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Val Kilmer Remembered
An inquiry into Val Kilmer, his films, his death, and his reputation.
8 hours ago6 min read
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Down with the Sickness (To Thine Own Shelf Be True)
A short tour of my book collection
Mar 283 min read
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Old Friends: An Elegy
An essay and poem on the loss of friendship.
Mar 144 min read
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Lost Classics: THE PRODUCERS (2005)
Another in the on-again/off-again series "Lost Classics," an examination of Susan Stroman's movie musical version of THE PRODUCERS.
Mar 77 min read
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The Art from the Artist: A Primer and Plea
A new essay from your resident contrarian.
Feb 511 min read
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David Lynch. Artist. 1946-2025.
David Lynch. Artist. David Lynch was an artist from Missoula, Montana. He wrote and directed the films Inland Empire , Mulholland Drive...
Jan 2414 min read
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A Person of Letters?
There are a myriad number of stories of great writers being burned by Hollywood. At the beginning of the sound age, dramatists of note...
Jan 177 min read
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How to Do the Right Thing: A Review of JUROR #2
*** out of **** On a talk show in the mid-‘70s, Orson Welles was asked who was the finest American filmmaker of that moment. His...
Jan 103 min read
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Lost Classics: Hitchcock's MARNIE
I must admit I’m late having an interest in the work of Alfred Hitchcock. Perhaps the most famous (along with Chaplin) of all British...
Jan 35 min read
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2024 in Perspective
Greetings, readers! I hope you all had a nice holiday season and are as ready for the New Year as I am. 2024 was both challenging and...
Dec 27, 20249 min read
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The 100 Best Films of 2010-2019
I am significantly less proud of this list —not because it's not a good list or basically a reflection of my opinion, but just because...
Dec 20, 20243 min read
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The 100 Best Films of 2000-2009
I had already planned for this year's penultimate blog piece to cover the best 100 films of 2010-2019, so I thought I would offer my list...
Dec 13, 20243 min read
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Netflix and Cold Cases: Two Reviews
I have occasionally made comments on this blog that America has become a sick nation in its ravenous appetite for true crime. It is...
Nov 29, 20243 min read
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The Holiday Season: A Prose-Poem
The cold is finally here. Jackets and layers. The quickening of the dark. The sense that something special is drawing near. Christmas has...
Nov 22, 20242 min read
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On Neil Simon, JAKE'S WOMEN, and Garlic
This last Sunday, I attended the Cahaba Theatre Group’s staged reading of Neil Simon’s Jake’s Women . As there was only one performance,...
Nov 8, 20246 min read
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CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT DVD Review
** ½ out of **** The mid-1970s to early-1980s were an interesting time in movie history for a variety of reasons. On the one hand, the...
Oct 31, 20246 min read
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To My Teachers, with Love
Growing up as an actor, I always believed actors were born, not made. Certainly, one can learn techniques of speaking and movement,...
Oct 18, 20248 min read
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Columbus Day and the Offended Generation
Not all holidays are created equally, but there is a ubiquity about them. It is necessary, for example, to have a bright spot in the...
Oct 11, 20244 min read
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Monster Mush: Lyle & Erik Return to TV
* ½ out of **** At this point, what on earth can you say about Ryan Murphy? His output includes some of the worst television I’ve ever...
Oct 4, 20244 min read
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Mia Farrow and the Me Too Misfire
Note: This is not meant to be a criticism of the entirety of the Me Too movement, but one story of those who exploited it for...
Sep 27, 20245 min read
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