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- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- “I don’t represent anything.” — Liz Phair
- “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- “Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
- “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- “All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin
- “As a cinematographer, I was always attracted to stories that have the potential to be told with as few words as possible.” — Reed Morano
- “Even though I’m writing about very dark material, it still feels like an escape hatch.” — Olivia Laing
- “It’s just one of the mysteries of filmmaking that sometimes you do something that you don’t even think it’s important, then it turns out to be.” — Lili Horvát
- “Ballet taught me to stay close to style and tone. Literature taught me to be concerned about the moral life.” — Joan Acocella
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- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
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Tag Archives: Brian De Palma
December 2022 Viewing Diary
The Whale (2022; d. Darren Aronofsky) I thought it was appalling, and not for the obvious reasons. His body is viewed as literally a movie monster, with all these horror-movie shots of his gigantic ankles, etc.) It felt tired and … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged action movies, animation, Austria, Brad Pitt, Brian De Palma, Charles Dickens, Christopher Walken, Claude Chabrol, Claudette Colbert, comedy, coming of age, Czechoslovakia, Darren Aronofsky, David Bowie, documentary, drama, England, France, Germany, heist movies, historical drama, Hungary, India, Isabelle Huppert, Kentucker Audley, Natasha Richardson, Paul Schrader, Paul Thomas Anderson, Preston Sturges, Punch-Drunk Love, Russia, Sandrine Bonnaire, screwball comedy, thrillers, Ukraine, war, women directors
3 Comments
April 2022 Viewing Diary
When I first got the Raging Bull gig, I began a re-watch of all the Scorsese-De Niro movies – at least the ones clustered around that period. I grew up on these films. These movies were huge to me as … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Anjelica Huston, biopic, Brian De Palma, Canada, Christopher Walken, comedy, Dana Andrews, documentary, drama, Elia Kazan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, France, historical drama, Italy, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Joan Didion, John Cazale, Liza Minnelli, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Mickey Rourke, musicals, Ray Milland, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Robert Mitchum, romantic drama, Russia, sci-fi, Tuesday Weld, Ukraine, Vietnam, women directors, WWII
12 Comments
October 2019 Viewing Diary
Semper Fi (2019; d. Henry-Alex Rubin) Reviewed for Ebert. Metropolitan (1990; d. Whit Stillman) God, I love this movie. It’s so so strange. It weaves a spell. I love Whit Stillman. He’s a modern-day drawing-room-comedy guy, and it’s the 21st … Continue reading
March 2019 Viewing Diary
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (2017; d. Catherine Bainbridge) Mum came and visited me and we watched this amazing documentary about the contributions Native Americans have made to music. It starts with Link Wray. I loved this documentary … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Al Pacino, Brian De Palma, Chile, Dean Stockwell, Diane Keaton, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen Burstyn, England, Faye Dunaway, Francis Ford Coppola, Frank O'Hara, Italy, Jack Nicholson, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jill Clayburgh, Joanna Hogg, John Cazale, Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, Link Wray, Marlon Brando, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Mike Nichols, Quantum Leap, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Roy Scheider, Supernatural, women directors, Woody Allen
26 Comments
The Wedding Party (1963): Really Young Young Robert De Niro and Jill Clayburgh
In 1963, Brian De Palma made his first movie, basically a student film, co-directed with Wilford Leach. (It’s listed as 1969, because that’s when it was completed, and got released, because of De Niro/De Palma’s rising stardom. It’s just been … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies
Tagged Brian De Palma, comedy, Jill Clayburgh, Robert De Niro
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April 2016 Viewing Diary
The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016; d. Taika Waititi) My favorite thing I saw at Tribeca. It hasn’t opened yet but this is one you want to see. My review here. Midsummer in Newtown (2016; d. Lloyd Kramer) I was … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged AFME, Al Pacino, Brian De Palma, Claude Chabrol, Denmark, documentary, drama, France, Guillermo del Toro, historical drama, Howard Hawks, Jean-Paul Belmondo, July and Half of August, Lily Tomlin, Mervyn LeRoy, Michael Mann, New Zealand, Pre-Code, Preston Sturges, romantic drama, silent films, Supernatural, war movies
81 Comments
Ebertfest 2016: 4 Movies
Day 4 was a busy day at Ebertfest, with four films screening: Force of Destiny, Radical Grace, Love and Mercy and finally, Brian De Palma’s masterpiece, Blow Out. Nancy Allen attended to talk about Blow Out! Here’s a post about … Continue reading
The Books: The Devil’s Candy: The Anatomy Of A Hollywood Fiasco, by Julie Salamon
Next book on the Hollywood shelf: The Devil’s Candy: The Anatomy Of A Hollywood Fiasco, by Julie Salamon. A nervewracking book. Julie Salamon was invited by director Brian De Palma to follow him around as he shot Bonfire of the … Continue reading
Fall 1995: Acting Notebook
Going through all these old notebooks – I came across the notebooks I kept during grad school. At first they start out all work, no play … which is interesting in and of itself – but the notebooks I kept … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Personal, Theatre
Tagged Al Pacino, Anton Chekhov, Brian De Palma, Chinatown, Christopher Walken, Dog Day Afternoon, Elia Kazan, Faye Dunaway, Harold Pinter, John Guare, John Strasberg, Johnny Depp, Lee Strasberg, Lili Taylor, Mickey Rourke, Network, Nicholas Mosley, Nijinsky, Olympia Dukakis, Sanford Meisner, Tennessee Williams, Two-Character Play
11 Comments