Tag Archives: Canada

“I thought girls in their teens might like to read [Anne of Green Gables], that was the only audience I hoped to reach.” — L.M. Montgomery

Posted on November 30, 2025 by sheila

As with Sylvia Plath, my relationship with Lucy Maud Montgomery has spanned the entirety of my life. It graduated from a childhood voracious yearning to read all the books immediately to a longer period when I “grew out of them”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, On This Day, writers | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, Canada, Emily of New Moon, fiction, L.M. Montgomery, The Blue Castle | 5 Comments

“What are you gonna do, talk the alien to death?” — James Cameron

Posted on August 16, 2025 by sheila

It’s James Cameron’s birthday today, and I haven’t written all that much about him, but I did devote an entire column at Film Comment to the sexual/romantic tension between Ripley and Hicks in Aliens – and how crucial it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged Canada | 4 Comments

For International Women’s Day: Ladies I Love

Posted on March 8, 2025 by sheila

I post edited versions of this every year. I add names. I take names off if I feel like it. I enjoy compiling it. It’s not just about enjoyment. As women’s rights are up for grabs more than ever, like … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Art/Photography, Directors, Personal, writers | Tagged A.S. Byatt, Abigail Adams, Agnes Varda, Aline MacMahon, Amy Heckerling, Ann Savage, Anna Karina, Anne Frank, Anne V. Coates, Annie Proulx, art, Aubrey Plaza, Australia, Austria, Barbara Bel Geddes, Barbara Stanwyck, Barbra Streisand, Bette Davis, Bibi Andersson, Brazil, Britney Spears, Busby Berkeley, Camille Paglia, Canada, Carole Lombard, Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Bronte, Charlotte Rampling, China, Croatia, Diane Keaton, Dolly Parton, Drew Barrymore, Dubravka Ugrešić, Edie Sedgwick, Ellen von Unwerth, England, Etta James, Eve Babitz, France, Frances Farmer, Gena Rowlands, George Eliot, Georgia, Germany, Gloria Grahame, Golshifteh Farahani, Greta Garbo, Greta Gerwig, Harriet Andersson, Hediyeh Tehrani, Hong Kong, Ida Lupino, Ingrid Thulin, Iran, Ireland, Isabelle Adjani, Isabelle Huppert, Italy, Janet Malcolm, Japan, Jean Arthur, Jeanette Winterson, Jill Clayburgh, Joan Crawford, Joan Didion, Joan Jett, Joanna Hogg, Josephine Decker, Judy Garland, Julie Christie, Kate Lyn Sheil, Kay Francis, Keri Hulme, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Wiig, L.M. Montgomery, Laura Dern, Laurette Taylor, Leila Hatami, Lily Tomlin, Liv Ullmann, Louise Glück, Madeleine L'Engle, Madeline Kahn, Maggie Cheung, Maggie Smith, Marianne Moore, Marilyn Monroe, Martha Graham, Mary Oliver, Maud Gonne, Mélanie Laurent, Mia Hansen-Løve, Nancy Savoca, Natalie Portman, Nina Hoss, Nina Simone, Olivia Laing, Olympia Dukakis, Patricia Highsmith, Pauline Kael, photography, Poland, Rebecca West, Romania, Rosalind Russell, Russia, Sandrine Bonnaire, Shabnam Toloui, Shirley Jackson, Sophia Takal, South Korea, Spain, Supernatural, Sweden, Tana French, Taraneh Alidoosti, The Netherlands, Tiffany Haddish, Tina Turner, Tuesday Weld, Wanda Jackson, women directors | 106 Comments

February 2025 Viewing Diary

Posted on March 2, 2025 by sheila

Twin Peaks: The Return (2017; d. David Lynch) There’s nothing else like it in all of God’s green earth and I am just so grateful it exists. It’s so pure. Suze (2025; d. Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart) I liked … Continue reading →

Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television | Tagged Angela Lansbury, Canada, Cary Grant, Charles Beeson, David Lynch, drama, Elizabeth Taylor, Fred Astaire, George Stevens, Germany, Ginger Rogers, historical drama, Howard Hawks, Jared Padalecki, Jean Arthur, Jensen Ackles, Judy Garland, musicals, Only Angels Have Wings, Oscar Wilde, Phil Sgriccia, Rita Hayworth, Robert Singer, romantic comedy, Sissy Spacek, sports movies, Supernatural, Thomas J. Wright, Thomas Mitchell, Twin Peaks, Vincente Minnelli, women directors | 118 Comments

Reviews: Suze (2025)

Posted on February 7, 2025 by sheila

I reviewed this lovely Canadian film for Ebert.

Posted in Movies | Tagged Canada, drama, reviews, women directors | Leave a comment

2022 Books Read

Posted on January 6, 2023 by sheila

Some re-reads this year, but a lot of new-to-me authors as well. New novels written by faves. Been a year of upheaval and transitions. I’ve managed to keep up my regular reading schedule. I just don’t feel right if I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged A.S. Byatt, Alfred Hitchcock, Anne Fadiman, art, Australia, Biography, books read, Canada, Christopher Hitchens, Edmund Burke, Elinor Lipman, England, entertainment biography, essays, Eve Babitz, friends, Germany, Greece, Hitler, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Janet Malcolm, Joan Didion, Joseph Cornell, Lorrie Moore, Machiavelli, Master and Margarita, Memoirs, Michael Curtiz, Mikhail Bulgakov, Mitford sisters, nonfiction, Paul Zindel, politics, Quentin Tarantino, Robert De Niro, Russia, Ryszard Kapuściński, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Shakespeare, The Beatles, Tom Wolfe, true crime, Victor Klemperer, Victor Serge, war, William Hazlitt, William Wordsworth, WWII, YA fiction | 10 Comments

Review: Women Talking (2022)

Posted on December 23, 2022 by sheila

Sarah Polley’s film adaptation of Miriam Towes’ novel Women Talking is now out. Not as bowled over by this as many others seem to be. Not saying everyone else is wrong, of course, just that I’ve seen this twice now … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Canada, drama, literary adaptation, reviews, women directors | Leave a comment

November 2022 Viewing Diary

Posted on December 3, 2022 by sheila

Something in the Dirt (2022; d. Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson) I really liked this. If you like losing yourself in conspiracy theories – without being, like, a QAnon-type ready to shoot up a pizza parlor – then this is super … Continue reading →

Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television | Tagged Alan Ladd, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Cate Blanchett, Claude Rains, crime movies, D.H. Lawrence, documentary, drama, England, film noir, France, historical drama, horror, Iran, Iranian film, Isabelle Huppert, Jafar Panahi, Joanna Hogg, Joe Berlinger, John Garfield, Nina Hoss, Poland, Ralph Macchio, Russia, sci-fi, South Korea, Steven Spielberg, Tilda Swinton, true crime, women directors | 3 Comments

October 2022 Viewing Diary

Posted on November 1, 2022 by sheila

Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation (2020; d. Lisa Immordino Vreeland) Fascinating dual portraits. No “talking heads”. The entire thing is made up of their own voices, told in talk shows, or interviews. Amazing footage I’ve never seen before. Christine … Continue reading →

Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television | Tagged Barbara Bel Geddes, Canada, Charlton Heston, comedy, crime movies, documentary, drama, film noir, George Stevens, Holly Hunter, horror, Jack Lemmon, James Gandolfini, Janet Leigh, Japan, Jean Arthur, Joe Berlinger, Joel McCrea, John Travolta, Marlene Dietrich, Orson Welles, Poland, Rebecca Hall, romantic comedy, Scotland, short films, Sissy Spacek, Tennessee Williams, true crime, Truman Capote, women directors | 22 Comments

Review: Stay the Night (2022)

Posted on October 7, 2022 by sheila

My response to this movie was so strong I had to interrogate it a little bit. What is this bringing up in me? Why such a personal reaction? This calls into question the whole film critic thing in general. Why … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Canada, reviews, romantic comedy, women directors | Leave a comment

Tag Archives: Canada

“I thought girls in their teens might like to read [Anne of Green Gables], that was the only audience I hoped to reach.” — L.M. Montgomery

“What are you gonna do, talk the alien to death?” — James Cameron

For International Women’s Day: Ladies I Love

February 2025 Viewing Diary

Reviews: Suze (2025)

2022 Books Read

Review: Women Talking (2022)

November 2022 Viewing Diary

October 2022 Viewing Diary

Review: Stay the Night (2022)

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