'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Talking About 'Dune: Part Two,' 'Shayda' and 'Problemista'

Very happy to be back on KCRW talking new movies. I was joined by Alison Willmore to review the Dune sequel, Adam Sandler's sci-fi drama Spaceman, the underwhelming Problemista and the moving Shayda. Hear our segment down below.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Reviewing 'The Creator' and the Wes Anderson Netflix Shorts

Two features and four shorts are the focus of this week's episode. We both liked Dumb Money, both disliked The Creator, and then we spend some time digging into Wes Anderson's Roald Dahl adaptations: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan, The Rat Catcher and Poison. Hope you enjoy.

'Dumb Money' and the Rise of the Crazy Fact-Based Comedy

Dumb Money is hardly the first recent comedy that explores a true story from an irreverent perspective. I examined what's behind this trend for Cracked.

Toronto 2023: 'Dumb Money' Review

While watching Dumb Money, you may be reminded of The Social Network for several reasons. Is it as good as that Oscar-winner? No, but I enjoyed it.

The Big 2022 Movie Draft on 'The Extra Credits'

This was fun: The hosts of The Extra Credits had Will and me on to participate in a draft of last year's best movies. The rules were that we'd each get five picks, and then we'd let the listeners choose whose slate was the best. You can hear our draft and deliberations down below. If you wanted a decent overview of the 20 most worthwhile/noteworthy movies of 2022, this is a good place to start.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Spielberg's Personal Film, 'Glass Onion' and 'Bones and All'

We're deep into awards season, and this week's episode features three movies hoping for Oscar attention. Our thoughts on The Fabelmans, the Knives Out sequel and the latest from Luca Guadagnino can be heard down below.

Toronto 2022: 'The Fabelmans' Review

Finally, the Meek's Cutoff reunion of Michelle Williams and Paul Dano we've all been waiting for!

(For Screen International, I reviewed Steven Spielberg's great new movie.)

The Therapeutic Properties of Watching People Scream in Movies

Random neighborhoods are organizing primal-scream sessions, where people go outside and just yell their heads off in frustration and anger over the pandemic. This got me thinking about how, in movies, characters are yelling all the time. There's something incredibly cathartic about that, which I explore over at MEL.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Horror, Directorial Debuts and 'Memories of Murder'

Many movies are discussed on this week's podcast. Will and I dig into Halloween, and then I solo on Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Wildlife and Mid90s. Finally, in our Reboot segment, we look back at Memories of Murder. Hope you enjoy.

Sundance 2018: 'Wildlife' Review

A drama about a dysfunctional family in the bad old days of the 1960s? We've seen this movie many, many times before, but Paul Dano (making his directorial debut) applies his thoughtful, muted take on the material. And he's aided by a terrific Carey Mulligan performance. I reviewed Wildlife for Screen International.

Mousterpiece Cinema: Happy 10th Birthday, 'There Will Be Blood'

I still remember vividly the press screening I attended for There Will Be Blood, which left me utterly stunned. Can it really have been 10 years? I was invited on Mousterpiece Cinema to talk about the movie, and I had a great time. (Also, this is my fifth appearance on the podcast: Yes, I'm part of the show's hallowed five-timers club.) You can hear the whole conversation down below.

The Boys' Club of 'Swiss Army Man'

I've seen Swiss Army Man twice, and while I appreciate the film's audacity, I find the big ideas behind its oddball leanings not particularly compelling. Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe are both good, but they're at the service of a movie that moans too much about sensitive guys' problems. My review is up at The New Republic.

SAG Foundation: My Conversation With Elizabeth Banks and Paul Dano

Over the weekend, I chatted with two of the stars of Love & Mercy, discussing Brian Wilson, playing real people and why actors don't have master plans. I was happy to have the opportunity to tell Elizabeth Banks how good she was in W. And I hope Paul Dano didn't mind the joke I cracked at his expense.

Cannes 2015: 'Youth' Review

Youth is the follow-up film from director Paolo Sorrentino, whose previous effort, The Great Beauty, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. His new movie is in English, and stars Michael Caine as a retired composer taking a vacation in the Alps. Joined in the cast by Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz and Paul Dano, Caine does some fine work, and Sorrentino plies us with his usual amounts of sumptuous visuals. The film may recycle plenty of old tropes -- mortality, art, love -- but it goes down nice and smooth. I reviewed Youth for Paste.

Sundance 2012: 'For Ellen' review

For Ellen is the third film from writer-director So Yong Kim, and by this point in her career, you should know what to expect from her movies. A gradual pace, an outsider main character, not a lot of plot.... If you get on her wavelength, her movies have such flow to them. Her first, In Between Days, showed a lot of promise, but I wasn't as impressed with her follow-up, Treeless Mountain. For Ellen might be her strongest -- to my mind, anyway. It stars Paul Dano as a would-be rocker who's about to reunite with the young daughter he's never known. My Screen International review is here.