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Category Archives: Movies
“Cinema seats make people lazy. They expect to be given all the information. But for me, question marks are the punctuation of life.” — Abbas Kiarostami
It’s the birthday today of the great Iranian filmmaking master. Paying tribute to him – and the country from which he sprung – feels right, albeit sad, in this terrible disgraceful week. When Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami died at the … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Abbas Kiarostami, Certified Copy, Iran, Iranian film, Jafar Panahi, Juliette Binoche
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“Some of the time, when you’re walking out there where the air is thin, you just hope you can walk back again.” — Gena Rowlands
It’s her birthday today. The quote in the headline was Rowlands talking about playing Mabel in A Woman Under the Influence, but it could be said about many of her roles, particularly the ones she did in her husband’s films. … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Vilmos Zsigmond
One of the best cinematographers ever. He shot Deer Hunter, Deliverance, The Long Goodbye, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. These alone would put him in the history books. These are some of the most influential … Continue reading
“I’d love to play someone who is extremely charming, but first I’ll have to learn how to be charming.”” — Kate Lyn Sheil
I’ve written enough about Kate Lyn Sheil’s projects I figured she’s due her own post. It’s her birthday today. Sheil is ubiquitous in the American indie scene – and there is still an indie scene, although distribution has changed. If … Continue reading
Review: O Horizon (2026)
Despite an appearance by Aimee Mann – playing herself – where she sings two songs in their entirety – O Horizon is a slow generalized chore. Plus there’s the Sackler connection, which has to be acknowledged. I reviewed for Ebert.
“I really genuinely look forward to coming to work every day.” — Treat Williams
It’s his birthday today. His death is such a loss! In Sydney Lumet’s Making Movies, he talked about the choice to cast Treat Williams in Prince of the City: I wasn’t sure whether we were in drama or tragedy territory … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
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Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
It’s okay now to talk about what I wrote about for Sean Abley’s zine PHYSICAL MEDIA BOOKLET ESSAY. Sean’s pitch was along the lines of: “You know how some movies show fictional movies within them?” Examples: the soap opera in … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
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“If you have to be in a soap opera try not to get the worst role.” — Judy Garland
It’s the great, the irreplaceable, Judy Garland’s birthday. The screengrab above is from John Cassavetes’ 1963 film A Child is Waiting. This film is not really well-known, except among Cassavetes/Garland completists – but some serious Cassavetes fans don’t know about … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged John Cassavetes, Judy Garland, Stanley Kramer
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“When people ask me if I am a feminist film maker, I reply I am a woman and I also make films.” — Chantal Akerman
It’s her birthday today. The news of the death of pioneering Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman in 2015 came as a shock. She was young. 65 years old. Even worse, it was reported as a potential suicide. Either way, it was … Continue reading
For D-Day: John Ford’s They Were Expendable (1945)
In 2019, for D-Day, I wrote about John Ford’s magnificent They Were Expendable, one of the best war movies ever made. Thank you to all those who sacrificed their lives — not just Americans — in the name of liberty … Continue reading