Saying goodbye
Feb. 20 — Happy Friday, everyone! We’ve had another sad week in the cinema world. Screen legend Robert Duvall, known for roles in “The Godfather” series, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and so many more, passed away at the age of 95. A few days later, it was announced that Tom Noonan, a filmmaker and actor known for roles in films like “Manhunter,” passed away on Valentine’s Day. He was 74 years old. And then, last night, Eric Dane – or, as I fondly knew him, McSteamy on “Grey’s Anatomy” – died after a 10-month battle with ALS.
It feels like so many of my favorite actors are dying lately – I don’t know if that’s just a signal that I’m getting older or what, but whatever it is, I don’t like it. Let’s all turn on “Network,” “Heat,” or “Grey’s” this weekend in their honor.
Without further ado … Action!
📽️ The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival kicked off this Wednesday. I’ll have some pieces on the festival publishing over the next week or so, so look out for that.
🏳️🌈 Out On Film has announced the line-up for the fourth annual Spring Mini Fest, which will play from March 17-19.
🍿 At its next Eat, Drink & B-Indie, the Atlanta Film Society is hosting a preview for the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival’s Creative Conference, which is a collection of panel discussions that runs alongside the festival. The preview will take place on March 17 at Manuel’s Tavern.
👾 A company called ToursByLocals is offering a private tour of all of the “Stranger Things” filming locations in Atlanta.
🤝 After rejecting multiple bids, Warner Bros. Discovery has reopened deal talks with Paramount to explore “deficiencies” in Paramount’s offer to buy WBD in its entirety. The talks are happening under a seven-day waiver from Netflix, who already has a pending deal to buy WBD’s streaming and studio businesses. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos joined Matt Belloni on The Town to talk about the deal this week – take a listen here.
🏆 The Independent Spirit Awards took place this past weekend, honoring films like “Train Dreams,” “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” and “Sorry, Baby.”
This week’s newsletter has an interview with Belgian filmmaker Frank Van Passel and local actor Cecelia Specht, as well as a look back at the 2001 classic “Kissing Jessica Stein” and a review of the new horror film “This Is Not a Test.” Plus, what’s playing at theaters this week, a new edition of Spotlight, and some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
🏀 It’s game time, Hawks fans! Wrap up February with nonstop action and cheer on the Hawks for their back-to-back, East Coast matchups against the Heat, Nets, and Wizards. Grab your seats now! SPONSOR MESSAGE
‘Kissing Jessica Stein’ and the fluidity of sexual attraction
💋 I’ve always heard that when “Kissing Jessica Stein” came out in 2001, it was praised for its portrayal of a lesbian relationship. Reading old reviews, however, paints a different picture.
Many of the contemporary “Kissing Jessica Stein” reviews that I read have a similar bent: whether positive or negative, a lot of critics seem to agree that they never really believed that Jessica (Jennifer Westfeldt) and Helen (Heather Juergensen) would end up together (spoiler alert: they don’t). While many of them recognize Westfeldt and Juergensen’s comedic chemistry, there isn’t much praise for their romance.
However, looking at reactions from queer women in particular (both contemporary and retrospective), a different picture comes to light. Scrolling through Letterboxd, frustration over the film’s last 10 minutes – where Helen breaks up with Jessica because they never have sex anymore, and Jessica reconnects with her toxic male ex and boss, Josh (Scott Cohen) – is palpable. But, even given the film’s ending, I don’t think that “Kissing Jessica Stein” is a failure of a queer film. It’s just less about same sex relationships than it is the fluidity of sexual attraction.
🏳️🌈 “Kissing Jessica Stein” is playing at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival on Feb. 21. Read my full retrospective here.
Party like it’s 1985 at our 40th Artistic Affair!
SPONSORED BY SPRUILL CENTER FOR THE ARTS
✨ Dust off your cassettes and tease your hair, we’re having a FUNdraiser – so be there or be square!
Join us on March 28 as Spruill Center for the Arts kicks off the 40th year of Artistic Affair! Get ready for full-on 1980s fun, complete with an open bar, arcade games, costume contests, a live auction, and more.
Frank Van Passel talks visualizing sound in ‘The Soundman’
🇧🇪 Before the Nazis invaded in May of 1940, Belgium had publicly declared its neutrality in the event of another World War. In those fragile days leading up to the invasion, tensions were bubbling, with antisemitism and anti-refugee sentiments on the rise.
“The Soundman,” written and directed by Belgian filmmaker Frank Van Passel, tracks those days just before the invasion, but from a point of view you might not expect. The film follows Berre (Jef Hellemans), a young sound engineer for Belgium’s national radio, and his budding romance with Elza (Femke Vanhove), a Jewish refugee and on-air performer at the radio station. The film is playing at this year’s Atlanta Jewish Film Festival on March 1.
As would seem evident by its name, “The Soundman” features a heavy focus on its auditory world, conceptualizing not just how sound can affect our emotions, but also what sound looks like. Ahead of the screening, I talked to Van Passel about the making of the film.
🎧 Check out that conversation here.
Actress Cecelia Specht talks new role on daytime soap ‘Beyond the Gates’
📺 Over 25 years after making her first soap opera appearance on “Neighbours,” actress Cecelia Specht is back in the soap opera game.
The Smyrna-based actress made her debut as Dr. Lia Whitmore on “Beyond the Gates” on Feb. 13, and is poised for a juicy storyline. “Beyond the Gates” – the first daytime soap opera to feature a predominantly Black cast since “Generations” – centers around the wealthy Dupree family and their lives within an affluent gated community.
“Beyond the Gates” has garnered favorable reviews since it began in 2025, and recently was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards – the first daytime drama series to earn that distinction. Specht was excited to be a part of the team.
🩺 Check out my interview with Specht here.
‘This Is Not a Test’ gives less than the bare minimumWEEKLY FILM REVIEW
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🧟 The beginning of Adam MacDonald’s “This Is Not a Test” is disorienting – and not in the way you expect a zombie apocalypse movie to be.
We meet our protagonist, Sloane (Olivia Holt). She’s sitting in the bathtub and reading a suicide note, and it’s pretty cut and dried where this scene is headed. She’s interrupted by her dad, and when we meet him, we understand a little more about what’s got her in such dire straits. Then, very quickly, zombies attack, and we’re off to the races.
Before the zombies come into play, the dialogue between Sloane and her dad is almost impressively expository, a problem that will persist throughout “This Is Not a Test,” which is based on Courtney Summers’ novel of the same name. Through that dialogue, we learn that Sloane’s dad is abusive, her mom is gone, and her sister Lily (Joelle Farrow) also left not too long ago. However, we learn nothing substantial about Sloane as a character. And therein lies the rub.
🏫 Check out my full review here.
At the Movies!
If you’re looking for a movie to see in theaters this week, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to!
Movies releasing this weekend:
🏹 “How to Make a Killing” (pictured)
🚸 “This Is Not a Test”
🏍️ “Pillion”
🌨️ “Midwinter Break”
🇯🇵 “Kokuho”
❤️ “The Love That Remains”
Special Events:
✝️ “Def By Temptation” @ The Plaza (Saturday-Thursday)
🏙️ “Sleepless in Seattle” @ The Tara (Saturday-Tuesday)
📺 “Anchorman” @ Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sunday-Monday)
🏀 It’s game time, Hawks fans! Wrap up February with nonstop action and cheer on the Hawks for their back-to-back, East Coast matchups against the Heat, Nets, and Wizards. Grab your seats now! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Spotlight: Regina Hall, ‘One Battle After Another’
🥋 There’s been a lot of chatter during this Oscars season about the ladies of “One Battle After Another.” Teyana Taylor is nominated for her work playing Perfidia Beverly Hills, one of the members of the revolutionary group the French 75. Chase Infiniti probably should have been recognized for her work as Willa, Perfidia’s daughter. But Regina Hall, it seems, has been a little overlooked.
In a lot of ways, this makes sense – Taylor holds down the beginning of the film, while Infiniti’s character takes charge at the end. Hall, who plays French 75 member Deandra, takes a little bit of a backseat in comparison. She’s a bit hard to pin down – she’s a bit more serious, a bit quieter and more contemplative than her comrades in arms. In the hands of a different actor, that quietness might fly under the radar. But it’s impossible to look away from Hall’s face when she’s on screen.
Hall has always been a skilled comedian, her career popping off when she starred as Brenda Meeks in the “Scary Movie” franchise. Of course, she’s naturally hilarious (you only have to watch this video of her accepting an award on Kevin Costner’s behalf to know that), but I’ve always loved her more serious work.
Her work in “One Battle After Another” reminds me a bit of her turn as Lisa, the general manager of a mom-and-pop version of “Hooters,” in 2018’s “Support the Girls.” It’s less of a funny turn, but she carries the same sort of worn intelligence in her face – the type of person who’s a little “sick of this sh*t,” but too invested to ever truly let herself give up. That dependable quality gives her best scene in the film, in which she silently weeps as a federal agent interrogates her about Leonardo DiCaprio’s character’s whereabouts, an extra painful bent. There’s an ambiguity here – is she crying because she doesn’t want to say? Is she crying because she doesn’t know? – and Hall is so good at holding that close to her chest while communicating such a deep well of emotion.
Lights, Camera, Action!
🇧🇷 In “The Secret Agent,” nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year, Wagner Moura achieves a time-honored leading man tradition – simultaneously being the hottest and the saddest man alive (I’m talking to YOU, George Clooney in “Michael Clayton!”). On a recent episode of NPR’s “Wild Card” podcast, host Rachel Martin talks to Moura about taking on the role, prioritizing joy in his life, and aging like a fine wine.
🏒 It seems like “Heated Rivalry,” the hockey romance show about rivals-turned-lovers Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), blew up overnight. Well, apparently the creators also had about that much time to deliver a final product. For Vulture, Iana Murray talked to composer Peter Jones, who had just one night to create the music for Shane and Ilya’s first love scene.
⛔ In one of my favorite drafts “The Big Picture” podcast has ever done, hosts Amanda and Sean and a few special guests drafted their favorite Oscar snubs. Everything from “Brokeback Mountain” to “Singin’ in the Rain” made the cut. Take a listen here!
🖊️ Today’s Scene was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.