Movie Night Letter #1: 'Clerks II'

Links and other things of moviegoing interest, every week.

by Bill Arceneaux

August 17, 2026

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Dear Moviegoers,

If there's one thing that I, your humble critic and fellow moviegoer, will never be found guilty of, it's self-publishing new articles with consistency. I believe that doing things until and past the last possible minute runs in my immediate family, and that it might be best to lean into it rather than forcing a fix. Of course, this blog still rests on its archive too often, making for a concerning effort from yours truly and a frustrating experience for you and yours.

So, what can a blocked-up writer do?

The one thing, the one tried and true method of influence, for me, has been to press play on a movie and let it run in the background as I make some writing right. Somewhere, I lost touch with doing that.

So, allow me to get back to what worked.

What's playing: Clerks II
Where: Movie Sphere on Roku's Live Channel

Twenty-five years since its initial theatrical release, and I'm still smitten with Kevin Smith's charming sequel to his classic cinematic achievement. I watched it thrice at the theatre, each time with the same kind of heart-skipping energy that only hits me when seated before a big screen.

Was this movie Smith's finest filmmaking hour? Some will say Dogma, but I hold Clerks II in high regard. Back to the well (so to speak), he lets the sentimentality and reverence come naturally to our Jersey minimum wage crew, and shows off with some crafty editing skills that didn't go unnoticed (but were likely underappreciated at the time).

No matter what raw feelings that any of us may have had with his third trip to convenience years later, we'll always have number two.

Are these "movie night letters" going to become a recurring thing? That's the plan, once per week, with my latest reviews to follow in the days after. Will it stick? As long as I keep pressing play.

LINKS

There appears to be another single-screen cinema in Louisiana, though whether it can compete with The Prytania in New Orleans is a tale for another day. Still, I'm interested.

Indeed, Hollywood South is just about beaten down, in terms of high-to-mid-profile productions. Such a shame, but does the dream of a self-sustaining film culture continue? I'll have more thoughts on this later.

https://veritenews.org/2026/08/11/louisiana-losing-most-film-industry-jobs

Justin Cox, Star Wars fanatic and writer among writers, uses AI as a tool for suggestive editing and workflows. Should we take his approach and find ways to be assisted by virtual assistants?