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- “[My ambition is to] give something to our literature which will be our own.” — Walt Whitman
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- Reviews: Currents (2026)
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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
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- “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”
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- 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
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- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
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- 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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Tag Archives: drama
December 2022 Viewing Diary
The Whale (2022; d. Darren Aronofsky) I thought it was appalling, and not for the obvious reasons. His body is viewed as literally a movie monster, with all these horror-movie shots of his gigantic ankles, etc.) It felt tired and … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged action movies, animation, Austria, Brad Pitt, Brian De Palma, Charles Dickens, Christopher Walken, Claude Chabrol, Claudette Colbert, comedy, coming of age, Czechoslovakia, Darren Aronofsky, David Bowie, documentary, drama, England, France, Germany, heist movies, historical drama, Hungary, India, Isabelle Huppert, Kentucker Audley, Natasha Richardson, Paul Schrader, Paul Thomas Anderson, Preston Sturges, Punch-Drunk Love, Russia, Sandrine Bonnaire, screwball comedy, thrillers, Ukraine, war, women directors
3 Comments
Review: Women Talking (2022)
Sarah Polley’s film adaptation of Miriam Towes’ novel Women Talking is now out. Not as bowled over by this as many others seem to be. Not saying everyone else is wrong, of course, just that I’ve seen this twice now … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Canada, drama, literary adaptation, reviews, women directors
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La Cérémonie folie à deux
I saw La Cérémonie when I lived in Chicago, right behind the Music Box Theatre. In the apartment where Window-Boy kept breaking into my house. A little alley across from that house led right to the front door of the … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Claude Chabrol, drama, France, Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Bonnaire
2 Comments
Movies I Loved in 2022
It is the month of Top 10 Lists. I’ve submitted a few to different sites. And … each list is slightly different. Because I’m not a list person and I don’t rank things and I really don’t like to argue … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged action movies, Argentina, Aubrey Plaza, Australia, Austria, Baz Luhrmann, biopic, comedy, coming of age, documentary, drama, Elvis Presley, England, France, Georgia, historical drama, India, Iranian film, Jackass, Jafar Panahi, Kentucker Audley, poetry, Poland, romantic comedy, romantic drama, Scotland, South Korea, Steven Spielberg, Sweden, thrillers, true crime, Ukraine, war movies, women directors, WWI
30 Comments
NYFCC 2022 Awards
If you’ve been reading entertainment news then you already know: Yesterday, all the members of the NYFCC met up at Lincoln Center to vote on this year’s awards. It was so good to see people – friends I rarely get … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged animation, Cate Blanchett, China, documentary, drama, India, Iran, Iranian film, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, South Korea, women directors
4 Comments
November 2022 Viewing Diary
Something in the Dirt (2022; d. Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson) I really liked this. If you like losing yourself in conspiracy theories – without being, like, a QAnon-type ready to shoot up a pizza parlor – then this is super … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Alan Ladd, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Cate Blanchett, Claude Rains, crime movies, D.H. Lawrence, documentary, drama, England, film noir, France, historical drama, horror, Iran, Iranian film, Isabelle Huppert, Jafar Panahi, Joanna Hogg, Joe Berlinger, John Garfield, Nina Hoss, Poland, Ralph Macchio, Russia, sci-fi, South Korea, Steven Spielberg, Tilda Swinton, true crime, women directors
3 Comments
Review: The Eternal Daughter (2022)
I love writing about Joanna Hogg – her work has such a depth and richness – and so I was pleased to review her latest, The Eternal Daughter, where Tilda Swinton plays a dual role – mother and daughter. You … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged drama, England, Joanna Hogg, reviews, Tilda Swinton, women directors
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Review: There There (2022)
I loved Andrew Bujalski’s Support the Girls and he’s been on my radar since the early mumblecore days. This was shot during the pandemic and is basically a formal experiment – the results of which are pretty uneven. If you … Continue reading
Review: Aftersun (2022)
I’ve been really looking forward to this one. Charlotte Wells’ feature film directorial debut. It did not disappoint. I really loved it. I reviewed for Ebert.

