119. Hail Mary
I.
Director Pablo LarraĆn certainly knows how to pick them: world-famous women who became entangled in tragedy. He has already made films about Jackie Kennedy and Diana Spencer, and recently completed his trilogy with a biopic about Maria Callas.
In Maria, the opera singer is played by Angelina Jolie. It had been a while since Iād seen Jolie in a film, and she truly blew me away here as the diva, who spends the end of her life alone, popping pills and plagued by ill health. On the one hand, Jolie brings the flair of a mega-celebrity to her role, but she also plays the cracked mask of the prima donna ā and the pain seeping through the cracks ā with unparalleled skill.
What is an opera singer without her voice? Callas is her voice; at least, that is what she is constantly told. And when she loses her voice, she is at a loss. All she wants is to be praised, adored. She goes to the cafƩ, not to eat, but to be seen.
LarraĆn does not make Maria a standard biographical work either. Because Callas has become addicted to Mandrax, reality begins to blend with a dream world. The medication causes hallucinations that trigger flashbacks to her past. As a result, you not only experience the singerās final days, but also get a broad outline of her life story. It works a treat.
Ultimately, it is a sad film. Whilst watching, I was occasionally reminded of Sunset Boulevard, as Jolie plays a Norma Desmond-like character. But as Peter Bradshaw writes in his review for The Guardian, Callasās story is actually more cruel. Desmond faded into obscurity after the film industry cast her aside, but Callasās star status remained immense. She simply could no longer live up to it herself.
- - -II.
Actually, I wanted to wait a bit longer before buying a Nintendo Switch 2. Death Stranding 2 is coming out next week, after all. But thanks to an old-fashioned impulse buy, I ended up getting it this week anyway. Along with my new addiction: Mario Kart World.
Now, I wouldnāt exactly call myself the biggest Mario Kart fan. Of all the games in the series, the one Iāve played the most is Mario Kart 64, the game I used to play at friendsā houses on a Nintendo 64 (which I didnāt own myself). Later instalments have largely passed me by too, apart from Nintendoās smash hit Mario Kart 8, of course. With 68 million copies sold, thatās by far the best-selling Switch game. But I never really got hooked on that one either.
Mario Kart World features an open world for the first time, connecting all the race tracks. Sometimes you drive from one track to another, and that journey itself is the race. And the world is alive: you drive through a herd of zebras, a huge whale leaps out of the water as you drive over it, and Rainbow Road is a breathtaking spectacle amongst the stars. As a player, youāre constantly rewarded. In the Japanese way: with stamps and stickers. You canāt really do much with them, yet you still want them.
The addiction lies in the online multiplayer. On the first day, I unwrapped the Switch 2 at the start of the evening, launched Mario Kart World, joined a track with a friend, and before we knew it, it was midnight. Itās pure chaos, itās swearing, itās laughter: exactly as it should be in Mario Kart. And perhaps the most brilliant mode is Knockout Tour. You start with 24 players and at certain checkpoints four people are eliminated at a time, until the final players battle it out for first place. I canāt stop.
- - -PS.
Joan Didion was the Queen of Essays, but she never fully laid herself bare in them. There was a certain distance between her work and her private life. It is therefore interesting that her personal notes have now been compiled in Notes to John. Both the Volkskrant and NRC have excellent reviews. Both pieces consider the question of whether these highly personal notes should have been published at all. And if you know that was probably not the intention: should you read them anyway?
You almost always see the Muppets from the waist up, because the puppeteers are hidden below. But sometimes you see Kermit on a bike, Rizzo jumping off something or Gonzo on a swing. How did they do that? Where are the puppeteers? Watch this video and youāll find out. A delightful bit of technical ingenuity and a touch of film magic.
- - -I didnāt see this one coming: after 40 years, thereās going to be a sequel to the space comedy Spaceballs. Living legend Mel Brooks (now 98) will be appearing in it again, but more strikingly: Rick Moranis too. That actor, from 1980s classics such as Little Shop of Horrors, Ghostbusters and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, hasnāt appeared on the big screen since 1997. After his wife passed away, he stepped back from acting to look after his children. Heās apparently ready to get back into the swing of things now.
- - -There is a trailer for Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere. Starring Jeremy Allen White as The Boss. Bruce Springsteen himself was on set a few times. He enjoyed himself there immensely, but sometimes stayed at home on purpose. āWhen a very personal scene was being filmed, I wanted to give the actors complete freedom and not get in their way,ā he tells Rolling Stone. Iām curious; the first footage leaves me wanting more.
- - -The Trump family is launching a phone this autumn. A golden monstrosity, completely branded with MAGA. I wrote about it in my blog on NU.nl.
You have just read blog No. 119, written during the week of 16 to 22 June 2025. Subscribe to my free newsletter to receive this blog in your inbox every Sunday.