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Tag Archives: Star Wars
“If my life wasn’t funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable.” — Carrie Fisher
It’s her birthday today. I miss her. Here is the tribute I wrote to Fisher when she died, focusing primarily on her writing. I also reviewed the documentary, Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Thank you … Continue reading
Music Monday: Hollywood Bowl, Pt. 3: Indiana Star Jones Close Encounter Wars!, by Brendan O’Malley
My talented brother Brendan O’Malley is an amazing writer and actor. He’s wonderful in the recent You & Me, directed by Alexander Baack. (I interviewed Baack about the film here.) His most recent gig was story editor/writer on the hit … Continue reading
December 2017 Viewing Diary
Supernatural, Season 11 (2015-16) What an incredible season, right up until the moment …. it was not an incredible season. I hadn’t re-watched in its entirety since it aired, although I cherry-picked favorite episodes to re-watch (of which there are … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Coen brothers, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, documentary, Elizabeth Taylor, France, Garrett Hedlund, Georgia, Jack Kerouac, Jean Renoir, Jeremy Renner, John Huston, Julie Harris, Kentucker Audley, Margaret Atwood, Marlon Brando, Michelle Pfeiffer, Richard Gere, Star Wars, Steven Spielberg, Supernatural, women directors, Zodiac
21 Comments
Films I Loved in 2017
… and if I’ve written about them, I’ll include links. My “Top 10′ is included over at Ebert but I’m honestly not into rankings. Silly to do with art. Here are some of the films I’ve loved. And I missed … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Agnes Varda, Angelina Jolie, animation, Aubrey Plaza, Ben Stiller, comedy, coming of age, Cristian Mungiu, documentary, drama, Dustin Hoffman, Emily Dickinson, England, France, Garrett Hedlund, Georgia, Greta Gerwig, Harry Dean Stanton, historical drama, Ireland, Kristen Stewart, Martin Scorsese, Matthias Schoenaerts, Meryl Streep, musicals, Paul Thomas Anderson, religious movies, Romania, sci-fi, Sofia Coppola, Star Wars, Steven Spielberg, Terrence Malick, Tiffany Haddish, Tom Hanks, Turkey, women directors
11 Comments
December 2015 Viewing Diary
Christmas, Again (2015; d. Charles Poekel) So good. I reviewed for Rogerebert.com. Back Street (1932; John M. Stahl) Back Street is the story of a woman who allows herself to be a “back street” woman: a long-time mistress to a … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Belfast, dance, England, Greta Gerwig, Hal Ashby, Howard Hawks, Hungary, Ingmar Bergman, Iran, Iranian film, Ireland, Irene Dunne, Jennifer Lawrence, Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Kentucker Audley, Poland, Rocky, Star Wars, Supernatural, Sweden, Truffaut, Turkey
63 Comments
William Friedkin on Star Wars: “I dunno, little sweet robots and stuff, maybe we’re on the wrong horse.”
For May 4, Star Wars Day. William Friedkin’s movie Sorcerer was opening at the same time as that little movie about robots called Star Wars, the movie that would end up being the industry game-changer. (Speaking of Sorcerer, it just … Continue reading
Sorcerer (1977); Dir. William Friedkin
The film was pretty much dead on arrival when it opened in 1977. Friedkin had been riding a high wave with The French Connection and The Exorcist – the American auteur thing was spiralling out of control (but damn, it … Continue reading
“The shiny guy always worries.”
Star Wars re-capped by a 3-year-old.
The Wookie Holiday: “Life Day”
I am so happy – an analytical essay on The Star Wars Holiday Special. Quote from the essay: “If ever a television program defined so bad, its good,” this is it, as if the initial pain of having ones brain … Continue reading

