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Tag Archives: Japan
Ebertfest Day 3: A Page of Madness (1926), with the Alloy Orchestra
Every year a silent film is screened at Ebertfest, with music performed (and composed) by the three-man Alloy Orchestra. It’s always a highlight of the festival. They have such interesting careers. They are film historians, but also artists, who choose … Continue reading
January 2018 Viewing Diary
Supernatural, Season 7, episode 10 “Death’s Door” (2011; d. Robert Singer) What an extraordinary episode of television. It’s funny: I too block out what happened in that kitchen in Bobby’s childhood. I forget it almost every time. Those actors playing … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Charles Vidor, Chile, documentary, Dogfight, Doris Day, Fredric March, James Cagney, Japan, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Kurt Russell, Norma Shearer, Paul Thomas Anderson, Paul Verhoeven, Sebastián Lelio, Supernatural, women directors, X-Files
13 Comments
Review: Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2018)
The first from Studio Ponoc – created out of the ashes of the now-shuttered legendary Studio Ghibli – is rather slight, but an impressive start. My review of Mary and the Witch’s Flower is now up at Rogerebert.com.
January 2017 Viewing Diary
Conspiracy (2001; d. Frank Pierson) The definition of “the room where it happens”. The awful room where something vile was decided. The TV movie starring Kenneth Branagh (so excellent) about the Wannsee Conference. It’s superb. Based on the one surviving … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Akira Kurosawa, Asghar Farhadi, Carrie Fisher, dance, documentary, Elia Kazan, Iran, Iranian film, Japan, Supernatural, Taraneh Alidoosti, Turkey, women directors
18 Comments
January 2016 Viewing Diary
“30 for 30” Chasing Tyson (2015; d. Steve Cantor) I love the 30 for 30 series on ESPN but had never seen this one, the story of Evander Holyfield’s pursuit of Mike Tyson. I’ve got a Tyson thing. I loved … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Abbas Kiarostami, Bill Murray, Channing Tatum, France, Iranian film, Italy, J. Miller Tobin, Japan, Rebecca Hall, Richard Widmark, Sofia Coppola, Supernatural, war
23 Comments
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2014
I may write some magnum opus in the next two days, you never know, but here are links to some of the things I’ve written in 2014, here and elsewhere. I have worked hard to keep my site an eclectic … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Movies, Music, Personal
Tagged Alfred Wertheimer, Anna Magnani, Austria, Carroll Baker, Christopher Hitchens, Claude Rains, Eli Wallach, Elvis Presley, Eminem, France, friends, Gena Rowlands, Germany, Harry Potter, Howard Hawks, Inherent Vice, Iran, Iranian film, Israel, Italy, Jafar Panahi, Japan, Jim Jarmusch, Joan Crawford, John Cassavetes, Juliette Binoche, Kristen Wiig, Kwik Stop, Lars von Trier, Lauren Bacall, Lester Bangs, Liv Ullmann, Lon Chaney, Love Streams, Mark Twain, Martin Scorsese, Nicolas Cage, Orpheus Descending, Palestine, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Poland, Richard Linklater, Romania, Russia, Seth Rogen, Seymour Cassel, Sudden Fear, Supernatural, Sweden, Tennessee Williams, The Beatles, The Everly Brothers, Tommy Lee Jones, Trotsky, war, year in writing, Zac Efron
14 Comments
Review: The Wind Rises (2014); directed by Hayao Miyazaki
“The Wind Rises” is the latest from beloved Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki (it’s nominated for an Oscar) and Miyazaki has also announced it will be his final feature. I saw the version that was in Japanese with English subtitles. There … Continue reading

