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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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- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
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- Dave on Review: The Chronology of Water (2025)
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- 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
Ebertfest Day 3: Columbus, with director Kogonada
Columbus was one of my favorite movies last year (here’s the review I wrote for Ebert). I only saw it once, to review for Ebert – and that was at home, on my laptop. Seeing it huge was overwhelming. The … Continue reading
Ebertfest Day 2: Belle, with director Amma Asante
I loved this movie so much when it first came out, I became a bit of an evangelical for it. There were people in my life who I knew would LOVE this movie – and nobody goes to the theatre … Continue reading
Review: Aardvark (2018)
The poster is out of focus and so is the movie. My review of Aardvark is now up at Rogerebert.com.
Oh my God, Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here (2018)
It’s as good as I’ve heard. Better. I’m a huge fan of Lynne Ramsay (#1) and also a huge fan of Joaquin Phoenix, who is in a really masterful phase of his career. No bullshit: he’s awesome. This is a … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged drama, Joaquin Phoenix, Lynne Ramsay, reviews, thrillers, women directors
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Review: The Last Movie Star (2018)
The Last Movie Star stars Burt Reynolds. It’s ABOUT Burt Reynolds, although his character’s name is Vic Edwards. I have so many thoughts about Burt Reynolds (Mitchell and I discussed him here), so it was so fun to write this … Continue reading
Review: Back to Burgundy (2018)
I enjoyed a lot of this, particularly the sections focusing on the wine-making process. My review of Back to Burgundy is now up at Rogerebert.com.
Lars von Trier’s Melancholia: Open Thread
It’s hard to “get into stuff” on Twitter, so I’m opening up a thread to discuss Lars von Trier’s Melancholia. I reviewed it when it first came out in 2011, and I also wrote the capsule review of it in … Continue reading
For Rogerebert.com’s “If We Picked the Oscar Winners”: On Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Loveless
The Rogerebert.com contributors are each writing a piece for the “If We Picked the Oscar Winners” series on the site. We all voted on each category. I wrote on Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Loveless as our chosen contender for Best Foreign Film. … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Agnes Varda, coming of age, documentary, drama, France, Paul Thomas Anderson, reviews, Russia, women directors
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For Film Comment: On Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
It was a pleasure to write about 1955’s Love Me or Leave Me – and the two towering performances by Doris Day and James Cagney – for Film Comment.
Review: Irreplaceable You (2018)
Stage 4 Cancer never looked so beautiful. My review of Irreplaceable You is now up at Rogerebert.com.

