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- “In France, I’m an auteur; in Germany, a filmmaker; in Britain; a genre film director; and, in the USA, a bum.” — John Carpenter
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- December 2025 Viewing Diary
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- “Precision and accuracy are necessary for both white and black writers. ‘A black aesthetic’ should not be an excuse for sloppy writing.” — poet and publisher Dudley Randall
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Tag Archives: Joaquin Phoenix
“Even to this day, I watch The Wizard of Oz like I did when I was five years old. I get really involved in it.” — Lynne Ramsay
“When I go to the cinema, I want to have a cinematic experience. Some people ignore the sound and you end up seeing something you might see on television and it doesn’t explore the form. Sound is the other picture. … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Joaquin Phoenix, Lynne Ramsay, Scotland, Tilda Swinton, women directors
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January 2020 Viewing Diary
Hell Is for Heroes (1962; d. Don Siegel) A spare lean and mean war movie – pretty standard, actually – except Steve McQueen is actually presenting a character study here, a character he probably knows something about. He is eerie … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Al Pacino, Brad Pitt, children's movies, Colin Farrell, comedy, coming of age, crime movies, Dean Stockwell, documentary, Dorothy Arzner, drama, Dustin Hoffman, England, France, Ginger Rogers, heist movies, Iran, Iranian film, Jean Arthur, Joaquin Phoenix, Joel McCrea, John Sturges, Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lucille Ball, Martin Scorsese, Maureen O'Hara, musicals, Nick Nolte, Quentin Tarantino, Robert De Niro, romantic comedy, screwball comedy, Steve McQueen, Supernatural, true crime, war movies, women directors
3 Comments
February 2019 Viewing Diary
St. Agatha (2019; d. Darren Lynn Bousman) I reviewed this nunsploitation horror film which I resisted at first for some reason, but then I got into the spirit of it. It’s fun. It’s what it needs to be. It also … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Badlands, Cuba, documentary, Elia Kazan, Gaspar Noe, Hungary, Ireland, Jared Padalecki, Joaquin Phoenix, Meryl Streep, Patricia Neal, Paul Thomas Anderson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Poland, Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Steven Spielberg, Supernatural, Terrence Malick, Tom Hanks, women directors
8 Comments
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2018
Thanks, everyone, who hangs out here, who likes what I do, whether you’re an Elvis fan, a Supernatural fan, a general cinephile, a book-lover, or just someone who’s been checking in periodically for almost 16 years – WHAT? – I … Continue reading
Posted in James Joyce, Movies, Television
Tagged Anne V. Coates, Burt Reynolds, documentary, Doris Day, Dorothy Malone, Elvis Presley, England, Finnegans Wake, Frank Sinatra, Gena Rowlands, Germany, Gold Diggers of 1933, Grace Kelly, Hal Ashby, Howard Hughes, Ian McEwan, James Cagney, Joan Didion, Joaquin Phoenix, Julie Christie, Lynne Ramsay, Mexico, Minnie and Moskowitz, Natalie Portman, Paul Thomas Anderson, Play It As It Lays, Robert Altman, Russia, Sanaa Lathan, South Korea, Supernatural, Warren Beatty, women directors, Woody Allen, year in writing
10 Comments
Film Comment Countdown and Live Talk
Last night, I participated in a Film Comment live talk at Lincoln Center, hosted/moderated by Film Comment editor-in-chief Nic Rapold, which involved “unveiling” Film Comment‘s Top 10 of 2018. The other critics there were Michael Koresky, Nick Pinkerton and Molly … Continue reading
Oh my God, Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here (2018)
It’s as good as I’ve heard. Better. I’m a huge fan of Lynne Ramsay (#1) and also a huge fan of Joaquin Phoenix, who is in a really masterful phase of his career. No bullshit: he’s awesome. This is a … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged drama, Joaquin Phoenix, Lynne Ramsay, reviews, thrillers, women directors
6 Comments
Persistence
It’s not the most talented who “make it”. Those who “make it” (in whatever field it might be) are those who are the most persistent. Those who fall down and then get right back up. Those who are not stopped … Continue reading
June 2015 Viewing Diary
The X-Files, Season 5, Episode 7, “Emily” (1997; d. Kim Manners) Very intense. Good Lord. The X-Files, Season 5, Episode 8, “Kitsunegari” (1998; d. Daniel Sackheim) Ty Olsson as the green security guard. Hi, Benny from Supernatural! And Diana Scarwid! … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Albert Maysles, Channing Tatum, Dean Stockwell, Dennis Hopper, documentary, France, Inherent Vice, Joaquin Phoenix, Jodie Foster, John Ford, John Wayne, Mia Hansen-Løve, Paul Thomas Anderson, Russia, Sam Shepard, Supernatural, The Searchers, X-Files
32 Comments
May 2015 Viewing Diary
The X-Files, Season 2 Episode 20 “Humbug” (1995; d. Kim Manners). Mulder and Scully investigate murders among circus-folk. Laugh-out-loud funny, especially Mulder in the fun-house, sliding out of the wall, gun drawn. The X-Files, Season 2 Episode 22 “The Calusari” … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Abbas Kiarostami, Argentina, China, documentary, Ellen Burstyn, England, France, Iran, Iranian film, Italy, Joaquin Phoenix, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Martin Scorsese, Mia Hansen-Løve, Michelangelo Antonioni, Otto Preminger, Robert Mitchum, Russia, Supernatural, X-Files
45 Comments
Everything Reminds Me of Inherent Vice
During my run in Long Beach. Opening shot of Inherent Vice, just for reference.

