Dan Berlinka
@danberlinka.bsky.social
Writer / director / coverer of waterfronts
Yesterday I watched Perfect Days. Wim Wenders' beautiful Tokyo story captures a yearning I think many of us feel for simplicity, routine, and the dignity of honest work - a kind of secular monasticism. Kōji Yakusho delivers the best "face acting" since Bob Hoskins. I loved every second.
February 16, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Yesterday I watched Perfect Days. Wim Wenders' beautiful Tokyo story captures a yearning I think many of us feel for simplicity, routine, and the dignity of honest work - a kind of secular monasticism. Kōji Yakusho delivers the best "face acting" since Bob Hoskins. I loved every second.
I did *not* know this!
Cover of THE CHARLES MINGUS CAT-ALOG FOR TOILET TRAINING CATS
Mingus is justly acclaimed as a towering genius of jazz. And his autobiography BENEATH THE UNDERDOG is an essential read. But did you know he also wrote this guide to toilet training your cat? Truly a brilliant man.
#Caturday
Mingus is justly acclaimed as a towering genius of jazz. And his autobiography BENEATH THE UNDERDOG is an essential read. But did you know he also wrote this guide to toilet training your cat? Truly a brilliant man.
#Caturday
February 15, 2026 at 9:48 AM
I did *not* know this!
Last night I watched Pleasure. Ninja Thyberg's adult film industry drama is neither romanticised nor judgemental - at least not about productions that protect the actors. And thanks to Revika Reustle's terrific supporting performance it's also a quietly moving story about friendship and ambition.
February 13, 2026 at 10:25 AM
Last night I watched Pleasure. Ninja Thyberg's adult film industry drama is neither romanticised nor judgemental - at least not about productions that protect the actors. And thanks to Revika Reustle's terrific supporting performance it's also a quietly moving story about friendship and ambition.
Funny that the new Jim Rockford was previously known for playing Angel. (Well it's funny to *me*. Stuart Margolin forever!!)
February 13, 2026 at 7:29 AM
Funny that the new Jim Rockford was previously known for playing Angel. (Well it's funny to *me*. Stuart Margolin forever!!)
Last night I finally watched Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig's Frances Ha. Released the same year as the first season of Girls, it feels like a time capsule of millennial life and it could be infuriating if it wasn't so very well done in every department. I liked it a lot.
February 12, 2026 at 7:26 AM
Last night I finally watched Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig's Frances Ha. Released the same year as the first season of Girls, it feels like a time capsule of millennial life and it could be infuriating if it wasn't so very well done in every department. I liked it a lot.
No hate, but I saw a post referring to "an early Edward G. Robinson movie called Little Caesar" and it made me realise there's no longer an assumption that everyone would be familiar with it. Mother of mercy, this really is the end of Rico.
February 11, 2026 at 8:58 AM
No hate, but I saw a post referring to "an early Edward G. Robinson movie called Little Caesar" and it made me realise there's no longer an assumption that everyone would be familiar with it. Mother of mercy, this really is the end of Rico.
Reposted by Dan Berlinka
Le Monde on The Vanishing Kind: "It takes a certain audacity,a certain talent,or perhaps both,to return to the well-trodden soil of the alternate history genre...Tidhar lacks neither, and he subtly shifts the genre's center of gravity...constant tension [leads to] to a final twist of rare elegance."
February 10, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Le Monde on The Vanishing Kind: "It takes a certain audacity,a certain talent,or perhaps both,to return to the well-trodden soil of the alternate history genre...Tidhar lacks neither, and he subtly shifts the genre's center of gravity...constant tension [leads to] to a final twist of rare elegance."
Last night I watched Die My Love. It takes more risks than Nightbitch, but doesn't go as far as mother! (Jennifer Lawrence cannot catch a break in isolated rural houses.) The use of grating sounds (flies buzzing, a dog barking) is effective but not exactly enjoyable. That may be how I felt overall.
February 10, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Last night I watched Die My Love. It takes more risks than Nightbitch, but doesn't go as far as mother! (Jennifer Lawrence cannot catch a break in isolated rural houses.) The use of grating sounds (flies buzzing, a dog barking) is effective but not exactly enjoyable. That may be how I felt overall.
Having just watched this yesterday, I'm so pleased to read this review because it perfectly captures everything I loved about it.
I'm a sucker for a low key, down-to-earth crime movie, so I really liked Kelly Reichardt's THE MASTERMIND, about a not particularly impressive art heist.
The Mastermind | VERN'S REVIEWS on the FILMS of CINEMA
Kelly Reichardt’s THE MASTERMIND is in a niche that really appeals to me: the unglamorous crime tale. It’s about an art heist, but there are zero
outlawvern.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Having just watched this yesterday, I'm so pleased to read this review because it perfectly captures everything I loved about it.
Yesterday I watched anti-heist movie, The Mastermind. It shares a "staying one step ahead" premise with Marty Supreme. But where the latter is propulsively "masculine", Kelly Reichardt's film is spare and elliptical, sometimes frustratingly so. I liked it a lot and think it may haunt me for longer.
February 9, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Yesterday I watched anti-heist movie, The Mastermind. It shares a "staying one step ahead" premise with Marty Supreme. But where the latter is propulsively "masculine", Kelly Reichardt's film is spare and elliptical, sometimes frustratingly so. I liked it a lot and think it may haunt me for longer.
On Friday I saw Marty Supreme. Timothée Chalamet is terrific - his relentless intensity reminded me not only of Uncut Gems and Good Time, but also Sammy Glick, Rupert Pupkin and New York, New York's Jimmy Doyle. I'm not entirely sure what it adds up to, but I liked it a lot while I was watching it.
February 8, 2026 at 8:09 AM
On Friday I saw Marty Supreme. Timothée Chalamet is terrific - his relentless intensity reminded me not only of Uncut Gems and Good Time, but also Sammy Glick, Rupert Pupkin and New York, New York's Jimmy Doyle. I'm not entirely sure what it adds up to, but I liked it a lot while I was watching it.
Reposted by Dan Berlinka
Horror movies for Black History Month! Good and very useful list. A couple here I need to catch up on.
From classics to films that deserved far more love, @sharai.bsky.social shares 28 Black movies to watch this Black History Month. 👻📽️ #NightTideMag
nighttidemag.com/2026/02/03/s...
nighttidemag.com/2026/02/03/s...
28 MOVIES TO WATCH THIS BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Sharai’s list of 28 Black films for Black History Month is a reminder that Black cinema has always been rich, varied, and criminally under-archived
nighttidemag.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Horror movies for Black History Month! Good and very useful list. A couple here I need to catch up on.
Last night I watched quirky French Canadian horror / comedy Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person. It's in a Venn Diagram of What We Do In The Shadows, Ginger Snaps, and Let The Right One In, but is very much its own thing and perfectly captures lonely teenage melancholy. I liked it.
February 6, 2026 at 7:57 AM
Last night I watched quirky French Canadian horror / comedy Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person. It's in a Venn Diagram of What We Do In The Shadows, Ginger Snaps, and Let The Right One In, but is very much its own thing and perfectly captures lonely teenage melancholy. I liked it.
5/10. Very poor.
Missed this quiz from 2016. I got 8/10 (the cats I got wrong were numbers 6 and 8).
Feline lucky? Match the cat to the movie – quiz
As Kevin Spacey finds himself stuck inside a cat in this week’s family comedy Nine Lines, how well do you know other movie moggies?
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:55 PM
5/10. Very poor.
February 5, 2026 at 10:16 AM
Last night I saw Hamnet. I'm not big on biography (speculative or otherwise) as the explanation for art, so this wasn't really one for me, though I was moved by Emily Watson's quiet stoicism, and the film did lead me to the Stephen Greenblatt essay quoted at the start: share.google/sK5kY7Tr1n1D...
The Death of Hamnet and the Making of Hamlet | Stephen Greenblatt
1. Shakespeare was in the business, all of his life, of probing the passions of his characters and arousing the passions of his audiences. His skill in
share.google
February 5, 2026 at 8:48 AM
Last night I saw Hamnet. I'm not big on biography (speculative or otherwise) as the explanation for art, so this wasn't really one for me, though I was moved by Emily Watson's quiet stoicism, and the film did lead me to the Stephen Greenblatt essay quoted at the start: share.google/sK5kY7Tr1n1D...
Reposted by Dan Berlinka
Gonna toot my own horn briefly here as I just found this interview in which Bernard talks about us working together on his book and says nice things about your pal. www.northernsoul.me.uk/bernard-sumn...
Bernard Sumner talks to Northern Soul
Northern Soul's Andy Murray interviews Bernard Sumner about his new book, Joy Division and New Order.
www.northernsoul.me.uk
February 4, 2026 at 7:48 AM
Gonna toot my own horn briefly here as I just found this interview in which Bernard talks about us working together on his book and says nice things about your pal. www.northernsoul.me.uk/bernard-sumn...
Read a classic work of English literature without finding any antisemitism challenge: failed again.
February 3, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Read a classic work of English literature without finding any antisemitism challenge: failed again.
Yesterday I saw Return To Silent Hill. This was a trip born of love for the video game and it met our expectations. I will say that it doesn't feel like a cynical cash-in, as it seems to alienate fans and non-fans alike. I enjoyed some of the art direction and Hannah Emily Anderson's performance.
February 2, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Yesterday I saw Return To Silent Hill. This was a trip born of love for the video game and it met our expectations. I will say that it doesn't feel like a cynical cash-in, as it seems to alienate fans and non-fans alike. I enjoyed some of the art direction and Hannah Emily Anderson's performance.
Yesterday I watched Shih-Ching Tsou's Taiwanese family drama Left-Handed Girl. The iPhone aesthetic is similar to co-writer / editor Sean Baker's Tangerine, but far less frenetic. Terrific performances by Ma Shih-Yuan and Nina Ye (the best child actor I've seen in a long time). I liked it a lot.
February 1, 2026 at 9:52 AM
Yesterday I watched Shih-Ching Tsou's Taiwanese family drama Left-Handed Girl. The iPhone aesthetic is similar to co-writer / editor Sean Baker's Tangerine, but far less frenetic. Terrific performances by Ma Shih-Yuan and Nina Ye (the best child actor I've seen in a long time). I liked it a lot.
Reposted by Dan Berlinka
Even Dickens would have thought that name was too unsubtle
January 31, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Even Dickens would have thought that name was too unsubtle
Reposted by Dan Berlinka
This is this Saturday!
Whatcha doin' next Saturday? Come level up with us.
Join award-winning author, Lavie Tidhar, to master structure and plot in all your stories. Get Lavie's personal checklist for addressing plot and structure problems. Register now.
reachyourapex.com/msap
Join award-winning author, Lavie Tidhar, to master structure and plot in all your stories. Get Lavie's personal checklist for addressing plot and structure problems. Register now.
reachyourapex.com/msap
January 27, 2026 at 2:27 PM
This is this Saturday!
Based on various screen adaptations I've seen in recent years, Agatha Christie is much harder to do well than one might think.
January 26, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Based on various screen adaptations I've seen in recent years, Agatha Christie is much harder to do well than one might think.
Yesterday I saw Park Chan-wook's bleak black comedy No Other Choice. I found the tone difficult to connect with, but the performances are excellent (particularly Son Ye-jin) and each visual frame has a quiet perfection without ever being showy.
January 25, 2026 at 7:59 AM
Yesterday I saw Park Chan-wook's bleak black comedy No Other Choice. I found the tone difficult to connect with, but the performances are excellent (particularly Son Ye-jin) and each visual frame has a quiet perfection without ever being showy.
Last night I watched haunted house variant, No One Gets Out Alive, a UK film set in the US, with a timely focus on undocumented migrants. It's a little short on scares, but the story grips, and no one is better than Marc Menchaca at creating villains who are more dumb and weak than evil. I liked it.
January 23, 2026 at 7:04 AM
Last night I watched haunted house variant, No One Gets Out Alive, a UK film set in the US, with a timely focus on undocumented migrants. It's a little short on scares, but the story grips, and no one is better than Marc Menchaca at creating villains who are more dumb and weak than evil. I liked it.