I’m almost always surprised when I come across new reviews of my four-novel fantasy series, The Auralia Thread. It’s never going to be a best-selling series. It isn’t about a girl and the boys who are competing for her. It isn’t about zombies or vampires or werewolves (although it does have beastmen, who are kind of like all three). It spends as much time on quiet moments as loud moments, and reveals that I’m as interested in environments as characters,... Read more
An open letter to Neil Gaiman: Why? Why has "The Graveyard Book" been taken away from Henry Selick, the master animator who gave us "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Coraline"? And why does it appear to be in the hands of Wrong Howard? Read more
Here is an index of all of the Good Letters posts I turned in. Some of the time I offered reluctantly at the deadline, as I still wasn't quite satisfied after half a dozen drafts. Others I wrote in one swift draft and was completely satisfied. But overall, when I look back at two decades of film reviews, this is the body of work that best fulfills the goals I've set for myself as a reviewer. Read more
Every year, I end up adding a couple of late titles to my top ten list, and "The Queen of Versailles" definitely belongs on the shelf with my favorites of 2012. It's easily my favorite 2012 documentary so far: A fascinating and scary portrait of the lives of the 1%... or maybe the .05%... that will make you feel right at home among the 99.95%, even as it shows you some unsettling things about yourself. Read more
A lot of people are talking about last night's Golden Globes awards. And why not? How often do we get to drown out any substantial conversation about movies with a tsunami of meaningless celebrity buzz? Why not pretend that we're doing the world some good by pretending that art is a contest! Read more
Who's "Barbara"? What's wrong with "Zero Dark Thirty"? Why are critics ganging up on "It's a Wonderful Life"? What is the connection between "American Horror Story" and The Glen Workshop? Read more
I usually marinate in all of the “favorite music of last year” lists through the first few months of a new year. But once in a while, something goes off like a firework and gives you a rush that says, “Hey! It’s a whole new world!” (more…) Read more
Writing, I find, is a joy and an adventure. But it's not much of a job. In fact, you need another job in able to afford to do it. Read more
Roger Ebert, who missed out on some of the year’s big Oscar-season releases, finally caught up with Les Misérables. What did he think? Well, let’s just say I feel a little less lonely this morning. (more…) Read more
Sure, there are some critics out there who strive to seem superior to others. But most critics are just fans of movies... such big fans that they like to examine and talk about everything that's in a movie. Today, I came across a reminder of what a great critic can accomplish. Read more
Looking Closer
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