Dinosaur Jr. - "Start Choppin"

This winter, Dinosaur Jr. will be touring to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Where You Been. Start choppin'.

'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.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Stop Making Sense,' 'Expend4bles' and 'Team America: World Police'

One of the greatest movies of all time leads this week's episode. We had a long, fun talk about Stop Making Sense, which is back in theaters. Then, we discuss Sylvester Stallone and puppets. Hope you enjoy.

What Upcoming Comedies Have a Shot at the Oscars?

Dramas usually get the bulk of the Oscar nominations, but could some funny movies sneak in as well? For Cracked, I looked at possible contenders.

Palehound - "Eye on the Bat"

Suckers will all tell you to keep watching for the ball
But we know better than that
Keep your eye on the bat

The Joke's on 'Expend4bles'

One of the things I've found fascinating about the Expandables series is its insistence on being action-comedies. The action part makes sense, but these guys just aren't that funny. Nonetheless, they soldier on with this fourth installment. I have some thoughts.

Toronto 2023: 'Dear Jassi' Review

Tarsem, best known for The Cell and The Fall (and R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion"), returns with his first feature in eight years, a true-life drama about a doomed love affair. My review of Dear Jassi is here.

My Interview With Samantha Bee

I spent an hour talking to Samantha Bee while she went for a walk. Let me explain.

Venice/Telluride/Toronto 2023: The Wrap-Up and the Rankings

Last week when I was at TIFF, I got an email from a friend back in Los Angeles: "I heard Toronto this year hasn't been stellar, but still hope you are having a good time." News travels fast: Indeed, the consensus was that the 48th edition of the festival was not particularly strong, with people blaming different factors. Was it the double strike? Was it that so many of the high-profile Venice entries didn't screen there? Was it that the Toronto world premieres were fairly lackluster? 

I'd say all three were contributing factors. I've been attending TIFF for about 15 years now, give or take a pandemic, and this was the first time that it didn't feel like one-stop shopping for the fall film festivals. All of Us Strangers, The Bikeriders, The Killer, Maestro, The Mission, Poor Things and Priscilla all either played Venice or Telluride (or both) but skipped Toronto. I was lucky enough to see the Telluride premiere Janet Planet ahead of time, and the Venice premiere Gasoline Rainbow, but much of my week in Toronto was spent hearing people lament what wasn't there -- especially after Yorgos Lanthimos' film won the Golden Lion at Venice. 

Still, you're not going to hear me complain. Going to a festival is a privilege, and I'll eventually get to all of the above-mentioned films, as well as others I couldn't fit into my schedule. Plus, it's not as if there weren't great movies to choose from. The below list reflects my rankings of every film that screened at Venice, Telluride or Toronto that I saw, either during the fall or previously. (As usual, choice Sundance, Berlin and Cannes titles show up as well.) Looking down the list, I'd say roughly 80 percent of these films I would categorize as at least "good" or "good enough." And more than half gave me considerable pleasure. As for the Top 10, well, those are absolute keepers, and so are several after that. However you slice it, plenty of excellent films are on our way soon.

A couple caveats about these rankings. I decided to leave off Reality, which played in Telluride, since that's already opened. I also opted not to rank Stop Making Sense, which I already adore beyond all measure, and whose IMAX restoration screening at TIFF only underlined its brilliance. It occurred to me afterward that I caught the Talking Heads concert film in the same IMAX venue that I saw Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids back in 2016. As if I needed more reason to miss Jonathan Demme.

Links lead to individual reviews:

50. Riddle of Fire
49. The Teacher
48. Reptile
47. Pain Hustlers
46. Quiz Lady
45. Pet Shop Days
44. Mother, Couch
43. The Critic
42. Dear Jassi
41. Dicks: The Musical
40. Perfect Days
39. Les Indésirables
38. El Conde
37. Rustin
36. Seven Veils
35. An Endless Sunday
34. Last Summer
33. Cassandro
32. Dumb Money
31. Fingernails
30. Sleep
29. Fair Play
28. In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon
27. American Fiction
26. La Chimera
25. Monster
24. Fallen Leaves
23. Shayda
22. Hit Man
21. The Pigeon Tunnel
20. The Teachers' Lounge
19. Gasoline Rainbow
18. How to Have Sex
17. The Royal Hotel
16. Robot Dreams
15. Together 99
14. The Holdovers
13. Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros
12. Anatomy of a Fall
11. The Delinquents
10. The Taste of Things
9. The Boy and the Heron
8. The Beast
7. Evil Does Not Exist
6. Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
5. Here
4. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
3. His Three Daughters
2. Janet Planet
1. The Zone of Interest

Badfinger - "No Matter What"

I'm back in Los Angeles. Let's rock, early-1970s style.

Toronto 2023: 'The Teacher' Review

In The Teacher, Saleh Bakri plays a professor in Palestine who will confront his dark past once he gets involved in two of his students' lives. There are valuable themes in this somber drama, but I don't think the film quite works. My review explains why.

Toronto 2023: 'Reptile' Review

Benicio del Toro brings it in Reptile, in which he plays a veteran detective whose latest murder case finds him questioning things about himself. The rest of the movie isn't nearly as strong as he is, though. My Screen International review is here.

Toronto 2023: 'The Critic' Review

Ian McKellan as a theater critic in London in the 1930s? I wish the period thriller The Critic was better, as I explain in my Screen International review.

Toronto 2023: 'Fingernails' Review

In Fingernails, Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed live in a near-future in which couples can find out if they're compatible by taking a test. As you might imagine, that causes some complications. My review is up at Screen International.

Denzel Washington, Comic Actor

We don't think of the two-time Oscar-winner as a versatile comic star, partly because he's done so few out-and-out comedies. I looked into the lighter side of the actor on screen for Cracked.

How Does a Comedy "Age Well"?

For Cracked, I gave myself the task of selecting 25 films from the 20th century that have "aged perfectly." What does that mean? And which films did I pick? Read on.

Toronto 2023: 'Pain Hustlers' Review

Pain Hustlers is inspired by actual events, telling the story of a small-time Florida pharmaceutical company that got rich peddling a more effective painkiller. Then things went south. You can read my review here. 

Toronto 2023: 'The Holdovers' Review

Paul Giamatti reunites with Alexander Payne for the first time in nearly 20 years. For Screen International, I reviewed The Holdovers.

My Interview With Kyle Kinane

Kyle Kinane doesn't think about his image and isn't interested in being an actor. The guy just wants to tell jokes on stage. I had a fine time talking to the man for Cracked.

Toronto 2023: 'Rustin' Review

 

Do you know who orchestrated the 1963 March on Washington? His name was Bayard Rustin, and Colman Domingo stars in a new biography on the man. My review is here.

Toronto 2023: 'Together 99' Review

Let's get the commune back together! That's not exactly the premise of Lukas Moodysson's delightful sequel to his 2000 film, but it's close enough. Here's my review of Together 99.

Toronto 2023: 'Quiz Lady' Review

Awkwafina and Sandra Oh play very different sisters on a road trip to get on a quiz show. For Screen International, I reviewed the so-so comedy Quiz Lady.

Toronto 2023: 'Mother, Couch' Review

An unlikely companion piece to Beau Is Afraid? That's one way to look at Mother, Couch, about a son's very difficult relationship with his mother, who decides (for whatever reason) to sit on a couch at a furniture store and refuses to get up. My review is up at Screen International. 

Toronto 2023: 'Seven Veils' Review

Atom Egoyan made a good movie! I was able to get on the wavelength of his mad psychodrama Seven Veils.

'A Haunting in Venice' Review

The third of Kenneth Branagh's Hercule Poirot films is the best. Here's my review of A Haunting in Venice.

Toronto 2023: 'In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon' Review

Alex Gibney's three-and-a-half-hour documentary on Paul Simon could have been even longer. My review is up at Screen International.

Toronto 2023: 'Dicks: The Musical' Review

Designed to offend, the irreverent musical Dicks is very fun, until it runs out of gas. My review is up at Screen International.

Toronto 2023: 'Les Indesirables' Review

I was not the biggest fan of Ladj Ly's first film, Les Miserables. I can't say I was terribly impressed with his follow-up, but I do think it's a slightly stronger work. Here's my review of Les Indesirables.

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.

Toronto 2023: 'American Fiction' Review

Jeffrey Wright is a great actor, of course, but how often does he get to be a leading man? That happens in American Fiction, which I reviewed for Screen International.

Toronto 2023: 'The Royal Hotel' Review

I've been on the Kitty Green bandwagon for a while. For Screen International, I reviewed her latest, The Royal Hotel, which is a mixture of thriller and horror. You can read my thoughts here.

Cocteau Twins - "Heaven or Las Vegas"

Let's sail away.

Venice 2023: 'Gasoline Rainbow' Review

I've been a fan of the stuff the Ross brothers have done recently. So I was very much on the wavelength of their latest, Gasoline Rainbow. You can read my review here.

My Interview With Anna Drezen

Anna Drezen was one of the head writers over at Saturday Night Live. Then, she decided to leave the show (and New York) to move to Los Angeles to create the adult animated series Praise Petey. Now that the first season is over, I talked to her about her new life, her new job, and her panic garden. Hope you enjoy.

Toronto 2023: 'The Boy and the Heron' Review

The last time Hayao Miyazaki made a film, The Wind Rises, he said it would be his last. Well, he's back. For Screen International, I reviewed The Boy and the Heron.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Denzel Washington, 'Sherlock Jr.' and 'American Movie'

Greetings from Toronto. I'll be at the festival for the next week or so, but here's a podcast episode to tide you over. We review The Equalizer 3, and then we go back to evaluate Sherlock Jr. and American Movie. Lots of fun stuff to dig into down below.

'Breakfast All Day': Disagreeing on 'The Equalizer 3'

I liked the first installment in the Equalizer series and wasn't a big fan of the second. So where did I land on The Equalizer 3? Christy Lemire and I debated the new movie's merits.

Venice 2023: 'Pet Shop Days' Review

Olmo Schnabel, the son of filmmaker/painter Julian, has just finished his first feature. For Screen International, I reviewed Pet Shop Days.

Telluride 2023: 'Janet Planet' Review

The last time I was in New York, pre-pandemic, I had a free day, and Susan and I decided to see The Flick, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play from Annie Baker. It was really good. (I suddenly realized this is how I first became aware of Matthew Maher, who has gone on to be excellent in Funny Pages and Air.) Baker has now made her feature debut, and it's wonderful. For Screen International, I reviewed Janet Planet.

Phoenix (featuring Ezra Koenig) - "Tonight"

Does anyone else's brain work this way? This song, from Phoenix's 2022 album Alpha Zulu, features Ezra Koenig, and so I immediately try to figure out how that collaboration came about, how these people crossed paths. (It's sort of my own version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.) 

Here's the easiest connection I could make: Phoenix's frontman is Thomas Mars, who is married to Sofia Coppola, who made On the Rocks, which starred Rashida Jones, who is married to Ezra Koenig. I'm sure there's another, easier answer, but I enjoy figuring out the connections between random famous people.