“Sal’s Famous Pizzeria Is Here To Stay” (#75)

Riots. Fires. Police violence. Ruinous bigotry. A cacophony of voices calling for justice for Black Americans. These are all very present in today’s newspaper headlines and social media feeds, and also set the scene for Spike Lee’s seminal modern classic Do The Right Thing, which is no less urgent in 2020 than it was upon […]

“Come Out To The Coast, We’ll Get Together, Have A Few Laughs” (#44)

“You want to know the secret to surviving air travel? After you get where you’re going, take off your shoes and your socks, then you walk around on the rug barefoot and make fists with your toes.” “Fists with your toes?” “I know, I know, it sounds crazy. Trust me, I’ve been doing it for […]

‘Hateful’ Dead: The Eighth-Best Film By Quentin Tarantino

I’m not a total Tarantino fanboy, because I’m not generally a fan of any filmmaker who keeps making different variations of the same movie. (I have this problem with Wes Anderson, too.) Some people just love a particular filmmaker’s obsessive patterns, and love returning to that same formula again and again. I don’t. After a […]

Gun ‘Chi’: Spike Lee’s Rhyming Tragicomic Sex Farce Targets Gun Violence

Now that Mad Men is over, we’re seeing its star players pop up as supporting players all over the place — mostly (surprise, surprise) in the workplace. Elisabeth Moss was part of the team of duped journalists in Truth, John Slattery helped highlight the Catholic church’s crimes in Spotlight, and Jessica Pare showed Saorise Ronan […]

Boo, Hiss!: A B-Movie Slithers Into Hollywood’s Mile-High Club

(Flashback Friday: This month marks the eight-year anniversary of this slithery thriller. So here’s a look back at a curious moment in film history; an examination of movies of the “so bad it’s good” variety, and one of the few that was actually aiming for that mantle. While certainly not notable for its innovative content […]

‘Avenge’ Of The Nerds: Joss Whedon Saves The World A Lot

Well, I finally have time to write something about The Avengers. But what to say about a movie so massive? Something everybody’s already nattering on about? A film that easily took the record for the best opening weekend of all time? I thought maybe I wouldn’t bother, but considering that it was my most anticipated […]

Trailer Trash: Joss Whedon’s ‘The Avengers’

Since it was my Most Anticipated Film Of 2012, I obviously am riled up about this.