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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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- 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
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- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
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- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
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- sheila on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
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- 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: Turkey
Solidarity
Walking through the West Village on an Arctic blast of a morning … … there were more, but it was too cold to stop and take pics of all of the visible manifestations of solidarity. Speaking of solidarity, the NY … Continue reading
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
The Individual Top Tens of 2017: Roger Ebert
Granted, this list is enormous: everyone who writes for Rogerebert.com submitted their own personal Top 10s. They’re all listed here. Some have commentary (mine does), others don’t. To those who feel baffled as to what to see, what to look … Continue reading
Review: Kedi (2017)
I can’t say enough good things about Kedi. It’s a must-see. It won’t be playing multiplexes probably. For any of you out of reach of arthouses, keep an eye out for this one on VOD. Very special. My review of … Continue reading
January 2017 Viewing Diary
Conspiracy (2001; d. Frank Pierson) The definition of “the room where it happens”. The awful room where something vile was decided. The TV movie starring Kenneth Branagh (so excellent) about the Wannsee Conference. It’s superb. Based on the one surviving … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Akira Kurosawa, Asghar Farhadi, Carrie Fisher, dance, documentary, Elia Kazan, Iran, Iranian film, Japan, Supernatural, Taraneh Alidoosti, Turkey, women directors
18 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
Review: Mustang (2015)
Mustang is the third breathtakingly confident directorial debut I’ve seen this week. Is there something in the water? First there was Christmas, Again. Then there was Night Owls, and now Mustang, from first-time Turkish director Deniz Gamze Ergüven. The three … Continue reading
The Slow Burn of Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Taking place over one long 24-hour period, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, tells the story of a police unit driving endlessly through the monotonous grandeur of the … Continue reading
The Books: “Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past” (Peter Balakian)
My history bookshelf. Onward. Next book on this shelf is a memoir called Black Dog of Fate: A Memoir by Peter Balakian. FanTAStic book if you haven’t read it. He came out with a new book last year – not … Continue reading