This Week’s Model — Hana Vu, “Hammer”
Hana Vu’s latest is a deep dazzler. Continue reading This Week’s Model — Hana Vu, “Hammer”
Medium Rotation — Letter to Self; Big Sigh
A fabulously loud debut from an Irish band and a spare but still powerful album from a seasoned singer-songwriter. Continue reading Medium Rotation — Letter to Self; Big Sigh
Book Report — A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940; The Phoenix and the Mirror
A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940 by Victoria Wilson Nonfiction, 2013 She had so many dogs that she had to take up carpets and get rid of various chairs. A visitor walked into her house, looked around at the … Continue reading Book Report — A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940; The Phoenix and the Mirror
Oscarheimer
Whatever quibbles I might have, last night brought the best Oscars ceremony in years. Continue reading Oscarheimer
Outside Reading — The Collection edition
This week featuring: Joshua Hunt on Criterion, Lulu Garcia-Navarro interviewing Isabella Rossellini, and Ethan Shanfeld on a middle-of-the-night showing of “Dune: Part Two.” Continue reading Outside Reading — The Collection edition
This Week’s Model — Iron & Wine, “All in Good Time”
It’s not like Sam Beam needs outside assistance to make an Iron & Wire song sound quietly intense and understatedly majestic. Beam’s been releasing music under that name for more than twenty years, and he has never wavered in his … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Iron & Wine, “All in Good Time”
Twenty Performances, or The King (and Queen) of Payne
A longstanding Oscar Week tradition continues: Here’s the way I would have filled out an Actors Branch nomination ballot. Continue reading Twenty Performances, or The King (and Queen) of Payne
Top Ten Movies of 2023 — Number One
Todd Haynes’s best film to date is also the best film of the year. Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2023 — Number One
Top Ten Movies of 2023 — Number Two
Let it never be said that Wes Anderson is oblivious about the sometimes chagrined reactions to his peculiar, distinctive aesthetic. For me, all those precisely precious shot compositions and loquacious, snappy-patter cascades of dialogue generally give his films an added … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2023 — Number Two
Now Playing — Dune: Part Two
Just when you thought it was safe to go back onto the sand…. Continue reading Now Playing — Dune: Part Two
Coffee for Two 