The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Sean Baker, Steve McQueen and Hugh Grant

Two auteurs and a horror movie make up this week's reviews. But, first, we had to talk about the election. Hear the whole episode down below.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Reviewing 'Here,' 'A Real Pain,' 'Blitz' and 'Emilia Perez'

Amy Nicholson and I had some big movies to dig into this week on KCRW, including one of my favorite films of the year. You can hear us down below.

The Forgotten Movies of This Oscar Season

Every year, a collection of really good movies miss out on being nominated for Academy Awards. As a result, you never hear about them during the final stretch of Oscar campaigning. For RogerEbert.com, I sang the praises of 10 of those films. I haven't forgotten them.

Best of 2023: The Top 10 Movies of the Year

Every time I go to a film festival, I try to make sure to take a moment to appreciate that I'm there: "I'm here at Cannes." "I'm here at Sundance." All these years later, I still can recall a time when I didn't go to film festivals — when that didn't even seem possible — and so I take that moment to reconnect with the giddiness I first felt. It is very easy to be blase — to get dragged down by the minor hassles involved with traveling, like spotty WiFi, lost luggage and jet lag — and forget what a privilege it is. Some prefer to project an air of being above it all, playing the role of the hardened professional who considers going to festivals to be a pain in the ass. That stance doesn't work for me. I remember, so I don't want to ever forget.

That exercise of appreciating things has carried over to other aspects of my life. Being grateful for the friends I have, the job I get to do on a daily basis, the family I have around me, the life I've created, and the amazing woman who married me 17 years ago. You get sidetracked by the annoyances and you risk missing all that.

I have never been good at "being in the moment." Meditating has never really worked for me. Who wants to be in the moment when you've got 10 things coming up demanding your attention? What's happening now is never as exciting as what's around the corner. But Susan has done her best to readjust my thinking. It's taken a while, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of it.

When I think back to 2023, I recall moments of happiness. Going to the Barbie premiere and immediately noting how much more joyful and elated the energy in the theater was then for, say, the many Marvel premieres I've attended. People dressed up. Everybody seemed to be having a ball. Same for the premiere of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour — the whole crowd just seemed so jazzed to be there. And why not? Maybe it's okay to love things.

I think of going to movies with Susan. I think of hanging out with dear colleagues at film festivals. I think of having long dinners with friends and talking about the big stuff — life, death, what we're doing here on this planet — until late in the evening. I feel myself finding new ways to appreciate what I do and understand who I am. I feel lucky to be getting older, to have learned to let go of certain things, to figure out which things matter and fight like hell for them. I feel like extra space has opened up inside me, allowing me more room to explore myself and the world around me. Life isn't shrinking, it's getting bigger.

I remember seeing Past Lives at its premiere at Sundance and being floored — and feeling the whole audience being floored at the same time, all of us gobsmacked by what we were seeing. (I still remember my critic friend next to me loudly stifling his sobs.) And then I remember seeing The Zone of Interest at its premiere at Cannes and being floored in a completely different way. Those moments are the ones you live for as a film critic — they're so rare, and if you haven't had one in a while, you fear it will never happen again. And then it does, and it fills you up with something you can't describe, and all you want is more of it. Seeing David Byrne's American Utopia and Summer of Soul at last on the big screen. Dying and going to heaven while attending the world premiere of the restored Stop Making Sense in IMAX in Toronto. More, more, more.

Every year is filled with pain, anger, sadness and fear. My wife had gallbladder surgery that had complications that, a month later, she's still wrestling with. Heartaches came our way. There are obstacles that feel like they'll never be surmounted. There are injustices — both in the wider world and in my little ecosystem — that are infuriating. 2023 had more than its share of trials. But I am trying to focus on the moments, if just for a second. They're always there. Don't let them go.

* * * * * 

Let's turn now to my Top 10...

1. The Zone of Interest
2. Past Lives
3. De Humani Corporis Fabrica
4. Showing Up 
5. Passages
6. Maestro 
7. Oppenheimer 
8. The Iron Claw
9. About Dry Grasses
10. Occupied City

This is a pretty formidable list, with All of Us Strangers just missing the cut, but I also want to point you to my Screen International ranking of 2023's best films, which counts any movie that premiered anywhere in the world this year. Several movies on that list won't get an official U.S. release until 2024, which means my Top 10 for next year is already in excellent shape.

As I look back on the movie year, what's clear is that I was premature in declaring Cannes 2023 to be "merely okay." I had missed About Dry Grasses and Occupied City — long films can be schedule-killers during a festival — but when I caught up with them in the fall, I realized how exceptional they were. (A second viewing of Killers of the Flower Moon, which ended up at No. 13 on my list, cemented that film's considerable merits as well.) 

In general, I can't think of a year in which I rewatched so many movies — partly because I had to review them during their subsequent U.S. release (or refresh my memory before interviewing one of the people involved in the film), and partly because I wanted to lock down my feelings about them with a follow-up viewing. More often than not, those additional screenings proved incredibly useful, which reminded me of being in film school and spending a week analyzing one movie, really digging into it until you felt you fully understood it. You never fully understand a film, of course — watch it again in 10 years, and you'll be amazed how often it's a brand new experience. But the illusion of wholly grasping a work of art is something a lot of us have spent our whole lives chasing, gladly.

* * * * * 

Career-wise, it was a busy, fulfilling 2023. I have now been writing for Screen International for 18 years, proudly serving as the publication's Senior U.S. Critic and covering Sundance, Cannes and Toronto. Some of my favorite reviews I wrote for Screen include the ones for Past Lives (I wrote the first draft in a delirious haze in the lobby of the Eccles immediately after seeing the film) and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (No. 24 on my end-of-the-year list). I don't know if they're the best reviews I wrote, but when I go back and read them, I recall exactly the feeling of what those respective movies did to me. That's one of my main objectives whenever I write, articulating an ineffable sensation in words.

I am astonished that the Grierson & Leitch podcast has now been going strong for eight years. It doesn't seem nearly that long, and yet the Sunday ritual of recording the show now feels like such an ingrained part of my life. Especially gratifying this year was getting to meet a few listeners at festivals, events or just randomly in Los Angeles. (I will say, though, I most get identified in public by fans of the great Breakfast All Day podcast, which I sometimes guest on. Because that one exists in YouTube form, you can actually see me on that show, which I suppose makes it slightly easier to spot me in the wild. Like our listeners, the BAD audience is filled with sweet individuals, and it's always a treat to say hello to any of them I meet.)

It has been especially rewarding writing more for the Los Angeles Times, and my 2023 is filled with happy memories of talking to the likes of Aubrey Plaza and Theo Rossi, Lea Seydoux and Mia Hansen-Love, Brendan Fraser, Cate Blanchett, the team from The Last of Us, Will Sharpe, the Yellowjackets teens, Aubrey Plaza (again!), Lizzy Caplan and Claire Danes, Christian Petzold, Adele Exarchopoulos, Alex Timbers, Rebecca Miller, Godfrey Reggio, Christian Friedel, Dua Lipa, Ridley Scott, Charles Melton and Matthew Libatique. All of those profiles were thrills, especially the Blanchett chat, but my proudest L.A. Times piece was an ambitious look at three nuclear-war films from the early 1980s that grappled with the aftermath of humanity destroying itself. Lynne Littman (Testament), Nicholas Meyer (The Day After) and Mick Jackson (Threads) had plenty to say about their movies, which have never left them, even though they came out so long ago. If you read one piece of mine from 2023, make it this one.

That's a lot of interviews, and I did even more for Cracked, a humor site, which gave me the opportunity to have serious conversations with funny people. Often talking to my subjects for an hour, I tried to figure out what made them tick, what inspired them to pursue comedy, and how they navigate a world in which there's a new sensitivity around determining what's funny and what's simply punching down. Some highlights: David Cross telling me about being on medication; Peter Exline reminiscing about inspiring aspects of The Big Lebowski; Jim Gaffigan tracing the history of his "inside voice;" Pauly Shore telling me, well, everything; James Marsden reflecting on the surprise success of Jury Duty; Bobcat Goldthwait remembering his dear friend Robin Williams; Julia Louis-Dreyfus on not doing the Seinfeld dance for fans; Gina Yashere being very honest about Bob Hearts Abishola co-creator Chuck Lorre; Kristen Schaal on motherhood and comedy; Hari Kondabolu reflecting on that whole Apu business; Maria Bamford mourning her mother; Eugene Mirman on telling jokes about his late wife; Samantha Bee walking through New York while imagining her future; Michaela Watkins discussing what she learned about getting fired from Saturday Night Live; and Eddie Izzard talking about politics (and Darth Vader). The highlight, though, was getting on Zoom with David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker to break down the funniest moments from Airplane! Also, attending the Groundlings' one-night-only benefit performance of A Chorus Line allowed me to write a different type of live review — it was a wondrous evening.

Every month or so, I'm delighted to be asked on Press Play With Madeleine Brand to review that weekend's movies. Getting to share a radio spot with the likes of Christy Lemire, Amy Nicholson, Katie Walsh and Alison Willmore is always a blast. And I was honored to appear on Wilco the Podcast to discuss my book Wilco: Sunken Treasure and then, later, do a deep dive on Wilco's new album Cousin. (It actually consisted of two episodes.)

I had missed getting to moderate Q&As during the pandemic, and in 2023 I was grateful to have more opportunities to talk to actors and directors in front of an audience. The American Cinematheque asked me to speak to Gus Van Sant (Gerry), Michael Haneke (a career conversation) and Bela Tarr (The Turin Horse) as part of their spectacular Bleak Week series this summer. I hung out with Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who are really funny, to talk Tori and Lokita. Rodrigo Moreno illuminated his great sort-of heist picture The Delinquents, which I deeply dug at Cannes and liked even more upon second viewing. Christian Petzold was hilarious discussing Afire. Ira Sachs provided plenty of insights into Passages. Celine Song, Greta Lee and Teo Yoo blew my mind by discussing how the opening of Melancholia helped inspire their approach to Past Lives. Director Nikolaj Arcel and star Mads Mikkelsen were such an ace comedic duo that I just stood back and let them do their thing during a Q&A for The Promised Land. Writer-director Lila Aviles was delightful dissecting John Cassavetes' influence on Totem. Alma Poysti told great stories about Aki Kaurismaki and working on Fallen Leaves. (It was her first visit to Los Angeles. She was tickled to be here.) Director Matteo Garrone and his stars Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall made the audience cry at a Q&A for Io Capitano. I walked away from each of these experiences in a state of euphoria, energized by the conversations. But I had to especially pinch myself after getting to interview Steve James after a screening on Hoop Dreams, one of the foundational movies of my life. And I've been fortunate to be asked to moderate several Q&As with the cast and crew of the year's best film. I have seen The Zone of Interest three times and gotten to speak to Jonathan Glazer, Christian Friedel, Sandra Huller, Mica Levi, Johnnie Burn and others on a couple occasions. The depth of my admiration for that masterpiece deepens with each interaction.

The Gothams invited me to be part of the nominating committee for the Outstanding Lead Performance and Outstanding Supporting Performance categories again in 2023. This is always one of my favorite things to do during the year, and I loved our picks. (I was even happier that Lily Gladstone ended up winning Outstanding Lead Performance for The Unknown Country, No. 17 on my list this year.)

After 14 years, this summer I stepped down as vice president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. I served under three great presidents: Brent Simon, Stephen Farber and Claudia Puig. She and I worked together for seven years, with a pandemic thrown in there in the middle to complicate things, and I am very happy she and I left the exec board at the same time. (It's nice to have a buddy to go through the postpartum with.) These jobs are unpaid, sometimes thankless, but I found it incredibly enriching and wouldn't have traded a minute of it. (I worked with a ton of great people — Alonso Duralde, Amy Nicholson, Annlee Ellingson — but Justin Chang, who was secretary my entire time on the board, deserves special mention.) I am very pleased with the new leadership we have — president Robert Abele and vice president Katie Walsh — who are good friends and good people. I have never forgotten what a big deal it was to be voted into LAFCA, and I take the group very seriously. I'm very proud to see it continuing to thrive with this new exec board. (And I was so pleased in January to present our Best Editing prize to Blair McClendon for Aftersun, the best film of 2022. It was a great night, my final banquet as part of the exec board, with many highlights, including having Barry Jenkins on hand to present our Career Achievement award to Claire Denis.)

This year was a lot. Thank you for reading and listening to me in 2023. I hope you have a wonderful 2024. Please vote.

Denzel Washington as the GOAT

On Tuesday, Denzel Washington could receive his 10th Oscar nomination. For MEL, I examined one heck of a career, one that's far from over.

Janet Kay - "Silly Games"

Merry Christmas, everyone. This was a tough year. But we're still dancing.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: So Many Movies, So Little Time

We went through eight new movies on this week's episode:

Wonder Woman 1984
Soul
The Father
News of the World
Promising Young Woman
One Night in Miami
Education
The Midnight Sky

We gave ourselves about seven minutes for each film. Let the lightning-round begin!

'Education' Review

And, just like that, we've come to the end of the Small Axe anthology. For MEL, I reviewed Education ... and also looked back at the series as a whole. 

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Minari,' 'The Prom' and Everything in Between

On this week's episode, we dive into four new releases. We've got musicals (The Prom), we've got family dramas (Minari), we've got Soderbergh flicks (Let Them All Talk) and we've got the latest in the Small Axe anthology (Alex Wheatle). Check out all the fun below.

'Alex Wheatle' Review

We've reached the fourth installment in the five-part Small Axe anthology. For MEL, I wrote about Alex Wheatle, which I consider a luck story. Let me explain.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Frances, Fincher and 'Red, White and Blue'

On this week's episode, which is our 250th, we review three new movies: Nomadland, Mank and the latest in the Small Axe anthology. Lots of good discussion, and you can hear the whole thing down below. 

'Red, White and Blue' Review

For years, John Boyega spun his wheels in the Star Wars films. If you want to see what he's capable of, check out the latest in the Small Axe anthology. For MEL, I reviewed Red, White and Blue.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Ma Rainey, Reggae and 'Stardust'

All three of this week's movies have a musical connection. Hope you enjoy our reviews of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Lovers Rock and that terrible David Bowie biopic.

'Lovers Rock' Review

 

Welcome to the party. For MEL, I reviewed the one-big-night drama Lovers Rock.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Mangrove,' 'Sound of Metal' and 'Collective'

And, just like that, it feels like awards season. On this week's episode, we dig into three great movies. Hope you enjoy.

'Mangrove' Review

For the next five Fridays, Amazon Prime Video will be unveiling Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology of films. First up is Mangrove, which I think is pretty damn great.

Best of 2018: The Top 10 Movies of the Year

On June 18, I was angry and depressed. This is not an uncommon state since Trump became president, but I felt it acutely that day as more information was becoming available regarding the administration's "children in cages" immigration policy. Looking back at my social media posts from the period, it's clear I'd been in a funk for days, but I was especially frustrated by how meaningless my sadness and rage were. I was furious about the country's direction, but I was also powerless. What was the point of getting so worked-up if, ultimately, I couldn't do anything about it? I'm not someone who's comfortable being angry; I don't like how it leaves me feeling out of control. As best I can, I usually try to push past those emotions in order to focus on a constructive way of handling the problem. But Trump is a toxin, and my usual workarounds were insufficient.

So that night I was sitting at home alone, utterly at loose ends, when I decided to just blurt something out on Twitter.

Being angry all the time is exhausting and corrosive. Not being angry feels morally irresponsible.

— Tim Grierson (@TimGrierson) June 19, 2018

Within 30 minutes, I could tell that something was happening. The tweet was being retweeted like crazy, helped by the fact that Stephen Kinsella, an associate professor of psychology, gave it a signal boost by cleverly noting, "Siri, describe 2018 in one tweet please." Pretty soon, Kinsella and I were being inundated by commenters, who were offering suggestions about the best way to handle my dilemma.

Anybody who has a tweet go viral will soon experience the worst of Twitter, but I was pleasantly surprised by how generally positive and thoughtful the responses were. For the most part, people were letting me know that they felt the same way that I did -- and they weren't sure what to do, either. (That said, the comments I probably most appreciated were from people of color, who politely chided me for just now being aware that lots of folks have to learn to live with impotent anger.)

I write many things throughout the year: movie reviews, profile pieces, essays, lists. It is very likely that nothing I wrote in 2018 was as widely read as that tweet, which took me about 30 seconds to compose. That's an odd realization. On the one hand, I'm touched that anything I put out into the world could strike a chord with total strangers. But it's also a bit bittersweet to witness something of yours become so embraced by the culture that it stops being "yours." I've seen people online reference that tweet like it was a common expression -- it's now just something on the internet that's used as a shorthand to describe a specific mood. (I've never been to Portugal, but my words have. It's also the subject of a chapter in a forthcoming book.) And with each new global turmoil -- Brazil's election of Jair Bolsonaro, the ongoing Brexit debacle -- the tweet would find a fresh wave of visibility. My words were depressingly timely, over and over again.

Because that viral tweet has been part of my life for six months now, I've spent a lot of this year trying to figure out exactly why it resonated and what, if anything, I've learned from the experience. I'm not sure I have any good answers. All I know is I'm pleased to have heard from so many responders who essentially said, "Thank you for expressing how I've been feeling." I'm glad to have been able to help others in some small way. Futility isn't as crippling when you know there are others out there like you.

What I'm less proud about is that I haven't solved the conundrum I articulated. And by that, I mean I didn't do a lot to affect change in the world. I voted, to be sure, but compared to my incredible wife (and many of her friends), who went out and canvassed for Katie Hill, successfully flipping California's 25th district blue, I was too consumed with work to be as politically active as I should have been. I'm ashamed of that and need to do better in the future. I put out a feeling in the world, but I didn't act on it. I'm still not sure what to do with my anger.

* * * * *

Since my principal job is to write about movies, not bemoan the state of the world -- although it's funny how often those two interests intersect -- let me now offer my picks for the best films of 2018...

1. Burning
2. You Were Never Really Here
3. Annihilation
4. Widows
5. Cold War
6. Life and Nothing More
7. Roma
8. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
9. Makala
10. Let the Sunshine In

Looking at my picks, what stands out most strongly is that five of my Top 10 films are foreign-language, the highest total since 2015. And I've included links to Life and Nothing More and Makala's respective home pages since they're the two movies I imagine are the least well-known on my list. They're both remarkable, saved from distribution oblivion thanks to awards. (Makala won the Grand Prize at Cannes Critics' Week in 2017. Life and Nothing More took home the John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards.)

My Nos. 11-15 were almost as beloved, with each film, at one point or another, seemingly a lock for my Top 10. Alas, there just wasn't room for (in order of preference) Private Life, Hereditary, If Beale Street Could Talk, Lean on Pete and Amazing Grace. (And if The Tale had gotten a theatrical release instead of airing on HBO, it probably would have landed on my Top 10.) Why didn't your favorite movie make the list? Because I am a bad person.

* * * * *

Professionally, 2018 was a year where I did my best to be grateful for all the terrific places where I get to write. I'm extremely lucky.

Take Screen International. Once again this year, I covered Sundance, Cannes and Toronto for the publication, including getting to write about Burning after its premiere. Also at Cannes, I wore a tux to see Lars von Trier's The House That Jack Built; amusingly, my review ended up being Screen's most-read of 2018. (People can't get enough of Matt Dillon serial-killer flicks, apparently.) I adore the entire team over there, especially my wonderful editor Finn Halligan, and it's an honor to be their Senior U.S. Critic.

Over at Paste, I got to write one of my favorite annual pieces, which is a deep-dive overview of True/False. This year's festival was especially strong, and I tried to do it justice, which required more than 6,200 words.

MEL continued to see its profile rise in 2018, which makes me incredibly happy. The staff and its freelancers are writing smart things on a daily basis, and I was thrilled to cross off some bucket-list interview subjects. I got to have a long conversation with Steve James. I interviewed Frederick Wiseman from Paris while he sat on a park bench and looked back on his career. Andrew W.K. was remarkably open about his struggles with mental health. Morgan Neville and I chatted about Won't You Be My Neighbor?, and the amount of traffic that piece generated suggested just how much viewers hungered for a film like that. And I talked to a bunch of sportswriters about the legacy of Jerome Holtzman and the save stat. I am eternally grateful to my editor and friend Josh Schollmeyer for giving me the latitude to write about so many different things over at MEL. (Being given the opportunity to write about Cannes entirely from the perspective of what it's like to watch nothing but subtitled movies for a week was a real blessing.) Looking forward to seeing what transpires for MEL in 2019.

And David Fear remains such a pleasure to work with over at Rolling Stone. I started the year spending time with Sebastián Lelio and Daniela Vega to discuss A Fantastic Woman, which ended up winning Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. (I was so glad I asked Lelio about that Alan Parsons Project song.) From there, I praised Annihilation and our era of trippy sci-fi films, and then proceeded to hang out with Lynne Ramsay and Joaquin Phoenix (during an earthquake) to talk You Were Never Really Here. (I'll always treasure the moment Phoenix introduced me to Ramsay by saying, "He didn't like our movie." You damn liar, Joaquin.) Other highlights: speaking with F. Murray Abraham after the passing of Milos Forman; dissecting the themes and allusions in Janelle Monae's Dirty Computer film; losing my mind over the Academy's brief flirtation with Best Popular Movie; interviewing Tilda Swinton and Olivia Colman (not at the same time); and revisiting Dogville.

My old pal Will Leitch and I spent another year hosting our weekly film podcast. Our collaboration didn't end there: We very much enjoy doing Debate Club over at SyFy when we're not contributing epic lists for Vulture. (We have a couple coming out in 2019 that are especially major and will definitely not elicit any argument online.) And don't forget: We even have a shirt.

I was tickled to contribute to the Los Angeles Times in 2018, examining the strange case of Bohemian Rhapsody, The Other Side of the Wind and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms: three movies with muddled directorial authorship. (If we had waited a little longer, I could have included Amazing Grace in there as well.) And over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I spent some time with John Cho to talk about fatherhood and Searching.

In terms of unexpected treats, AM New York asked me to write about the significance of Paul Simon's farewell tour, which gave me an excuse to interview smart music writers about the man's legacy. Oh, and there was the time John Carpenter sorta did an interview with me for Revolver. (He was more interested in the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.) And I did some Q&As I was pleased with, including speaking to the Boy Erased team and Morgan Neville for his other documentary, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead.

And that's enough. I hope you all have a great 2019. Thank you for reading what I write. And may someone look at you the way Kristen Stewart looked at Cate Blanchett at Cannes this year.

We're a couple weeks away from knowing what will win the Palme d'Or, but right now this seems like a lock for best picture. #Cannes2018 pic.twitter.com/h6wNy4gYmb

— Tim Grierson (@TimGrierson) May 8, 2018

My Interview With Viola Davis

When you have the opportunity to interview Viola Davis, you take it. For Screen International, I talked to the Widows star, who told me about the women in her life who inspired her performance. You can read my profile here.

Some Thoughts on 'Widows'

Widows has a great ending -- by which I mean, in part, that it actually ends. I explain what I mean over at MEL.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Heists, Westerns, 'The Crimes of Grindelwald' and 'Green Book'

Lots of new movies to discuss. I rave about Widows. I opine on The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. I defend (barely) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. And I talk to Will about Green Book. (He hasn't seen it yet.) You can hear the whole episode down below.