Wednesday, November 06, 2024

'Red One' Review


In Red One, Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans play, respectively, an elite security officer and a cynical tracker who have to find Santa Claus, who's been kidnapped. Will they save the day? And is the movie any good? My review is live at Screen International.

Monday, November 04, 2024

What's the Best Political Comedy?


Because we all could use a laugh right now, right? I picked 20 classics for Cracked.

My Interview With Sav Rodgers, Director of 'Chasing Chasing Amy'


When he was a kid, Sav Rodgers was battling with questions about himself. Then, he saw Chasing Amy, which was the first time he was exposed to gay characters in a film. Now, years later, this trans filmmaker has put together a documentary examining that 1997 comedy and its controversial legacy. For Cracked, I talked to Rodgers about rom-coms, happy endings and what it was like to interview his hero Kevin Smith about his problematic film. Hope you enjoy.

Friday, November 01, 2024

'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.

Jessica Pratt - "Life Is"

Who feels like swaying slowly back and forth for three minutes? I've got just the song for you.

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

2024 Gotham Awards Nominees


It has been an annual tradition I am very proud to be a part of. The folks at the Gotham Film & Media Institute invited me to once again join the committee that selects the nominees for the Gothams' acting categories. Alongside Monica Castillo, Robert Daniels, Tomris Laffly and Brian Tallerico, I helped pick this year's best Lead, Supporting and Breakthrough performances. You can see our choices here, along with the nominees in other categories.

Monday, October 28, 2024

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Conclaves, Symbiotes and the Presidential Election


Will wanted to try a little something different for this episode, the last one we'll record before the presidential election. We did our usual movie-reviewing thing, discussing Conclave and Venom: The Last Dance, but for the final segment, we had an off-the-cuff conversation about how we're feeling with the election right around the corner. I hadn't planned anything in advance, neither had Will, so we just talked some things out. Will others get anything out of it? I honestly don't know. You can hear the entire episode down below.

AFI Fest 2024: 'Juror #2' Review


Clint Eastwood is 94 years old, and he's still making movies. Good movies. For Screen International, I reviewed Juror #2.

Saturday, October 26, 2024

AFI Fest 2024: 'Here' Review


Robert Zemeckis' last two films were abominations. So I'm happy to say that Here is a step up, utilizing an intriguing formal conceit to look at a group of people over centuries who all live on the same spot of land in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the director's worst tendencies betray him. My review is up at Screen International.

Friday, October 25, 2024

'The Colin McEnroe Show': Talking About 'The Sixth Sense'

As you probably know, Halloween is just around the corner. The fine folks at The Colin McEnroe Show invited me to be on this week for an episode devoted to horror. I talked about the 25th anniversary of The Sixth Sense and my piece in the Los Angeles Times. You can hear the whole episode down below. (I come on at about the 35:10 mark.)

Matthew Sweet - "Hide"

Get well soon, Matthew Sweet. Thinking of you while playing a song from your most underappreciated album, In Reverse.