Jazmine Sullivan - "Mascara"

Some albums stay lodged in my Spotify favorites for months. I don't focus on them, but when a random track pops up on shuffle, I'm reminded all over again, "Yeah, that's a good record."

Such is the case with Reality Show, which is now four years old. "Mascara" wasn't a single, but it's now on heavy rotation around my household. The part that always gets me: When she goes from baritone to falsetto to sing, "So I never leave the house without makeup on." When will Jazmine Sullivan put out a new album so I can give it the attention it deserves from the start?

'Pavarotti' Review

I know nothing about opera, but I liked Pavarotti well enough. (Some of the best parts involve actually breaking down what makes a great singer.) My review is up at Screen International.

The Best Godzilla Movies

With Godzilla: King of the Monsters coming out, we decided to take a look back at the high-water marks of this big-screen beast. Check it out over at SyFy.

Cannes 2019: 'The Bare Necessity' Review

One last Cannes review: For Screen International, I wrote about the Directors' Fortnight offering The Bare Necessity, which is a frothy but enjoyable comedy. Not too quirky, surprisingly emotional, read all about it.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Will Smith, Teen Friends and 'Mad Max'

On this week's episode, I recap my Cannes experience. Then, we review Aladdin and Booksmart. Finally, we look back at 1979's Mad Max. It's nice to be home. You can hear the whole thing down below.

Some Thoughts on 'Aladdin'

When did Will Smith become America's dad?

Who gives the best performance in Aladdin?

And why isn't Gilbert Gottfried in the new movie?

I answer those questions, and more, over at MEL.

Some Thoughts on 'Booksmart'

For MEL, I wrote about Booksmart and the importance of the sidekick in buddy comedies. Hope you enjoy.

'Rim of the World' Review

Netflix released a kids' action-adventure movie this weekend. It's called Rim of the World. It is terrible. I wrote about it for MEL.

Cannes 2019: The Wrap-Up and the Rankings

My sixth Cannes was unique in that, as opposed to previous editions, I wasn't in much agreement with my colleagues about what were the festival's best and worst films. I quite liked Little Joe and Frankie, two Competition selections that didn't receive much love elsewhere, while being duly impressed (but not blown away) by Parasite, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Pain and Glory, which were probably the consensus favorites. And yet, the fact that all four ended up ranking relatively high on my list suggests something I'd suspected over the last two weeks: Every Cannes you get to go to is amazing, but the overall quality of this year's films was below-average. It happens.

Another thing that made this an outlier Cannes: My favorite film wasn't part of the official selections. Over at Directors' Fortnight, Robert Eggers' follow-up to The Witch, The Lighthouse, was the big story, and I finally caught up with it last night. There will be more to say later, but it's a knockout -- and further proof that Robert Pattinson is one of our most exciting and surprising young actors. (While I was at Cannes, news broke that he probably, maybe will play Batman, and if comic-book nerds think he's just the "the Twilight guy," then they don't deserve him.)

I look forward to catching up with a few films that fell through the cracks, including Beanpole, I Lost My Body and The Unknown Saint. I confess there is still a part of me that wants to experience Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo. I enjoyed seeing colleagues and spending time at my favorite annual festival. And I thank you for reading. My ranking of everything I saw, including films screened in advance, is below, with links leading to individual reviews.

33. Wounds
32. Matthias & Maxime
31. Rocketman
30. The Traitor
29. Les Misérables
28. The Climb
27. Atlantics
26. Tommaso
25. The Dead Don’t Die
24. Zombi Child
23. The Bare Necessity
22. Vivarium
21. Bull
20. Adam
19. The Swallows of Kabul
18. Deerskin
17. Share
16. Bacurau
15. Give Me Liberty
14. Sorry We Missed You
13. Young Ahmed
12. A Hidden Life
11. Pain and Glory
10. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
9. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
8. Oh Mercy!
7. Ghost Tropic
6. Parasite
5. Little Joe
4. Frankie
3. The Wild Goose Lake
2. The Whistlers
1. The Lighthouse

Kids See Ghosts (featuring Yasiin Bey) - "Kids See Ghosts"

I had a chat with someone the other day here at Cannes about Kanye, and we were both talking about how much we liked Kids See Ghosts. So now this song is stuck in my head again.

Cannes 2019: 'The Traitor' Review

In The Traitor, director Marco Bellocchio tells the story of Tommaso Buscetta, a mafia made man who turned government informant. This is fascinating terrain that's also a bit familiar, as I explain in my Screen International review.

Cannes 2019: 'Ghost Tropic' Review

One of the fun things about going to a festival as part of a trade publication is that you'll get assigned to review movies that wouldn't cross your radar otherwise -- and, sometimes, you can be very pleasantly surprised by what you find. Here's my review of Ghost Tropic for Screen International.

What's Keanu Reeves' Best Performance?

That's the task we gave ourselves over at Vulture. I'll say this: It wasn't that hard to pick No. 1, although from there was a little bit trickier. Hope you enjoy.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: John Wick, Anton Chigurh and 'The Souvenir'

This week, we look at two very different assassins while reviewing John Wick: Chapter 3 and looking back at No Country for Old Men. In between, I solo on one of the best films of the year so far, The Souvenir. You can hear the whole thing down below.

Cannes 2019: 'Matthias & Maxime' Review

Xavier Dolan is back at Cannes for the first time since his disastrous It’s Only the End of the World. (I was at that screening. It was terrible.) His new film is better, but still not that good. I reviewed Matthias & Maxime for Screen International.

Cannes 2019: 'Tommaso' Review

Willem Dafoe plays Abel Ferrara -- or, at least, an Abel Ferrara stand-in -- in Tommaso, a bleak character study about a tormented filmmaker that I found grimly fascinating. My review is up at Screen International.

Some Thoughts on 'John Wick: Chapter 3'

For MEL, I wrote about the life-affirming violence of Parabellum. (I also had some thoughts about Jason Mantzoukas and Anjelica Huston.) Hope you enjoy.

'Aladdin' Review

I saw Aladdin before Cannes and wrote my review before the festival as well. I now remember nothing about either, so let's see what I thought over at Screen International.

'Catch-22' Review

I tried and tried, but I just couldn't get into Hulu's miniseries remake of Catch-22. I explain why over at MEL.

Cannes 2019: 'A Hidden Life' Review

A Hidden Life might be Terrence Malick's most urgent, tormented and vital film since ... The Tree of Life? I reviewed his latest for Screen International.

Cannes 2019: 'Vivarium' Review

Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots play a happy couple who look into buying a home. That's when everything goes wrong in Vivarium, a clever, low-key sci-fi parable. I reviewed the film for Screen International.

The 21st Century's Best Monster Movies

The Host or The Descent? Cloverfield or Peter Jackson's King Kong? Let the debate begin over at SyFy.

Cannes 2019: 'The Swallows of Kabul' Review

Based on the Yasmina Khadra novel, The Swallows of Kabul depicts life under Taliban rule. That's hard subject matter, but what if it was told through animation? My review is live over at Screen International.

Elton John - "I'm Still Standing"

Happy Friday, everyone. Greetings from Cannes.

Cannes 2019: 'Bull' Review

Bull is playing as part of Un Certain Regard, and it tells the story of two mismatched souls, both of them looking for some kind of way forward in their dead-end lives. It's a minor but affecting film. My review is up at Screen International.

Cannes 2019: 'Rocketman' Review

Reg Strikes Back: Sir Elton John finally gets the musical biopic treatment. But I didn't much like Rocketman, which I talk about over at Screen International.

Cannes 2019: 'The Dead Don't Die' Review

Welcome to the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. For Screen International, I reviewed the opening night film, Jim Jarmusch's hit-or-miss zombie comedy. You can read my thoughts here.

The State of the Midnight Movie in Los Angeles

There's a new site called Los Angeleno, which is focusing on L.A.-centric issues, people and places. I was happy to write my first piece for them on the midnight-movie scene in our fair city, and how it's evolving. This required me speaking to a few programmers and others about the state of the midnight movie in 2019, which turned out to be fairly fascinating. (You can see Barry Lyndon and A Woman Under the Influence at midnight this summer. Incredible.) Hope you enjoy.

My Interview With John Chester, Director of 'The Biggest Little Farm'

For MEL, I spoke with John Chester, a filmmaker who, with his wife, moved from Los Angeles to a farm about 40 miles north. They wanted to redo their lives, reconnect with nature, the whole thing. And he made a movie about the experience, The Biggest Little Farm. I was curious to talk to him about what we don't see in the film -- namely, the toll this lifestyle change took on their relationship. Chester was really candid, which I appreciated. Our conversation is here.

Some Thoughts on 'Pokemon Detective Pikachu'

What's it like to hear Ryan Reynolds do PG-rated sarcasm?

Why are the behind-the-scenes stories behind the making of Pokemon's biggest songs so sad?

And did you know that this movie was shot on 35mm? (Do you even understand how rare that is anymore?)

I talked about all that, and more, while discussing Detective Pikachu for MEL.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Wine Country,' 'Detective Pikachu' and My Cannes Preview

Man, Wine Country should be better than it is. We talk about it on this week's episode. Plus, I review Pokemon Detective Pikachu and then discuss the films at this year's Cannes that I'm most excited to see. The whole thing is down below.

'John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum' Review

I think Parabellum tops Chapter 2, even if it's not as original as the first film. My review is up at Screen International.

The Best of the Universal Classic Monsters

For this week's Debate Club, we look back at the monster movies of yesteryear. Hope you enjoy our rankings.

Rudy Willingham - "Pool Party"

"I use paper cutouts to transform the world around me." That's how Rudy Willingham describes himself on Twitter. (You can check out his art here.)

"Rudy is an electronic producer and DJ from Seattle who smashes spacey synths, obscure samples, and soulful vocals into epic future-funk burritos." That's his bio on Soundcloud. Hear his summer-y "Pool Party" down below.

Looking Back at 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'

While we wait to see The Hustle, which hasn't yet been screened for critics, I decided to revisit the movie that inspired it. Folks, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is still really good. But Glenne Headly is just next-level great. I wrote about the film's enduring appeal for MEL.

Some Thoughts on 'Long Shot'

Why is Hollywood fixated on stories in which beautiful women and regular guys hook up?

What's a Roxette?

And can you come down fast from molly?

I answer those questions, and more, in my deep dive of Long Shot over at MEL.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Charlize Theron, Ted Bundy and Your 2019 Summer Movie Preview

On this week's episode, we agree that Long Shot is bad (but that Charlize Theron is great in it). We differ on Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. And then we preview summer movie season, including the film we're both worried about. Hear the whole thing down below.

Best Blumhouse Horror Films

Jason Blum has produced some of the biggest horror hits of recent years, so narrowing down his company's films to pick the five best was surprisingly difficult. You can check out our work over at SyFy.

'Pokemon Detective Pikachu' Review

This is one strange little movie. If anything, I wish it were stranger. I review Pikachu for you over at Screen International.

Metallica - "The Struggle Within"

Hey, James Hetfield is in the new Ted Bundy movie.

'Long Shot' Review

Long Shot got good reviews out of South by Southwest. I didn't see it there. I wrote about this mediocre comedy for Paste.