#7 — Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019) “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. So begins Little Women, the novel by Louisa May Alcott that was first published in two installments of 1868 and … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Seven
Martin Eden (Pietro Marcello, 2020). In adapting Jack London’s 1909 novel, Martin Eden, director Pietro Marcello moves the action from the U.S. to Italy and nudges forward in time to better capture the tumult of the middle, embattled years of … Continue reading Then Playing — Martin Eden; Sea Fever; The Invisible Man
#8 — Burning (Lee Chang-dong, 2018) Burning, directed be Lee Chang-dong, has the pulse of a thriller and the aura of an aching, soulful meditation on life. Like the best thrillers — or at least the most honest ones — it … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Eight
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. This Art of the Sell post has not been paid for by Warner Bros. I’m assuming they … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — “The Candidate” movie poster
When it comes to the many memorable moments Sean Connery registered on film, I have an odd personal favorite. It is in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables, the film that won Connery an Academy Award, for playing Chicago cop Jimmy … Continue reading Sean Connery, 1930 – 2020
A Big-Screen Small Business Fights an Epic Battle for Life by Nicole Sperling It pains and angers me that the abject refusal of certain leaders to deal realistically with the global pandemic is leading to the likely destruction of the … Continue reading Outside Reading — Darkening Screens edition
#9 — Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2013) In the ten year stretch of films covered by this survey, I think there may be no single scene that thrills me more than the one that begins with a title card that presents … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Nine
The Woman Who Ran (Hong Sang-soo, 2020). Gam-hee (Kim Min-hee) is on a sort of urban walkabout, visiting different friends who, it seems, she hasn’t encountered in quite some time. She notes repeatedly that her husband prefer the two of … Continue reading Then Playing — The Woman Who Ran; Gemini Man; 21 Bridges
Like Jonathan Demme before him, Spike Lee isn’t particular interested in the audience. When Demme directed Stop Making Sense — still, and likely forever, the correct conclusion to any debate about the greatest concert movie ever made — he notably … Continue reading Now Playing — American Utopia
This perpetually trying year has scrambled a lot of traditions for everyone. Usually, my beloved college radio alma mater stages its biggest fundraiser — which happens to also be one of the biggest community events of the year — every … Continue reading Trivia Answer of the Day — Cornucopia Bakery
Coffee for Two 