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- Nov 12-15: AFI Silver Classic Film Weekend
- From the archives (February 29, 2008): Patrick Stewart as Macbeth
- Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- From the archives (October 27, 2004): The pros and cons of “Smotheration”
- From the archives (September 12, 2006): Under the Ghostbuster Sky
- From the archives (October 18, 2002): the first post on my blog
- Today, the Sheila Variations turns 24
- Off Campus, episode 4: Moonlight in a chamber
- From the archives (October 12, 2011): Wisconsin Idyll in Funny Hats with Rocket Launchers
- From the archives (January 12, 2004): I Was Told I Would Get Wings
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- ReadingandWatching on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- ReadingandWatching on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- ReadingandWatching on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- ReadingandWatching on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- ReadingandWatching on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- ReadingandWatching on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- ReadingandWatching on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- sheila on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- sheila on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- sheila on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- sheila on From the archives (February 29, 2008): Patrick Stewart as Macbeth
- sheila on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- sheila on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- sheila on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- sheila on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- Gale Justin on An Acting Lesson: John Wayne and the “Reality of the Doing”
- sheila on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- ReadingandWatching on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- ReadingandWatching on Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
- sheila on From the archives (February 29, 2008): Patrick Stewart as Macbeth
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Category Archives: Television
Off Campus, episode 5: You actually can choose your family
Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 film Magnolia, one of the most eccentric mainstream American movies ever made, culminates in a sequence where thousands of frogs rain down on the empty streets of Los Angeles. Up until this moment, each character – … Continue reading
Posted in Television
Tagged Ingmar Bergman, Melancholia, Off Campus, Opening Night, Out of the Blue, Repulsion, romantic comedy, romantic drama, Supernatural, Vertigo, women directors
37 Comments
Off Campus, episode 4: Moonlight in a chamber
If random people find these recaps they might get frustrated with how I do things. They clearly missed the 10,000-word Supernatural re-caps. I like to write about things that inspire OTHER things, like aesthetics, film acting, dramaturgy. I was inspired … Continue reading
Posted in Television
Tagged Off Campus, romantic comedy, romantic drama, women directors
99 Comments
Off Campus, episode 3: Two truths. Hence, ergo, therefore.
Episode 3’s title is attention-getting and I am here for it. Episode 4 could be called “The Orgasm, Part 2.” The two episodes are laid out like a thesis paper: episode 3 presents the thesis, episode 4 breaks it down … Continue reading
Posted in Television
Tagged Off Campus, romantic comedy, romantic drama, women directors
42 Comments
Off Campus, episode 2: Commence the one-sided yearning
“You gotta admit. It’s kind of genius.” Garrett says this to Hannah at the end of the first scene in episode 2, after he lays out his ideas for the fake-dating plan. The plan is not really genius, Garrett, but … Continue reading
Posted in Television
Tagged Off Campus, romantic comedy, romantic drama, women directors
34 Comments
Off Campus, episode 1: Unexpectedly Unexpected
On the surface, at least in episode 1 of Off Campus, an 8-episode Amazon Prime series , based on Elle Kennedy’s 2015 book The Deal, you can predict everything that will happen. College hockey player needs to ace an exam, … Continue reading
Posted in Television
Tagged Off Campus, romantic comedy, romantic drama, women directors
99 Comments
“If you’re creating anything at all, it’s really dangerous to care about what people think.” — Kristen Wiig
Today is the birthday of one of the greatest actors working today. I can’t seem to stop mentioning Kristen Wiig in my writing. I mention her even if she isn’t the main subject. She’s my favorite. I am in awe … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Television
Tagged backting, comedy, drama, Kristen Wiig, mirrors
6 Comments
“I’m a tough little rebel.” — Linda Manz
Days of Heaven (1978) It’s her birthday today. Manz died on August 14, 2020. She was HUGE to me growing up, and I have written about it on occasion. She didn’t work all that much, but her performances meant so … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Television
Tagged Days of Heaven, Dennis Hopper, Linda Manz, Orphan Train, Out of the Blue, Terrence Malick
4 Comments
On This Day, 1957: Jerry Lee Lewis Kicks the Stool Back
Jerry Lee Lewis made his TV debut on the Steve Allen Show. The performance is terrifying. Who else is this terrifying? I suggested the Sex Pistols on Facebook. They did, indeed, terrify. But they were almost 20 years later. Jerry … Continue reading
“He’s one of those actors who knows that his face IS the story.” – Sam Shepard on Harry Dean Stanton
It’s Harry Dean Stanton’s birthday today. I’m pretty sure my introduction to Harry Dean Stanton – whose birthday it is today – was as Molly Ringwald’s sad dad in Pretty in Pink (he made a huge impression on me). It … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Bruce McGill
Bruce McGill is one of those actors who would have fit in perfectly with the old studio system: a first-rate support player, a guy who can do anything: drama, comedy, farce, who can fit into any context. He’s in the … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Television
Tagged Bruce McGill, Michael Mann, Quantum Leap
28 Comments

