Apparently The New Yorker is publishing an issue that features advertisements from just one entity: Target. That just doesn’t feel right. The ads are elaborate and, I must say, quite arresting. But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re celebrating a store that’s just a few notches down from Wal-Mart. And there’s something else not quite right about it. I echo one of the comments posted on this page (which features several of the ads): Isn’t it a bit strange... Read more
Brock Peters (front right) with Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird. Details here, at CNN. LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — Actor Brock Peters, best known for his heartbreaking performance as the black man falsely accused of rape in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” died Tuesday at his home after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 78. Peters was diagnosed with the disease in January and had been receiving chemotherapy treatment, according to Marilyn Darby, his longtime companion. His condition became worse... Read more
Today’s specials: Danny Boyle’s next film boasts a diverse cast. At long last, Ken Lonergan, director of You Can Count On Me, is preparing another project that looks likely to star Matt Damon, Anna Paquin, and Mark Ruffalo. It’s called Margaret. Just how much did T-Bone Burnett meddle with the new album from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club? Read more
Today’s specials: Richard Thompson’s first solo album in ages, Front Parlour Ballads, is earning a bunch of raves and a few surprisingly contrary complaints. Ho hum… here it comes. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire … the new international trailer. Hmmm. Some very nice effects on display here. Al Pacino to star in remake of Rififi, from the director of Sea of Love. Pixar blog features tributes to Joe Ranft, who died last week. If you explore this blog... Read more
I frequently publish reviews by my friend J. Robert Parks, who writes for a Chicago-area paper and for Paste Magazine. Parks and I see eye-to-eye on many things. Occasionally we don’t. I’m posting this review of Michael Winterbottom’s 9 Songs even though I personally disagree with Parks on a few issues surrounding the film. (In short, I object to the filming of actors engaging in real sex acts, and I cannot in good conscience recommend that anyone else view such... Read more
I hope to see you Sunday in Portland! UPDATE: Many thanks to all of you who, after church on Sunday, decided to spend a gloriously sunny afternoon sitting and listening to me talk about Christians’ engagement with movies. I was blessed by your attention, your questions, and the warm welcome I received at Montavilla Baptist Church. Special thanks to my uncle, Paul Morris, for going to so much work to spread the word and set things up, and for showing... Read more
The single most distinguishing strength of Pixar is its unparalleled storytelling. For all of its breakthroughs in digital animation, each and every one of Pixar’s films is exemplary in character development, plotting, comedy, drama, and note-perfect climaxes. The stories are rich with moral lessons without being preachy. These strengths shine all the more by the inability of competing studios to match their achievements. I am sorry to say that the movie world has suffered a grievous loss. Yesterday, the head... Read more
Today’s specials: The trailer for the new Martin Scorsese film about Bob Dylan: No Direction Home. Okay, add THAT to my Christmas list as well. It’s a bird, it’s a plane… it’s a Christopher Reeve lookalike! John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton are starring in a heist film directed by Harold Ramis. Cusack hasn’t had anything really memorable for a while. Hopefully this will get him back on track. Oh how I long for a sequel to Grosse Point Blank. Read more
I am re-considering my Top Ten of 2003. Last Life in the Universe belongs way, way, way up near the top of the list. Unpredictable. Hilarious. Deliriously melancholy. Crowded with allusions to other films from all over the place. Hints of Jarmusch, Tarantino, Lynch. Two delightful lead performances. And the great Christopher Doyle (Hero) turns in some of the most excruciatingly beautiful cinematography I’ve ever seen. I’d like to live in a house full of freeze-frames from this film; it’d... Read more
I must say, it fills me with joy to publish a headline like that! I mean… wow. I love this planet. (more…) Read more
Looking Closer
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