Brief reviews #6

Here are a few brief reviews of some of the things I have been watching and reading lately.

Movies/TV series

• Alexis Zorbas (1964): A fine movie but there is no reason for this one to be on the wrong side of 2 hours. While there is a lot of humour in the dialogue that works to this day, many aspects of the movie feel outdated (including the gender stereotypes). Alexis is an interesting character with a proper mix of energy and sadness (maybe bipolar disorder?). This is one of the rare cases where I could be interested in a remake (maybe with Javier Bardem as Alexis Zorbas?).
• Bring Her Back (2025): I enjoyed Talk to Me so I was naturally looking forward to this one as well. If you like Talk to Me, you will also enjoy this one. Personally, I found the psychological underpinnings of the body horror more interesting in Talk to Me, but the elements of supernatural horror much better in this one.
• Copenhagen (2002): Copenhagen is an adaptation of a stage play about the meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg in 1941 in Copenhagen. This is clearly a sharp and intellectual manuscript, but the story and structure is, alas, boring. I do find some of the moral questions asked by the play interesting, but it feels very dated.
• De fördömda kvinnornas dans (1976): A black-and-white short movie by Ingmar Bergman. There is no dialogue, only music by Monteverdi. Women are dancing. I found everything about it pretentious.
• Det andet offer (2025): A Danish medical drama. I would recommend skipping this one and watching the first season of The Pitt instead. The movie is trying to depict psychological stress in connection to problems with patients (one patient in particular) and bureaucratic pressures, but it ends up not saying a lot, if anything. Özlem Saglanmak's performance is great taking the source material into account. Trine Dyrholm's performance is tedious and unhinged (even worse than her similar performance in Birthday Girl).
• Dubbel Zes (2025): Yet another generic Dutch rom-com. The plot is stupid (even if you set aside the fact that it is unrealistic), the acting is bad (even if you set aside that the source material is weak), and the attempt to bring in a bit of emotional gravitas with dead parents is not working at all. Why do Dutch people have no taste in movies? Seriously, this is not a rhetorical question.
• Dumb Money (2023): The poor man's The Big Short. The movie tells the story of the rise of the GME stock and the people involved. I would have appreciated a stronger focus on a few characters rather than what seems like an ensemble cast. I guess the movie is trying to come off as democratic but at the end of the day it is more populist.
• F1 (2025): An ad for F1 in IMAX. If you like looking at ads, Brad Pitt and/or Formula 1, and if you enjoy being told what and when to feel, this is a movie for you. I found this disclaimer 'This program contains product placement' a bit misleading. A better disclaimer would be 'This is a product placement'.
• For When You Get Lost (2023): A movie dealing with heavy topics (plural). It is all about the relationship between the sisters, and while there are some fun scenes, it is ultimately forgettable.
• Hele vejen (2025): This movie was much too conventional and reminiscent of similar movies within the genre coming out of Denmark. I had high hopes for the manuscript as I like Babak Vakili's music ('Vakilisme' is amazing Danish hip-hop), but, alas, this movie does not bring anything new to the table.
• Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster (2025): A decent documentary about the OceanGate-gate. A lot of details I was not aware of, but I would have liked the documentary to only be out once the court case was closed. That is, this documentary would have been a lot more interesting if there was an actual ending to the ongoing lawsuit.
• La cabina (1972): A Kafkaesque masterpiece. This is everything I wish Black Mirror could be like.
• Loudermilk (2017): A ridiculous show. Nothing of substance, and it is not funny. I am not sure whether the tonal discrepancy of the main character is intentional, but there is a complete lack of character development throughout the first season. I had to stop after the first season as there was no indication that the show would get any better with a second season.
• No Other Land (2024): A powerful documentary. Sadly, it is more relevant than ever. Something tells me that this is a documentary we can watch many years from now to understand what went on in these years in the West Bank.
• One Battle After Another (2025): Paul Thomas Anderson is simply one of the best American directors at the moment. This movie is no There Will Be Blood (and luckily, no Licorice Pizza), but it is saying a lot about the United States these years in ways that make you happy that you are not living there (not that you needed any reminders). The acting is superb (I only thought about the fact that I had just watched a movie with Sean Penn during the end credits, though I did think about Leonardo DiCaprio as Leonardo DiCaprio several times), the cinematography was amazing, and so was the score (as things usually are in PTA's movies). The movie is almost 3 hours long and I believe it could have worked just as fine if it were closer to 2 hours (but that goes for most movies coming out these days).
• Smiling Friends (2025): Another good Adult Swim show. The animation is great and only made better by the dialogues between the main characters. As always with these shows, some episodes are amazing and others are borderline boring. However, as each episode is only around 10 minutes, it is easy to forgive a subpar episode and move on to the next one. Recommended.
• Superman (2025): Clark Kent of the Galaxy. This is one of the better Superman movies, but that does not really say a lot if anything. I appreciate that they are trying something new, but I find it annoying that it is basically just James Gunn doing what he has done before with a new superhero.
• Sønnike (2025): The title of the movie makes it easy to understand early on what is going to happen throughout the movie (the only thing that makes you doubt it is the fact that there are only 11 years between the main characters in real life, and it shows). I like a slowly paced movie as much as the next guy, but here the pacing is forced to evoke certain emotions rather than letting the narrative and characters do the work. In other words, the movie is boring. I found a lot of the dialogue to be stupid, especially in the scenes that end with physical altercations or the threat thereof.
• The IT Crowd (2006): This show aged like milk. I really cannot understand what people see in this show. If you are into misogynistic and transphobic humour, this might be for you. If there is even a shadow of doubt about the intentions of the jokes, it is clear from the laugh track that you are laughing at - and on behalf - of minorities, never out of empathy or understanding. Such a bad show.
• The Long Walk (2025): Speed but without a bus. I was not familiar with Stephen King's book, but I like the premise. It is also great when it takes twenty minutes before we see the title screen in a movie. I do hope the book is better than the movie, and I find it very likely. It is difficult to make a movie about people having to walk for as long as possible. The problem is that I do not believe the characters at all. They are somewhat smart but they want to keep talking and talking and talking. And talking. Even after hundreds of kilometers of walking without any sleep they talk just as much as when they started walking, even yelling and joking at each other. I didn't care much about the conversations between the characters and there is not really anything else to this movie. I can now go for, say, ten years without another Stephen King adaptation.
• The Perfect Neighbor (2025): The Perfect Neighbor is one of the documentaries that relies on as few means as possible to tell as much as possible. In brief, what makes this movie work well is the juxtaposition of fear and anger in adulthood and joy and playfulness of the children, until of course the children are confronted with the sad reality. There is no speaker, and you are primarily looking at police bodycam footage presented with descriptive facts. I believe the documentary could have worked well even without any score. However, this is of course not the same as the documentary presenting reality one-to-one (if even possible), and as much as Susan Lorincz is the villain in this movie, it is also obvious that she has been the victim earlier in life, if not for most of her life.
• The Threesome (2025): A threesome, two pregnancies, and an obvious conundrum. The movie is trying to strike a balance between the serious and the quirky, but the end result is superficial. I did not find this movie romantic or funny, and you are not missing out on a lot if you skip this one.
• Titanic in Colour (2024): How many photos do we have of and from Titanic? Very few, if any. That is one reason why a documentary series in two episodes about the Titanic in colour makes little sense. There is simply very limited material to show in colour. As a result, we end up seeing the same pictures again and again, hearing the same things again and again, and seeing irrelevant material, such as clips from an auction on Titanic memorabilia.
• Under the Skin (2013): A slow-paced sci-fi movie. It is one of those movies that you either love or hate, and I am happy to say that I am among the former. I was not sure whether I should watch this after the disappointing The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer, but I am glad I did. However, do not expect a lot of plot. The movie is more about emotions and atmosphere.

Books

• 111 Places in London That You Shouldn't Miss by John Sykes: A good reminder that there is always a lot to experience in London. If you are looking for recommendations beyond the obvious tourist locations, this book is good to check out. There are a few too many gardens and parks and sculptures for my liking, but those are easy to skip. Also great to see a picture for each recommendation and a map at the end of the book to position all places.
• Det vidste du ikke om Danmark by Mai-Britt Schultz and Rasmus Dahlberg: I liked this book. It is full of Danish history anecdotes that you will not find in most books about Danish history. In particular, I enjoyed the small bits and pieces of random trivia, such as the fact that the postal code of Viby J. (8260) is exactly the double of the postal code of Viby Sj. (4130). That being said, I do not have any immediate need to read the sequel (Det vidste du heller ikke om Danmark).
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling: I am reading the Harry Potter series, and I finally got to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The book is well-written and engaging throughout despite its length. It follows the same narrative structure as the previous books with some extra layers (primarily in connection to Lord Voldemort). Overall, it is interesting how badly some parts of the books have aged, especially in the depiction of the physical traits of the Dursley family. However, I am certain that if J.K. Rowling would be a character in the Harry Potter universe today, she would be a beloved member of the Dursley family.
• How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson: An amazing book on six innovations detailed in six chapters: 'Glass', 'Cold', 'Sound', 'Clean', 'Time', and 'Light'. Almost every page in this book contains an interesting fact/observation/anecdote. My favourite chapters ranked from the best to the worst: 'Cold', 'Glass', 'Clean', 'Sound', 'Light', 'Time'. Simply one of the best books I have read this year.
• How to Win the Premier League: The Inside Story of Football's Data Revolution by Ian Graham: A book about football and data. This one by Ian Graham, the former Director of Research of Liverpool. Over the past ten years we have seen several books from the UK about football and data, and this is one of the better ones if you are very much into football. If you are very much into data but do not know the various players in the Premier League, I cannot recommend this book. I was hoping that this book would focus on data and statistics and then apply it on football, but the book is much more about football and then discussing data and statistics when relevant. There are simply too many anecdotes and I do not know most of the names of the players, let alone care for their trajectories or achievements. In brief, this book would have benefitted a lot from tables and figures and other ways to provide more structure to the quantitative insights discussed throughout the various chapters. The book is best when it goes full inside baseball on statistical issues (e.g., in the discussions about arguments made in The Numbers Game).
• Killing and Dying: Stories by Adrian Tomine: A collection of six graphic stories. None of these stories are unique on their own, but together they make such a unique piece of art. While I really enjoyed this collection, I can easily understand if these stories are not for everybody (and more reminiscent of the sentiment in New Yorker cartoons than the flow in typical graphic novels).
• Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain: Anthony Bourdain is a great writer and if you have watched any of his shows, e.g., Parts Unknown, you will find it easy to read the book in his voice. That is, he has a strong voice and an ability to explain, explore and entertain observations and ideas. If you are into restaurants or are just slightly familiar with Anthony Bourdain, this book is worth reading.
• Looks Good To Me: Constructive code reviews by Adrienne Braganza: A really good book on the many aspects of code review. There are a lot of good considerations on what constitutes a good code review, the various trade-offs, and practical recommendations (e.g., how to make proper pull requests). I actually think a lot of academics could learn a lot from a book like this if the objective is to improve the peer-review process in academic journals.
• Løb i storbyer - Europa: Løberens guide til 49 europæiske storbyer by Else Marie Lehman: A book with recommendations for running routes in 49 European cities. Each chapter consists of a brief introduction to the city, suggestions for 5K/10K/longer/different runs, and some practical information. I took a few notes for future travel plans, but I did not find the book interesting. Specifically, I am not sure the medium is the best way to explore running routes in different cities. Go to YouTube and search for running in your city of interest and you will find more relevant details than what you find here. There are a few illustrations in the book, but I would have liked for these to be replaced with maps to make it easier to get a sense of where the different routes are within the specific cities.
• Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference by Rutger Bregman: This is a weird book. I learned a lot from reading the book, but the context and message is misguided. The assumption is that a lot of people are wasting their talent and should start doing something better with their lives. I am not against people doing better, but I do not believe in the concept of moral ambition as presented here. The main problem with the content is what you see in other self-help books, such as selection effects, survivorship bias, confirmation bias and whatnot. However, if you want to read this book, ask yourself the following question throughout the different chapters: Would you like for people you fundamentally disagree with to follow the advice presented in this book?
• Python Polars: The Definitive Guide: Transforming, Analyzing, and Visualizing Data with a Fast and Expressive DataFrame API by Jeroen Janssens and Thijs Nieuwdorp: I am always a bit skeptical when a book calls itself 'The Definitive Guide' (especially in the title). I would not call this book the definitive guide. However, I will say that this is so far the best book on the market to consult if you want to pick up Polars in Python. The book covers a lot of material and you get a comprehensive overview of what you can do with Polars. If anything, I would have preferred the book to be more opinionated in terms of what is important in Polars rather than cover everything. For example, you will encounter one table after the other with a long list of specific methods or functions you can apply. If I wanted to get this overview like a reference manual, I can just visit the official documentation (also to ensure that I get the up-to-date documentation). The purpose of the book is to provide structure and ideally a narrative that can not only introduce me to relevant material, but also cut out irrelevant material. You can be a bit more selective towards the end of the book in what you want to read about. I, for example, did not care much about how to write custom plugins for Polars in Rust, but found the introduction to the Polars architecture interesting, including the different engines (in-memory, streaming, and CUDA-accelerated). Finally, the chapter on visualising data could easily have been cut out, and it should be outside the scope of a book like this. The chapter covers Altair (the built-in plotting functionality of Polars), hvPlot (the former plotting backend in Polars), and plotnine (ggplot2 for Python), and I fundamentally do not see a reason for why Polars should have a built-in plotting functionality.
• Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte: A collection of short stories. I enjoyed the first three stories the most, i.e., 'The Feminist', 'Pics', and 'Ahegao', and I believe that an extra fourth story with a similar style and theme would have worked better as a book than what is now the second part of the book.
• Ultimate Book of Trivia: The Essential Collection of over 1,000 Curious Facts to Impress Your Friends and Expand Your Mind by Scott McNeely: The signal-to-noise ratio in this book is low. The format of 'true or false' is taking up a lot of space that could have been saved by simply stating 'true' facts. I also did not like that some statements were false because the true statement is more extreme. The main problem is that a lot of the facts are flat out wrong, and I could use an LLM for fact-checking some of the statements, e.g., I could easily ask questions such as 'Is glass a very slow-moving liquid?', 'Is honey the only food produced by an insect that humans eat?', 'Could you live your entire life eating nothing but honey?', etc. A lot of the facts, when they are not wrong, are exaggerations and need clarification.
• Visualization for Social Data Science by Roger Beecham: I have almost lost count of the books introducing data visualisation with ggplot2. In this book you will find some beautiful visualisations and examples on how to visualise data. There are some good advice throughout the book but too many of the examples deal with spatial data visualisation. Maps are important, but I would have liked to see a bit more variation in the different types of visualisation that we encounter in the social sciences.