“But It Did Happen” (#62)

Few movies speak to my sensibilities better than Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia does. I love auteurs, especially those who write their movies. I also love filmmakers who utilize music to great effect — not just score, but soundtrack, too. I love ambition and the bucking of convention. I love an unpredictable turn of events that […]

“Life, Uh, Finds A Way” (#42)

“Remind me to thank John for a lovely weekend.” Dodgson! Dodgson! We’ve got Dodgson here! Does the fact that Jurassic Park is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month make you feel like a dinosaur? Or does the impending release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom have you ready to RRRUUUUNNN toward the nearest cineplex all over […]

“I’m A Lebowski, You’re A Lebowski” (#36)

“Do you like sex, Mr. Lebowski?” “Excuse me?” “Sex. The physical act of love. Coitus. Do you like it?” “I was talking about my rug.” “You’re not interested in sex?” “You mean coitus?” “I like it too. It’s a male myth about feminists that we hate sex. It can be a natural, zesty enterprise. However, there […]

Top Ten Films: 2002

I made this Top 10 list early in awards season, before I’d seen a number of films that factored into the race that year — including Talk To Her, The Hours, 25th Hour, Bowling For Columbine, 8 Mile, and The Pianist, some of which came away with major Oscar wins (Best Director, Best Actress, and […]

The Not-Oscars 2014

Once again, it’s Oscar time. This year’s race is gearing up to be one of the least predictable in recent memory. For every race that has an all-but-guaranteed winner (Julianne Moore, Best Actress; J.K. Simmons, Best Supporting Actor), there are as many that are truly up in the air — some with not only two […]

Top Ten Films: 2014

It was a very good year at the movies… but a weird one. Reversing the trend of recent years, the summer blockbuster fare offered a surprising amount of good taste, from the goofy-fun Guardians Of The Galaxy to the surprisingly clever Edge Of Tomorrow. Even sequels like Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes and […]

Los Angeles Flays Itself: Cronenberg Tours Hollywood In ‘Maps To The Stars’

If you live in or around Hollywood, you’re likely to see open-top buses filled with tourists, taking a tour of your home like it’s Disneyland. I happen to live near a lot of the attractions on these tours — places that are pretty ordinary to me, but can still be sold as part of the […]

Mother Of The Year: ‘Still Alice’ & ‘Mommy’

Do you want to cry like a baby? Then boy, have I got a pair of films for you.

Gold Rush: 2012 Emmy Nominations

Depending on whether or not I’m currently watching anything on TV, I sometimes do and sometimes don’t care about the Emmys. But this year I do!

Top Ten Films: 2009

Continuing my retrospective Top 10 lists… Okay, so this was the year the Oscars got on my nerves for announcing ten Best Picture nominees. (And judging by what was included in those ten, I think we can all agree that I was right to be irked… which is some vindication, at least.)

Top Ten Films: 2010

As a film school graduate, I’m afraid I have an obligation to take entertainment way too seriously. That’s why, when awards season rolls around, I can’t help but partake in the senseless, arbitrary, and totally nerdy critic’s pastime of ranking all the films I saw and compiling a Top Ten List. And since 2011’s award […]

The Not-Oscars 2010

(Originally posted over at Fabulous Apple. In preparation for this year’s “Not-Oscars,” here’s what I said about last year…) We all know the Oscars don’t always get it right. Of course, “right” is a matter of opinion — but with some perspective, there are a few awards and nominations we collectively agree did not go […]