From Beyond the Grave (Kevin Connor, 1974). Drawn from the horror short stories of British author Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes, this anthology film from the macabre minds at Hammer Studios offer a quartet of twisty tales of supernaturally-charged comeuppance, all of them … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — From Beyond the Grave; The Family Fang; Black Mass
These days, The Washington Post is demonstrating no reluctance in their insistence on the primacy of a free and robust press in a healthy republic. “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is the motto emblazoned on their masthead in a direct rebuke … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2017 — Number Eight
There’s a moment in the Joel and Ethan Coen’s Barton Fink that I’ve treasured since I first saw it. In the scene, John Mahoney plays W.P. Mayhew, a character seemingly modeled on William Faulkner (though the Coens deny this). Mayhew … Continue reading John Mahoney, 1940 – 2018
988. Jefferson Starship, Modern Times (1981) It’s easy — and given the inferior quality of the latter iteration — to view Jefferson Starship as the inconsequential afterthought of Jefferson Airplane, but that group lasted longer and released more albums, even … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #988 – #985
This old review should have really posted yesterday. Then again, Groundhog Day in repeat is somewhat fitting. This was written for The Pointer, the student newspaper at UW-Stevens Point. The minor reservation expressed in the last paragraph is baffling to … Continue reading From the Archive — Groundhog Day
I have been writing weekly College Countdown posts for many years by now. Depending on the chart — and of course the position on said chart — my commitment to listening to can deliver some rough material into my ears. … Continue reading One for Friday — The Dictators, “Next Big Thing”
“I began to understand home when Riv and I slept next to each other and Riv told me stories in the dark. Once, River told me about the ocean. He said: We got so much water where I’m from. It … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature
These posts are about the songs that just barely failed to cross the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. Before there was a single note of … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “That Thing You Do”
Christopher Nolan is a masterful cinematic craftsman who compulsively calls attention to his own striking craft. As opposed to Steven Spielberg, his most obvious ancestor, Nolan is largely disinterested in engulfing an audience so completely in the feelings of the … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2017 — Number Nine
A Ghost Story (David Lowery, 2017). There’s been some chatter lately about the divide between film critics and general audiences. I thought about that quite a bit while finally catching up A Ghost Story, David Lowery’s ruminative tale of grief … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — A Ghost Story; I Am Not Your Negro; Mudbound
Coffee for Two 