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- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Twelfth Night: or, What You Will
- “Literature is the written expression of revolt against expected things.” Happy Birthday to the least happy man ever, Thomas Hardy
- “I’m not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.” – Marilyn Monroe
- “[My ambition is to] give something to our literature which will be our own.” — Walt Whitman
- “I don’t want to show things, but to give people the desire to see.” — Agnès Varda
- “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- “If I am going to be a poet at all, I am going to be POET and not NEGRO POET.” — poet Countee Cullen
- 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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- 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
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Tag Archives: reviews
Review: Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing (2013)
One of my favorite movies of the year. I reviewed it for Roger Ebert.
Review: Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas (2013)
You know, I like Madea, the character. I find her entertaining. It’s the movies surrounding her I can’t abide. My review of A Madea Christmas is now up at Roger Ebert.
Mauvais Sang (1986); Directed by Leos Carax
I was riveted by Leos Carax’s Holy Motors last year, and its undulating strange vision of theatrical transformation, almost vaudevillian in objective and feel. It was a burlesque act, a contemplation of what it means to transform in the first … Continue reading
Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
I thought the first installment was embarrassing and bad. Good news, though: the second one is pretty great! Still too goddamn long, Jackson, Jesus Mary and Joseph, but the real work that needs to be done is done here and … 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
Her (2013); Directed by Spike Jonze
Having found Spike Jonze’s Her to be boring and empty, I guess I should make it official before someone else does and call the time/date of Me being Dead Inside. Because it’s happened. Others I respect were blown away by … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged dystopia, Joaquin Phoenix, reviews, Scarlett Johansson, sci-fi, Spike Jonze
11 Comments
Review: Merry Christmas (2013)
Merry Christmas, a new film by Anna Condo, opens today in limited release. My review is up at Roger Ebert.
Review: Bettie Page Reveals All (2013)
In 1977’s The Goodbye Girl, there’s an exchange that has always reminded me of Bettie Page: “I thought you were decent.” “I am decent. I just happen to be naked.” I review the new documentary about the most famous naughty … 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
All Is Lost (2013)
Gary Cooper once said that he loved doing Westerns, in fact he preferred doing them, because they were so grounded in reality. You couldn’t fake mounting a horse, you had to really do it. You couldn’t fake riding, you had … Continue reading