“The 25 Best Songs About New York City”

I had to drive all the way out of town and into another state to bring myself to contribute to this list. Continue reading →

The 50 Best Samurai Films of All Time

Samurai! So many samurai! Samurai all day long in this list of samurai films, I’m telling you. They’re even categorized based on the era of Japanese history in which they take place. That’s badass. Like a samurai. My name appears a bunch of times in this piece, and it’s such a well-researched, well-curated piece that I’ll … Continue reading →

The 20 Best “Mad Men” Episodes

I don’t need to explain this one, do I? Mad Men turned 10 years old yesterday. The TV writing staff at Paste Magazine wrote about its best episodes; I specifically wrote about Pete Campbell getting knocked the fuck out by Lane Pryce, and also about the time Sterling Cooper became Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Nothing complicated, … Continue reading →

The 100 Greatest War Movies of All Time

War is hell, which is probably why people love making movies about it. (It’s hard to say whether people love watching movies about it more than they love making movies about it, but I digress.) So the gang at Paste Magazine, including me, put on their colors and watched a whole damn bunch of movies about war, … Continue reading →

Paste Magazine’s 100 Greatest Westerns Of All Time

Here’s the deal: I worked a really, really, really long time on this list, and so did the people I worked on it with, and you just know by the title what the whole thing is all about. I’m not going to slow walk you through it. Just take this magical link to Paste Magazine to scope … Continue reading →

10 Movies You Need To See Twice To Understand

“Ever walked away from a film feeling completely discombobulated by your viewing experience? We all enjoy linear movies, but every now and again we’re taken off guard by a completely ambiguous, inscrutable flick that leaves us scratching our heads. A little obscurity once in a while is a good thing, of course – dense, cerebral … Continue reading →

10 Movie Monsters That Will Give You Nightmares

“Who doesn’t like a good movie monster? Whether it’s Count Orlok from Nosferatu or the Rhedosaurus from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, cinema has a monster flick out there to suit your tastes. Maybe you’re a fan of Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion skeletons, or perhaps the granddaddy of all kaiju, Godzilla. But there are movie monsters, … Continue reading →

The United States of Film: Vermont

““What happens in Vermont, stays in Vermont. But nothing really happens.” If you’ve ever been to the Green Mountain State, or even if you haven’t, chances are you’ve seen this wisecrack printed on a bumper sticker or perhaps a T-shirt. To a generous degree, it’s true; Vermont is a peaceful place where life ambles along … Continue reading →

The Perils of Fame in Film

“Looking from the outside in, the lives of the rich and the famous look pretty spiffy. They live in awesome houses, they wear awesome clothes, they have awesome accoutrements, and they get to do awesome stuff pretty much all day, every day. But if David Bowie and Young Jeezy have taught us anything, it’s that … Continue reading →

The United States of Film: Massachusetts

“When people think of Massachusetts’ burgeoning movie industry, they probably think first of gritty, unforgiving gangster films, of severe accents, of reluctant geniuses, of Ben Affleck. But the Bay State has offered more to cinema than just chronicles of working class stiffs, real crime allegory, or some combination of Matt and Ben: this is the … Continue reading →

Race Relations In Film

“Why can’t we all just get along? It should be easier than easy to vibe with people from other backgrounds than our own; there should be no obstacles or roadblocks segregating us or just plain old keeping us divided. But it’s 2015, and racial harmony is still a distant dream the whole world over. Whether … Continue reading →