A History of the Joker Being Funny (or Not)

In honor of Joker: Folie à Deux, I wrote a little something for Cracked about the Clown Prince of Crime. Specifically, I tried to answer this question: Is the Joker actually a funny supervillain? Hope you enjoy.

My Interview With David Krumholtz, Star of 'Lousy Carter'

You know him from The Santa Clause. Or 10 Things I Hate About You. Or Oppenheimer. I talked to David Krumholtz about going viral, having kids and his wry new comedy Lousy Carter for RogerEbert.com.

When a Great Actor's Final Film Isn't So Great

This week, Gene Hackman went viral because of a photo taken of him from a couple years ago. This made me think about the fact that the last movie he'll ever do is Welcome to Mooseport, which is not a good film. He's actually in good company: Lots of terrific performers had so-so swan songs. I looked at some of the most glaring examples over at MEL.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'All Light, Everywhere,' 'Undine' and 'Lords of Dogtown'

We didn't have much interest in this past weekend's studio releases, so we focused on two indies instead, which were far more rewarding. I had lots of nice things to say about the latest films from Theo Anthony and Christian Petzold. And then I trashed Catherine Hardwicke's 2005 try-hard skateboard drama. Listen to the episode down below.

All the Oscar Nominees From Every Summer Blockbuster

Good heavens, there are 54 performances that have been nominated from summer hits. (I thought this was supposed to be the season of mindless action movies.) I ranked them all over at MEL.

The Cultural Impact of "Why So Serious?"

Summer movie season isn't happening, but that's not stopping me from writing about it. At MEL, we're launching "The Ultimate Summer Movie Guide," which will look back at the most interesting, amazing and novel aspects of bygone blockbuster seasons. First up: I dove into the legacy of "Why So Serious?," the brilliant Dark Knight catchphrase that became a shorthand for a certain kind of moody comic-book movie. Hope you enjoy.