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Category Archives: Movies
“Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
Suzy Quatro was born on this day. In July of 2020 , I reviewed the documentary Suzi Q, about Suzi Quatro. Because it was July 2020, the tour she had planned, alongside the doc, had to be canceled. Or, at … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, Music, On This Day
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“In my films I always wanted to make people see deeply. I don’t want to show things, but to give people the desire to see.” — Agnès Varda
It’s the birthday of Belgian filmmaker Agnès Varda, a pioneering force in the development of the French New Wave – she was French New Wave before it was even named “French New Wave.” When she died at the age of … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Agnes Varda, Belgium, France, Sandrine Bonnaire, women directors
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It’s the birthday of composer György Ligeti
György Ligeti was a classical composer, born in Romania, who lived in Hungary as a young adult, before fleeing Stalinist oppression to Austria. Stanley Kubrick used his music in 2001, The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut (one of the things … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, Music, On This Day
Tagged Hungary, Romania, Stalin, Stanley Kubrick
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“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
It’s her birthday today. When you look back on your life – especially once you’re, how you say, OLD – it’s sometimes interesting to try to untangle some of the strands, the things that happened that made you who you … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Baby Doll, Carroll Baker, Elia Kazan, James Dean, Lee Strasberg, Something Wild
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Review: Close to Vermeer (2023)
I liked hanging out with the people in this documentary, I liked soaking up their passion and expertise. I reviewed for Ebert. Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you … Continue reading
Posted in Art/Photography, Movies
Tagged art, documentary, reviews, The Netherlands, women directors
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Review: Reality (2023)
This was so interesting: a film adapted from the play Is This a Room, with script made up entirely of the transcript of the FBI’s interrogation of whistleblower Reality Winner. I reviewed for Ebert. Thank you so much … Continue reading
An Acting Lesson: John Wayne and the “Reality of the Doing”
In one lengthy scene in Hondo, filmed in one almost unbroken take, Wayne makes horseshoes in the little outdoor smith in the yard. Geraldine Page hovers nearby. He talks to her about the Apaches, and what they are up to. … Continue reading
Rest with Satan, Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger, experimental filmmaker and notorious figure – his trajectory emblematic of ’60s chaos, but influential far beyond the local time/place – author of the vicious Hollywood Babylon, a book referenced as though it’s the gospel truth, has died. He … Continue reading
Substack: Writing roundup
A freebie for all subscribers: Roundup of my writing over the last couple of months, plus some thoughts on Viva Las Vegas, After Hours, Ebertfest, my time in Chicago … everything I’ve been doing. Thanks for reading!
Posted in Movies, Personal, Television
Tagged Elvis Presley, Martin Scorsese, Substack, Viva Las Vegas
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103 Years Ago Today: Oscar Micheaux’s Within Our Gates
There’s this really cool site/project called NYC 1920 – a day by day archive of events in NYC exactly 100 years ago. It’s created and edited by a friend of mine, author/scholar/literature professor Jonathan Goldman, whom I met through the … Continue reading
