BUCKLE UP! May 2026’s moviewatch is….eclectic. Or, as President Bush might say, eckalectic. “Oh, God, he’s doing presidents again” you say? Yes. Yes, I’m doing presidents. And other stuff!
Frost/Nixon, 2008. Watching this because I’m fully in the presidential bottle, and by god I might as well finish it off. The film is about a British comedian with aspirations standing who sees interviewing the recently resigned and generally disgraced President Nixon as a step to bigger and better things. Nixon sees it as a way to pay his lawyers off, and for the first hour or so, Nixon wipes the floor with his interlocutor. Nixon’s faced off against Brezhnev and Kissinger, this televised toff is no match. But then, Frost’s desperation to sell his show, and one of his researchers’ crusader fixation on taking Nixon down, result in an ambush where Nixon is on tape talking about dealing with Hunt, one of the principles of the bungling Watergate caper. The result is a reversal of sorts, though – to be blunt – I have literally never heard the name David Frost except in connection to this movie and book, so I still think Nixon got the long-term best of him. I will say, though, as a movie, this is terrific character drama even if they invent things like Nixon calling Frost in the middle of the night while drunk and exposing his soul as a man who had been spit on by the elites all his life, and who by god was going to show those bastards once and for all. I prefer Hopkins’ Nixon to Langella’s, but Langella and Sheen are quite good in this film. At the end, when Nixon is admitting that yes, he failed – he let down the American people – Sheen’s eyes are shining not with the glow of a man who just bagged a trophy, but as a man who appears to be caught up in the intimacy of seeing another man’s soul. And then the crusader barges into the tape again and ruins the moment, sneering that Nixon’s political legacy is that now moron corpowriters like himself affix -gate to every bit of political wrongdoing. Nixon’s political legacy is nuclear arms treaties, the end of Vietnam, the end of the draft, the opening of China. What’s history going to remember you for, you sniggering little weasel? I don’t even know your name. (Which is ironic, because you’re played by the guy in Galaxy Quest who doesn’t have a name and only dies to prove the situation is serious.)
Nixon: Did you have a pleasant evening last night?
Frost: Mm, yes.
Nixon: Do any fornicating?
Frost: O_O ?!
Producer: David, we’re going live in 3, 2, 1 –
Frost: O_O
Death of a President, 2006. Technically this is a rewatch though I haven’t watched it since it came out in 2006. This is an alt-history documentary about how the world changes after the assassination of George W. Bush. As I remember – and my memories are old enough to get drafted and almost old enough to drink beer – at the time I’d become increasingly concerned with the expansion of the police and surveillance state in the US, and was primed for a movie that attacked it. I was impressed by the integration of real footage and the story – i.e. putting real-world happenings into a fictitious narrative. Now we just call that ‘the news’, but in fact the seemingly mundane ‘sources’ of this movie are what drive its effect. This looks like actual interviews, it looks like actual footage. It’s interesting to have watched this twice in very different political tempers – when I first watched in 2006 I was angry about Bush and the expanding police / surveillance state and was then surprised by the artistry of the movie. Now I was watching it off a Kennedy assassination read and pondering my age. Now when I saw the rioters I could tap in not to the rage of those years – we’ve all given in on data surveillance – but the irritation of someone who works for a living of seeing young people who don’t blocking streets and yelling twitter slogans. I get the anger, but are you doing anything with it other than posting memes and causing trouble for people who have no connection to the issue-makers? Are you doing anything, even something as small as using browsers or extensions that kneecap the Watchers, besides dropping dramatic tweets? Late thirties me / early forties me and mid-twenties me frequently scream in silence at one another in my mind. I take some comfort in knowing I am not alone. Quoting Paul Kingsnorth:
“When I look back on this now, I’m quite touched by my younger self. I would like to be him again, perhaps just for a day; someone to whom all sensations are fiery and all answers are simple.”
The Final Days, 1989. Based on the Woodward book about the end of the Nixon administration. Lane Smith plays RN: I love Smith, being introduced to him as the villain coach in The Mighty Ducks and then The Villan Lawyer in My Cousin Vinnie. Lane was the main reason I kept watching this movie, because after the high-octane experiences of NIXON and FROST/NIXON it was …dull. There was only one scene that grabbed me, when Nixon breaks down in tears praying while Kissinger looks on awkwardly.
9/11: Inside Air Force One. Documentary.President George W. Bush is in Sarasota, Florida when the Twin Towers are hit; he jumps in Air Force One but learns that Washington is targeted, and then a plane is regarded as a threat to AF1 so it spends part of the day doing circles above of the Gulf and frustratedly trying to find out what’s going on.
Mars Attacks, 1996. A space invaders….spoof? I watched this several times in the late 1990s and was dimly aware that a lot of people in it were’ famous’, but – boy howdy, how did I not remember Natalie Portman in this? I’ve had a thing for her since seeing her in Attack of the Clones! And kid-me missed the fact that Jack Nicholson played two different roles: now, having watched so much of him, I clocked him immediately as the sleazy casino-hotel owner. Another “Whoa, is that –” moment was seeing Jack Black as a gung-ho infantryman; the first time I ever noticed him as an actor was in Airborne. If you haven’t seen this, it’s a comical SF-action movie in which Earth is invaded by goop-heads from Mars, who over-run North America until the music of Slim Whitman stops them.
Invaders from Mars, 1986. This remake of a 1950s movie starts off as a very suspenseful, creepy story about a boy who sees the adults in his life becoming zombified by a mysterious crash site. At first, I was thinking that this is probably not a movie to be watching right before bed – but as the dialogue grew clunkier and the alien invaders were sighted (they’re walking boogers), such fears diminished and I continued watching in a spirit of ‘what in the hell is this?”
Independence Day, 1996. A rewatch, but it’s been a very long time. The endgame is a bit silly (humans uploading a virus to an alien ship to stop its invasion of Earth), but the build-up and character drama is good. I’d suspect Mars Attacks was a parody of this if they hadn’t been released in the same year. (Do you really need me to precis the plot? It’s Independence Day.)
Starship Troopers, 1997. SERVICE GUARANTEES CITIZENSHIP! Would you like to know more?
A rewatch. The novel is better, but the movie does have Denise Richards…
Nuremberg, 2025. Immediately after World War 2, the United States proposes to put Hermann Goering and other surviving members of the Nazi High Command on trial. A psychiatrist is tapped to ensure that the men are mentally fit to stand trial and will not commit suicide. The shrink finds himself distracted, even seduced, by Goering’s humanity rather than his monstrosity – at least, until footage of the death camps is aired publicly for the first time. Excellent character drama, and it was nice to see Colin Hanks: I’ve enjoyed his work since Roswell in the early 2000s. Russell Crowe delivered “der Dicke” well.
“You are NOT Alexander the Great! You’re a fat man in a cell.”
“Just because a man is your ally does not mean he is on your side.”
Babette’s Feast, 1987. A Danish film about a small Protestant community in Jutland whose spiritual leaders, two beautiful sisters, receive a French maid. On the occasion of the sister’s father’s 100th birthday, the French maid Babette – who, we find, used to be a chef – asks to hold a French feast. The Puritans are very nervous about the whole ‘eating for pleasure’ thing, but once they enjoy a five-course meal that involves different wines, they all prove very chatty. My summation is as accurate as someone drinking a century-old wine and going “Mm, tastes very good. Rich flavor.” It’s a deep movie that will improve with re-watches, no doubt.
Kung Fu Hustle, 2004. A boy with a kung fu gift is humiliated while trying to protect an innocent girl as a youth; he resolves to join the Evil League of Evil, the “Axe Gang”. The Axe Gang are really the Hatchet Gang, but Axe probably sounds cooler. While on a mission for the Hatchet Gang, the boy runs across the girl – now grown up – and is inspired to repent of his evil ways and fight the Axe Gang’s Kung Fu secret weapon, Old Man Who Fights for Pride and Resolves to Kill or Be Killed.
These last two movies were at the home of my godfather; my godmother vowed that next time we’d watch a rom-com that did not involve subtitles. Speaking of!
There’s Something About Mary, 1998. Continuing my quest to watch the movies other people my age were watching when we were young. This was evidently sponsored by Dunkin Donuts, since everyone is drinking it. It’s a fairly stupid movie; Ben Stiller hires Matt Dillon to find an almost-girlfriend of his; Dillon, a skeevy guy, falls for the girl. Actually, a lot of guys fall for the girl. I’m not sure why people were talking about it in high school. I guess there were some…’shock value’ scenes in this, but we’ve degenerated so far in – holy hell, 28 years – that almost nothing registered. I’ve watched John Waters at this point: a dog on cocaine is nothing.
My Date with the President’s Daughter, 1998. A rewatch. A loving rewatch. The president’s daughter, Hallie, is desperate for a social life and escapes her detail while they’re distracted by the president wandering around in a crowd to run into a mall. There she meets Will Friedel, aka ERIC FROM BOY MEETS WORLD. He’s been bet by his friends he can’t score a date to the dance, and after he has a happy meeting with Hallie in a clothing store, he asks her if she wants to go. Pick you up at seven? “Big white house, you can’t miss it.” Will is evidently not tuned into C-SPAN, as he has no idea what 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue means until he’s in. He also has no idea who Hallie is, as the demur president’s daughter promptly forces him to help her ditch her detail so they can have a lovely night together. The kids’ fathers resolve to find them – together! Meanwhile, after the kids get in trouble, they figure – what the hell? This is their last night of freedom so they might as well play it to the hilt. This movie, like Airborne, is cocaine nostalgia for me. I think Friedel was my entrepot for this, but it became a VHS classic I watched to death. The amount of dialogue that came to mind while watching this is insane. My high school brain had very poor prioritization skills. Also: OH. MY. GOD, Nicole de Boer (Ezri Dax) has a minor part in this.
W. 2008. Oliver Stone. Again, a rewatch, but I watched this when it first hit DVD back in the day, and back when I was in Anakin Skywalker to Ben Kenobi “I HATE YOUUUUUUU” mode in re: Bush. I decided to rewatch this because (1) I’m still working on the presidential bottle, (2) I’ve been binging on Bushkies and (3) It offered connections to both my other Oliver Stone films this spring and arguing with my past self. Josh Brolin plays W, a wastrel who wants desperately to please his father James Cromwell, paterfamilias of the esteemed Bush clan; Richard Dreyfuss skillfully uses Bush’s desire to please HW to manipulate him into doing the will of the Beast. The film is a back and forth between George W growing out of his youthful indolence into a measured politician, but one who still carries insecurities and the desire to be taken seriously. One of the best scenes to me is still when Dick Cheney stands up and gives a geopolitical lecture to the Cabinet, one that points to controlling the middle east as key to controlling oil: I’m relatively sure I’d already run into Jim Kunstler preaching peak oil at this time, so I was unexpectedly riveted. I will say that a son worrying about his father’s health hits a lot differently after ~28 years: a young college kid doesn’t absorb near as much of that scene as a man entering his middle ages does. One aspect of this film – the rivalry between George W. and Jeb – was completely lost on me in 2008, because until the 2016 elections I had no idea who Jeb Bush even was. (Please clap.) This film didn’t take me back the way I thought it would; the only actors I really liked were James Cromwell and Dreyfuss. Brolin’s Bush seemed a lot more reactive and childish than feels appropriate: granted, I’ve just come off listening to a very serious Bush read his memoirs of this point so the see-saw is not exactly balanced.
Also, Ioan Gruffudd played Tony Blair! I hadn’t encountered Hornblower yet, where he plays good ol’ Horry.
George HW Bush: What kind of life are you cut out for, exactly? Partying? Chasing tail? Driving drunk? Who do you think you are, a Kennedy?
George W: ….
Me: XDGeorge W: Laura, politics ain’t a library. It’s a kick-ass skull-crushing war, an’ I lost.
Dick Cheney: 80% of the world’s future energy reserves are right here in Eurasia where the prize ultimately lies. Oil. Gas. Water.
Me: The middle east is famous for its ample freshwater reserves.
Dick Cheney: 40% of the world’s oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Control Iran, control Eurasia, control the world. Empire.
Me: Well, hey, at least we’ve reduced that to 20% now.
(Actually, I paused the movie and looked this up: the only way Cheney’s claim even approaches reality is if maritime oil shipping is the only oil shipping counted. )
Karl Rove: What about that swagger of yours?
Bush: In Texas we call that walkin’
The Devil Wears Prada 2, 2026. A rare in-theaters watch for me, with the ladyfriend of course, I’d forgotten most of the story of Devil Wears Prada, except “Anne Hathaway is abused by her boss Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci is also present”. Anne Hathaway is enough to get me to watch any movie. This movie is more about the state of journalism than fashion: Anne’s character is a journalist whose publication is closed down, but the dramatic speech she gives at an awards ceremony lands her a job invite at the same fashion magazine she worked at twenty years ago as a personal assistant. I won’t give any spoilers, but it turned out to be a sweet story. The ladyfriend approved of the soundtrack. I probably should have re-watched the original film, because I’d forgotten one character entirely.
Just for giggles, I checked my moviewatch logs for the original, and:
“The Devil Wears Prada, 2006. Anne Hathaway plays an aspiring journalist who lands a job at a fashion magazine with a psycho boss. Stanley Tucci also appears. “
Glad to know my memory is “dead on balls accurate”, as Marisa Tomei put it so eloquently in My Cousin Vinnie.
Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, 1991. CHERNOBYL AND THE FALL OF THE USSR….IN Spaaaaace! For whatever reason, this remains High School Me’s favorite Star Trek film. Maybe it’s the eternal wisdom: “There is an old Vulcan proverb; only Nixon could go to China.” The plot: a Klingon moon goes kablooey, limiting the Klingon Empire to fifty years of life. Spock reaches out to the emperor, Gorkon, and says – hey, how’s about you and me do a little perestroika? Then it turns out – whoopsasdasie – Starfleet has people of its own who don’t much like this idea of namby-pampying the Klingons. An action-spy thriller ensue, with a bonus prison escape. The amount of hamming it up while quoting Shakespeare by Christopher Plummer is still delightful. I did not expect to take this as seriously as I did; I mean, aside from a Star Trek action movie. I’ll be honest: my Star Trek bona fides aside, it’s been a long time since I really did a re-watch of the original Trek movies, though I did start one on this blog a couple of years ago. (I think I stopped at Search for Spock in March ‘25. Whoopsie.) Anyway, I…got unexpectedly into it, both the Klingon’s dread of extinction and the criminal mystery despite knowing perfectly well that at some point Odo and Joseph Sisko are going to be indicted as co-conspirators.
Kirk: Don’t believe them. Don’t trust them.
Spock: They are dying.
Kirk: Let them die.Comms: Report back on the double, do you read?
Uhura: We’re to report back at once.
Chekov: But we cannot abandon Captain Kirk!
Valeris: Four hundred years ago, workers who found their livelihood threw their wooden shoes called sabot into the machines to stop them.
Chekov & Uhurua: (blank stares )
Valeris: ….hence the word, sabotage.
Uhura: We are experiencing technical difficulties; all backup systems are inoperable.
Chekov: Excellent! I mean…too bad.Chekov: Course heading, captain?
Kirk: Second star to the right….and straight on ’til morning.
I had planned to watch Pressure, the new Brendan Frasier movie where he plays Ike, but I had conflicting plans on Sunday (historical society meeting) and my local AMCs were evidently doing a one-week only run and aren’t showing it next weekend. Bizaare.
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Reading Freely 