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- “You can’t be on top all the time. It isn’t natural.” — Olivia de Havilland
- “If I don’t feel it, I can’t play it.” — James Cotton
- “I don’t have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I’d become. I’m me, and I’m like nobody else.” — Lena Horne
- “But man has always succeeded in rising again.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
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Category Archives: Movies
“Film is, to me, just unimportant. But people are very important.” — John Cassavetes
When I think of Cassavetes, anything that comes up is inextricable from my own life journey. He’s just so IN there with me, the choices I made, the goals I had, my values. He’s also behind my favorite marriage proposal, … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies
Tagged Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Love Streams, Opening Night
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“There needs to be one more bag.” — Buck Henry
It’s his birthday today. I come from a family who can (and does) recite What’s Up, Doc? from beginning to end – “What happened to Fritz?” “There is only me. Franz.” “Oh, what a SHAME.” (My old friend Trav wrote … Continue reading
“As an artist, I wonder, What can I do to make the audience think differently about what good is, what bad is, who a man is, and who a woman is.” — Matthias Schoenaerts
It’s his birthday today. One of my favorite contemporary actors. I think he blows the competition away. I can’t say enough good things about him. His versatility is dazzling. He can be so gentle. He can be so ferocious. He … Continue reading
“Really, there isn’t such a thing as ‘method acting.’ There’s only good acting and bad acting.” — Ellen Burstyn
“It’s been awhile. My Oscar is getting kind of tarnished. I looked at it a couple of years ago and thought I really needed a new one.” — Ellen Burstyn It’s her birthday today. In less than a decade, Ellen … Continue reading
Review: The Chronology of Water (2025)
This is Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut. (She directed a short film in 2017. This is her first feature.) It’s an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2011 memoir of the same name and it’s an extraordinary piece of work. I can’t say … Continue reading
Review: Come Closer (2025)
Tom Nesher’s Come Closer is a work of personal catharsis, and I respect a lot of what she did. I reviewed for Ebert.
“Even to this day, I watch The Wizard of Oz like I did when I was five years old. I get really involved in it.” — Lynne Ramsay
“When I go to the cinema, I want to have a cinematic experience. Some people ignore the sound and you end up seeing something you might see on television and it doesn’t explore the form. Sound is the other picture. … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Joaquin Phoenix, Lynne Ramsay, Scotland, Tilda Swinton, women directors
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NYFCC 2025 winners
We met yesterday to vote on the year’s best. It’s always a somewhat grueling process, because it’s about counting, and tallying up all the blind votes. We often go into multiple rounds. But we did eventually come up with the … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Brazil, Iranian film, Jafar Panahi, Paul Thomas Anderson, Russia, women directors
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“Intellect and taste count, but I cut with my feelings.” — legendary editor Dede Allen
It’s her birthday today. Here’s a list of just some of her credits as an editor: The Hustler America America Bonnie & Clyde Rachel Rachel Alice’s Restaurant Little Big Man Serpico Night Moves Dog Day Afternoon Missouri Breaks Slap Shot … Continue reading
“My aesthetic is that of the sniper on the roof.” — Jean-Luc Godard
He was born on this day. Coincidentally, the year before Jean-Luc Godard died, I decided to watch his filmography in chronological order, starting with his shorts (many of which are on YouTube). I wrote about this experience in my December … Continue reading