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Tag Archives: drama
“I think I’m a pretty good storyteller.” — John Sturges
It’s the birthday today of great and weirdly under-rated American director, John Sturges. One of the best parts about writing about the Criterion essay for the release of The Great Escape was getting to do a deep dive into the … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged drama, John Sturges, Steve McQueen, thrillers, war movies, westerns
8 Comments
My Ideal New Year’s Eve Party … Is Fictional
I’m not much for New Year’s Eve (I have already covered this), and I’m not much for big parties anymore, nor am I into people who can’t hold their liquor. My friend Ann Marie calls New Years Eve “open mic … Continue reading
August-November 2025 Viewing Diary
I haven’t watched much this year, beyond what I was assigned to review. Of course at end of year I have to scramble to catch up, which I am still doing. Instead I watched a lot of true crime, re-watched … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged baseball, Brazil, crime movies, documentary, drama, England, France, Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro, historical drama, horror, Iran, Iranian film, Italy, Jafar Panahi, Jennifer Lawrence, literary adaptation, Martin Scorsese, Nick Nolte, Patricia Arquette, Roman Polanski, romantic comedy, Russia, Sissy Spacek, true crime, Ukraine, women directors, X-Files
12 Comments
Review: The Chronology of Water (2025)
This is Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut. (She directed a short film in 2017. This is her first feature.) It’s an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2011 memoir of the same name and it’s an extraordinary piece of work. I can’t say … Continue reading
Review: Come Closer (2025)
Tom Nesher’s Come Closer is a work of personal catharsis, and I respect a lot of what she did. I reviewed for Ebert.
Review: The Thing with Feathers (2025)
If you insist on making a film adaptation of a book where said book takes its entire thematic structure from Ted Hughes’ 1970 poetry collection Crow– and if in your adaptation you cut out all references to Ted Hughes – … Continue reading
Review: Trifole (2025)
Trifole takes place in Truffle Country, the Piedmont region in Italy. I liked it. My review is now up.
Review: Die My Love (2025)
I reviewed Lynne Ramsay’s latest, Die My Love, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. Here’s what I wrote on Instagram: It hits a niche (perhaps) sweet spot of yours truly: people blather on and on (AND ON) about destigmatizing mental … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged drama, Jennifer Lawrence, Lynne Ramsay, reviews, Scotland, women directors
1 Comment
“I never said, ‘I want to be alone.’ I only said, ‘I want to be left alone.’ There is all the difference.” — Greta Garbo
It’s her birthday today. She is a difficult subject, not just because she was a private woman, but because her onscreen persona was so fluid, mercurial, hard to grasp. Her gestures could be operatic and swanlike (watch Grand Hotel), but … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged drama, Greta Garbo, H.D., historical drama, silent films, Sweden
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“Certainly there have been better actors than me who have had no careers. Why? I don’t know.” — Richard Gere
It’s his birthday today. Here’s a piece I wrote about him: The Narcissist at Home: Richard Gere in American Gigolo.
Posted in Actors, Movies
Tagged drama, mirrors, newsletter, Paul Schrader, Richard Gere
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