âMan kâ (Netflix): Iâve always been drawn to tales of the writers who originally congregated at the Algonquin Round Table in 1920s New York and then made the trek out to Hollywood, where writers were paid ridiculous sums to craft often-silly and formulaic screenplays. One of them, Herman Manckiewicz, a witty, cynical alcohol played to the hilt by Gary Oldman, was hired in 1940 by Orson Welles to write the screenplay for what would become âCitizen Kane.â He spent months in the desert with a broken leg and a lot of booze creating the first draft, much of which survived the final script. The film goes back and forth in time, revealing Mank as a popular party guest for his court jester bon mots, his contempt for studio boss Louis B. Mayer (Arliss Howard, excellent), and his sort-of-friendship with both newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst (a spot-on Charles Dance) and his mistress Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried), both of whom were the models for âCitizen Kane.â As I said, I wanted to love the film, but I wound up only liking parts of it. Shot in black and white, directed by David Fincher, originally written by his father Jack in the 1980s, and overhauled each time it was about to be made, Netflix allowed âMankâ to come to fruition this year, long after Fincher seniorâs death. I admired director Fincherâs meticulous artistry, the photography and the performances. But I found the whole thing rather cold, smugly in love with its own snappy, cutting dialogue (âAll About Eveâ did it better), too long and generally off-putting. Iâd be interested in your opinion. Write to me at the address above if youâd like.Â