‘Secret Invasion’ star Samuel L. Jackson’s best roles (besides Nick Fury, of course)
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who can’t get enough of Samuel L. Jackson.
Jackson recently reprised his role as Nick Fury in the Marvel series “Secret Invasion,” but as director Ali Selim points out in this week’s Guest Spot, the actor has delivered, time and again, for decades.
Read on to find out Selim’s favorite Samuel L. Jackson performances, catch up on the polarizing final season of “Ted Lasso,” get viewing recommendations for your weekend and more.
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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
“The Afterparty” (Apple TV+)
Christopher Miller and Phil Lord‘s metafictional mystery series has returned. Where the first season was surprising and delightful, the new one, which repeats the central gimmick — aping various film genres to tell the story — is unavoidably less surprising. (So far this season, we’ve seen the action couched as romantic comedy, period drama, film noir and Wes Anderson, according to different characters’ perspectives.) But it remains delightful. The translation of the plot into different stylistic languages is witty, the mystery engaging and the cast great company: Sam Richardson (Aniq), Zoë Chao (Zoe) and Tiffany Haddish (detective Danner, now a civilian) have been joined by the likes of John Cho, Ken Jeong, Vivian Wu, Anna Konkle, Paul Walter Hauser and Elizabeth Perkins. Where the previous season, set around a high-school reunion, had something of the framework of an Agatha Christie country-house mystery, the current run is actually set in one, where Zoe’s sister Grace (Poppy Liu) is accused of killing new husband, Edgar (Zach Woods), on their wedding night. And where the people of Season 1 put on false fronts with friends who had become strangers, the current one is stocked with people who know each other perhaps too well, or think they do. Families, they’re murder. —Robert Lloyd
“Nothing Compares” (Paramount+)
When Sinéad O’Connor died this week, countless appreciations and social media posts celebrated the iconoclastic Irish singer as a brave truth-teller punished for the sin of being decades ahead of her time. Her death marked the sad coda to a long-overdue reappraisal that began with the publication of O’Connor’s memoir, “Rememberings,” and continued last year with the release of “Nothing Compares,” a feature documentary directed by Kathryn Ferguson and available to stream on Paramount+. Opening with footage of O’Connor getting violently booed onstage at a Bob Dylan tribute concert weeks after she immolated her career by tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II on “Saturday Night Live,” the film uses interviews — including one with O’Connor — and archival video to trace her journey from child abuse survivor to unlikely pop star. It portrays O’Connor, who’d become an international sensation with her transformative cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and her vulnerable, tear-streaked performance in its accompanying video, as a performer whose ferocious talent was matched by her equally fervent activism. It reminds us that O’Connor was courting controversy well before that fateful “SNL” appearance,” and that she was right not just about the Catholic Church’s now well-established history of enabling child abuse, but also other contentious issues like racism and misogyny in the music industry. For anyone curious to know more about O’Connor’s legacy — and understand the outpouring of grief for a singer who hasn’t had a song in the charts for 30 years — it’s a must-watch. —Meredith Blake
Catch up
Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyone’s talking about
I can’t have been the only “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+) viewer to put off starting its final season in trepidation, and now that I’ve caught up, it’s no surprise that Season 3 — which premiered this spring and recently earned 21 Emmy nominations — attracted such polarized responses. After all, if the series’ first outing perfected the feel-good sports sitcom, and the second plumbed the depths of the trauma plot, the third, often quite awkwardly, attempts to combine the two: Like a food fight-slash-encomium to football set to solo violin.
Needless to say, no one can be blamed for wishing the series had quit while it was ahead. But, strange as it may sound, “Ted Lasso” still succeeds, in this new form. Eager to develop novel character combinations (Colin and Isaac, Danny and “Van Damme”), tackle more topical subject matter (immigration, coming out) and indulge in the same old silliness (slapstick practice drills, Roy Kent in tie-dye), the series comes to resemble the broadcast dramedy it always wanted — but was sometimes too proud — to be. By way of proof, I offer the season’s finest hour, “Sunflowers,” following the multiplying delights of a long Amsterdam night without a point to make or a destination to arrive at. It reminded me of a “Lasso”-esque adage of my father’s that the series itself might have benefited from: If you have a full tank of gas and nothing but time, you are never lost. —Matt Brennan
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
If there were any doubt that high-caliber actors want in on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, look no further than the cast of “Secret Invasion,” which concluded its run this week on Disney+: In detailing former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury as never before, the series calls on Emilia Clarke, Ben Mendelsohn, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Olivia Colman, Don Cheadle and more. Helming all six episodes was director Ali Selim, whose other television credits include “In Treatment,” “Manhunt” and “The Looming Tower.” Selim recently stopped by Screen Gab to discuss his favorite Jackson performances, his most memorable filmgoing experiences and what he’s watching. —Matt Brennan
What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?
The problem with asking that question in the month of July is that all I watch then is the Tour de France. I watch it live at 4:00 a.m. Pacific and then watch the replay on the edge of my seat in the evening even though I already know who won. Having admitted that, I am also completely smitten by the humanity of “The Bear” [Hulu”] and tell everyone its authenticity is well worth their time.
What is your go-to “comfort watch”, the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?
I find that rather than having favorite movies or “comfort watches,” I have favorite movie experiences that are difficult to repeat. Seeing a new print of “The Battle of Algiers” [Max, Criterion Channel, Kanopy] with my father who had lived in North Africa during that time. Introducing my 5-year-old daughter to “The Princess Bride” [Disney+] while she sat on my lap clutching my hand. Stumbling into a revival screening of “Days of Heaven” [Paramount+, Fubo, Kanopy] and realizing I didn’t really want to go to law school but wanted to make film. Tough to relive the impact of those moments, but I do go back to the films occasionally to reset my psychology.
“Secret Invasion” gave you the chance to work the legendary Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. What’s your favorite role of his, besides Fury, and why?
Gator Purify in “Jungle Fever” [not streaming] because the entire audience experienced an opening of the mind along the lines of “Who is that and what the hell just happened?” And, of course, Jules Winnfield in “Pulp Fiction” [Max] because now that we knew who that was and what the hell was going to happen, we could sit back and soak in.
In an interview with The Times published last month, “Secret Invasion” star Emilia Clarke responded to the “stigma” against actors who participate in Marvel projects. In your experience, does the same exist among directors?
Since completing my work on “Secret Invasion,” I’ve received nothing but accolades and congratulations free of any stigma. Marvel is the pinnacle of storytelling, and it has been an honor and pleasure to peek behind the curtain and collaborate with them on their unique and successful process. With that said, it would be remiss of me to not acknowledge that many of the wonderful humans in front of and behind the camera on this show are on strike and I hope that the companies will make a fair deal with both unions.
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