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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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- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
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- Lyrie 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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- Bill Wolfe on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
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- sheila on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Dave on Review: The Chronology of Water (2025)
- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- 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
Mirrors #19
Two striking mirror moments in Marleen Gorris’ provocative directorial debut, a major entry in the catalog of feminist cinema, a film still poking the bear, 1982’s A Question of Silence. (People freaking out about how Barbie is anti-man clearly have … Continue reading
Review: Club Zero (2024)
A creepy unnerving movie about fanaticism and … eating disorders, basically. Jessica Hausner’s films are really interesting. Definitely recommend this one, as difficult as it sometimes is. I reviewed for Ebert.
December 2023/January-February 2024 Viewing Diary
The Golden Bachelor Watched – in great hilarity – with Karen and Allison during a raucous sleepover, and Carol pulled up on FaceTime. So we could watch together. The whole thing is so ridiculous. Maestro (2023; d. Bradley Cooper) I … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Al Pacino, Aline MacMahon, biopic, Charlie Chaplin, Chile, Denmark, documentary, drama, dystopia, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Juliette Binoche, Kazuo Ishiguro, literary adaptation, Michael Mann, North Korea, Paul Schrader, Pre-Code, Radu Jude, Ray Milland, Richard Pryor, Romania, romantic comedy, sci-fi, short films, Sidney Poitier, silent films, Spain, Sylvia Sidney, Tana French, true crime, William Wellman, Wim Wenders, women directors
41 Comments
Nuclear winter television events in 1983-84
On my Substack I wrote about three television events which aired in the jittery world of 1983-84, all of which depict the aftermath of a nuclear bomb: the BBC’s Threads, aired only twice, scarring a generation, the American version, The … Continue reading
Review: Here (2024)
This movie is so quiet and beautiful, very intriguing style and approach. I did my best to describe how it worked on me. Highly recommended. I reviewed for Ebert.
Review: Sometimes I Think About Dying (2024)
Not to be confused with 2020’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things. I reviewed Sometimes I Think About Dying for Ebert.
2023 National Society of Film Critics Awards
I was voted into the National Society of Film Critics this year and we had our voting meeting today. The group is nationwide so there were groups in LA, a group in New York, and people Zooming in from Chicago, … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged drama, England, France, Jean-Luc Godard, Martin Scorsese, romantic drama, Spain, women directors
2 Comments
November 2023 Viewing Diary
After Everything (2018; d. Hannah Marks, Joey Power) In early November, I holed up in a cozy little house in Connecticut with Allison and Carol. I had to work the whole time, which was a bummer but the night was … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged animation, biopic, Chile, Christian Petzold, coming of age, David Fincher, documentary, drama, Elvis Presley, England, family, France, Germany, historical drama, Isabelle Adjani, Japan, Julianne Moore, July and Half of August, Mélanie Laurent, Mexico, Russia, short films, Sofia Coppola, South Korea, thrillers, Tilda Swinton, Ukraine, women directors
11 Comments
2023 films I loved, in no particular order
On my Substack, open to all: my Top whatever Films of 2023. Unranked. An eccentric sampling, featuring some of the usual suspects but, more importantly, pointing towards some lesser-known films which – for whatever reason – got lost in the … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged biopic, Christian Petzold, David Fincher, documentary, drama, Emily Bronte, England, France, Germany, historical drama, Little Richard, Martin Scorsese, newsletter, Robert De Niro, Romania, romantic drama, short films, Spain, thrillers, Ukraine, Wes Anderson, women directors
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Rogerebert.com: The Ten Best Films of 2023
The writers at Rogerebert.com submitted top 10 lists, the results of which were tallied up, coming to a Top 10. I’ll be posting a list of my favorite movies of 2023 – unranked – on my Substack in the next … Continue reading