It boggles the mind that a film written and directed by John Waters has had such a long afterlife that, nearly thirty years after the original creation, Hairspray can serve as wholesome televised family entertainment during the holiday season. And … Continue reading From the Archive: Hairspray
If nothing else, let the sharing of this today be a reminder that Roger Deakins doesn’t have an Academy Award yet. The first twenty minutes or so of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford promises a … Continue reading From the Archive: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
This weekend, The Simpsons airs its 600th episode. an achievement that’s downright mind-boggling. Currently on its twenty-eighth season, it’s the longest-running scripted primetime series in U.S. television history, outpacing Gunsmoke by eight years and counting. (The dramatic shift in typical … Continue reading From the Archive: The Simpsons Movie
We’re taking advantage of the weekend’s gloomy weather to stage a little in-house film festival. The DVR needs clearing, you understand. That got me to thinking about multiple feature nights over the years that have, deliberately, been a little more … Continue reading From the Archive: The Shadow and I Know Who Killed Me
I really thought this review was already on this site, but I couldn’t find it. That makes it fair game for “From the Archive.” The motivation for sharing it this week seems pretty obvious, I suppose. So, this is probably already … Continue reading From the Archive: The Bourne Ultimatum
Last week, when I was mulling over which old review should be plopped into this space, I came very close to selecting I’m Not There, as if something was nudging me to do so. Maybe the scraggly bard of Hibbing, … Continue reading From the Archive: I’m Not There
This was originally posted at my former digital home. I don’t have much to add today, save for this: Every great director deserves to have a film this strong as their final cinematic statement. It’s already become commonplace to build … Continue reading From the Archive: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Usually I’d fill this space with some collection of observations about the film or the review, but I’m highly distracted today. So I’ll stick with just the older words. More than any other current director I can think of, Wes Anderson … Continue reading From the Archive: The Darjeeling Limited
This review was first posted at my original online home. As I’ve since established in this space, Jon Krakauer is among my favorite writers, and his intricate, methodical, deeply felt Into the Wild was the instigator of that. I may have come … Continue reading From the Archive: Into the Wild
Now seems an opportune time to retrieve one of the old reviews of a Judd Apatow film that I wrote for an online site, but not this one. My original plan was to post my take on The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which I remember as one of my first stabs at reviving my film criticism for the brave new digital age. It was, but there’s barely anything to the review. It not’s even worth a hyperlink. By the time Apatow’s sophomore directorial effort arrived, I was more clearly back in the realm of full-length reviews. If you want to understand why writer-director … Continue reading From the Archive: Knocked Up
Coffee for Two 