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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
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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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- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
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- 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)
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Tag Archives: Thomas Mitchell
Happy Birthday, Thomas Mitchell
Interesting that Thomas Mitchell and Bruce McGill were born on the same day (scroll down). I said in the piece about Bruce McGill that McGill is in “the Thomas Mitchell tradition” and the “Thomas Mitchell tradition” is quickly vanishing from … Continue reading
February 2025 Viewing Diary
Twin Peaks: The Return (2017; d. David Lynch) There’s nothing else like it in all of God’s green earth and I am just so grateful it exists. It’s so pure. Suze (2025; d. Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart) I liked … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Angela Lansbury, Canada, Cary Grant, Charles Beeson, David Lynch, drama, Elizabeth Taylor, Fred Astaire, George Stevens, Germany, Ginger Rogers, historical drama, Howard Hawks, Jared Padalecki, Jean Arthur, Jensen Ackles, Judy Garland, musicals, Only Angels Have Wings, Oscar Wilde, Phil Sgriccia, Rita Hayworth, Robert Singer, romantic comedy, Sissy Spacek, sports movies, Supernatural, Thomas J. Wright, Thomas Mitchell, Twin Peaks, Vincente Minnelli, women directors
118 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
March 2020 Viewing Diary: A Before and After List
I began this viewing diary in a time of innocence (and naivete) before social distancing became compulsory (or at least strongly suggested). We here were months behind schedule, due to the disgraceful anti-science buffoonery of the current administration, who do … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Cary Grant, Claude Rains, comedy, coming of age, documentary, drama, Faye Dunaway, film noir, Frank Capra, Gary Cooper, George Stevens, Germany, Jane Austen, Jean Arthur, Jerry Lewis, Jimmy Stewart, John Garfield, Johnny Depp, Johnny Flynn, Lili Taylor, literary adaptation, Natasha Richardson, Paul Schrader, romantic comedy, Supernatural, Thomas Mitchell
9 Comments
On Thomas Mitchell in Film Comment
My essay on Thomas Mitchell in the current issue of Film Comment (print only). It looks so good! I love how huge the image of him is, with that big wide striped tie. Such a superb actor. Pick up a … Continue reading
For Film Comment: On Thomas Mitchell in Moontide
I had been wanting to write about Thomas Mitchell for a long time. He’s one of my favorite actors and there really isn’t all that much out there about him. Everyone knows how great he is, and he shows up … Continue reading
August 2017 Viewing Diary
Columbus (2017; d. Kogonada) I loved this movie so much. One of the best of the year so far. My review. Dunkirk (2017; d. Christopher Nolan) Overwhelming. Saw it in IMAX 70 mm so I can’t compare to others’ experiences … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies
Tagged Billy Wilder, Channing Tatum, Charles Laughton, Dana Andrews, David Lean, David Lynch, documentary, Elvis Presley, France, Frank Capra, Henry Fonda, Howard Hawks, Lawrence of Arabia, Olivia de Havilland, Otto Preminger, Thomas Mitchell, Twin Peaks, women directors
44 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
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937); Director: Leo McCarey
Peter Bogdanovich, during one of his many conversations with Orson Welles, asked Welles if he had ever seen a little-known film that was a flop in its original release, Make Way For Tomorrow, directed by Leo McCarey. And Welles exploded, … Continue reading
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), dir. Frank Capra
Frank Capra on Jean Arthur (quoted in Richard Schickel’s The Men Who Made the Movies): Jean Arthur was an enigmatic figure because she doesn’t do very well in crowds, and she doesn’t do very well with people, and she doesn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Claude Rains, Frank Capra, Jean Arthur, Jimmy Stewart, Marc Eliot, politics, Thomas Mitchell
12 Comments