Hi everyone! Welcome to this week’s installment of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays, where I highlight three pieces of content (Podcasts/Shows/Songs/Articles/etc.) that I found interesting or noteworthy from the prior week.
It’s Giving Tuesday, so give your boy a like and share. I don’t think Sam Bankman-Fried would consider that Effective Altruism per se, but he sucks so don’t worry about him. I’d appreciate it. :)
[Film] Conclave
I highly suggest everyone check this movie out.
Here is the log line via Wikipedia:
In the film, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Fiennes) organizes a papal conclave to elect the next pope and finds himself investigating secrets and scandals about each candidate.
This movie has a little bit of everything—little political thriller, little mystery, little drama, little comedy. And the cinematography is absolutely stunning.
With great performances by Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, Conclave is my favorite movie of the year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it made a late Oscar push.
If you don’t get the chance to watch it in theaters, it should be coming to streaming on Peacock early next year.
[Album] J. Cole - Friday Night Lights
Last week, J. Cole re-released his 2010 mixtape Friday Night Lights. This mixtape is largely made up of songs that were supposed to be on his debut album, but the label shut it down thinking it would not sell.
In response, J. Cole dropped it as a mixtape, and it quickly blew up online. I’m so happy it’s now easily available on streaming, because I have not-so-fond memories of trying to track down bootleg versions of the mixtape on Spotify before it would be taken down.
If you like rap (especially the 2010s era), this album is definitely worth a listen. “Before I’m Gone,” “Cost Me a Lot,” and "Premeditated Murder” are some of my current favorites. It even has a 🎅 festive 🎅 song with “Home for the Holidays.”
[Podcast] The Town - ‘Dune’ Director Denis Villeneuve on Plans for Part 3, ‘Star Wars’ Interest, and Art Vs. Commerce
In this podcast episode, Matt Belloni interviews Denis Villeneuve at a live event. I have not seen many of Villeneuve’s earlier movies (working on that), but I find the guy fascinating.
Here are some of my notes from his interview:
Favorite action movies/sequences:
Saving Private Ryan opening scene
Seven Samurai’s expert use of different points of view
When putting together a team:
He looks for people better than him, who raise the bar and encourage him to improve
Wants those who love the project as much as he does
What makes good sci-fi:
Must have equilibrium between concepts and human stakes
A lot of sci-fi films get mired in the concepts and lose sight of what connects with the audience
On Star Wars:
He thought it was derailed with Return of the Jedi
Has become dogmatic and formulaic
List of “perfect” movies:
Apocalypse Now
The Godfather (presumably 1 and 2)
Lawrence of Arabia
That wraps up this edition of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays. If you made it to this point, please drop a 1️⃣, 2️⃣, or 3️⃣ in the comments to let me know what you found most interesting/useful. And as always, please like and consider sharing with a friend who you think would enjoy! I’ll be back next week. ✌️
1