Review: Gilbert, 2017, dir. Neil Berkeley

I wasn’t at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, but that didn’t stop me from writing a review about Gilbert, Neil Berkeley’s very good documentary about the one and only Gilbert Gottfried, the guy you probably know best as the voice of an angry parrot in the Aladdin movies (or the erstwhile voice of an exasperated duck in Aflac … Continue reading →

TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Episode 4.16, “Moo Moo”

I know neither how nor why I have managed to forget to share my review of last week’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine. For as long as I’ve been writing about this show, my write-up for “Moo Moo” stands out as one of my favorites, much as “Moo Moo” itself stands out as one of the best episodes in the … Continue reading →

Best of Criterion’s New Releases, April 2017

Oh, sure: I know what you’re thinking. “It’s May, Annnnnnndyyyyyyyyy! Why are you so late sharing the April Criterion round-up, huuuuuuuh?” Well, I mean, hush. Calm down. It’s okay. You can still read the Paste Magazine Criterion piece for April even though it is no longer April. You should, too, not only because I spend more time … Continue reading →

Review: Buster’s Mal Heart, 2017, dir. Sarah Adina Smith

I like Mr. Robot, Sam Esmail’s psychological hacker-drama on the good ol’ US of A Network, so it stands to reason that I might also like Buster’s Mal Heart, Sarah Adina Smith’s psychological whatsit drama, which stars Mr. Robot‘s bug-eyed leading man, Rami Malek. But I didn’t like Buster’s Mal Heart that much. I mean: I liked it. I … Continue reading →

The ‘Umbrellas of Cherbourg,’ ‘La La Land’ And The Bittersweetness Of A Demy Musical

It’s never too late to talk about La La Land, so I kinda did that by talking about The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which is basically the movie that La La Land wants to be but can’t because it has lived a very sheltered life. I’m happy to take the opportunity to write a long-form something about a Criterion … Continue reading →

Review: Obit, 2017, dir. Vanessa Gould

Well, how about that? Obit, a film about The New York Times‘ obituaries desk, is as entertaining and informative as it is profound. I liked it! I had a good time with it! I was not overwhelmed by morbidity while watching it, mostly because the film is as far from morbid as a film about death can … Continue reading →

TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Episode 4.15, “The Last Ride”

Spoiler alert: The title of this week’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a lie. Just thought I should tell you that upfront, because there is just no way anyone could have guessed that on their own, no sir. (This is my shorthand, smartass way of saying that I dug “The Last Ride” in spite of its predictability, because … Continue reading →

Review: Slack Bay, 2017, dir. Bruno Dumont

You know what? Normally I’d write a spiel here, but Slack Bay is kind of hard to give spiel to. It’s weird. It’s fucking weird, even, which is my impolite way of saying that it doesn’t fit easily into any category or genre. Basically, it’s Looney Tunes on France’s northern coast wrapped up in a comedy of manners … Continue reading →

Feud, Nostalgia, and the Impossibility of Perfect Imitation

If you’ve been watching FX’s Feud, as I have, you’ve either been seduced and dazzled by its depiction of its period in both America and in Hollywood, as well as the central performances given by Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange; or you’ve been put off by the cheapness of Ryan Murphy’s recreation of the era and its … Continue reading →

The 10 Best Horror Movies of 2017 (So Far)

I know what you thought when you read the title on this piece: “It’s April.” Yes, it is, but shut up. Shhhh. Stop. It’s okay. I know it’s April. We all know it’s April. I have gadgets all around me screaming the date at me at any given time during the day. Relax. It’s going to … Continue reading →

Full IFFBoston Schedule Is Up; You Know What To Do

A short and sweet update on the status of Independent Film Festival Boston: They’ve got their full schedule up (and have had it up for over a week; I’ve just been neglectful, sorry, get off my back), and I strongly recommend that you train your eye-holes on it if you are local to the Boston … Continue reading →

TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Episode 4.14, “Serve And Protect”

Honest admission: I’m not sure if my critique of this week’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine is fair or if I’m just reaching for something critical to say about a pound-for-pound solid episode. It is a little bit of a bummer that the real dramatic “stuff” of the episode is shunted to the side to make space for an A-plot … Continue reading →

Interview: Terence Davies, “A Quiet Passion”

More than a few times in my conversation with the great director Terence Davies (aside: he’s one of the most unsung masters of cinema working today, in case you didn’t know), who graciously offered me forty minutes of his time to talk about his latest film, A Quiet Passion, he invoked his sense of anger at … Continue reading →

The 20 Best Westerns on Netflix

I must confess that I found the utter dearth of really great Western films available for streaming on ye olde Netflix not only perplexing, but disturbing. You’re telling me that Netflix can’t manage to put twenty great Western films up on its site, and instead can only manage to put a much smaller number than that, plus … Continue reading →

TV Review: The Get Down, 1.11, “Only from Exile Can We Come Home”

I can’t stop reviewing The Get Down! Actually, no: That’s a lie. I can. And I have. Sad face. Well, c’mon, you didn’t think the show would go on forever, did you? Granted, Netflix split the first season into two halves, which kinda gave the show a sense of unnatural longevity, but we all knew it … Continue reading →

The 10 Best Movies in Theaters Right Now (April 17th Edition)

More “best movies in theaters” shenanigans, comin’ at ya! This month, we have a slew of mostly new titles, including my favorites of the bunch, Get Out and Colossal, a movie I’ve yet to write anything about* but which I love to the moon and back. It’s basically the movie Trainwreck wanted to be, except that it’s great … Continue reading →

TV Review: The Get Down, 1.09 & 1.10, “One by One, Into the Dark”/“Gamble Everything,”

I’ll admit it: I have a hard time writing about The Get Down, not for lack of things to say, but because there’s so much that can be said and should be said about it, and so much that needs to be said to satisfy the purpose of a recap. This is what I get for knocking … Continue reading →

TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Episode 4.13, “The Audit”

I say this a lot, particularly whenever Brooklyn Nine-Nine returns to air after its mid-season break or its season ender, but: Brooklyn Nine-Nine is back, baby! Just like Gina Linetti! I failed, in my recap of “The Audit” for Paste Magazine, to properly salute Dirk Blocker for his perfect delivery of that exact line upon Gina’s return … Continue reading →