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Annals of the Underrated: Sam Rockwell
I have, on occasion, posted rants about filmmakers and actors who I consider overrated, a list that includes John Hughes, Terrence Malick, Zooey Deschanel and Ridley Scott, among others. And, at some...
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Annals of the Overrated: ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’
There’s been a lot of Oscar chatter about the fact that “Argo” seems on track to win the best-picture trophy this year – despite the fact that its director, Ben Affleck, was left off the list of...
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On context and classics: Fresh eyes vs. a wider vision
Classics are classics for a reason. Which puts me into kind of a contextual quandary. I believe that the cream rises and the best of literature, film, music and the like are what last in our culture....
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Why so serious about review embargoes?
Why would a movie studio try to stop critics from reviewing movies? It’s called a review embargo – and it seems a little self-explanatory. But still, I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss a...
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Too damn many movies
There are just too damn many movies. And not nearly enough good ones. By my count, the New York Times ran reviews of 19 different movies on Friday, March 8. On March 15, they ran reviews of 18 more....
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Deliver us from stupid
A couple of weeks ago, someone I know, after scanning the movie listings of a Friday newspaper (and really, I’m dating that person just by identifying them as an actual newspaper reader), asked me,...
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Paul Giamatti: My new favorite rogue and peasant slave
It’s that rare evening of theater where something that was already familiar becomes new, yielding unexpected meaning and feelings. It’s not as if I’ve made a study of “Hamlet.” But I’ve seen probably...
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Audience-friendly: It’s not a crime
I recall a while back that a fellow critic took offense when I referred to Noah Baumbach’s “Greenberg” as “not an audience-friendly film.” He felt that I was using the term pejoratively – as though I...
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The 20-minute rule
Over the years, I’ve developed what I refer to as the 20-minute rule. It basically says that a movie that hasn’t hooked me in the first 20 minutes probably isn’t going to. I tend to apply it most...
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My annual anti-3D sermon
I was heartened to read that, on its opening weekend, “The Great Gatsby” did solid business, despite some unjustly vicious reviews. I was even more uplifted when I read that, in placing a strong...
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