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- Reviews: Currents (2026)
- Reviews: Forge (2026)
- “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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Tag Archives: drama
Riotous Excursions: Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby
I contributed a piece to Bright Wall Dark Room’s August “Literary Adaptations” issue, and I wrote on a film I’ve been wanting to write about – and celebrate – for a long time (or, ever since it came out): Baz … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Baz Luhrmann, drama, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Leonardo DiCaprio, reviews, The Great Gatsby
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Review: Bullhead (2011)
Jacky is huge. A hulk of a man. Back muscles and shoulder muscles ripple and bulge as he shadow-boxes ferociously in the bathroom with sickly underwater-sea-green light, a room that is his private domain. Sometimes he climbs into the tub, … Continue reading
Review: Little Men (2016) d. Ira Sachs
Little Men, directed by one of my favorite film-makers, Ira Sachs, is wonderful. My review of Little Men is now up at Rogerebert.com.
Review: Captain Fantastic (2016)
Very sanctimonious and I did not care for it and that might piss people off since the movie will probably be referred to as “life-affirming” and “heart-warming” and God help anyone who harshes anyone else’s soft-hearted mellow (I’m close to … Continue reading
Review: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016): Opening Today
Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople opens today. I loved it when I saw it at the Tribeca Film Festival. My Tribeca review of Hunt for the Wilderpeople is up on Rogerebert.com.
Review: Wiener-Dog (2016); d. Todd Solondz. Opening Today.
It’s pretty amazing. And devastating. My review of Wiener-Dog is now up at Rogerebert.com.
Identity, Lies, Music, and Love: A Conversation about Running on Empty for Bright Wall Dark Room
Chad Perman and I recently had an in-depth discussion about Sidney Lumet’s Running on Empty (an all-time favorite of mine, perpetually hovering around the ever-shifting Top 5) for the new issue of Bright Wall Dark Room (the theme of the … Continue reading
Review: Dheepan (2016); d. Jacques Audiard
Let me take this moment to recommend Jacques Audiard’s 2012 film Rust and Bone, starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts. I keep meaning to write about that film. For me, it was one of the best movies of 2012. Audiard … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged drama, France, Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, reviews
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Review: Sin Alas (2016)
Sin Alas is the first American film to be shot in Cuba since 1959. That alone makes it notable, but there’s a lot more to recommend it. (I’m a huge fan of the cinematographer as well.) I recommend it. It … Continue reading
April 2016 Viewing Diary
The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016; d. Taika Waititi) My favorite thing I saw at Tribeca. It hasn’t opened yet but this is one you want to see. My review here. Midsummer in Newtown (2016; d. Lloyd Kramer) I was … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged AFME, Al Pacino, Brian De Palma, Claude Chabrol, Denmark, documentary, drama, France, Guillermo del Toro, historical drama, Howard Hawks, Jean-Paul Belmondo, July and Half of August, Lily Tomlin, Mervyn LeRoy, Michael Mann, New Zealand, Pre-Code, Preston Sturges, romantic drama, silent films, Supernatural, war movies
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