'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Remembering Val Kilmer

 

Val Kilmer died on Tuesday at the age of 65. I went on Press Play to talk about his career and legacy, spending extra time focusing on his best performance, as Jim Morrison in The Doors. You can listen to my segment down below.

Why Do We Care If Actors Look Like Their Real-Life Subjects?

Inspired by the rumored casting news about the Beatles biopics, I decided to write an essay about our obsession with whether or not an actor resembles the real person they're playing. My argument: It matters less than we realize.

What's the Funniest Christmas Movie?

I have the answer over at Cracked.

How 'Val' Informs 'Top Gun: Maverick'

Top Gun: Maverick's most emotional scene, involving Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, hits a little harder if you seen Kilmer's 2021 documentary. For MEL, I wrote about the poignancy of Val.

'The Doors' and the Bygone Rock 'n' Roll Era

Oliver Stone's tribute to Jim Morrison is now on Hulu. I've never stopped thinking about The Doors since I saw it opening night back in 1991. For MEL, I wrote about how it remains a ridiculous, visionary film. Hope you enjoy.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: M. Night, G.I. Joe and 'Tombstone'

Some weeks, it's a bit brutal on the podcast because the movies aren't so hot. But that can be fun, too: It's nice to just really rip something apart on occasion. Which is my way of saying, yeesh, Old and Snake Eyes are bad. (Our Reboot segment is devoted to Tombstone, which kinda stinks, too.) Hear the whole thing down below.

Cannes 2021: 'Val' Review

Val Kilmer seems to have fallen off the radar lately. Well, there's a good reason for that: He's been battling health issues for a little while. A new documentary that draws from footage the actor has shot over the years offers a glimpse into his life and his creative process, not to mention his grappling with his career decline. My review of Val is up at Screen International.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Nostalgia, 'Real Genius' and 'Labyrinth'

A movie about '80s nostalgia and two Reboot films from the '80s: Welcome to this week's episode. Will and I review Ready Player One, and then we look back at Real Genius and Labyrinth. You can hear the whole thing down below.

Misleading Men: Val Kilmer

The latest installment in my MEL series on actors who were Hollywood's A-listers for a minute is dedicated to Val Kilmer. The more I dug into the man's films, the more I noticed a trend: His bigger movies were almost never his most interesting. Here's a guy who has lived wandering around from project to project, doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. I'm not sure it's a blueprint for a major career, but it's definitely a way to have a unique one. You can read my essay here.