“You’ll Be Dumb With Wonderment” (#92)

I’ve always wanted to like Moulin Rouge. It certainly looks fun. And most of it sounds pretty great. Baz Luhrmann’s vision for a jukebox musical was a lot more original back in 2001, before Broadway was littered with shows that repurpose pop songs, and before mashups were mainstream. The “Elephant Love Medley” is certainly an […]

Top Ten Films: 2003

(A Then & Now perspective.) The further back I go in time, the less secure I am in my Top Ten choices. That’s largely because I haven’t seen all these movies again since, and I have no idea how, say, House Of Sand And Fog measures up to The Last Samurai. On the other hand, […]

Top Ten Films: 2004

(A “Then & Now” perspective.) Like my 2005 list, this Top Ten comes at you twenty strong, because that’s how I wrote it back in the day on my LiveJournal. And like last time, I’ll be adding my commentary about how the movies have held up 11 years later, because tastes change. Some of these […]

On Poor Taste: A Cinephile Grapples With Lowbrow Likes

(A version of the following first appeared in INsite Boston in 2005. Please forgive the dated references. The overall content is still relevant!) There’s a golden rule in courtship: “Never talk business on a first date.” (Ditto politics and religion.) Likely because, for most people, that’s a fast pass to Snoresville. But what if your […]

#1 Club: ‘Dogville’

“If there’s any town this world would be better without, this is it.”

The 7 Most Anticipated Fall Movies 2012

As a kid, I got excited for summer movie season, because it brought sequels, superheroes, dinosaurs — that kind of thing. But the past few summers haven’t given us more than one or two blockbusters worth getting riled up about. These days, my event movies tend to be much smaller in scale, featuring powerhouse acting […]

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: 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 […]

‘Separation’ Anxiety: A Tense Iranian Drama Goes For The Gold

(Films discussed in this post: Trespass, Boy Wonder, A Separation, Passion Play, Tuesday After Christmas, The Trip, The Double, The Beaver.)This is my 100th post in this blog, and coincidentally, this post also marks 100 reviews of 2011 films. As you’ll see, I’ve saved some of the most obscure for last. Every year there are […]

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 […]

Hard In The City vs. The Golden Globes: Live Blog & Winners 2012

It’s the Golden Globes! And because I currently have nothing better to do, I am watching and blogging about them. (Nominees here, FYI.) I’ll be doing some sort of live-blogging/recap as we go on, so… enjoy!

Twenty ’12: The 20 Most Anticipated Films Of 2012

It’s a brand new year, which means brand new movies. Largely, 2012 promises more of the same — more sequels, more comic book adaptations, more prestigious literary adaptations, more zombies and vampires. But at least a few motion pictures look to break the mold this year.