A mercifully brief addendum to Episode 26 ("Undeserved Oscar Winners"), where I respond to some comments about that episode (and offer some thoughts on the very-much-deserved Oscars for The Godfather movies and The Best Years of Our Lives) and
A discussion of some of the film critics (and other kinds of critics and writers) who have had an influence on my own approach to thinking about and talking about movies.
I discuss some of the reasons people like to argue about the Oscars, and focus in on arguments about undeserved winners. I discuss why I think movies such as How Green Was My Valley, Dances with Wolves, and Going My Way, still "deserve" their b
A quick and dirty compare and contrast between The Hunger and Near Dark, two stylish vampire movies from the 1980's, made early in the careers of directors who would go on to achieve great things.
I attempt to push back against and deconstruct the widely held idea that cinema in the 1980's represented a tragic falling off from the greatness that was cinema in the 1970's. Also, I make fun of Goonies.
In this one, I talk about the difference between the way normal people watch movies and the way that (some) egg-head movie buffs like myself watch movies. I discuss my thoughts on some beloved-by-me and not-well-liked by most normal people movi
I talk about three books that each present a different approach to writing about the making of a movie: The Wah Wah Diaries, Chris Nashawaty’s book on Caddyshack, and the magisterial The Making of Star Wars by J.W. Rinzler.
In this follow-up to last week’s episode, I talk a little more about some of my favorite recent movies that didn’t get the respect I think they deserved.