Clik here to view.
Stuff I love
I feel as though I’ve been complaining a lot lately. Pointing the finger. Assigning blame. And so, with my birthday looming, I’m going to take a break from all that and throw some love at you. Case in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Sin of Harold Lloyd
Alone among the great silent comics, Harold Lloyd stood at the exact intersection of slapstick and screwball, at the intersection of physical comedy and dialogue. Harold Lloyd, you see, made a film...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Floodgates Open: Telluride FF 2012
Tis the season for major film festivals and Telluride often trumps those that follow – Toronto, New York, Chicago – by presenting the North American premieres of major works, a mixture of Cannes award...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In Praise of Cinematographers: Visions of Light
Visions of Light never fails to impress me. Produced in 1993 through the AFI, this documentary covers the history of film through the eyes of cinematographers. The film has many strengths, but two...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Braking News: Motorway (2012)
Car chase movies are necessarily clamorous things, as they orchestrate squealing rubber, huffing pistons and the screams of crumpling steel. Which is why Motorway (2012), the new film from Hong Kong...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Time and Time Again
Growing up, my favorite genre was sci-fi. I loved it in all its forms, from action-adventure sci-fi, like War of the Worlds, to the more cerebral, talkier sci-fi like Demon With a Glass Hand, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Going Under: Revisiting COMA (1978)
I spent Labor Day sick in bed. I was feverish, sore and incredibly cranky due to having my weekend plans derailed by a bad cold. On Monday night I began to feel slightly better after binging on Nyquil...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Aben Kandel’s Horrors of War
Trying to keep clear of politics in an election year is like trying to avoid horse flies at a pig roast. Usually, the preoccupations of the real world don’t dovetail quite so neatly with my particular...
View ArticleClik here to view.
When Harold Met Lucy
Fans of Lucille Ball almost certainly are familiar with the moment in I Love Lucy where she recreates the “mirror routine” with guest star Harpo Marx. And even casual film buffs may have seen Lucy with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Act of Killing
“It’s like no other documentary I’ve ever seen,” said one friend. “There were several times where it broke me down to tears,” said another. Both were attending the last Telluride Film Festival and were...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Making a Case for Monkey Business
Monkey Business airs tomorrow night on TCM as part of a night devoted to the comedies of Cary Grant. Directed by Howard Hawks, this under-appreciated film was released at the tail end of the original...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Go Hang Your Dreams: The Hanging Tree (1959)
The Hanging Tree (1959) is a Western marked by illnesses and maladies, a portrait of a violent man at war with his own impulses. It deploys Gary Cooper as a crumbling totem, the actor’s aching hip...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why The Birds Matters
If you asked me what my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film was, the list would be narrow but nowhere complete. On any given day, it changes. It could be Shadow of a Doubt or Psycho on one day, Notorious...
View ArticleClik here to view.
This, the mystery: After the Triumph of Your Birth (2012)
Tonight, the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, CA, will host the official premiere of Jim Akin’s AFTER THE TRIUMPH OF YOUR BIRTH (2012). This lyrical, dreamlike, loopy, pained, provocative, questioning,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Discovering New Territory in Southeast Asian Cinema
Southeast Asian cinema is an area I’m not all that familiar with. I’ve only seen a small number of movies made in that region of the world and almost all of them have been horror films or unusual...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Meet Charley Chase
Charley Chase was one of the funniest, most widely talented, most important, and most influential comedians of the early 20th century. I’m not even going to bother to argue that statement, it is simply...
View ArticleClik here to view.
And You Thought Donald Pleasence Was Creepy
Angela Pleasence, like her father, has a face made for the cinema though not in the realm of conventional leading ladies. Even as a young actress appearing in bit parts in movies like Here We Go Around...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Walk Through Time: Hollywood 1944
I recently rediscovered a small stash of 1940s movie magazines, which I had bought for a song at an antique store a few years ago. As I leafed through the pages, I got caught up in gazing at the candid...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Zombie Watch: A Conversation With Dave Kehr about Paul W.S. Anderson
It was a banner weekend for Paul Andersons, as Paul Thomas Anderson and Paul W.S. Anderson topped the specialty and worldwide box office. As PTA’s vaultingly ambitious The Master has understandably...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Movies You Go to the Mat for and the Ones You Don’t
Last week I updated one of my personal blogs with a series of shots from Nicolas Refn’s 2011 movie, Drive. There was a brief discussion on Facebook, where I linked to it, among some friends about the...
View Article