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Recent Posts
- April 2024 Viewing Diary
- “My films are about ideals that clash with the world. Every time it’s a man in the lead, they have forgotten about the ideals. And every time it’s a woman in the lead, they take the ideals all the way.” — Lars von Trier
- “A woman came up to me after one of the screenings with tears pouring down her face and sobbed, You’ve defined my entire life for me on the screen.” –Jill Clayburgh
- “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” — Willie Nelson
- “I don’t cook and I don’t care.” — Ann-Margret
- “Sometimes I think no matter how one is born, no matter how one acts, there is something out of gear with one somewhere, and that must be changed. Life at its best is a grand corrective.” –Jessie Redmon Fauset
- “I’ve had my best times trailing a Mainbocher evening gown across a sawdust floor. I’ve always loved high style in low company.” — Anita Loos
- Substack: An interview with screenwriter Bonnie Gross about her script Lady Parts
- “I would rather take a photograph than be one.” — Lee Miller
- When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim, / Hath put a spirit of youth in everything …
Recent Comments
- sheila on The Books: The Making of The Misfits, by James Goode
- sheila on “My films are about ideals that clash with the world. Every time it’s a man in the lead, they have forgotten about the ideals. And every time it’s a woman in the lead, they take the ideals all the way.” — Lars von Trier
- sheila on Photo of the Day
- Jincy Willett on “My films are about ideals that clash with the world. Every time it’s a man in the lead, they have forgotten about the ideals. And every time it’s a woman in the lead, they take the ideals all the way.” — Lars von Trier
- Nino on Photo of the Day
- Owen O'Neill on The Books: The Making of The Misfits, by James Goode
- art puff on Cagney’s Death Scenes: “He used to be a big shot.”
- Dr. Arthur J. Puff on Cagney’s Death Scenes: “He used to be a big shot.”
- Jay G on March 2024 Viewing Diary
- sheila on March 2024 Viewing Diary
- Jay G on March 2024 Viewing Diary
- sheila on March 2024 Viewing Diary
- sheila on March 2024 Viewing Diary
- sheila on March 2024 Viewing Diary
- Jay G on March 2024 Viewing Diary
- Jay G on March 2024 Viewing Diary
- sheila on March 2024 Viewing Diary
- Clary on “I would rather take a photograph than be one.” — Lee Miller
- Jay G on March 2024 Viewing Diary
- sheila on My new column at Liberties magazine: First up: acting and film criticism and how the twain meet
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Tag Archives: Zac Efron
Happy Birthday, Zac Efron
First up: my recent review of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, where I discuss Zac Efron’s career in a macro way. Second up: I did a similar thing in my review of The Greatest Showman. To go from The … Continue reading
Year in Review: Shooting My Mouth Off in 2019
Thanks, everyone, who hangs out here, who likes what I do, whether you’re an Elvis fan, a Supernatural fan, a general cinephile, a book-lover, or just someone who’s been checking in periodically for 17 years – WHAT? – I appreciate … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, James Joyce, Movies, Television
Tagged Agnes Varda, animation, Anna Karina, backting, Badlands, Belfast, Bibi Andersson, Bob Dylan, Bong Joon-Ho, Canada, Charlotte Rampling, comedy, Dennis Hopper, documentary, Doris Day, drama, Dubliners, Elvis Presley, Emily Dickinson, Frank O'Hara, friends, Gaspar Noe, George Stevens, Gold Diggers of 1933, horror, Ireland, Jean Arthur, Joanna Hogg, Joe Berlinger, Joel McCrea, John Ford, Kristen Stewart, Leonardo DiCaprio, Linda Manz, Marlon Brando, Martin Scorsese, Mary Oliver, Matthias Schoenaerts, Myrna Loy, Nick Nolte, Nick Tosches, Nicolas Roeg, Out of the Blue, Paraguay, Paul Thomas Anderson, poetry, Poland, Present Tense, Robert Evans, Sandrine Bonnaire, sci-fi, Sophia Takal, Sucker Punch, Supernatural, Sylvia Plath, Terrence Malick, What Happened Was, William Powell, Willie Nelson, women directors, year in writing, Zac Efron
1 Comment
August 2019 Viewing Diary
While We’re Young (2014; d. Noah Baumbach) Part of my own Noah Baumbach retrospective in preparation for writing a piece for Film Comment about his filmography. On stands now. Or order here! I love this one. It’s so honest and … Continue reading
May 2019 Viewing Diary
Again, just like my April viewing diary, this will be a pretty tough read for anyone not into Supernatural. It may be a tough read for those who DO watch Supernatural (especially if you loved the last 3 seasons. If … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Bette Davis, Bob Dylan, Bob Fosse, Canada, Emma Thompson, France, J.R.R. Tolkien, Joanna Hogg, Joe Berlinger, John Ford, John Wayne, Juliette Binoche, Martin Scorsese, Sam Rockwell, Supernatural, Sylvia Plath, William Wyler, Zac Efron
97 Comments
Review: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
It’s so good. I was hoping it would be since my feelings about Zac Efron are well-known. And I love Joe Berlinger’s stuff. He’s a documentary guy so this is a change-up. It’s so good. I went pretty long in … Continue reading
April 2019 Viewing Diary
I have had an extremely challenging month. Things got slightly spooky. This looks INSANE when written out like this. And believe it or not, I was super busy this month. I wrote like 5 gigantic pieces, and somehow managed to … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Alain Delon, Bob Fosse, Charlotte Rampling, documentary, Emily Dickinson, England, Fritz Lang, Germany, Jodie Foster, Joe Berlinger, Laura Dern, Martin Scorsese, Patricia Highsmith, Paul Schrader, Richard Gere, Robert De Niro, Sam Rockwell, Supernatural, Willie Nelson, women directors, Zac Efron
19 Comments
February 2018 Viewing Diary
Supernatural, Season 13, episode 12 “Various & Sundry Villains” (2018; d. Amanda Tapping) I was happy to see that the series showed at least passing interest in the inner life of one of its lead characters. Six Feet Under, season … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Abbas Kiarostami, Belgium, Bob Fosse, documentary, England, France, Ginger Rogers, Greta Gerwig, Iran, Iranian film, Joan Blondell, Kristen Stewart, Mervyn LeRoy, Olivia de Havilland, Robert Mitchum, South Korea, Stanley Kramer, Steven Spielberg, Supernatural, women directors, X-Files, Zac Efron
28 Comments
Review: The Greatest Showman (2017)
It’ll be pooh-poohed and probably for some pretty legitimate reasons. There’s definitely some cognitive dissonance here. But I loved it for what it was: a big splashy musical – featuring good songs with memorable hooks – performed by people who … Continue reading
Year in Review: Shooting My Mouth Off in 2016
I look at this and I wonder why I always feel like I haven’t done jack-squat. Or, at the very least, I could do more. Well, I always can do more. Regardless, here are links to some of the things … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Movies, On This Day, Personal, RIP
Tagged Abbas Kiarostami, Baz Luhrmann, Buddy Holly, Camille Paglia, Carrie Fisher, Carroll Baker, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Chantal Akerman, Compulsion, David Bowie, Dean Stockwell, Dolly Parton, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Elizabeth Bishop, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, Eminem, friends, Gena Rowlands, George Stevens, Gilda, Isabelle Huppert, James Dean, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, July and Half of August, Katherine Dunn, Langston Hughes, Little Richard, Marion Cotillard, Marlon Brando, Matthias Schoenaerts, Merle Haggard, Mia Hansen-Løve, Miriam Hopkins, Patricia Highsmith, Rebecca Hall, Richard Linklater, Rocky, Sam Cooke, Shakespeare, Something Wild, Stephen King, Sudden Fear, Supernatural, Sylvester Stallone, Tennessee Williams, The Great Gatsby, Wanda Jackson, women directors, year in writing, Zac Efron
6 Comments
March 2016 Viewing Diary
Supernatural, Season 2, Episode 20: “What Is and What Should Never Be” (2007; d. Eric Kripke) My 300-page re-cap here. At Any Price (2012; d. Ramin Bahrani) Inspired by the recent conversation Mitchell and I had about Zac Efron (Part … Continue reading