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Category Archives: Movies
January 2026 Viewing Diary
The Sound of Falling (2026; d. Mascha Schilinski) It took me a couple of days to shake off the effect of The Sound of Falling. I saw it at a screening room on 29th Street. I knew very little about … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies
Tagged Australia, Canada, documentary, drama, dystopia, film noir, Germany, Isabelle Adjani, Norway, short films, Sofia Coppola, women directors
4 Comments
For James Dean’s Birthday
Some links: For Library of America: I wrote about East of Eden … an essay I had been waiting to write for almost my whole entire life. For my Substack, a re-post of the piece I wrote in 2013 on … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged East of Eden, James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause
20 Comments
The First Glimpse of The Guy Who Started It All
For James Dean’s birthday Age 13. Babysitting. Up later than I normally would be. East of Eden was on late-night television. I had never seen it. I don’t even know that I was aware of who James Dean was. And … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, Personal
Tagged Actors Studio, East of Eden, Elia Kazan, James Dean, Lee Strasberg
8 Comments
“The only people who ever called me a rebel were people who wanted me to do what they wanted.” — Nick Nolte
It’s Nick Nolte’s birthday. He has always been one of my all-time favorites, and despite the odds – or maybe because of the odds – and his personal struggles – it’s a thrill that he is still with us, still … Continue reading
“Since the beginning, I’ve said, ‘I’m not going to get involved with my image.’” – Charlotte Rampling
It’s her birthday today. I first saw Charlotte Rampling in Angel Heart, where she has one hauntingly weird scene: a rumpled schlubby Mickey Rourke visits her to question her. Her apartment is filled with strange artifacts, beautifully placed. The decor … Continue reading
“I don’t need to ‘tell’ the story…The story is being told from itself by following the different moments in different locations.” — Mia Hansen-Løve
One of my favorite contemporary film-makers is Mia Hansen-Løve. Hansen-Løve is interested in how people listen, how people walk and move through space from point A to point B, she’s interested in the locations where they live, the conversations they … Continue reading
Frankenstein: interview with Taylor Gonzales
I had a lot of fun talking with Taylor Gonzales about all things Frankenstein on his popular web series where he interviews all kinds of cool people. We raved about Kate Hawley’s costumes, the performances, the creature makeup, Victor Frankenstein’s … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Movies
Tagged Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro, Mary Shelley, podcast
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“The main thing about directing is: photograph the people’s eyes.” — John Ford
It’s his birthday today. For Film Comment, I wrote about his somber, emotional WWII movie, with the title that really BITES: They Were Expendable. And they really were expendable. It’s an amazing film and – in my opinion – one … Continue reading
Happy birthday, Polly Platt
“As a child, I wanted everything I saw in movies. I always wanted to strain spaghetti with tennis rackets.” — Polly Platt She is, of course, referring to Jack Lemmon in The Apartment: Polly Platt was a mostly unsung jack-of-all … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Dorothy Malone
I was so happy to pay tribute to Dorothy Malone for Film Comment. The actress – whose career spanned over 50 years – died in 2018 at the age of 93. She was an Oscar-winning actress who ended up on … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Dorothy Malone, Douglas Sirk, Howard Hawks, The Big Sleep
4 Comments