Well, that little bit of snow did wonders from my Christmas spirit, raising me from a state of simmering rage about the crassness of the season to a state of relatively serene irritation. It’s the Christmas miracle, happening again this year.
On Tuesday night, The Music Hall Loft will be showing Certain Women, the latest movie from esteemed filmmaker Kelly Reichardt. I’ll be leading a discussion of the movie, and I hope you’ll come, if for no other reason than that it will provide a couple of hours during which you will not hear a single word about politics or “the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” or Rob Gronkowski’s injury. Zero.Read More
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With the annoying speed bump of Thanksgiving out of the way, the Great Christmas Marketing Juggernaut can now put the accelerator to the floor. It’s all merchandising, all the time until New Year’s Eve, when we can look forward to the marketing onslaught grinding to a temporary halt. We will get about three days, max, to enjoy the silence before Valentine’s Day merchandise starts to show up in stores. And January will bring our credit card bills, too.Read More
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Well. That was interesting, wasn’t it? That last Tuesday thing, I mean.
Remember last week when I told you that you’d be better off coming to see Howard’s End rather than sitting at home abusing alcohol and ruining your digestion?
I really want to say I was right, but I’m too good a human being to engage in that kind of taunting. But I was right, wasn’t I?
I hope you won’t make the mistake of ignoring my advice again.Read More
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Yes, this is about a film discussion that will be held on Tuesday night. Yes, I know what else is happening Tuesday night. And, finally, yes, I know how important it is.
All that is to say that I know this will be a tough sell for many of you. The tradition of sitting around with friends, nervous, drinking steadily, is a strong one. Or maybe you head to a bar or your political party headquarters of choice. And if you find that enjoyable—and not just a way to manage your anxiety—then more power to you.Read More
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Happy Halloween! And congratulations for being residents of the only state I know of to do its trick-or-treating on the day before Halloween. Makes you feel special, doesn’t it?
So, movies. Tomorrow night (Tuesday), we have a comedy coming to The Music Hall, which seems appropriate, as comedy has become a big business. It used to be that the only way a comedian had to get his/her material in front of a large audience was to make an LP album.Read More
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These are hard times for movie Westerns. Not many of them are being made, and the ones that make it out of the major studios (The Adequate Seven?) lack enough conviction to sell their formula or enough imagination to concoct a new one. And that leaves a little hunger in my cinema soul, a wish for some action in a dry, sparse landscape, lawman versus outlaw with a final showdown on a deserted street. *Sigh* What to do, what to do?Read More
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The recipe for an erotic thriller is simple. Take two hypnotically gorgeous people (say Matthias Schoenaerts and Tilda Swinton) and have them play rich people—a rock star and a filmmaker—in a ridiculously attractive setting (say the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria). Then add two outsiders (also gorgeous) including an ex-boyfriend of Swinton’s (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter Penelope (Dakota Johnson (of Fifty Shades of Grey fame).Read More
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Yes, it’s been bloody hot. Thanks for mentioning it. It’s August, and while that’s still summer, the specter of September is starting to look over your shoulder while you bake on that beach or sip that G&T on the deck. Plus the garden is starting to look a little tired, what with the bugs, fungus, mange, rabies and everything else that afflicts the plant kingdom in late summer. We need something to lift our spirits, to let us laugh at the calendar and revel in the air conditioning while we can. What to do? What to do?Read More
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