Uncertain Age

The Company of Strangers

Welcome to Uncertain Age! This week, AR (Anna) Nicholas and Dale Basye risk stranger danger to watch either The Company of Strangers or Strangers in Good Company (it’s complicated). This 1990 Canadian docufiction film features eight elderly women who find themselves stranded in the countryside when their tour bus breaks down. Is this largely improvised film a poignant look at what is revealed when you find yourself outside your comfort zone, or an aimless snooze that could have benefited from an actual script and proper actors? Find out on Uncertain Age! And if there’s a movie, show, or podcast you’d like us to review, let us know at info@uncertainage.co! 

Slow Horses

Welcome to Uncertain Age! This week, AR (Anna) Nicholas and Dale Basye saddle up to watch the Apple TV+ show Slow Horses, the spy thriller following a group of disgraced MI5 agents led by their cynical and sharp-tongued boss, Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman). Does the show gallop through the spy genre with dark humor and gritty drama, or is it a tired steed destined for the TV glue factory? Find out on Uncertain Age! And if there’s a movie, show, or podcast you’d like us to review, let us know at info@uncertainage.co! 

Everything Went Fine

Welcome to Uncertain Age! This week, AR (Anna) Nicholas and Dale Basye stock up on antidepressants and watch Everything Went Fine, a 2021 French drama where an 85-year-old father asks his daughter to help him end his life through assisted suicide after suffering a debilitating stroke. Is the film a deeply human and unsentimental meditation on love, mortality, and agency, or a depressing slog led by an unsympathetic protagonist who you wish would just get on with it already? Find out on Uncertain Age! And if there’s a movie, show, or podcast you’d like us to review, let us know at info@uncertainage.co! 

The Thursday Murder Club

Welcome to Uncertain Age! This week, AR (Anna) Nicholas and Dale Basye put on their reading glasses to peruse the 2020 murder mystery The Thursday Murder Club, a novel by British television presenter Richard Osman where a group of pensioners in an idyllic retirement village use their wits to crack open a murder case. Is the book a cozy page-turner with clever twists or a snoozy rehash of murder mystery tropes only with a gray coat of paint? Find out on Uncertain Age! And if there’s a movie, show, or podcast you’d like us to review, let us know at info@uncertainage.co! 

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Welcome to Uncertain Age! This week, AR (Anna) Nicholas and Dale Basye put on their comfortable walking shoes to go on The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: the 2023 drama starring Jim Broadbent as the restless title character who goes on a—wait for it—unlikely pilgrimage that he believes will keep an old friend alive. Is Harold’s story an affecting portrait of a man hoping to make amends with his past, or a well-worn journey with holes in its sole? Find out on Uncertain Age! And if there’s a movie, show, or podcast you’d like us to review, let us know at info@uncertainage.co! 

Ulee's Gold

Welcome to Uncertain Age! This week, AR (Anna) Nicholas and Dale Basye revisit 1997’s “bee” movie Ulee’s Gold, a quietly powerful film that also explores themes of aging, redemption, and family. Directed by Victor Nunez and starring Peter Fonda in one of his most nuanced performances, Ulee’s Gold follows Ulee Jackson, a widowed beekeeper who struggles to hold his fractured family together while tending to his hives and dealing with a messy past. Set in the heart of Florida’s rural landscape, the film weaves a delicate narrative about personal resilience and the price of making peace with one’s choices. Is Ulee’s Gold an overlooked gem that captures the complexity of late-life reinvention, or does it get lost in its own subdued pace? Tune in to Uncertain Age to find out! And if there’s a movie, show, or podcast you’d like us to review, drop us a line at info@uncertainage.co.

The Mule

Welcome to Uncertain Age! This week, AR (Anna) Nicholas and Dale Basye take a ride with Clint Eastwood’s 2018 film The Mule. Inspired by a true story, The Mule follows Earl Stone, an elderly horticulturist who inadvertently becomes a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. As he navigates a dangerous underworld, Earl is forced to confront his past mistakes, estranged family, and the unexpected consequences of his choices. With Eastwood directing and starring, the film blends crime drama with a poignant meditation on aging, redemption, and the price of a life lived on the margins. Is The Mule a gripping and introspective late-career triumph for Eastwood, or does it stall under its own weight? Find out on Uncertain Age! And if there’s a movie, show, or podcast you’d like us to review, let us know at info@uncertainage.co.

The Great Beauty

Welcome to Uncertain Age! This week, AR (Anna) Nicholas and Dale Basye gaze lovingly at Paolo Sorrentino’s 2013 cinematic masterpiece, The Great Beauty. Starring Toni Servillo as the charismatic yet world-weary Jep Gambardella, the film explores the lavish decadence of Rome’s high society while contemplating art, memory, and the search for meaning in a fleeting world. With its breathtaking cinematography and melancholic humor, The Great Beautyinvites us to reflect on the passage of time and the illusions of grandeur. Is The Great Beauty an awe-inspiring meditation on life’s ephemeral nature, or does its opulence overshadow its substance? Find out on Uncertain Age! And if there’s a movie, show, or podcast you’d like us to review, let us know at info@uncertainage.co.

Poor Things

Welcome to Uncertain Age! This week, AR (Anna) Nicholas and Dale Basye dissect the 2023 film Poor Things. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Academy Award-winning Emma Stone, Poor Things is a surreal and visually stunning tale of transformation, liberation, and self-discovery. Stone plays Bella Baxter, a young woman resurrected by an unorthodox scientist, who embarks on an adventure of enlightenment and exploration, challenging societal norms along the way. Is Poor Things a brilliant and provocative reimagining of identity and autonomy, or does its eccentricity overshadow its emotional depth? Find out on Uncertain Age! And if there’s a movie, show, or podcast you’d like us to review, let us know at info@uncertainage.co.

Master Gardener

Welcome to Uncertain Age! This week, AR (Anna) Nicholas sharpen their critical shears for the 2022 film Master Gardener, while Dale Basye accidentally reviewed the 2005 film The Constant Gardener. This stuff happens sometimes. Is Master Gardener a compelling and meditative character study, or does it struggle to cultivate a meaningful narrative? Is The Constant Gardener a gripping political thriller that remains relevant today, or does its slow-burn storytelling lose momentum? Find out on Uncertain Age! And if there’s a movie, show, or podcast you’d like us to review, let us know at info@uncertainage.co.