Looking Closer
If you’re an artist living anywhere near Portland, or want to pay Portland a visit, here’s something to consider: The Artist’s Job: Making a Life and a Living as an Artist (more…) Read more
If you’re an artist living anywhere near Portland, or want to pay Portland a visit, here’s something to consider: The Artist’s Job: Making a Life and a Living as an Artist (more…) Read more
The National Board of Review’s awards for 2010 have been announced. The always-dubious affair has some typically excellent examples of “Wow! Awesome!” and “What the…?” And, as always, this sparks a season of everybody else coming up with better selections than these. A few highlights: (more…) Read more
I am blessed in so many ways that Anne Maureen Doe said “Yes” when I proposed about 15 years ago. And I am overjoyed whenever the world confirms what I’ve known all along: That she is an excellent poet. So I can’t help myself: (more…) Read more
In honor of a man who, as of today, has lived a half-century, here is a birthday song by They Might Be Giants. I’ve chosen this song for two reasons: (more…) Read more
Okay, so if I tell you that Waste Land is a movie about the world’s largest landfill, you probably won’t want to see it. What if I tell you it’s about extraordinary works of art made from stuff that was taken from the world’s largest landfill? No? What If I told you it’s such an inspiring documentary, I watched it twice in one week? (more…) Read more
My review of Waste Land, one of the most inspiring films I’ve seen this year, is up at Image. Read more
Can you guess what my favorite film critic, Steven Greydanus, is writing about here? Too much feels haphazard. Stuff happens, and later other stuff happens, and in between there’s a lot of moody standing around and angst and stuff. There’s very little action or spectacle — a couple of chase scenes, a couple of showdowns, and not much more. What’s more, where the first chase involves seven parallel chases, the story only follows [its central character] — which means that... Read more
Before I start describing the MPAA with language they would consider inappropriate, I’ll just hand the microphone over to Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, whose film Blue Valentine was just rated NC-17. Why was it given that rating? (more…) Read more
[November 2010 Update: It’s been almost a decade since we turned the page on our calendars to 2001. And yet, Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey, still feels prophetic. So I’m digging up my review of that re-release and posting it again, and I’ll include this – an article that appeared just today on Kottke called “Kubrick Explains 2001.”] – (Warning: This review is offered with the assumption that readers have seen this film. No attempt has been made... Read more
Looking for a great fantasy book to give for Christmas? Here’s an idea: Mark Helprin’s glorious “Swan Lake” trilogy is being republished in one volume – A Kingdom Far and Clear – with beautiful illustrations by Chris Van Allsburg. (more…) Read more
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