Forte on a TV ad promising payment for cartoon accidents, and leaves the desert for Albuquerque (yes, they eventually make a left-turn joke). But Forte’s forte is small-potatoes settlements that don’t cause a ripple in Acme’s accounting department. Coyote wants a huge payday (or maybe just wants to lure Roadrunner into the courthouse), supported by the firm’s idealistic young intern. And so Forte is dragged into a much larger case than he’s accustomed to.
Forte is great in the role: lazy, somewhat inept, but with a good heart. Other good humans include the always funny, always deadpan Martha Kelly hardly working in the law office, John Cena as Acme’s bully lead attorney (his shakedown of Tweety Bird, seen in the trailer, holds up hilariously in the film), comic John Early as a slimy newscaster, and let’s give a shoutout to Luis Guzmán as the judge because I just saw him in the 1986 art flick No Picnic and he’s been working steadily ever since. And kudos to Eric Bauza who provides many of the classic Warner Brothers character voices.
We get consistent laughs, cartoon fun and nostalgia, and also positive messages for the kids without dropping a giant anvil on their heads: the importance of friendship, loyalty, and standing up for the little guy against the big bad corporation.
That last bit made me feel real uncomfortable when I learned an odd fact about this movie. I’m a credit reader, and couldn’t help noticing that the copyright was 2023. What?? Well, just like with Batgirl, Warner Bros. had decided to shelve the completed Coyote vs. Acme as a tax writeoff. Thankfully, after public uproar, a company called Ketchup Entertainment obtained and released the film. But uggh that just makes me angry and creeped out. Warner Bros. is the Ginormous Evil Corporation? But these are their beloved characters! Why wouldn’t they want to share them with today’s kids? I hate everything. Except this movie. I really truly liked it.
Jack Silbert, curator