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- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- “I don’t represent anything.” — Liz Phair
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- “Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
- “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
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- “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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Tag Archives: hockey
“If it hadn’t been for the videocassette, I may not have had a career at all.” — Kurt Russell
It’s his birthday today. How I love him. I grew up with him. The Computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes. I remember that being screened for us in grade school in what they called “the multi-purpose room” (lol: gym, cafeteria, theatre). … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Elvis Presley, hockey, Kurt Russell, miracle on ice
19 Comments
February 22, 1980: “Do you believe in miracles? YES!”
Member when Russia was our enemy? I miss those days. It is truly wild to watch certain people – whose identity for 75 years was opposition to Russia’s tyranny – flip-flop. The cognitive dissonance has to be insane. Or it … Continue reading
Review: The Man Who Saves the World? (2025)
I have quietly been looking out for director Gabe Polsky ever since I saw – and LOVED – his feature film directorial debut (a credit he shared with his brother Alan), Motel Life (I reviewed for Ebert – and then … Continue reading
Dynamic Duo #40
Wayne Gretzky and Vladislav Tretiak, 1983
2020 Movie Recommendations
I’m probably missing some. And there are still a couple of foreign films I haven’t seen. The Assistant (2020; d. Kitty Green)- It’s so so good, and so “of our moment” it’s almost eerie. But it’s the WAY that Kitty … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Alexander Hamilton, animation, Aubrey Plaza, Australia, Brazil, comedy, documentary, drama, England, friends, Germany, hockey, horror, Italy, musicals, Romania, Russia, Shirley Jackson, Sofia Coppola, South Korea, Spike Lee, women directors
3 Comments
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2020, Part 1
What a year. Hard to say “the worst” because I was at least somewhat mentally stable during 2020, but this year was an assault. An assault after a couple of years of exhausting assault. It was an assault on us … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies, RIP
Tagged Arizona Dream, Aubrey Plaza, Australia, Derek Mahon, Dorothy Arzner, Eavan Boland, England, Faye Dunaway, Germany, H.D., hockey, Iranian film, Jane Austen, Jean Arthur, Jerry Lewis, John Sturges, Johnny Depp, Jonathan Demme, Josephine Decker, Kurt Russell, Lili Taylor, Linda Manz, Little Richard, Lucille Ball, Martha Coolidge, Maureen O'Hara, miracle on ice, Nick Nolte, Patricia Bosworth, Shirley Jackson, Steve McQueen, Supernatural, women directors, year in writing
2 Comments
February 2020 Viewing Diary
Ted Bundy: Falling For a Killer (2020; d. Trish Wood) I can’t help it. I’ve been reading about Ted Bundy since I read Ann Rule’s book in high school. I hate him so much, but I can’t quit him. I … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Bill Pullman, Claude Chabrol, comedy, documentary, drama, Germany, hockey, Isabelle Huppert, James Gandolfini, Jane Austen, Jean Arthur, Kurt Russell, Laura Dern, literary adaptation, miracle on ice, Nicolas Cage, Robert Duvall, romantic comedy, Sandrine Bonnaire, sci-fi, sports movies, William Powell, women directors
8 Comments
Present Tense: on Miracle (2004) and the “miracle on ice” – which turns 40 this week
If you’ve been round these here parts, you know my obsession with the miracle on ice. Many thanks to the editors at Film Comment, for taking my pitch to write a piece on the 1980 Winter Olympics, as seen through … Continue reading
November 2019 Viewing Diary
The Best of Everything (1959; d. Jean Negulesco) I love this movie so much. I read the book this year (for the first time). I highly recommend both. This is the wellspring from which Mad Men sprung. The Devil Next … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged China, comedy, documentary, drama, England, France, hockey, Italy, Jennifer Aniston, Jodie Foster, romantic drama, sci-fi, Spain, Supernatural, women directors, Woody Allen
19 Comments
“We Forgot About the Flowers.” A Discussion About Ice Castles
Christy Lemire, Susan Wloszczyna and I have “gotten together” to discuss films in the past for Rogerebert.com: Our first conversation was about Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45, our second conversation was about Thelma and Louise turning 25. Our latest is a … Continue reading

