Alan Zilberman
@alanzilberman.bsky.social
One of the last idiots to write about film for an alt-weekly.
Longtime DC guy who wants statehood yesterday.
Pronouns: he/him.
Longtime DC guy who wants statehood yesterday.
Pronouns: he/him.
Got gifted some bumper stickers at the dive bar.
January 3, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Got gifted some bumper stickers at the dive bar.
New year, new book thread!
1.
Fascinating, ambitious novel about too many things to mention here. Kind of amazing, almost magician-like, how McEwan weaves the disparate themes together, while also finding room for dystopian world-building that stings. Maybe his best since Atonement?
1.
Fascinating, ambitious novel about too many things to mention here. Kind of amazing, almost magician-like, how McEwan weaves the disparate themes together, while also finding room for dystopian world-building that stings. Maybe his best since Atonement?
January 2, 2026 at 4:39 PM
New year, new book thread!
1.
Fascinating, ambitious novel about too many things to mention here. Kind of amazing, almost magician-like, how McEwan weaves the disparate themes together, while also finding room for dystopian world-building that stings. Maybe his best since Atonement?
1.
Fascinating, ambitious novel about too many things to mention here. Kind of amazing, almost magician-like, how McEwan weaves the disparate themes together, while also finding room for dystopian world-building that stings. Maybe his best since Atonement?
The decade was half over at the end of 2024, but whatever, it’s fun to reflect.
2020: Da 5 Bloods
2021: Drive My Car
2022: Athena
2023: Oppenheimer
2024: Civil War
2025: It Was Just an Accident
2020: Da 5 Bloods
2021: Drive My Car
2022: Athena
2023: Oppenheimer
2024: Civil War
2025: It Was Just an Accident
Halfway through the decade! What are your favourite films each year so far?
2020: I’m Thinking of Ending Things
2021: Memoria
2022: Pacifiction
2023: Eureka
2024: Queer
2025: The Ice Tower
2020: I’m Thinking of Ending Things
2021: Memoria
2022: Pacifiction
2023: Eureka
2024: Queer
2025: The Ice Tower
January 2, 2026 at 1:47 PM
The decade was half over at the end of 2024, but whatever, it’s fun to reflect.
2020: Da 5 Bloods
2021: Drive My Car
2022: Athena
2023: Oppenheimer
2024: Civil War
2025: It Was Just an Accident
2020: Da 5 Bloods
2021: Drive My Car
2022: Athena
2023: Oppenheimer
2024: Civil War
2025: It Was Just an Accident
No other choice really
January 2, 2026 at 1:18 AM
No other choice really
What was the last movie or TV show you watched in 2025?
January 1, 2026 at 4:01 PM
What was the last movie or TV show you watched in 2025?
Culture stats for the year:
-419 films
-224 albums
-67 seasons of TV
-43 books
-33 concerts
-7 video games
-3 plays
Culture resolution for 2026: more reading and theater, less TV.
More balance… maybe? Jkjkjk I want to hit 500 movies next year.
-419 films
-224 albums
-67 seasons of TV
-43 books
-33 concerts
-7 video games
-3 plays
Culture resolution for 2026: more reading and theater, less TV.
More balance… maybe? Jkjkjk I want to hit 500 movies next year.
December 31, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Culture stats for the year:
-419 films
-224 albums
-67 seasons of TV
-43 books
-33 concerts
-7 video games
-3 plays
Culture resolution for 2026: more reading and theater, less TV.
More balance… maybe? Jkjkjk I want to hit 500 movies next year.
-419 films
-224 albums
-67 seasons of TV
-43 books
-33 concerts
-7 video games
-3 plays
Culture resolution for 2026: more reading and theater, less TV.
More balance… maybe? Jkjkjk I want to hit 500 movies next year.
I wrote many reviews, essays, event listings, and interviews in 2025.
I am fondest of this paragraph, from my review of The Long Walk. Not only is it it unusually personal, it describes one small example of cinema's power as a shared experience.
Fuck this shitty year.
I am fondest of this paragraph, from my review of The Long Walk. Not only is it it unusually personal, it describes one small example of cinema's power as a shared experience.
Fuck this shitty year.
December 31, 2025 at 4:52 PM
I wrote many reviews, essays, event listings, and interviews in 2025.
I am fondest of this paragraph, from my review of The Long Walk. Not only is it it unusually personal, it describes one small example of cinema's power as a shared experience.
Fuck this shitty year.
I am fondest of this paragraph, from my review of The Long Walk. Not only is it it unusually personal, it describes one small example of cinema's power as a shared experience.
Fuck this shitty year.
Reposted by Alan Zilberman
one of the underlying premises of One Battle After Another is that revolutionaries are people, not political archetypes, and they are flawed—cowardly,selfish, impatient, short-sighted—in the way people tend to be flawed
one issue with the Takes on OBAA is that it is a layered and dense movie that demands viewers actually watch it and try to take it on its own terms which a lot of people are terminally unable to do
December 31, 2025 at 3:53 PM
one of the underlying premises of One Battle After Another is that revolutionaries are people, not political archetypes, and they are flawed—cowardly,selfish, impatient, short-sighted—in the way people tend to be flawed
Aside from the obvious cringe, Bari must live with profound, debilitating cognitive dissonance because there is no way she can honestly consider what Edward R. Murrow would think of her tenure.
December 31, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Aside from the obvious cringe, Bari must live with profound, debilitating cognitive dissonance because there is no way she can honestly consider what Edward R. Murrow would think of her tenure.
Reposted by Alan Zilberman
Oh, for fuck's sake.
As someone who covers the arts in DC, I assure you regular patrons have local alternatives for theater, classical music, opera, etc. DC is not an arts desert.
I don't know what's worse: that Megan doesn't realize that, or she does realize it and posts this bullshit, anyway.
As someone who covers the arts in DC, I assure you regular patrons have local alternatives for theater, classical music, opera, etc. DC is not an arts desert.
I don't know what's worse: that Megan doesn't realize that, or she does realize it and posts this bullshit, anyway.
This is not hard. Artists are not responsible for ensuring the Kennedy Center remains relevant and successful. The center’s board is responsible for that, in a fiduciary way. All of this energy being directed at artists should be re-directed at the board.
December 30, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Oh, for fuck's sake.
As someone who covers the arts in DC, I assure you regular patrons have local alternatives for theater, classical music, opera, etc. DC is not an arts desert.
I don't know what's worse: that Megan doesn't realize that, or she does realize it and posts this bullshit, anyway.
As someone who covers the arts in DC, I assure you regular patrons have local alternatives for theater, classical music, opera, etc. DC is not an arts desert.
I don't know what's worse: that Megan doesn't realize that, or she does realize it and posts this bullshit, anyway.
Reposted by Alan Zilberman
Now that we’re doing “Jon Stewart sucks” discourse again, I would like to remind you of his film Irresistible, the worst film of the 2020s and maybe the worst political satire ever made.
He is lucky the pandemic erased it from our memory, except for the few critics unfortunate enough to see it.
He is lucky the pandemic erased it from our memory, except for the few critics unfortunate enough to see it.
December 30, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Now that we’re doing “Jon Stewart sucks” discourse again, I would like to remind you of his film Irresistible, the worst film of the 2020s and maybe the worst political satire ever made.
He is lucky the pandemic erased it from our memory, except for the few critics unfortunate enough to see it.
He is lucky the pandemic erased it from our memory, except for the few critics unfortunate enough to see it.
Odd mix of cynicism and optimism for the new year.
December 30, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Odd mix of cynicism and optimism for the new year.
Now that we’re doing “Jon Stewart sucks” discourse again, I would like to remind you of his film Irresistible, the worst film of the 2020s and maybe the worst political satire ever made.
He is lucky the pandemic erased it from our memory, except for the few critics unfortunate enough to see it.
He is lucky the pandemic erased it from our memory, except for the few critics unfortunate enough to see it.
December 30, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Now that we’re doing “Jon Stewart sucks” discourse again, I would like to remind you of his film Irresistible, the worst film of the 2020s and maybe the worst political satire ever made.
He is lucky the pandemic erased it from our memory, except for the few critics unfortunate enough to see it.
He is lucky the pandemic erased it from our memory, except for the few critics unfortunate enough to see it.
My bike tire popped on my ride home. I know it’s due to a number of factors like temperature change or road conditions, but I cannot and feel like it is a personal affront.
December 29, 2025 at 10:05 PM
My bike tire popped on my ride home. I know it’s due to a number of factors like temperature change or road conditions, but I cannot and feel like it is a personal affront.
I saw more live music this year than any other I can remember. My favorite sets of 2025:
1. NIN at CFG Arena
2. Ducks Ltd. at DC9
3. Beyoncé at Northwest Stadium
4. TV on the Radio at Primavera Porto
5. The Armed at The Atlantis
6. Lambrini Girls at Howard Theater
What great shows did y'all see?
1. NIN at CFG Arena
2. Ducks Ltd. at DC9
3. Beyoncé at Northwest Stadium
4. TV on the Radio at Primavera Porto
5. The Armed at The Atlantis
6. Lambrini Girls at Howard Theater
What great shows did y'all see?
December 29, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I saw more live music this year than any other I can remember. My favorite sets of 2025:
1. NIN at CFG Arena
2. Ducks Ltd. at DC9
3. Beyoncé at Northwest Stadium
4. TV on the Radio at Primavera Porto
5. The Armed at The Atlantis
6. Lambrini Girls at Howard Theater
What great shows did y'all see?
1. NIN at CFG Arena
2. Ducks Ltd. at DC9
3. Beyoncé at Northwest Stadium
4. TV on the Radio at Primavera Porto
5. The Armed at The Atlantis
6. Lambrini Girls at Howard Theater
What great shows did y'all see?
Additional release date notes (DC edition):
-The Plague opens 1/2
-The Testament of Ann Lee opens 1/16
-My Undesirable Friends opens 3/7
General notes:
-Radu Jude's Dracula on VOD 1/2
-The Plague opens 1/2
-The Testament of Ann Lee opens 1/16
-My Undesirable Friends opens 3/7
General notes:
-Radu Jude's Dracula on VOD 1/2
My list of the 20 best films of 2025, and where to find them.
December 29, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Additional release date notes (DC edition):
-The Plague opens 1/2
-The Testament of Ann Lee opens 1/16
-My Undesirable Friends opens 3/7
General notes:
-Radu Jude's Dracula on VOD 1/2
-The Plague opens 1/2
-The Testament of Ann Lee opens 1/16
-My Undesirable Friends opens 3/7
General notes:
-Radu Jude's Dracula on VOD 1/2
Now watching Cain at Abel, a Filipino family melodrama that abruptly shifts into a bloody exploitation flick. It reaffirms my longheld belief that any movie where an old lady fires a pump action shotgun kind of rules.
December 28, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Now watching Cain at Abel, a Filipino family melodrama that abruptly shifts into a bloody exploitation flick. It reaffirms my longheld belief that any movie where an old lady fires a pump action shotgun kind of rules.
Shower thought: it just occurred to me the “many saints” in the title The Many Saints of Newark is a reference to the surname “Moltisanti.”
December 27, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Shower thought: it just occurred to me the “many saints” in the title The Many Saints of Newark is a reference to the surname “Moltisanti.”
Eywa has heard us.
December 27, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Eywa has heard us.
Honestly, one of the better runs I’ve had in a while.
December 26, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Honestly, one of the better runs I’ve had in a while.
“The fucking eagles are coming!”
The Lord of The Rings movies were rated PG-13. By current rules that means that each film could contain one use of the word "Fuck". Which line are you altering to insert the most useful swear word?
"I can't carry it for you, but I can Fucking carry you"
"I can't carry it for you, but I can Fucking carry you"
December 26, 2025 at 9:59 PM
“The fucking eagles are coming!”
I loved Marty Supreme even more the second time.
There is a lot more going on there that I missed the first go round, especially with the supporting characters, and it’s more impressive how Safdie uses his penchant for anxiety-inducing cinema to get us to embrace sports movie cliches.
There is a lot more going on there that I missed the first go round, especially with the supporting characters, and it’s more impressive how Safdie uses his penchant for anxiety-inducing cinema to get us to embrace sports movie cliches.
December 26, 2025 at 3:23 AM
I loved Marty Supreme even more the second time.
There is a lot more going on there that I missed the first go round, especially with the supporting characters, and it’s more impressive how Safdie uses his penchant for anxiety-inducing cinema to get us to embrace sports movie cliches.
There is a lot more going on there that I missed the first go round, especially with the supporting characters, and it’s more impressive how Safdie uses his penchant for anxiety-inducing cinema to get us to embrace sports movie cliches.
Now that the Marty Supreme takes are rolling in, I cannot help but be thankful there was no Bluesky at the time of Casino’s release.
December 25, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Now that the Marty Supreme takes are rolling in, I cannot help but be thankful there was no Bluesky at the time of Casino’s release.