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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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Tag Archives: John Ford
“It was the Marines who taught me how to act. After that, pretending to be rough wasn’t so hard.” — Lee Marvin
“You know, as character actors we play all kinds of sex psychos, nuts, creeps, perverts, and weirdos. And we laugh it off, saying what the hell it’s just a character. But deep down inside, it’s you, baby.” — Lee Marvin … Continue reading
“The main thing about directing is: photograph the people’s eyes.” — John Ford
It’s his birthday today. For Film Comment, I wrote about his somber, emotional WWII movie, with the title that really BITES: They Were Expendable. And they really were expendable. It’s an amazing film and – in my opinion – one … Continue reading
For D-Day: John Ford’s They Were Expendable (1945)
In 2019, for D-Day, I wrote about John Ford’s magnificent They Were Expendable, one of the best war movies ever made. Thank you to all those who sacrificed their lives — not just Americans — in the name of liberty … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, John Ford: Doorways in The Searchers
Are you going in or are you staying out? In the world of John Ford’s The Searchers you must choose. You can’t have both. The Searchers takes place on the threshold of that choice, in the abyss of the borderlands, … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged John Ford, John Wayne, The Searchers, westerns
30 Comments
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2019
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 17 years – WHAT? – I appreciate … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, James Joyce, Movies, Television
Tagged Agnes Varda, animation, Anna Karina, backting, Badlands, Belfast, Bibi Andersson, Bob Dylan, Bong Joon-Ho, Canada, Charlotte Rampling, comedy, Dennis Hopper, documentary, Doris Day, drama, Dubliners, Elvis Presley, Emily Dickinson, Frank O'Hara, friends, Gaspar Noe, George Stevens, Gold Diggers of 1933, horror, Ireland, Jean Arthur, Joanna Hogg, Joe Berlinger, Joel McCrea, John Ford, Kristen Stewart, Leonardo DiCaprio, Linda Manz, Marlon Brando, Martin Scorsese, Mary Oliver, Matthias Schoenaerts, Myrna Loy, Nick Nolte, Nick Tosches, Nicolas Roeg, Out of the Blue, Paraguay, Paul Thomas Anderson, poetry, Poland, Present Tense, Robert Evans, Sandrine Bonnaire, sci-fi, Sophia Takal, Sucker Punch, Supernatural, Sylvia Plath, Terrence Malick, Tom Noonan, What Happened Was, William Powell, Willie Nelson, women directors, year in writing, Zac Efron
1 Comment
May 2019 Viewing Diary
Again, just like my April viewing diary, this will be a pretty tough read for anyone not into Supernatural. It may be a tough read for those who DO watch Supernatural (especially if you loved the last 3 seasons. If … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Bette Davis, Bob Dylan, Bob Fosse, Canada, Emma Thompson, France, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Joanna Hogg, Joe Berlinger, John Ford, John Wayne, Juliette Binoche, Martin Scorsese, Sam Rockwell, Supernatural, Sylvia Plath, William Wyler, Zac Efron
97 Comments
October 2015 Viewing Diary
Moontide (1942; d. Archie Mayo – and an uncredited Fritz Lang) And John O’Hara wrote the screenplay. How I love this film. Ida Lupino plays a suicidal girl, rescued from the waves by Bobo (a to-die-for Jean Gabin). Bobo is … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Australia, Channing Tatum, Chantal Akerman, Charles Vidor, Claude Rains, documentary, England, France, Gena Rowlands, Gilda, Guillermo del Toro, Ida Lupino, Iran, Iranian film, Ireland, Joe Berlinger, John Ford, John Sturges, John Wayne, Kristen Wiig, Maureen O'Hara, Mexico, Nicholas Ray, Peter Weir, Poland, Ridley Scott, Rita Hayworth, Supernatural, Thomas Mitchell, William Wellman
70 Comments
July 2015 viewing diary
Faith of Our Fathers (2015; d. Carey Scott). A poorly done Christian movie. My review at Rogerebert.com. In Stereo (2015; d. Mel Rodriguez III). The second terrible movie I’ve had to see and review in June. My review at Rogerebert.com. … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Austria, Brad Pitt, Busby Berkeley, Channing Tatum, dance, documentary, England, France, Germany, Gold Diggers of 1933, Howard Hawks, Ireland, Joan Blondell, John Ford, John Wayne, Mervyn LeRoy, Montgomery Clift, Orson Welles, Supernatural, Syria, Terrence Malick, X-Files
62 Comments
Duke, O’Hara, and Ford
I finished Scott Eyman’s magnificent biography of John Wayne (John Wayne: The Life and Legend), and could not recommend it more highly. While the book deserves only praise for its delving into Wayne’s filmography, the true strength of the book … 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