Tom van der Linden

Creator of Like Stories of Old. Curious about films, and life.

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

About 2 years ago, I was reading Cormac McCarthy's The Crossing when I came across a passage that stopped me dead in my tracks. It told of a heretic, a priest, and the meaning of life. And today, more than anything, I just need to pass on this tale: https://t.co/P9NPIpy8Sr

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

My extended thoughts on Backrooms: a fantastic concept rendered into a near masterpiece - brought down only by a stifling script that breaks atmospheric immersion and layers what should have been a direct, sensory experience with needless metaphors: https://t.co/cPpGGDqbQQ

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

New video! The live of a mediocre movie is often short-lived: watched, enjoyed, and then promptly forgotten. But on rare occasions, such a movie will persist in the mind and, as if almost by accident, plant a seed that grows into something life-changing: https://t.co/KqkxJUJgHV

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

New video out now on Nebula! In which I talk about 6 mediocre movies that should have been long forgotten but somehow stayed with me: https://t.co/xTSeN2nmLM

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

Frustrating thing about #Backrooms is that it's a 5 star concept with a 2 star execution - which simultaneously leaves you with the excitement of experiencing something genuinely refreshing, and with the pain of missed potential

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

New 2nd channel video! If you liked Project Hail Mary, here's 5 more movies to watch (that aren't Interstellar, Arrival, Sunshine, The Martian or Ad Astra) https://t.co/OLarPDJ9f6

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

Lots of people offering explanations, like I understand the "why" (horror has always been low-risk/high-reward) I just kind of miss the time when movie culture would also go wild over a "Clerks", "Slacker", "Pi", "Following", "Monsters", "Primer" or "Chronicle" or something

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

The only exception I can think of is the 'thoughtful drama', which we're still getting a good amount of -"Aftersun", "Past Lives", "Sorry, Baby", "The Quiet Girl", "Shiva Baby" - but other than that genre diversity in feature debuts does seem to have declined significantly imo

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

Great to see new filmmakers getting their big break but kinda wish there was more variety in genre here

[Joshua Gould @voicearchivist]

Horror movies directed by YouTubers.

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

Lots of people offering explanations, like I understand the "why" (horror has always been low-risk/high-reward) I just kind of miss the time when movie culture would also go wild over a "Clerks", "Slacker", "Pi", "Following", "Monsters", "Primer" or "Chronicle" or something

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

For further elaboration, here’s my 4-hour critique of Nolan’s career and work: https://t.co/lPCsOqmdAM

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

I maintain my position that Nolan is generally overrated by filmbro’s but still seriously underrated by cinephiles

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

New video out now on Nebula! a 40-minute video essay on 20 pages of a Cormac McCarthy novel, the 2025 movie Train Dreams, and... well, the meaning of life
https://t.co/IvNWBtNWrP

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

Reality has outpaced it

[Drew Bricks (fell for the soup) @DrewBricks]

Anyone else just… completely lose interest in The Boys?

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

Seeing this casually pass the feed in between the horrifying images of Israel's genocidal rage just adds another layer of grief to an already deeply tragic state of affairs. We could have filled our hearts with awe and wonder. Created miracles. What have we become?

[NASA @NASA]

Hello, Moon. It’s great to be back.

Here’s a taste of what the Artemis II astronauts photographed during their flight around the Moon. Check out more photos from the mission: https://t.co/rzM1P0QbOl

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

2nd channel alert! Another video on Project Hail Mary, the irony/sincerity discourse, and on how - no, it's actually not all just "hopecore" space movies: https://t.co/vOyefrneen

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

For decades, Hollywood has tried to adapt Cormac McCarthy. And now that his magnum opus, the notoriously violent Blood Meridian, is once again in production, what can we learn from the previously adapted works of his? How to film this "unfilmable" author? https://t.co/QkuTSDuUv9

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

Secondly, and exclusively for Nebula folks: my hour+ long conversation with Jake - in which we discuss McCarthy at length, share our own dream adaptations of his books, and make a list of the most McCarthy-like movies that weren't actually written by him https://t.co/Z6vuOpCaX1

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

Up now on Nebula - 2 new videos! ft. none other than @ManCarrying
First, a deep dive into the challenges of adapting Cormac McCarthy books. What hope is there for the coming adaptation of his magnum opus, the notoriously violent Blood Meridian?
https://t.co/0Ir162lyhL

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

@austincamsmith Yeah honestly, in 2019 especially, there’s like 4-5 movies that could have easily taken that spot, so many good options there

[Tom van der Linden @Tom_LSOO]

2025: One Battle After Another
2024: The Brutalist
2023: Oppenheimer
2022: Aftersun
2021: The Worst Person in the World
2020: Tenet (I guess)
2019: A Hidden Life
2018: First Man
2017: Call Me By Your Name
2016: Paterson

[Brandon Streussnig @BrndnStrssng]

2025: Caught by the Tides
2024: Love Lies Bleeding
2023: Asteroid City
2022: Ambulance
2021: Memoria
2020: Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
2019: Uncut Gems
2018: An Elephant Sitting Still
2017: Call Me by Your Name
2016: Personal Shopper