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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: Woody Allen
“I should like to make even the most ordinary spectator feel that he is not living in the best of all possible worlds.” – Luis Buñuel
Today is Luis Buñuel’s birthday! From Luis Buñuel’s autobiography My Last Sigh: Connoisseurs who like their martinis very dry suggest simply allowing a ray of sunlight to shine through a bottle of Noilly Prat before it hits the bottle of … Continue reading
“Some of the time, when you’re walking out there where the air is thin, you just hope you can walk back again.” — Gena Rowlands
It’s her birthday today. The quote in the headline was Rowlands talking about playing Mabel in A Woman Under the Influence, but it could be said about many of her roles, particularly the ones she did in her husband’s films. … Continue reading
R.I.P. Ian Holm
Ian Holm, “The Sweet Hereafter” I was very sad to hear the news of the death of exquisite actor Ian Holm. Probably most well-known to a large audience for playing Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings movies. But … Continue reading
November 2019 Viewing Diary
The Best of Everything (1959; d. Jean Negulesco) I love this movie so much. I read the book this year (for the first time). I highly recommend both. This is the wellspring from which Mad Men sprung. The Devil Next … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged China, comedy, documentary, drama, England, France, hockey, Italy, Jennifer Aniston, Jodie Foster, romantic drama, sci-fi, Spain, Supernatural, women directors, Woody Allen
19 Comments
March 2019 Viewing Diary
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (2017; d. Catherine Bainbridge) Mum came and visited me and we watched this amazing documentary about the contributions Native Americans have made to music. It starts with Link Wray. I loved this documentary … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Al Pacino, Brian De Palma, Chile, Dean Stockwell, Diane Keaton, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen Burstyn, England, Faye Dunaway, Francis Ford Coppola, Frank O'Hara, Italy, Jack Nicholson, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jill Clayburgh, Joanna Hogg, John Cazale, Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, Link Wray, Marlon Brando, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Mike Nichols, Quantum Leap, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Roy Scheider, Supernatural, women directors, Woody Allen
26 Comments
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2018
Thanks, everyone, who hangs out here, who likes what I do, whether you’re an Elvis fan, a Supernatural fan, a general cinephile, a book-lover, or just someone who’s been checking in periodically for almost 16 years – WHAT? – I … Continue reading
Posted in James Joyce, Movies, Television
Tagged Anne V. Coates, Burt Reynolds, documentary, Doris Day, Dorothy Malone, Elvis Presley, England, Finnegans Wake, Frank Sinatra, Gena Rowlands, Germany, Gold Diggers of 1933, Grace Kelly, Hal Ashby, Howard Hughes, Ian McEwan, James Cagney, Joan Didion, Joaquin Phoenix, Julie Christie, Lynne Ramsay, Mexico, Minnie and Moskowitz, Natalie Portman, Paul Thomas Anderson, Play It As It Lays, Robert Altman, Russia, Sanaa Lathan, South Korea, Supernatural, Warren Beatty, women directors, Woody Allen, year in writing
10 Comments
On Woody Allen’s Another Woman (1988)
“They said I’d be traumatized when I hit fifty. They were right. I’ll tell you the truth. I haven’t recovered my balance since turning fifty … You suddenly look up and see where you are.” – Marion in “Another Woman” … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Angelina Jolie, drama, Gena Rowlands, Gene Hackman, Ingmar Bergman, Minnie and Moskowitz, reviews, Woody Allen
6 Comments
September 2017 Viewing Diary
Nightcrawler (2014; d. Dan Gilroy) Such a good film. I wrote about it here. Rancho Notorious (1952; d. Fritz Lang) Marlene Dietrich rules. I totally buy her as that ranch owner. It makes no sense but she makes it make … Continue reading
From Arrow Films UK: Woody Allen Box Set 1986 – 1991
Arrow Films/Video in the UK has been putting out Woody Allen box sets, and their latest covers the years 1986-1991. I was so honored to be asked to write the booklet essay for one of my favorite Woody Allen films, … Continue reading

