From the Couch Hole: And Ice Cream Castles in the Air

Previously on FTCH, the wicked sorcerer was spirited away after stealing banana caramel Cheerios while claiming no one is to blame. This week was the last full week of work for the year. Next week the family will all arrive in Texas for Caleb’s graduation from Texas A&M. They will stay at home here until just after Christmas. It’s really the best time of year. This week on the social network the dead man was on both sides now. Poker face would wake up close to naked Doritos.

This will be the last regular episode of FTCH for 2025. Thanks for sticking through 48 of these this year. The next few weeks will be my overly detailed Best-of lists. We’ll gather for more of these in January. Thanks for indulging me another year. Remember, what if FTCH was Romeo in black jeans.

Pop Culture Ephemera

Buy Knives Out

• Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) (Directed by Rian Johnson): “This was dressed as a miracle. It’s just a murder, and I solve murders.” – Benoit Blanc. Maybe even more so than the previous two entries, this is just a delightful mystery. If you like this, you like the Hercule Poirot stories that I’m reading and the British television show of the same. You might just not be in a space to admit it yet. Daniel Craig nails the detective balance of bravado and vulnerability. His accent reminds me of Ken Curtis in The Searchers (1956), not that they sound alike, but that they feel so geographically specific, that it might only be one town in a county.
  
  The film reminded me of the structure of a Poker Face episode. We don’t get Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) until probably 45 minutes into the film. We follow the travels of Jud Dupenticy (Josh O’Connor) to work with Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). I like that Dupenticy is close to duplicity, because it helps define the church he enters. The most loyal followers of Wicks will soon become our list of suspects. Each defines faith in a different way based upon their personal situations. The film doesn’t become about solving the mystery as a viewer; there’s just too much to see and not enough time as a viewer to see it. The film is about following the journey and unlikely friendship between Blanc and Jud. I was lucky enough to see it in the theater. Johnson has really improved as a director and this was beautiful to look at also. The mystery genre is one of my favorites, and I’m excited to see it being handled so masterfully.
  
• Poker Face – “The Sleazy Georgian” (2025) (S.2 E.8) (Peacock): “You’re like the Dexter of con men.” – Charlie. This might not be the very best episode of the series, but it’s in the running. After the announcement that the series will not be continuing on Peacock, and if it does continue, it will be with a new lead, I decided I needed to finish up this season. No reason I had delayed it other than not wanting it to end.
  
  The episode starts with the best deep cut of the season, the Bobbie Gentry folk classic “Seasons Come, Seasons Go.” It’s definitely the best musical choice on many levels for the series. We go 20 minutes before Charlie arrives on the scene. That might be too long if it weren’t for the excellent acting of John Cho and Melanie Lynskey. When Charlie arrives, we have to figure out always where we are being dropped in the story. This one plays against the pattern and is after the crime. This episode is less Columbo and more The Sting as we find Charlie among con artists. I don’t want to give away much more other than to say this was a nice break from the pattern the show was falling into, and it might be the best advertising for a Third Season with this cast for another streamer.

• Joni Mitchell – “Both Sides Now” (1969) (from Clouds): “So many things I could have done / But clouds got in my way.” I’m not sure how you write a song in your mid-20s that will have even more meaning when you are in your 80s. Joni’s 1969 version of her own song is technically a cover since Judy Collins and others had released versions the previous two years. The transition from youthful idealism to wistful later years is bittersweet. The lyrics allow multiple interpretations, which is why it has been so successful over the years. Now in my 50s, I appreciate it more each year. Put it in a commercial or movie and I’m likely to tear up. Play me Joni’s cover of herself from a few years ago and I’m definitely losing it. The song is simply a treasure.

Buy Joni Mitchell – Clouds

• The Social Network (2010) (Directed by David Fincher): ” It won’t be like you’re not a part of Facebook. You’re not a part of Facebook.” – Mark Zuckerberg. It took all of about three minutes to realize this script was written by Aaron Sorkin. This sits at #10 in The New York Times Best Films of the 21st Century with most of the accolades going to David Fincher’s direction. There’s no doubt that this film looks good. The world is always dark, rainy, or about to get dark and about to get rainy. It’s the peppy dialog that Sorkin provides that raises the film to this ranking. The overly dramatic conflict of who owned a social media site is only interesting in that we know it’s a multi-billion dollar company now. I couldn’t bring myself to care to the level that Fincher wanted with his direction. The cuts back and forth between the current-day hearings and the past events are supposed to lend a way to move the story forward. To me, they just brought the story to a halt. I like the film, but I definitely wouldn’t rank it this high.

Buy The Social Network

• Close (2022) (Directed by Luka Dhont): ” I don’t know. It’s just my head. It never stops. But that’s not important.” – Remi. It’s difficult to write about this film without spoilers. It’s easiest described as two 13-year-old boys, Remi and Leo, who have a friendship that is best described as soulmates. When they enter the Belgian equivalent of middle school, their peers question how close the relationship is between the two boys. The portrayal of such a close friendship between young males would only be reflective through a LGBTQ lens in America. This Belgian film is careful not to code their relationship as anything but a deep connection like brothers. The film is emotional on many levels. It’s probably a little too much to handle for that last hour of the movie. The film is beautifully filmed on all fronts. Belgium is full of color and the camera moves through space with ease focusing on faces and expressions for longer than most U.S. films allow. The subject of this film matters. We have issues as a society with how we treat close friendships, especially between young males. The story feels like a tragedy from the very first scenes, and it’s hard to sustain that engagement for over one hundred minutes. That doesn’t take away from the fact that this is great filmmaking and worth a watch.
  

Best of the Rest

• I don’t recall that many male artists covering “Both Sides Now.” They are rather gender neutral lyrics, so it’s funny that it has been mostly a female vocal song. There is a rather straightforward Frank Sinatra cover from 1968. This Neil Diamond cover from his 1969 album, Touching You, Touching Me is interesting. Neil always seems to start out like he can’t be bothered and then moves into a super emotional interpretation of lyrics. It’s not too different here.
  
  Note: I didn’t want to spam you with a dozen other good covers of the song, but if you are interested, look for the Dexy’s Midnight Runners version as a rather odd upbeat but not unpleasant take.

• Did this scene alone win a movie an Oscar? It’s hard to find a movie in recent memory that was summed up by a single climatic scene any better. Emilia Jones has a beautiful voice and CODA (2021) is a wonderful movie. It’s nice to flip the lyrics a little to reflect on how the main character is looking at life from the viewpoint of living in a household with a parent with a disability. It’s just a perfect tearjerker to end with.

Buy CODA

• “Don’t get mad. Get Glad.” is back from Glad. This time they’ve teamed up with Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street. They reimagine his signature song with a more modern beat for the remix. Oscar isn’t happy that people are singing his song (“It used to be a solo.”) or that they like trash now. I was going to feature another holiday spot here, but Glad stepped up with the one that got my attention this week.

Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback

• Sunday Morning Tuneage from 1/17/2010, I don’t miss these weeks. I was seven days into working 21 straight days, and I was about to embark upon nights when I would be at work until after 9:00pm for four of the days. I was fitting in some basketball coaching (and losing, that season) in the middle of it all. There wasn’t much on my television except the final of Dollhouse (Fox) which I’d like to revisit because I said lots of nice things about it in 2010. The list of the week was truly random, and I have to think a minute here if there are any changes I’d make to it.
  
  My #80 Top TV Show of All-Time was The Biggest Loser (NBC) (2004-2016): This is one of those shows that is of its day. I wouldn’t put it on my top television shows list for a number of reasons. I’ve noted before that “reality” shows or “game shows” (as this is better labelled) would have to have their own lists. The recent documentaries about the background of the show, not to mention our advanced understanding of healthy weight-loss programs, make this hard to watch now. In the era of that 2004-2010, it was a story of personal journeys that caught us up in the show. Now, I find it just too cringey to watch.
  
• BEST WARREN BEATTY FILMS OF ALL-TIME (2010)
  • 10. $ (aka The Heist) (1971) (Directed by Richard Brooks)
  • 9. Splendor in the Grass (1961) (Directed by Elia Kazan)
  • 8. Bulworth (1998) (Directed by Warren Beatty)
  • 7. The Fortune (1975) (Directed by Mike Nichols)
  • 6. Shampoo (1975) (Directed by Hal Ashby)
  • 5. Heaven Can Wait (1978) (Directed by Warren Beatty, Buck Henry)
  • 4. Reds (1981) (Directed by Warren Beatty)
  • 3. Bugsy (1991) (Directed by Barry Levinson)
  • 2. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) (Directed by Robert Altman)
  • 1. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) (Directed by Arthur Penn)
    
• BEST WARREN BEATTY FILMS OF ALL-TIME (2025)
  • 10. Bugsy (1991) (Directed by Barry Levinson): Bugsy Siegel’s founding of Las Vegas as we know it, is part historical drama, part real-estate lesson and part gangster. A score from Ennio Morricone brought lots of stature to the film. It’s not Casino (1995), but it didn’t have to be.
  • 9. Love Affair (1994) (Directed by Glenn Gordon Caron): This is Old School Hollywood on the big screen in 1994. It’s a film written by Robert Towne that isn’t just a remake but a love letter to fans of old films. Bonus points for a Katherine Hepburn appearance just to prove the point.
  • 8. Shampoo (1975) (Directed by Hal Ashby): No film is more 1975 than this one set in 1968. Robert Towne is on script again for Beatty. It’s not as shocking today as it probably was upon release, but it’s still a fun romp.
  • 7. Dick Tracy (1990) (Directed by Warren Beatty): Once you accept that this won’t be a coherent superhero story and learn to just immerse yourself in the universe, you will warm up to it. I detested this film for decades. I have completely come around on it.
  • 6. Splendor in the Grass (1961) (Directed by Elia Kazan): Warren Beatty was almost the next James Dean after this film. In the end, he couldn’t hold a candle to Natalie Wood, who made you forget everyone else in the film.
  • 5. Bulworth (1998) (Directed by Warren Beatty): This film is probably a victim of its time. It felt very of the day in 1998. Politics have changed so much since 1998, that it has to be quaint by comparison now. It was one of those films that I enjoyed but felt unclear if it was a comedy or drama, even though I was uncomfortably laughing.
  • 4. $ (aka The Heist) (1971) (Directed by Richard Brooks): Beatty and Goldie Hawn will be together again in four years, but their chemistry starts here with a solid caper film. Beatty feels more at home in this genre than any other.
  • 3. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) (Directed by Arthur Penn): It’s odd to give it this ranking when it’s credited with ushering in a new generation of films and filmmakers. It’s a little chaotic and the themes get muddy towards the end. I still respect the film and recommend it to film fans, but it isn’t a magical to me any longer.
  • 2. The Parallax View (1974) (Directed by Alan J. Pakula): I had not watched this until a couple years ago. This paranoid political thriller from the director who will later helm All The President’s Men (1976) feels more contemporary than any other political film today. Beatty almost comes up to the Redford level of acting in this one.
  • 1. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) (Directed by Robert Altman): I wouldn’t have matched up the actor and director, and yet here it works really well. The American Western is broken down to its primal elements and built back up as a feminist treatise on the decade of the ’60s. It still plays like something from A24 today. Three things that put this film above the others – Beatty in a beard, Julie Christie and that Leonard Cohen song that opens the film.
    
    I think if Beatty as in that last group of Old Hollywood actors who had to find their way when the Studio system fell apart. At the same time, I view him as part of that movement where actors got involved with all aspects of the production. He’s an enigma, and I can’t help loving many of his films.

Buy McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Criterion Collection)

1975 in Review

• December – OMAC #8 (DC Comics): Cover by Joe Kubert. Written and Art by Jack Kirby. “You’re a traitor to the scientific community, Skuba! You’ve used your skills to blackmail mankind and bring it to its knees — but all that is at an end now!” – Brother Eye. I’ll admit that I’ve never read an issue of OMAC but I used to flip through them in dollar boxes at cons. This is the final issue of the series and Jack Kirby’s last work for DC Comics as he returned to Marvel Comics in early 1976. Main character, Buddy Blank, will continue to appear in the DCU.
• December 18 – George and Kathleen Lutz move into their new home in Amityville, New York. It wouldn’t go well for them and their three children, and they would abandon the house in fear after four weeks. George would tell his story to Jay Anson who would write the bestseller The Amityville Horror and lead to one of the more impactful horror films of the decade.
• December 8 – The day after Thanksgiving, Texas A&M Aggies moved to 10-0 with a 20-10 victory over #5 Texas. The Aggies would move to #2 in the rankings going into the final game of the season at Arkansas. They would lose 6-31 and end up in a three-way tie for the SWC title with Texas and Arkansas. They would go on to lose to USC in the Liberty Bowl. Their 10-0 start led to running back, Bubba Bean, being featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated before he headed to a professional career with the Atlanta Falcons.

What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?

“Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way that you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I’ve looked at love that way” – Joni Mitchell