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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
- “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
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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: Richard Linklater
December 2025 Viewing Diary
Marty Supreme (2025; d. Joss Safdie) I have mixed feelings on this, especially the last scene, which is corny as hell. Not as corny as the last scene in Lady Bird, but in its way even more obnoxious. Robert Towne … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies
Tagged animation, Baz Luhrmann, Darren Aronofsky, drama, Elvis Presley, historical drama, Israel, Japan, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Julianne Moore, Kentucker Audley, Kristen Stewart, literary adaptation, Richard Linklater, Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks, women directors
36 Comments
2025 National Society of Film Critics Awards
It’s the 60th year of the National Society of Film Critics. We met up in New York / Los Angeles / Zoom to vote today. We also have a couple of fun categories – like Best Experimental Film – and … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Argentina, Brazil, documentary, Ethan Hawke, Iranian film, Jafar Panahi, Norway, Paul Thomas Anderson, Richard Linklater, Russia
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Mirrors #26
Zoey Deutch and Aubry Dullin as Jean Sebert and Jean-Paul Belmondo in Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, one of my favorite films of the year. The film is a maze of mirrors, with mirror moments in almost every scene. There are … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged France, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Paul Belmondo, mirrors, Richard Linklater
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“I’ve never been a guy who had more than a toe in Hollywood anyway, so my toe is more easily lopped off than most.” — Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater, at Ebertfest 2013, presenting “Bernie.” Photo by yours truly. It’s his birthday today. One of my favorite contemporary filmmakers (if not my favorite?) Here’s my essay on Movie Mezzanine: Time After Time: Looking Back at “Before Sunrise”. Here’s … Continue reading
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
Glen Powell is here and people are being weird
I wrote about Glen Powell on my Substack. This one – obviously – was a long time in the making. Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined … Continue reading
For Film Comment: Shane & Everybody Wants Some!!
There’s a new column on Film Comment called “Seeing Double”, where writers explore connections between different movies, potential double bills. So I wrote about Shane and Everybody Wants Some!!, a piece I’d been wanting to write for a couple of … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Alan Ladd, comedy, George Stevens, Glen Powell, Jean Arthur, reviews, Richard Linklater, westerns
1 Comment
August 2021 Viewing Diary
Pig (2021; d. Michael Sarnoski) I wish I could write at length about some of these. I just don’t have the time these days. I absolutely loved Pig, about an isolated woodsman-truffle-hunter (Nicolas Cage) whose beloved truffle pig is stolen. … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Aline MacMahon, Ann Dvorak, backting, Belgium, Bette Davis, comedy, documentary, drama, film noir, France, Golshifteh Farahani, Howard Hawks, James Cagney, Jean Arthur, Jim Jarmusch, Joan Blondell, Marion Cotillard, Mervyn LeRoy, musicals, Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Pre-Code, Richard Linklater, Robert Mitchum, Supernatural, surfing, William Carlos Williams
44 Comments
September 2018 Viewing Diary
Slacker (1990; d. Richard Linklater) Did a little walk down Richard Linklater lane, starting at the top, and then going all the over the place chronologically. If you think about Linklater, and his extraordinary body of work – and you … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Burt Reynolds, Charles Laughton, documentary, Goldie Hawn, Jack Black, Kathleen Turner, Keanu Reeves, Kristen Stewart, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Patricia Arquette, Paul Thomas Anderson, Richard Linklater, Robert Aldrich, Robert Mitchum, Stalin, Supernatural, women directors
8 Comments

