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Tag Archives: Iran
February 2018 Viewing Diary
Supernatural, Season 13, episode 12 “Various & Sundry Villains” (2018; d. Amanda Tapping) I was happy to see that the series showed at least passing interest in the inner life of one of its lead characters. Six Feet Under, season … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Abbas Kiarostami, Belgium, Bob Fosse, documentary, England, France, Ginger Rogers, Greta Gerwig, Iran, Iranian film, Joan Blondell, Kristen Stewart, Mervyn LeRoy, Olivia de Havilland, Robert Mitchum, South Korea, Stanley Kramer, Steven Spielberg, Supernatural, women directors, X-Files, Zac Efron
30 Comments
Bookshelf Tour #8
Welcome to the Tyranny section of my bookshelves. First up: Collapse of Communism by the correspondents of The New York Times. A really interesting in-real-time book about the various gigantic events which signaled the crackup of the Soviet Union, as … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Afghanistan, bookshelves, Hannah Arendt, Iran, Iris Chang, Russia, Ryszard Kapuściński
4 Comments
May 2017 Viewing Diary
Chuck (2017; d. Philippe Falardeau) A movie about the “real life Rocky,” the “bleeder from Bayonne” Chuck Wepner, starring Liev Schreiber. My review for Ebert. Take Me (2017; d. Pat Healy) God, I loved this movie. Please seek it out. … Continue reading
February 2017 Viewing Diary
Silence (2016; d. Martin Scorsese) I was completely flattened by this gorgeous and overwhelming movie. Most of the Oscar winners pale in comparison to what was going on in this film, directed by an absolute master. Passionate, reflective, powerful. 50 … Continue reading
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
I Hate Lists, But … The Best Movies of 2016
The Roger Ebert contributors each submitted our own individual Top 10 Lists for 2016 – compiled here. As mentioned in the introduction, the NUMBER of titles – all total – that show up on this list is a testament to … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Asghar Farhadi, Chantal Akerman, Coen brothers, comedy, concert films, documentary, drama, England, Fireworks Wednesday, France, Golshifteh Farahani, Hediyeh Tehrani, horror, Iran, Isabelle Huppert, Jim Jarmusch, Jonathan Demme, Justin Timberlake, Matthias Schoenaerts, Mia Hansen-Løve, Paul Verhoeven, Richard Linklater, Sophia Takal, Taraneh Alidoosti, Tilda Swinton, William Carlos Williams, women directors
15 Comments
October 2016 Viewing Diary
Roadies, Season 1, Pilot (2016; d. Cameron Crowe) My friend Allison forced me to watch this. I had no choice. We do this to one another. And neither of us are EVER sorry. I absolutely loved it. Have not had … Continue reading
Jafar Panahi Remembers Abbas Kiarostami
Jafar Panahi, the talented and persecuted Iranian filmmaker, is – as everyone knows – banned from making films (he’s made 3 since the sentence came down), banned from traveling, and forbidden from speaking to foreigners or giving interviews (he continues … Continue reading
R.I.P. Abbas Kiarostami
Iconic Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has died at the age of 76, causing shock waves to erupt through the film world, his fans, and the critics who loved him. If you’ve seen just one of his films, you will know … Continue reading