The Andrea True Connection - "More, More, More"

I blame a recent rewatch of The Last Days of Disco.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Reviewing 'Dungeons & Dragons,' 'Rye Lane,' 'A Thousand and One' and 'The Five Devils'

Michell Eloy filled in as host on Press Play today, and Katie Walsh and I were on to discuss this weekend's new movies. Lots of fun discussion, and I especially spoke up for the charming Rye Lane. Hear our segment down below.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: John Wick, Zach Braff and 'Tori and Lokita'

We don't see eye-to-eye on John Wick: Chapter 4, but we agree A Good Person is the pits. And then we dig into the latest from the Dardenne brothers. Check out the whole episode down below.

Glasgow 2023: 'Cassius X: Becoming Ali' Review

Before he was Muhammad Ali, he was Cassius Clay. For Screen International, I reviewed the documentary Cassius X, which looks at the champ's early career.

My Interview With Ben Schwartz

For Cracked, I got to speak to the one and only Jean-Ralphio. Hope you enjoy my conversation with Ben Schwartz, which touched on improv, anxiety, rejection, family, gray hair and Nicolas Cage.

Built to Spill - "Carry the Zero"

Man, the guitar in this song.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Boston Strangler' and 'The Last Days of Disco'

Poor Shazam! Fury of the Gods: We review the film on the podcast, as well as Boston Strangler. Then, in our Reboot segment, we go back to 1998 and The Last Days of Disco. Everybody dance, and check out the episode down below.

Glasgow 2023: 'Punch' Review

In Punch, Tim Roth plays a father training his son (Jordan Oosterhof) to become a boxer. But the son has other desires as well, including a local boy (Conan Hayes) who's an outsider in their community. My review of this restrained drama is up at Screen International.

Berlin 2023: 'The Klezmer Project' Review

Filmmakers Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann play versions of themselves in The Klezmer Project, a docu-fiction hybrid in which they seek out the roots of the titular musical style. It's a playful but also surprisingly moving film. My review is here.

My Interview With Pauly Shore

I spent part of an afternoon with Pauly Shore this week. We talked about, well, everything. My profile of the Encino Man star is here.

'A Good Person' Review

Zach Braff hasn't made a movie in six years. Some people wish it had been longer. I liked his first two films, so I walked into A Good Person with an open mind. But this thing is a real debacle. My review is up at Screen International.

My Interview With Jimmy O'Brien, the Man Behind Jomboy

It's almost baseball season. Seemed like a good time to talk to Jimmy O'Brien, who runs Jomboy Media, the company that (among many other things) produces smart, obsessive, funny breakdowns of baseball highlights. My interview is over at Cracked.

SXSW 2023: 'Air' Review

Ben Affleck's last film as a director was the unfortunate Live by Night. He returns to form with Air, about Nike's attempt to sign Michael Jordan in the 1980s. My review is here.

SXSW 2023: 'Bottoms' Review

 

In 2020, writer-director Emma Seligman made waves at SXSW with her first feature, Shiva Baby. She's back at the festival with her follow-up, Bottoms. My review is up at Screen International.

The Sad Fate of 'Green Lantern'

Long before DC tried going for more lighthearted superhero films with Shazam!, the studio gave us a funny Green Lantern. It didn't turn out well, but for Cracked, I make the argument that there was solid logic behind the strategy. My essay is here.

Robert Cray - "I Guess I Showed Her"

Enjoy the tournament.

SXSW 2023: 'Tetris' Review

There's something especially disappointing about a movie that has a great premise but a muddled execution. Such is the case with Tetris, which isn't about the making of the video game but, instead, the complicated legal battle over who controlled the rights to it. That should have been fascinating, but it is not. My review is up at Screen International.

'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' Review

I didn't love the first Shazam!, and I feel very similarly about the sequel. My review of Fury of the Gods is here.

SXSW 2023: 'You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder' Review

Clara and Ewan McGregor, real-life daughter and father, star in You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder, which is about a daughter and father trying to reconnect after too many years apart. My review is up at Screen International.

SXSW 2023: 'Black Barbie' Review

Black Barbie digs into Black women's complicated relationship to the original Barbie, whose white skin and blonde hair created an idea of beauty that had nothing to do with them. This documentary examines how Mattel tried to rectify that. My review is here.

SXSW 2023: 'Flamin' Hot' Review

Richard Montanez claimed he came up with Flamin' Hot Cheetos while working as a janitor at Frito-Lay. (I say "claimed" because there's now some dispute about that.) For her feature directorial debut, Eva Longoria tells his story. Here's my review of Flamin' Hot.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: So, How Did Jimmy Kimmel Do at the Oscars?

Well, that's it for another Oscar season. On the podcast, we go long talking about the show. (Mostly, it's me venting about the things I think the broadcast keeps doing wrong.) Then, we review Scream VI and Champions, which we also don't see eye-to-eye on. Lots of disagreement! Hear the whole thing down below.

SXSW 2023: 'John Wick: Chapter 4' Review

Chapter 4 is the biggest, most epic installment yet in the John Wick series. But I don't think it's the best. My review is up at Screen International.

The Undeserving Comedy Oscar Winners

Comedies so rarely win big prizes at the Oscars. And when they do, well, they're not always great picks. For Cracked, I ran down some of the more egregious examples.

Remember When Eddie Murphy Was Going to Host the Oscars?

It almost happened. I remember it vividly. Here's the story of how it all went wrong.

The 25 Comedies of the Last 50 Years That Most Deserved a Best Picture Nomination

This Is Spinal Tap. Bamboozled. Toni Erdmann. Airplane! My full list is here.

Which Best Picture Nominees This Century Have Been the Funniest?

To be clear, I'm not saying "funniest" because they were bad choices. I mean, "these movies make me laugh." Turns out, the funniest aren't necessarily the ones that are comedies. My Top 10 is here.

Which Best Picture Winner Is the Funniest?

I spent way too long trying to figure out the answer for Cracked.

DJ Snake and Lil Jon - "Turn Down for What"

"I mean, there are two kinds of directors. There are those that have a singular vision — they know exactly what they want; they know what kind of work they want to be doing; and they find people who can support them. Then there's the kind of director who is just amazing at finding good people to work with who can collaborate to make something bigger and better than they could do by themselves. I think me and my directing partner Daniel are probably more on that side. So I guess you could say we're hype men." -- Daniel Kwan, co-director of "Turn Down for What," back in 2014. 

He and Daniel Scheinhert are going to have a very good Sunday.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Making Our Oscar Predictions (And Reviewing 'Creed III' and 'Babylon')

OK, let's do it. This week on the podcast, we guess what's going to win in the eight major Oscar categories. (Lots of disagreement, which means Sunday should be fairly unpredictable.) Elsewhere, we differ on Creed III. And, by popular demand, we go back and review Babylon, which came out too late for us to cover in December. Dig in down below.

What Does It Take for a Comedy to Win Best Picture?

I offer some helpful guidelines for Cracked.

'Champions' Review

Bobby Farrelly directs his first solo feature with Champions, in which Woody Harrelson plays a disgraced coach guiding a basketball team with intellectual disabilities. My review is up at Screen International.

The Best Comedic Performances Overlooked by the Oscars

So many funny performances received no love from the Academy. For Cracked, I shine a light on some of the most egregious oversights. Hope you enjoy. 

My Interview With Jim Gaffigan

Jim Gaffigan is a wildly successful stand-up who's also been acting for more than two decades. (His latest indie, Linoleum, has garnered some of the most glowing reviews of his career.) He takes both art forms seriously, as you'll see from my Cracked interview with the man. This was fun.

How 'Saturday Night Live' Made Us Hear "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" Differently

"More Cowbell" isn't just the name of a sketch, it became a euphemism for the excesses of 1970s hard rock. It also made Blue Oyster Cult's big hit seem awfully silly. I looked back at "The Reaper" for Cracked.

Where Does 'Creed III' Rank Among Rocky Movies?

For Vulture, we ranked all the Rocky and Creed films. (Incredibly, there are now nine of them.) You can see the results here.

My Interview With Peter Exline, One of the Inspirations Behind 'The Big Lebowski'

He was a Hollywood executive and a professor at USC film school. But he also is buddies with Joel and Ethan Coen, who incorporated a few of his best stories into their cult comedy The Big Lebowski, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. For Cracked, I had a long conversation with Peter Exline. Hope you enjoy.

Talking About My Book 'Sunken Treasure' on 'Wilco the Podcast'

Wilco the Podcast is devoted to all things Wilco, so I was very flattered to be invited on by hosts Lance Hill and Matt Morgan to discuss my book Wilco: Sunken Treasure. We also chatted about getting older, how music changes over your lifetime, and the differences between reviewing albums and movies. Lots of fun stuff here. Check it out below.

U.S. Girls - "Tux (Your Body Fills Me, Boo)"

We need more songs from the perspective of a tuxedo.

Making the Case for 'Rocky Balboa'

As someone who hasn't been the biggest fan of the Creed films, I decided to revisit the movie that preceded them. For Decider, I stick up for 2006's Rocky Balboa. Hope you enjoy.

Berlin 2023: 'Here' Review

Four years ago at Cannes, my final review was for Ghost Tropic, from a filmmaker I wasn't familiar with, Bas Devos. I was really taken by that movie, and now he's back with Here, which I think is even better. My review is up at Screen International.

My Interview With Baz Luhrmann and Austin Butler, the Team Behind 'Elvis'

Early in the making of Elvis in Australia, production shut down because Tom Hanks got Covid. It was an uncertain time, for lots of reasons, and it wasn't clear if the film would ever get finished. For Screen International, I spoke with director Baz Luhrmann and star Austin Butler to find out how they coped with those anxious pandemic months. Our conversation is here.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Cocaine Bear,' 'Skinamarink' and 'Margin Call'

The listeners demanded we review Skinamarink, a buzzy horror movie that came out earlier this year. We obliged, and we also talked about Cocaine Bear. And then in our Reboot segment, we went back to 2011's Margin Call. That film is still a corker.

Hear the whole thing down below.