Tom Hardy hasn’t been in a good film for years.

When I saw him pop up in a trailer I used to be like “can’t wait to check this out”.

Now when I see him I think “this is going to be terrible”.

Morning all 🍂

UK-folk, don’t forget to get yourself into some woods in the next few weeks — the leaves are looking gorgeous. They’re even managing to give some autumnal life and deep colours to this drab industrial estate.

My Saturday:

• 📖 Read
• 🪑 Ikea
• 🥾 Walk
• 🍿 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

When I saw this in the cinema upon release I thought it was a fairly flawed follow-up to The Dark Knight (2008). It was a very good film. But it was a bit long and had a villain whose motives were more vague and less believable than the Joker’s.

My experience wasn’t helped by seeing it in IMAX and being unable to hear the dialogue for most of the film (there wasn’t a problem, it’s just how Christopher Nolan likes his audio. Which is insane. And it’s the reason I don’t see new Nolan films in the cinema anymore).

Since then though it’s become one of my rewatched staples, and I’ve seen it another 6-8 times. Though my feelings for it remained the same. That it was great, but rather flawed and lagged in parts.

But I’ve just gotten back from seeing it in the cinema again. And I’ve walked away with an increased opinion of it. Firstly, it wasn’t in IMAX, so I could hear basically every word.

But more than that it was just wonderful seeing a proper high-quality blockbuster in the cinema. The cinematography, soundtrack, sound design, and action were great to see on the big screen. Aside from Civil War (2024), I haven’t had a cinema experience come close to it for quite a few years. Sure, there’s some cringy moments – especially from Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman. And it remains a flawed film. But it’s still a Nolan film, so it’s many times better than nearly all the dross that I see these days.

The Dark Knight Rises is still a wonderful film to sit back and experience. 83%

Find out where to stream it. This review is also on Letterboxd. See my original review from 2012.

Remembering Robin Williams, who left us 10 years ago today. His comedic genius and deep humanity continue to be missed.

“Air” is about the creation of Air Jordan shoes at Nike. It’s silly and corny, but very enjoyable.

Moving along at a quick, fun pace and feels a bit like an Adam McKay film at times.

This is also quite the ‘Dad film’ (another one for Matt Damon, after Ford v Ferrari).

You might have missed “Air”. But you should correct that, as it’s a great way to spend 111 minutes and very much worth a watch. It’s hard to dislike it.

Also: are you ever unsatisfied by the “where are they now” segment at the end of “based on a true story” film, when they don’t go into enough detail? Well this delivers in this department.

After “Air” you should watch:

• The Last Dance, a documentary about Michael Jordan.
• BlackBerry, another ‘business film’. It’s another solid film you might have missed..

71%

Find out where to stream it.
This review is also on Letterboxd.

Sunday so far: a walk, a shop and a burger from a greasy spoon. 🥾🌲🍔

Next: Tour de France and then either Snatch or Hot Fuzz. Steak pie for dinner. 🚵🍿🥧

I struggled to find a TV show to watch. Tried “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” and “Presumed Innocent”. Both were fine, but didn’t grab my attention.

So on a whim I tried the TV spin-off of the film “Ted”. I mean who asked for this? The poster alone turned me off. But it’s genuinely very good.

Imagine a world where being single isn’t just frowned upon—it’s outlawed. That’s the premise of The Lobster. In this dystopian society adults have 45 days to find a romantic partner. Fail, and you’re transformed into an animal of your choice.

It’s an odd premise and an odd film. When I saw it in the cinema first time around, I loved it. I hadn’t seen Yorgos Lanthimos' work before, so I was surprised and delighted by its weirdness (and he’s now one of my favourite directors).

Its genuinely funny in its absurdity and I love it. It could perhaps have 15 minutes cut from it and its ending isn’t quite strong enough. But this a odd and wonderful film. You’ll probably either love it or hate it.

81%

Find out where to stream it.
Read this review on Letterboxd.

I keep on hearing such mixed things about The Bear season 3, it’s insane.

I wouldn’t know. found S01E01 so anxiety inducing that I never watched another episode of it. 🫨

This review is worth it for its Astral Weeks joke alone.

Evergreen notes allow you to think about complex ideas by building them up from smaller composable ideas.

My evergreen notes have titles that distill each idea in a succinct and memorable way, that I can use in a sentence. For example:

• A company is a superorganism
• All input is error
• Calmness is a superpower
• Concise explanations accelerate progress
• Cross the chasm
• Everything is a remix
• Writing is telepathy
• You have no obligation to your former self
• etc

You don’t need to agree with the idea for it to become an evergreen note. Evergreen notes can be very short.

I have an evergreen note called Creativity is combinatory uniqueness that is built on top of another evergreen note:

If you believe Everything is a remix, then creativity is defined by the uniqueness and appeal of the combination of elements.

Evergreen notes turn ideas into objects. By turning ideas into objects you can manipulate them, combine them, stack them. You don’t need to hold them all in your head at the same time.

The term evergreen notes was coined by Andy Matuschak and you can find more about this method on his site. You can also listen to my interview on the Metamuse podcast for more thoughts on evergreen notes and how I use them in Obsidian.