The great Nicolas Cage shows up for Dream Scenario, but is the movie worthy of him?

No, Nicolas Cage is not "funnier than he's ever been." But he's really funny. And while everyone complains about the lackluster ending, let me praise what it does so well.


0 Comments27 Minutes

The Holdovers lives up to its name

Alexander Payne's latest has its highlights, even if it holds us a little too long, and strains a little too hard for a crowd-pleasing conclusion.


0 Comments11 Minutes

Beauty and the rock’n’roll beast: Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla

A double-feature of Priscilla and Spencer might be a fascinating study. Or it might seem merely redundant.


0 Comments23 Minutes

Misgivings about “a masterpiece”: Killers of the Flower Moon

Scorsese's new epic features some of the strongest and most conscientious work of his career. But the fact I'm opening with words about him here hints at what gives me mixed feelings about the film.


0 Comments38 Minutes

Bottoms is for 2023 what Heathers was for 1988

Here's a high school comedy about hormones and hijinks that goes to violent extremes, afflicting the comfortable and making the uncomfortable laugh until they're sick.


0 Comments27 Minutes

Lily Gladstone goes soul-searching in The Unknown Country

You're probably hearing a lot about Lily Gladstone's performance in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. In fact, she was just as magnetic earlier this year in The Unknown Country, a film worth seeking out on streaming services, and one of my favorites of 2023.


0 Comments10 Minutes

Barbie, Pt. 3: My full review!

My three-part series on Greta Gerwig's Barbie culminates with my full review.


0 Comments1 Minute

Killers of My Substack Journal: New films by Scorsese and Fincher

In a season of intensifying violence — in American neighborhoods, and in battlefields of global significance — some of our best filmmakers are telling stories about gun-wielding villains. I've just published thoughts on The Killer and Killers of the Flower Moon.


0 Comments2 Minutes

Barbie, Pt. 2: Action figures, their accessories, and me

In Part Two of my Barbie coverage, I establish some necessary context for my upcoming film review. My history with toy trends is a story of formative influences: Barbies for girls, armed men for boys.


0 Comments17 Minutes