‘Freak’ Of The Weak: Fall TV Roulette (Part Three)

We are officially wrapping up the fall TV season now, as most shows have begun or are about to take a hiatus for the holidays, and others are taking a hiatus for… ever. Farewell, A To Z! Good riddance, Selfie! Manhattan Love Story, we hardly knew ye!

The Not-Oscars 2013

It’s the morning of the Oscar nominations, and I’m not upset. This is weird. All the films I wanted to see nominated for Best Picture are. All the actors I hoped to see receive nominations for this year’s performances were. Compare and contrast to last year’s fatal omission of Kathryn Bigelow as Best Director, or […]

Top Ten Films: 2013

Hollywood is obsessed with money, I say. Duh, you think in response. But hear me out. In 2013, Hollywood was particularly obsessed with money. Not just with making money, but with telling stories about making — and losing — money. In my Top Ten list last year, I named Zero Dark Thirty my favorite film […]

Solomon Chained: McQueen Unleashes A Mighty ‘Slave’

Sometimes, you feel like a movie is just speaking directly to you. I saw Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave last night, and I could so identify with the protagonist Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) — because I, too, have been subject to the twisted whims and brutal hand of cruel fates and a merciless master. […]

Pigs & ‘Mud’: The Kick-Off To A Sundance Summer

Summer is the season for blockbusters, of course, but there also must be a little counter-programming for those of us less inclined to see Fast & Furious 6 or Star Trek Into Darkness. Nearing the end of May I’ve yet to see a summer blockbuster, not because they’re totally unappealing but merely because they’re not […]

Martha Marcy May Michael Shannon: Movie Madness 2011

(Movies discussed in this post: Martha Marcy May Marlene, Bellflower, Red State, Higher Ground, Take Shelter.) “We all go a little mad sometimes,” a very famous movie character said. He was not nominated for an Oscar, but he should have been. It was Anthony Perkins in Psycho, a little mad indeed. (Okay, that’s an understatement.) […]