In retrospect, The English Patient looks like such a natural awards magnet, a quintessential prestige picture of the highest magnitude. In the moment, though, it seemed utterly improbable. It is based on a novel, by Michael Ondaatje, that was revered … Continue reading Actors’ Director — Anthony Minghella
The Gag Is: Keke Palmer Is a Movie Star by Niela Orr The dazzling standout from Nope is profiled in The New York Times Magazine. Beyond being charmed anew by the vibrancy of Keke Palmer — that somehow comes through … Continue reading Outside Reading — There’s Another Great edition
I don’t really know anything about writer-director Jordan Peele’s process when he crafts a new film, but I like to imagine that he starts with the first story idea that comes to mind and then pushes himself — pointedly and … Continue reading Now Playing — Nope
Red-Headed Woman (Jack Conway, 1932). Of all the pre-Code movies I’ve seen, Red-Headed Woman might be the pre-Codiest. The film’s protagonist, Lil Andrews (Jean Harlow), operates with a level of ruthless amorality that would give the gruffest nineteen-seventies antihero pause … Continue reading Then Playing — Red-Headed Woman; The Sunshine Boys; Very Annie Mary
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. I sometimes complain about the last of imagination in movie posters, usually because I see missed opportunities … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Drugstore Cowboy movie poster
My American Cousin (Sandy Wilson, 1985). This amusing, small-scale coming-of-age drama from Canadian writer-director Sandy Wilson draws on her own childhood to tell the story of a girl on the cusp of her teenaged years (Margaret Langrick) whose drowsy summer … Continue reading Then Playing — My American Cousin; The Trouble with Harry; Zero Motivation
I want to review the new film Thor: Love and Thunder without feeling obligated to contextualize it against the whole Marvel moviemaking machine, but I’m not sure that’s possible. Well, it’s likely possible. Maybe it’s not advisable. It is officially … Continue reading Now Playing — Thor: Love and Thunder
High-Rise (Ben Wheatley, 2015). I have only a passing familiarity with the writing of J.G. Ballard, but I suspect his brand of dystopian social satire is best left on the page. That conclusion is fortified by High-Rise, director Ben Wheatley’s … Continue reading Then Playing — High-Rise; Daughters of the Dust; The Sign of the Ram
Roe v Wade has been overturned. Here’s what this will mean by Moira Donegan Even before the draft of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health was leaked to the press in May, the outcome was predictable. That doesn’t … Continue reading Outside Reading — To No Longer Stand By Things Decided edition
The Many Saints of Newark (Alan Taylor, 2021). Nearly fifteen years after an exceptional series finale that stirred controversy among people who evidently misinterpreted everything that had come before, The Sopranos gets an utterly needless revival with a prequel feature … Continue reading Then Playing — The Many Saints of Newark; George Carlin’s American Dream; Old
Coffee for Two 