The Moment

I was late discovering Charli XCX and the whole PC Music thing. (Because: Old.) But I read a decade review from Tiny Mixtapes in 2020 (during covid, I guess) and I thought it all sounded interestingly weird… so I bought some PC Music stuff and I was blown away. And then I got Pop 2 and Number 1 Angel and I was *gasp*.

So then when I was more or less caught up, she released Crash and I was “OK, once again I discover an artist just before they start to suck and go commercial” — disappointing but not shocking.

And then 2024 rolled around and she finally broke through in a huge way — but not by doing another cookie cutter(ish) album like Crash, but by going back to her craziest stuff and upping the volume on everything. I was flabbergasted, again, and now I could do the hipster thing of “oh, you’re just discovering her? Wow, I’ve been listening to her for *mumble* years”, which is always very satisfying. And then I saw her at a festival, doing the Brat set last summer, and it was so fun: Everybody shouting out all the lyrics and jumping around and smiling (most probably on various substances).

So when it was announced that she was doing a mockumentary around the Brat tour, I thought that was just perfect. The reviews are not very positive, though? But watching clips like these on Twitter — it’s perhaps the most sarcastic thing ever filmed — I’m now wondering whether the reviewers just didn’t get it, perhaps? Because it’s doesn’t seem like a broad Spinal Tap-like mockumentary, but more a very sarcastic, sardonic look at both the pop entertainment business — “there but for the grace of pop go I” — but also a sly self critique at the same time?

I.e., kinda like Brat is?

So I’m very excited to finally watch this? Perhaps I’m all wrong in my guesses. *rolls movie*

Yeah, ok, ok… I’m not rolling around on the floor here. So far it’s been them gently poking fun at obvious targets (record execs, directors, etc) and also gently poking fun at things that seem like genuine annoying things, like make up artists who have a stomach virus or something, who still show up at work.

It just feels a bit… scattered? Like something you’d find really funny if you’re in the movie, but lacks the comedy beats to carry it on over to the audience?

OK, I laughed out loud at the credit card scene.

Yeah, the problem here is that this movie is giving off “what if I were a sellout instead of being awesome — wouldn’t that have sucked?” vibes? So Charli XCX is doing a version of herself as if she sucked, and it just comes off a bit smug, really?

The other problem is that she’s not actually a great actor. I’ve seen her in interviews, and here she is playing herself in similar situations and it comes off a bit amateurish?

Heh heh very Spinal Tap.

Heh heh heh.

I guess whenever there’s a (bad) pop concert production in the years ahead people will be going “oh, that’s such a Johannes production”.

Heh heh heh.

But… the movie didn’t really work, I think? I mean, there were funny bits, but they weren’t funny enough. And the sincere bits felt a bit strained, and it needed something more in the plot dept. than just a masseuse being negative to tip the Charli XCX character over the edge?

It’s like…. I watch a lot of movies from the 1930s and 40s, and there’s a level of craft there where they can take almost any concept, no matter how stupid, and kinda make it work. Just by having talent and knowledge. The Moment is a really good idea, but ironically it’s like it needs “a Johannes” (i.e., a professional (but preferably one with taste this time around)) to come in and strengthen the narrative and add more jokes? As it is now, the movie feels formless: It’s about (among other things) selling out and silly music industry people, but they also have scenes that’s “oh, isn’t it annoying when your limo driver talks to you?” and other pet peeves like that — and it just robs the movie of focus. Oh, and also the mockumentary thing is wholly unconvincing: There’s so many shots that couldn’t possibly have been made by the “documentary team” that that it all becomes a muddle.

Oh, and the extreme shakycam just made me a bit nauseated after a while.

But kinda fun movie.

The Moment. Aidan Zamiri. 2026. ⚃

Manhattan Melodrama

Wow.

Well! I saw that this was a Myrna Loy/William Powell movie, so I assumed that it was gonna be a screwball comedy — despite the name. But… not so far!

It’s one horrible thing after another.

OK, now it’s picking up?

Yes, it’s another movie from that series. This one was only available on DVD, but it looks pretty fine? It hasn’t been despeckled or anything, but it’s been stabilised and normalised, so it’s OK.

Lots of extras!

This is the first Powell/Loy movie — apparently the studio didn’t expect this movie to do a lot of business, but it was an unexpected smash hit, and they were paired up in thirteen more movies! Ah, Hollywood… they knew what they were doing sometimes.

I love her.

Well, I understand why the studio didn’t think this would be a hit. It’s a pretty awkward movie — it doesn’t quite gel. But the performances are just fantastic, so while the plot is a bit on the hokey side, it’s gripping at times. Still, it’s not exactly a classic.

Manhattan Melodrama. W.S. Van Dyke, Jack Conway, George Cukor. 1934. ⚃

The Verdict

There’s a certain time period and a class of movies that have mostly passed me by — basically 70s(ish) American drama movies. I mean, I’d rent absolutely any VHS tape that showed up in my local video store in the early 80s (when I was… like 14 when this dropped), but dramas like this often didn’t, and I’ve never made it a point to revisit this period. So I’ve watched tons and tons of 40s and 50s movies, but it just has never occurred to me to poke around this period. Which is just odd, because so many of the movies from this time are things that have been in the cultural zeit-geist for me.

For instance, I had the Joe Jackson album Body and Soul, which starts with a song called “The Verdict”, and I love it, but it’s just never entered my mind to actually watch the movie. Which is why I appreciate that Hazel Flagg lists movies like this, because that makes me go “yes, of course I should watch that movie”.

So here we are. Four and a half decades later.

This movie sure has some names. Not just Newman, but it’s the second movie written by David Mamet (first one was the Cuckoo thing), and the director is Sidney Lumet:

Well, that’s some career… I don’t know how many of those I’ve seen, but it’s a lot.

But he did The Wiz!? I’m amazed they ever let him do another movie…

Yeah, on a distinctly downward trajectory:

But that took a couple decades — he’s still on a roll in 1982, sort of.

Wow, that’s a brown law office… it’s easy to forget that the 70s lasted until around 1984, but movies like this clarify that.

I love what he’s done with the place!

I love what he’s done with his office.

I always love a shot out doorways.

Could she possibly be Irish!?

I wonder whether Clint Eastwood was in the running for this role — it seems like Newman is doing a sort of Eastwoodesque performance to me. I mean, it’s great, but it’s not a very typical Newman performance.

Charlotte Rampling is great here, too, but it’s not a huge role.

I really enjoyed this movie. It’s, like, a proper movie — no nonsense, just the kind of serious film they used to make.

The Verdict. Sidney Lumet. 1982. ⚄