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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
Recent Comments
- Maddy on “I’m not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.” – Marilyn Monroe
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Bryan Summers on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- 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
- Kendra Williams on Josh White, singer of “the fighting blues”
- sheila 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
- sheila on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- 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
- Donn Harris on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- sheila on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- Pat on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- 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
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Tag Archives: reviews
Seen Recently: 42 (2013), Renegade Girl (1946), All of Me (1984)
42 directed by Brian Helgeland First, go read this conversation by my two pals, Odie Henderson and Steven Boone. They discuss 42. I had already been excited to see it, because I love baseball movies, and I love Harrison Ford, … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Ann Savage, baseball, comedy, Harrison Ford, Lily Tomlin, reviews, sports movies, Steve Martin, westerns
6 Comments
Review: Drift (2013)
My latest for Roger Ebert: a review of Drift, an Australian surfing movie, out in limited release now.
Seen Recently: The Conjuring (2013), Marie Antoinette (1938), Chasing Mavericks (2012), Danton (1983)
The Conjuring directed by James Wan At one point during The Conjuring, my friend Jen whispered to me, “I have got to stop screaming.” Well, no, you don’t. Why would you? Let it out. Let your screams cry out into … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Andrzej Wajda, France, historical drama, horror, Norma Shearer, Poland, politics, reviews, sports movies
19 Comments
Seen Recently: A Free Soul (1931), Whirlpool (1949), The Women (1939)
A Free Soul directed by Clarence Brown A daring (to say the least) pre-Code film, starring Norma Shearer (very good, for the most part, here), a ferocious and sexy Clark Gable, a sympathetic and noble Leslie Howard, and a masterful … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Clark Gable, film noir, George Cukor, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Otto Preminger, Pre-Code, reviews, Rosalind Russell, screwball comedy
15 Comments
Seen Recently: The Train Robbers (1973), Dark City (1998), Easy A (2010), His Girl Friday (1940), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
The Train Robbers directed by Burt Kennedy Somehow I missed this totally entertaining film, despite my love for John Wayne, Ann-Margret (and Ben Johnson)! An absolutely gorgeous LOOKING film (it was cinematographer William H. Clothier’s final film), it stars John … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Ann-Margret, Cary Grant, His Girl Friday, Howard Hawks, John Wayne, Ralph Bellamy, reviews, Rosalind Russell, sci-fi, screwball comedy, westerns
26 Comments
Seen Recently: Une Affaire Des Femmes (1988), Seven Psychopaths (2012), Battle of Algiers (1966), The Bling Ring (2013), Tomorrow (1972)
Une Affaire des Femmes or: Story of Women directed by Claude Chabrol This movie is as deep as the Mariana Trench. I suppose it all depends on which angle you want to look at it, which filter you want to … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Claude Chabrol, drama, France, Horton Foote, Isabelle Huppert, Italy, literary adaptation, politics, reviews, Robert Duvall, Sam Rockwell, Sofia Coppola, war movies
9 Comments
Seen Recently: Corman’s World (2011), Imitation of Life (1959), Viva Zapata! (1952), The Skin I Live In (2011), Undercurrent (1946)
Corman’s World directed by Alex Stapleton A great documentary about Roger Corman whose low-budget productions in the 1960s/70s basically acted as film-school and film-experience for a generation of filmmakers who now run Hollywood. The stories are legendary, but here in … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged documentary, Douglas Sirk, drama, Elia Kazan, film noir, Katharine Hepburn, Lana Turner, Marlon Brando, reviews, Robert Mitchum, Spain, thrillers, Vincente Minnelli
17 Comments
Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle (2012): Playing at the Film Forum
Lian Lunson’s new documentary, Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You is both a filming of the tribute concert to Canadian singer/songwriter Kate McGarrigle, who died in 2010 at the age of 63, held at New York’s Town … Continue reading
Review: A Band Called Death (2013)
A fantastic documentary. See it. My review of A Band Called Death is now up at Roger Ebert.
Review: The Heat (2013)
My review of The Heat is now up at Roger Ebert.