Categories
Archives
-
-
-
-
Recent Posts
- 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
Recent Comments
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
- sheila on “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
- Jessie on March 2026 Snapshots
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Maddy on “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
- sheila on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Joseph Pedulla on Susan Hayward Sleeps Raw
- sheila on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- P Nickel on “The realization of ignorance is the first act of knowing.” — Jean Toomer
- Melissa Sutherland on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
-
Tag Archives: New Zealand
Review: Holy Days (2026)
Anything with these three actresses is, at least, worth checking out … but overall … Holy Days felt pretty insubstantial. My review at Ebert.
Review: Went Up the Hill (2025)
Vicky Krieps and Dacre Montgomery star in this intense two-handed ghost story, which is really an exploration of grief. They’re both so good: this is single-minded not-ingratiating work – not crowd-pleasing – and I am here for it. I reviewed … Continue reading
June 2025 Viewing Diary
The last couple of months – really since the beginning of the year – I’ve only had room in my head for re-watches of stuff I already know. It was crunch time for the Frankenstein book. Plus politics and pretty … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged documentary, Jane Austen, Jensen Ackles, New Zealand, romantic drama, sci-fi, thrillers, women directors, X-Files
10 Comments
Review: Prime Minister (2025)
I reviewed Prime Minister, a very interesting documentary about Jacinda Ardern’s tumultuous time as the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand. It has a somewhat unique format – at least compared to other similar documentaries.
Posted in Movies
Tagged documentary, New Zealand, politics, reviews, women directors
Leave a comment
June 2024 Viewing Diary
Sunset Boulevard (1950; d. Billy Wilder) I had so much fun discussing Sunset Boulevard with the audience after the screening at Jacob Burns Film Center. I’ll be doing another one in August, after Billy Wilder’s The Apartment. The audience was … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged action movies, Billy Wilder, comedy, film noir, France, Glen Powell, Gloria Swanson, Meryl Streep, New Zealand, Richard Linklater, romantic comedy, romantic drama, short films, Steven Spielberg, Sunset Boulevard, Thomas J. Wright, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, war movies, William Holden, women directors
12 Comments
September 2022 Viewing Diary
The Deep End (2022; d. Jon Kasbe) I’m into cults but I actively avoid woo-woo, so somehow Teal Swan escaped my radar. Well, she’s on my radar NOW. This Netflix doc is extraordinary because Teal Swan participated in it, she … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Baz Luhrmann, comedy, documentary, drama, Elvis Presley, England, film noir, Hal Wallis, Ida Lupino, James Cagney, John Garfield, Marilyn Monroe, musicals, New Zealand, Olivia de Havilland, Raoul Walsh, Rita Hayworth, Thomas Mitchell, true crime, westerns, women directors
29 Comments
Review: The Justice of Bunny King
What a remarkable directorial debut, and WHAT a performance from Essie Davis. I reviewed for Ebert.
November 2021 Viewing Diary
The Wire, half of Season 3 This is the busiest time of year in re: film-critic-land, so had to stop my re-watch of The Wire to make room for new releases. I’ll get back to it! All Is Forgiven (2007; … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Amy Heckerling, Balkans, Dean Stockwell, documentary, drama, Ethan Hawke, Eugene O'Neill, France, Ingmar Bergman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Japan, Katharine Hepburn, literary adaptation, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Mexico, Mia Hansen-Løve, Mia Wasikowska, New Zealand, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quantum Leap, Rebecca Hall, Sidney Lumet, Spain, Sweden, The Beatles, Will Ferrell, women directors
22 Comments
April 2016 Viewing Diary
The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016; d. Taika Waititi) My favorite thing I saw at Tribeca. It hasn’t opened yet but this is one you want to see. My review here. Midsummer in Newtown (2016; d. Lloyd Kramer) I was … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged AFME, Al Pacino, Brian De Palma, Claude Chabrol, Denmark, documentary, drama, France, Guillermo del Toro, historical drama, Howard Hawks, Jean-Paul Belmondo, July and Half of August, Lily Tomlin, Mervyn LeRoy, Michael Mann, New Zealand, Pre-Code, Preston Sturges, romantic drama, silent films, Supernatural, war movies
81 Comments
Review: Tribeca 2016: Hunt for the Wilderpeople
What a wonderful film from Taika Waititi, New Zealand’s most successful film-maker currently. It’s been at Sundance, now Tribeca: I’m sure it will open in a semi-wide release so please look for it. I reviewed Hunt for the Wilderpeople at … Continue reading