A confluence of events has led to me witnessing a great deal of “wizard”-related content this past month. These are those wizards.

• The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz—you may have heard of it—was playing for one night only at the Angelika in the East Village this week, and I had never seen it on the “big” screen (the screen was actually disappointingly medium). I don’t have too much to add about one of the most discussed movies of all time and one of the greatest artistic achievements of the past century, but I will just say that, along with being gorgeous to look at on the big screen, it is so much funnier than I remembered. Certainly worth cheating on my AMC A-List subscription to see it. Also, the woman next to me was absurdly locked in and leaned forward pensively like Lenny for the whole movie, which was amusing.

• AJ Dybantsa

I am a fan of the Washington Wizards basketball team. It is a gift and a curse being a Wizards fan, except that it is not a gift in any way. But whatever, it’s not so bad, we have stunk for decades and have not won 50 games since the 1970s, but there have been sporadic moments of joy, hilarity and drama in between all the despair, and we recently ran into some good fortune by getting the #1 pick in this year’s NBA draft. Getting the first pick is a rare and highly fortuitous thing, especially in a stacked draft, so I went to the event in Brooklyn, where I got to see the rare sight of other Wizards fans in the wild (there are dozens of us) and satisfyingly watched the team pick AJ Dybantsa from BYU.

It feels strange to have even the slightest bit of hope for the future of this team, but I’m ready to be hurt again! However, as someone who spends an unhealthy amount of time (any) on the Wizards subreddit, I really must agree with the r/washingtonwizards commentariat that this team—especially as it hopes to start a new era—desperately needs a rebrand.

• Gandalf

I recently finished listening to the audiobook of The Lord of the Rings, read by Andy Serkis, and have concluded that just about every decision Peter Jackson and the screenwriters made when adapting the novel was correct. It’s quite impressive. Though perhaps I’m biased since I grew up on those movies without having read the books beforehand and have watched them dozens of times—sometimes all in one sitting like a sicko. My most recent rewatch was on TNT, and I’m glad I saw it on cable because the characters, particularly Pippin, kept reacting to the Shark Week promo:

Anyway, Gandalf rules. And you should watch this scene of Ian McKellen playing himself in Extras.

🧙🏻‍♂️