I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. I don’t have strong, specific memories of most of my comic … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Marvel Fanfare by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum and Paul Smith
#11 — The Player (Robert Altman, 1992) The Player is regularly described as Robert Altman’s poison pen letter to Hollywood. Hell, I’ve probably used that phrasing a few times myself. That sells it short, however, reducing the film’s artistry to an … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Eleven
82. The Black Sorrows, Hold on to Me 1989 was a good time to embrace American roots music and get some airplay on college radio. It lends authenticity, you see, even if–actually, maybe especially if–the band absolutely requires an airplane … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 82 and 81
WWSP-90FM now concludes its broadcast day. The college radio station I worked at throughout my undergraduate years always signed off for the day at 2:00 a.m. We occasionally kicked around the idea of changing to a 24-hour schedule, but that was discouraged by our faculty advisor. Sometimes it’s a good idea, he’d explain, to shut down the station rather than worry about what DJs might be doing or saying when they’re fairly certain that the powers-that-be are asleep. I later worked a fair number of overnights in commercial radio, and I can attest to the wisdom of his statement. WWSP … Continue reading One for Friday: Pell Mell, “Mopping Up”
Once again I have the privilege of directing you elsewhere. Continue reading I’d like you to fall for me but it would soon turn lousy and wrong
I’ll readily concede that this is a minority opinion, but I don’t think David Fincher was really a filmmaker who merited serious attention until 2007’s Zodiac. He was a formidable stylist and his impact and influence were mutually significant. The … Continue reading Used to be one of the rotten ones and I liked you for that
Now matter how contentious this year’s election season gets, just remember that there are always even more fiery debates that can consume the citizenry. When there’s that many exclamation points, you know it’s dead serious!!! Continue reading Don’t try to fight it, just get excited
Let Me In is based on the novel Let the Right One In (or Låt den rätte komma in, if you prefer), but it’s probably more accurate to say it’s based on the Swedish film adaptation written by the book’s original author, John Ajvide Lindqvist, and directed by Tomas Alfredson. It’s a debt that’s openly acknowledged, including a special citation in the the credits. It’s also unavoidable. The original film version has a spirited cult following and earned critical praise well beyond that usually afforded to entertainments centered on supernatural creatures spilling a lot of blood. Writer-director Matt Reeves had … Continue reading There’s a peacefulness and a rage inside us all
84. Tom Petty, Full Moon Fever It seems odd to consider Full Moon Fever Tom Petty’s solo debut. His name is front and center on all of those records with the Heartbreakers after all. He’s hardly a guy stepping out … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 84 and 83
#12 — Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 1999) Charlie Kaufman has his screenwriting Oscar for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and he has plenty of swooning admirers ready to step forward and declare either of his metanarrative Möbius bands, Adaptation. or Synecdoche, New York, the purest distillation of his own unique form of absurdist existentialism. There are things to admire in all of those works, to be sure. Kaufman concocts crazy, complicated cinematic puzzles, and the offbeat invention that is seemingly second nature to him gives him one of the most distinct voices in modern movie-making. But from my … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Twelve
Coffee for Two 