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August 2024

August 12, 2024

Nothing is Written

It’s a common movie-lover’s mistake, or I hope it is, to put off seeing certain...

August 04, 2024

The Point of Return

Technically speaking, “melodrama” has little to do with the Greek word for “honey” (meli). But...

July 2024

July 29, 2024

Ridley Scott’s First Napoleon

There is a species of genius in casting Harvey Keitel as a Frenchman. Doubly so...

July 23, 2024

Bewitching Individualism

Sometimes you walk through a door and realize you don’t belong. Maybe it’s a bar,...

July 16, 2024

Longlegs’ Short Game

The Everlasting Gobstopper haunts me. Not because It fills children with blueberry juice, not because...

July 09, 2024

Rockin’ with Rod

I saw another list. The internet is a tyranny of lists. At first, I enjoyed...

July 01, 2024

Disappearing Accidents

For the last couple months, I have been reading Peter Weiss’ Aesthetics of Resistance (1971-1981)...

June 2024

June 24, 2024

The Movie You Can’t Make Today

Five seconds on the internet—heck, maybe in person too—and you’ll hear the magic words: you...

June 17, 2024

Saigon, New York

I found Jacob’s Ladder (1990) when I was too young. I only knew that it...

June 11, 2024

Altman’s Agatha Christie

Robert Altman loves an ensemble cast. He does not, however, typically set his films at...

June 04, 2024

O Tenenbaums, O Tenenbaums

Children of the pre-streaming era, post-cable era have their own special collections. Not only would...

May 2024

May 30, 2024

Irma, Sweet Irma

I’m flabbergasted Irma la Douce (1963) isn’t better known. Sure, as a Billy Wilder picture...

May 20, 2024

His Lonely Wooden Tower

Suzanne’s Career (1963) reminds me of an uncomfortable time in my life. Like a lot...

May 14, 2024

All’s Fair in Love and Tennis

Challengers (2024) satisfies. The actors perform admirably. I don’t know much about tennis, but the...

May 06, 2024

Whatever Happened to the Street Urchins?

As a kid, Disney’s Pinocchio (1940) scared the hell out of me. Not the whole...

April 2024

April 29, 2024

Here There Is No Interest

I feel dirty admitting it. It seems wrong. No one should feel the way I...

April 22, 2024

ASMR avec Melville

The “dull” and the “interesting” are more fungible than we’d like to admit. Intersubjectively, this...

April 15, 2024

The Princess Past

Until last week, I had never seen The Princess Bride (1987). I understand this to...

April 08, 2024

85 and Still Kicking

Gone with the Wind (1939) has a dubious honor. It exists at a triple remove...

April 01, 2024

Picturing Bare Life

I’m a word person. This is, I think, a sound investment. The word is the...

March 2024

March 25, 2024

Barbed and Dangerous

Barb Wire (1996) is the kind of movie they don’t make anymore. That is a...

March 19, 2024

A Stately-Pleasure Dome Kubla Khan Did Decree? In LA?

When Kubla Khan did his stately pleasure-dome decree, I imagine his court was excited. Dancing?...

March 12, 2024

Shimmering Opacity in a Country Church

This one is likely to be short. I’ve just handed in my dissertation, and I...

March 04, 2024

In Defense of Ishtar

I like Showgirls (1995) and Cocktail (1988). I’ve got a thing for the underdog, the...

February 2024

February 26, 2024

A Healthy, Normal American Boy

In middle school, I played Albert in Bye Bye Birdie (1960), a musical loosely based...

February 19, 2024

It’s…It’s Afraid!

As a kid, I spent countless hours drawing up maps of imaginary civil wars, feuding...

February 13, 2024

British Lobster in the Spanish Sun

I’ve lounged the beaches from San Juan to Cinque Terre, but I prefer a brisk....

February 07, 2024

The Devil and Andy Sachs

I have become a man, undertaken a solemn duty impressed only upon film critics, fathers,...

January 2024

January 29, 2024

Almost Nauseous

Toward the end of writer-director Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (2000) the teenage Rolling Stone reporter...

January 22, 2024

The Big Circus at Mummy Mountain

Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole (1951) effects a miracle. Its protagonist, Charles Tatum (Kirk...