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- “[My ambition is to] give something to our literature which will be our own.” — Walt Whitman
- “I don’t want to show things, but to give people the desire to see.” — Agnès Varda
- “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- “If I am going to be a poet at all, I am going to be POET and not NEGRO POET.” — poet Countee Cullen
- Reviews: Currents (2026)
- Reviews: Forge (2026)
- “Only the bad directors tell you how to read a line, how to define your character. The good ones let you do your job.” — Carroll Baker
- “I never heard the term ‘rockabilly’ back then. Nobody did…When people asked what music we played, we were rock ’n’ rollers.” — Sonny Burgess
- “I am in a prison: one wall is the avant-garde, the other wall is the past, and I want to escape.” — György Ligeti
- An Acting Lesson: John Wayne and the “Reality of the Doing”
Recent Comments
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Bryan Summers on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Lyrie on “I just love telling stories. That’s what we do and it’s a good business to be in, especially if you know you have talent.” –Jensen Ackles
- Kendra Williams on Josh White, singer of “the fighting blues”
- sheila on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
- sheila on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Bill Wolfe on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
- Donn Harris on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- sheila on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- Pat on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- sheila on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Dave on Review: The Chronology of Water (2025)
- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- sheila on “I just love telling stories. That’s what we do and it’s a good business to be in, especially if you know you have talent.” –Jensen Ackles
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Category Archives: Television
Dino and Ella = Heaven
There’s so much to be said about the two of them together, but mostly it’s how perfect they both are as performers. Look at how throughout the medley, Martin is turned slightly towards her. He’s not “in this” for himself, … Continue reading
May 2020 Viewing Diary
Homeland, Season 1-6 I finally caught up with Homeland, binge-watching it as I endured my lonely quarantine. Binge-watching has been a comfort. I’m having a hard time absorbing new things. I’ve been re-reading books. Re-watching things. Or, succumbing to the … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged David Lynch, documentary, drama, Germany, Robert Aldrich, sci-fi, Shirley Jackson, silent films, Twin Peaks, women directors
26 Comments
Review: On the Record on HBO (2020)
The story of one woman’s decision to go “on the record” about being assaulted by hip-hop giant Russell Simmons. It’s also a doc about the surrounding context of her era, of the early years of hip-hop – a culture she … Continue reading
Thoughts on Homeland: green pens, mania, and the moment I realized (too late) that shipping Carrie and Quinn was a mistake
In my revisiting of Homeland over the last couple weeks, I sought out in-real-time recaps so I could follow along and enrich my experience with other opinions. It worked! But it was pretty funny to see some reviewers “take issue” … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Television
9 Comments
May 17th on TNT: Snowpiercer premiere
Based on the Bong Joon-ho film of the same name, the new series on TNT – starring Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs, and many other excellent actors including the amazing Alison Wright, so memorable and tragic in The Americans, AND including … Continue reading
Review: HBO’s I Know This Much is True (2020)
I reviewed the new HBO limited series I Know This Much is True, a 6-episode adaptation of Wally Lamb’s bestselling 1998 novel, with Mark Ruffalo playing a dual role, for Ebert.
April 2020 Viewing Diary
Almost Love (2020; d. Mike Doyle) This movie really irritated me. I reviewed for Ebert. Lovesick. (original title Scrotal Recall) (2014/2016/2018; d. Tom Edge) Again. I finished it up last month and started a re-watch immediately. Johnny Flynn crush going … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Canada, comedy, documentary, drama, England, Germany, Hitler, Ireland, Joan Didion, Johnny Flynn, Leonardo DiCaprio, romantic drama, Slings & Arrows, Steven Spielberg, Supernatural, Sweden, Syria, Taiwan, Tuesday Weld, women directors
2 Comments
Supernatural: Season 1, Episode 3: “Dead In the Water”
Re-post for Sheltering-in-Place Re-watch Directed by Kim Manners Written by Sera Gamble & Raelle Tucker Kim Manners died in 2009. He was such a huge part of helping to create the Supernatural aesthetic, both as a director (of some of … Continue reading
Posted in Television
Tagged Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Kim Manners, Raelle Tucker, Sera Gamble, SPN Season 1, Supernatural
38 Comments
Watch What You Want. Find Comfort Where You Can.
I originally posted this on Facebook. It is not directed (as far as I know) to anyone who reads me here. But I still think it’s important to share, as a general commentary on the VIBE I have noticed post … Continue reading
March 2020 Viewing Diary: A Before and After List
I began this viewing diary in a time of innocence (and naivete) before social distancing became compulsory (or at least strongly suggested). We here were months behind schedule, due to the disgraceful anti-science buffoonery of the current administration, who do … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Cary Grant, Claude Rains, comedy, coming of age, documentary, drama, Faye Dunaway, film noir, Frank Capra, Gary Cooper, George Stevens, Germany, Jane Austen, Jean Arthur, Jerry Lewis, Jimmy Stewart, John Garfield, Johnny Depp, Johnny Flynn, Lili Taylor, literary adaptation, Natasha Richardson, Paul Schrader, romantic comedy, Supernatural, Thomas Mitchell
9 Comments