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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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- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
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Tag Archives: drama
Review: Child’s Pose (2014): Romania’s Oscar Entry
I’ve been watching the films coming out of Romania over the last 10 years with growing excitement. There’s a “New Wave” going on there right now, amazing films, social, political, spiritual, sometimes harrowing (4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days), … Continue reading
Review: Gimme Shelter (2014)
No, it’s not about the Rolling Stones. Why you would name your film Gimme Shelter, then, is incomprehensible to me. The film has some problems, it’s too obvious, it’s too episodic, the soundtrack is so on the nose you can’t … Continue reading
Review: The Best Offer (2013); directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
The latest from Giuseppe Tornatore is called The Best Offer and it stars Geoffrey Rush (with Donald Sutherland and Jim Sturgess in smaller parts). My review is now up at Roger Ebert.
Review: All the Light in the Sky (2013); Directed by Joe Swanberg
I love Jane Adams. But “All the Light in the Sky” is not good, too opaque, too casual. It feels like a rehearsal. My review just went up at Roger Ebert.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013); Directed by the Coen Brothers
I don’t even know where to begin with this profound swoon of a movie. Glenn Kenny’s review over at Ebert is a great place to start. First off: Where the hell has Garrett Hedlund been all my life? He’s not … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Coen brothers, drama, Garrett Hedlund, Justin Timberlake, musicals, reviews
14 Comments
“I’m so embarrassed. I’m not a real person yet.” – Frances Ha (2013)
One of my favorite movies of the year. I am filled with a sense of gratitude that it even exists. It gets everything right. That was my life. That was how I lived. That is what it looks like to … Continue reading
My Favorite Roger: Michael Gilio’s Kwik Stop
An ongoing feature over at Roger Ebert’s site is “My Favorite Roger”: contributors writing about a piece of writing from Roger that they love in particular. Mine just went up. I wrote about Roger Ebert’s beautiful review of my friend … Continue reading
Sunlight Jr. (2013)
Naomi Watts’ skin looks too good. Her teeth are too white. Her body is smooth and supple, and her skin is golden. This character lives on fast food, probably never goes to the dentist, smokes, drinks beer out of a … Continue reading
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979); Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
I went through a minor Fassbinder phase, brought on by watching Querelle back in college, merely for the Brad Davis factor. The whole thing struck me as lunatic, hot, dirty, crazy, radical, gorgeous, and camp. Who the hell was this … Continue reading
Review: The Motel Life (2013)
I review The Motel Life (which opens today) for Roger Ebert. I loved it. Do not love the poster, which is so generic. The film is not generic at all. It’s deep and beautiful and heartbreaking.