'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.

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.

Happy 30th Anniversary, 'Forrest Gump' Soundtrack

The blockbuster movie won Best Picture, but the accompanying album was also a sensation, going 12-times platinum. I wrote about the soundtrack's legacy here.

Tom Hanks' History of Grumpy Men

In A Man Called Otto, the Oscar-winner portrays a real crank. But is Otto his grumpiest role? Not by a wide margin: In fact, Hanks has a history of showing off his grouchy side onscreen.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Confess, Fletch,' 'Barbarian' and Recapping Toronto

After a week off for Toronto, I'm back on the podcast, and we're reviewing four new movies: The Woman King, Barbarian, Pinocchio and Confess, Fletch. Plus, I offer some observations about the festival. Hear the whole thing down below.

'Pinocchio' Review

What a colossal disappointment the new Pinocchio is. This Robert Zemeckis live-action remake stinks in all kinds of ways.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Dune,' Wes Anderson and 'Contact'

We had our first Reboot in forever on this week's episode. Unfortunately, that movie was Contact. We also reviewed Dune and The French Dispatch. Hear the whole thing down below.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Robert Zemeckis and 'Bad Hair'

On this week's episode, we review films currently available on Amazon, HBO Max and Hulu. (How many people have all three services?) You can hear all our takes down below.

Chuck Berry - "Roll Over Beethoven"

Robert Zemeckis has a new movie out this weekend. I hate that, to this day, I always think of him when I think of Chuck Berry.

'Roald Dahl's The Witches' Review

The remake of The Witches might be the most generic film that Robert Zemeckis has ever made. So impersonal, so lazy, such a waste. I reviewed the HBO Max movie for Screen International.

How 'Back to the Future' Gave the DeLorean a Strange Afterlife

By the time Back to the Future hit theaters in the summer of 1985, the DMC-12 was generally thought of as a novelty or a joke. But that smash movie made it immortal. I looked at the history of the car, and the man who designed it, at MEL.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Blue,' 'I'm Not There' and Looking Back at 1994

On this week's podcast, we introduce a new feature, in which we look back at a specific movie year. This week: 1994. Hoop Dreams! Pulp Fiction! Forrest Gump! The Shawshank Redemption!

We also have two Reboots. First is Krzysztof Kieślowski's Blue, the first installment in his Three Colors trilogy. Then, we dig into Todd Haynes' sorta-biopic I'm Not There. Hope you enjoy.

Cinema's History of Isolation

With so many people dealing with quarantine, I started thinking about movies that explore isolation -- whether it's physical or spiritual. That inspired this list for MEL. (And because I'm me, of course I had to include a little love for Jeanne Dielman.)

Movies and Time Travel

Put aside Back the the Future for a second: What's the best film about time travel? That's the topic of this week's Debate Club.

What's Robert Zemeckis' Best Film?

Will and I are over at Vulture today ranking the Oscar-winning director's best (and worst) films. I'm guessing most people will be OK with our pick for No. 1. You can check out the whole list here.

Some Thoughts on 'Welcome to Marwen'

The movie will sink like a stone, and it's not very good, but Welcome to Marwen is an interesting bad film. I talk about that over at MEL.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Wahlberg, Singapore, 'Juliet, Naked' and 'Back to the Future'

Busy week on the podcast. First up, we review Crazy Rich Asians and Mile 22. Then, Will asks me some questions about Juliet, Naked. Finally, in our Reboot segment, we look back at Back to the Future. We've disparaged a lot of '80s movies on the podcast; I'm happy to say this one holds up. You can hear the whole show below.

'Allied' Review

If I could chart my reaction in real time to Allied as I was watching it, this is sorta how it would have gone: "Hey, this is fun! Hey, this is real good! Hmm, OK, that's interesting, let's see where this goes from here. Uh oh, what's happening?" I ultimately liked the film, but it starts a lot stronger than it finishes. My Screen International review is right here.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Martians, Tightrope Walkers and Malala

I was on KCRW today (alongside Miri Jedeikin) to talk about this weekend's releases: The Martian, The Walk, Freeheld and He Named Me Malala. You can hear the whole thing here.

'The Walk' Review

Man on Wire was the first time I ever got dizzy in a theater. Watching the Oscar-winning documentary in a screening room, I got panicky when they showed the actual photos from Philippe Petit's World Trade Center walk, viscerally imagining what would happen if he had fallen from such a great height. (Bear in mind that I knew for a fact that he hadn't fallen: Just the thought of it terrified me.) So I was curious how The Walk, a feature version of the incident, would play for me. The 3D IMAX is damn impressive. As for the rest of it...... well, my review is up at Deadspin.