I'm inviting friends and readers old and new to join my Auralia's Colors Birthday Party. It's simple: Write a toast. Not to me, but to the title character... Auralia. (She's the one who deserves it.) Prizes await two of those who "raise their glasses"... Read more
Maybe you’ve done this very thing. If so, I’d love to hear about it. Last night, I walked out of a movie. I wasn’t going for popcorn. I didn’t need to visit the Men’s Room (although the movie did make me sick to my stomach). (more…) Read more
Last Tuesday marked the 30th anniversary of the marriage of Paul Hewson and Ali Stewart. If those names aren’t familiar to you, then you’re probably not much of a U2 fan. (more…) Read more
St. Cinemas, or St. Criticus Cinemas of Cineplexia (as he is also known) is one of the first and most revered film critics. Some find him to be "snooty" and "elitist." He remains reviled by many on the right and on the left, and this applies if you take me to refer to political leanings or mere geographical location. Read more
I've been talking about big-screen women, how they can reinforce harmful stereotypes, or set bold, truthful, and liberating precedents. Looks like Lauren Wilford, over at Filmwell, has been thinking about some of the same things. Here she is, passionately describing her gratitude for a new film that many of us might otherwise have overlooked... Read more
As it turned out, Crystal Skull was amusing but disappointing, underlining Raiders' strengths as unique, the kind of adventure storytelling we were unlikely to see again on the big screen. Read more
This is your chance. Read the book. Read it slowly, share it with your friends, and discuss it. Savor the experience before the movie changes the experience and prevents millions of moviegoers from ever having that first, memorable journey through the story the way it was meant to be experienced. Read more
Perhaps it’s not so much Indy’s virtues or successes that distinguish him. Consider, instead, his failures. Has there ever been a hero so prone to failure as Indiana Jones? Read more
No one has taught me more about considering and making art than “Mr. D.” That’s Michael Demkowicz, who was my high school English teacher, and who remains a dear friend to this day. Demkowicz is a photographer, and several of his prints hang on the walls of my home. But he has also influenced what I read, how I watch movies, and how I listen to music. I’m making it an annual event to feature my favorite single article on... Read more
On June 12, 1981, moviegoers watched Indiana Jones disarm a gunslinging traitor with one swift lash of his bullwhip. The bloodied villain, caught red-handed (literally), fled, and we saw Harrison Ford’s glare smolder beneath the brim of that fedora for the first time. We knew he meant business. Read more
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