Pascali's Island (1988) **

Well produced tale of intrigue and betrayal in the Greek islands, gorgeously shot by the great Roger Deakins. Needed more Helen.

Discussing Christopher Nolans' Odyssey with Daniel Mendelsohn

Having watched Mr. Mendelsohn's "seminar" on Nolan's film, I was surprised he made the very same criticisms, almost verbatim, that Emily Wilson made in her LRB review. Yet Ms. Wilson's review is called "scathing" by The Guardian and causes even Joyce Carol Oates, no less, to run to Nolan's defense. No one bats an eye at Mr. Mendelsohn's pan of the film nor when he himself mentions Ms. Wilson's review and ALSO calls it "scathing"!

So you have two people saying pretty much the same thing in the same way and one is characterized as "scathing" and "a take down" and the other is an even-handed critical assessment. Misogyny is not going away apparently, not for a long, long time.

Men Are Such Fools (1938) *

It's supposed to be a rom-com but it's more like a case study of toxic masculinity. I would hope that even in 1938 this kind of thing was at least looked down on. I have my doubts. Not a good flick.

A Kiss Before Dying (1956) **

Bizarre and beautiful thriller goes overboard with the soundtrack and somehow the men have longer hair than the women. Bob Wagner does a good job as the Ripley-esque killer but everybody else seems over the top.

The Intruder (1962) ***

Serious look at American racism is a necessary time capsule and reminder of how little things have changed in 65 years. The central premise that it's outside agitators that cause the trouble is faulty however. Bill Shatner is very good as the agitator. The ending is a nice fairy tale unfortunately.

Violent Saturday (1955) **

A gorgeously produced soaper/thriller hybrid that unfortunately has to tie up all loose ends in the cornball finale. Cast is excellent.

The Creation of the Humanoids (1962) **

Serious sci-fi is as well produced as can be with a miniscule budget and the actors do their best with the tons of expository prose, but this would have been better served as an episode of The Outer Limits.

I Walk Alone (1947) **

The cast (Burt, Kirk, Wendell) makes this feeble melodrama watchable.

Parachute Jumper (1933) **

Plenty of pre-code touches gives this breezy flick a modern feel even though it's over 90 years old. Some great aerial stunt work.

A Handful of Dust (1988) ***

Splendid production with a top notch cast led by the lovely Ms. Scott Thomas who was never better.

The Painted Veil (1934) **

Garbo vehicle is formulaic but a terrific Herb Marshall is a nice extra.

Sleep, My Love (1948) **

Decent noir thriller is well made and features a terrific Hazel Brooks as the femme fatale.

Last Embrace (1979) ***

Early Jon Demme hommage to Hitch has enough quirks and surprises to survive the narrative flaws. Strong work from Roy Scheider and the criminally underused (and sadly gone too soon) Janet Margolin.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) **

Interesting doomsday flick is played straight to its benefit. Ed Judd looks (and acts) like a poor man's Dick Burton, and the lovely Janet Munro lends much needed charm.

The Reckless Moment (1949) **

Fairly successful noir thriller as the protagonist chain smokes her way through a gauntlet of problems. The great James Mason takes the fall.

Destination Moon (1950) **

Trying to be the 2001 of 1950, this earnest space procedural is light on actual physics but was influential in many respects. Well produced by the great George Pal.

Our Man in Havana (1959) **

It's a top of the line production and its pedigree is impeccable but nearly everbody is miscast. Genteel spy spoof never really takes off.

Rushmore (1998) ****

Anderson's best film, made before he abandoned the idea of portraying human beings and switched to moving dioramas.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) *

Completely forgettable. At least it is lit well. Ms. Blunt steals the picture and I realize that may be damning with faint praise.

The Elephant Man (1980) ****

Despite being a "work for hire" this is unmistakably a David Lynch picture. Superb cast, the great Freddie Francis manning the cameras, all aspects of the production top notch. Shows the gamut of human behavior from the horrible to the sublime. Might be Lynch's most hopeful picture.

Our Town (1940) **

If you can forget the misguided ending this is a successful rendering of the play in late 1930's Hollywood style. Would have been a classic otherwise despite the weakness of the two leads.

There Is No ‘Hard Problem Of Consciousness’ - NOEMA

Chalmers claims that experience cannot be accounted for by science. But scientific understanding is not extraneous to experience; it is entirely about experience. Empiricism, the grounding of knowledge in experience, is not alternative to science; it is a main component of science’s traditional conceptual ground. As the Russian intellectual Alexander Bogdanov put it, science is the historical process of a successful collective organization of our experience.

It is misleading to see science, as often naively portrayed, as a direct account of an absolute and objective world, observed and described from its outside. If we think in this manner, we introduce dualism. No surprise, then, that we find dualism down the road: an irreducible gap between subject and object of knowledge. We have introduced it upfront.

The Outsiders (1983) ****

Beautifully filmed, stylishly produced, somewhat exagerrated look at male adolescense with a terrific cast led by a startling Ralph Macchio. Coppola in peak form.

Javier Bardem on Defending Palestine and Loving Penelope Cruz

Talking to Bardem is not unlike talking to another parent at school dropoff in Brooklyn; his concerns, beyond what film to make next, are similar to my own. Bardem’s 15-year-old “got his first phone less than a year ago. No social media, of course,” he says. “They work with computers at school, which we are OK with and not OK with.” What Bardem and Cruz hope for, the actor says, is that their children learn to sit with themselves, and they’ve tried to teach them to meditate. “We try to make them understand the importance of being bored, of wasting your time, of sitting down and looking at the ceiling.” This refusal to be distracted is where creativity originates. “The younger generation has less patience, less attention, less care in detail,” he says. “We are all living on a fast pace, and it takes a lot of courage to take the time to sit down and enjoy something for what it is, without thinking you are missing something else. It’s what we are consuming on a daily basis through our phones — and this attention deficit we are all having.”

El (1953) ***

Nicely atmospheric though melodramatic tale of bizarre obsession with the typical Buñuel touches. Top notch photography and Hitchcockian set pieces.

Witchfinder General (1968) *

It's very well made on a micro budget, and Vinnie does a good job, but it is such a depressing and dark tale. In younger days I might have been able to enjoy the filmmaking but the parallels to contemporary reality are too much.

Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) *

It's not so much the "yellowface" but the lackluster script and low B cast. Completely forgettable.

Berlin Express (1948) *

I suppose we can forgive the massive amount of propoganda and naivete in the script and chalk it up to the times but the horrendous voice-over and the preposterous plot are too much.

The Phantom of Liberty (1974) **

Satire is very tough to pull off on film even for Buñuel. Still, the cast and the cinematography keep it watchable.

Hour of the Gun (1967) **

John Sturges knows how to shoot a picture in wide screen and the results here are great. The problems are a middling script, an underwhelming production design and I just can't see Robards as a gun for hire.

Death of a Corrupt Man (1977) **

Intriguing 70's paranoid noir this time with a French perspective. Excellent cast with the stunning Ornella Muti and Alain Delon, but it is way too long and really needed a tighter script. I know it's a movie and the star is the star but by the 4th time Delon walks away from a car crash in a severe rollover with all other passengers killed my disbelief was no longer suspended.

Circle of Danger (1951) **

Middling whodunnit is not in the least thrilling save for a brief well done end sequence. Nicely shot, enjoyable cast, but the lead character is an arrogant prick.

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) **

Stunningly photographed western/noir is fairly ludicrous but thanks to a top notch cast and a tight running time also fairly effective.

A Tale of Two Cities (1935) ***

Ron Colman is the draw here and he's never been better. The storming of the Bastille is an impressive sequence but overall the film techniques are rather dated and heavy-handed. Still, an enjoyable flick.

Pygmalion (1938) ****

The great Wendy Hiller and the actually pretty good for once Les Howard in Shaw's greatly entertaining play.

5 Against the House (1955) **

Top notch photography, a nifty heist sequence and the lovely Ms. Novak are the pluses, a lame amd annoying screenplay the major detriment.

The Dresser (2015) ***

A great play, two great leads, fine support. (Still partial to Al Finney in the 1983 film though.)

Woman of Straw (1964) ***

Nicely produced twisty murder thriller with some gorgeous shots of Majorca. Sir Ralph is very good here.

A Perfect Murder (1998) **

A sloppy ending mars an otherwise nifty thriller that is gorgeously produced. Top notch cast delivers the goods.

Mademoiselle (1966) ***

The great Jeanne Moreau is good at being bad and the great David Watkin shoots it beautifully in this fable of desire and prejudice in rural France.

The Moustache (2005) ***

Tries to get inside the mind of a man having an identity crisis and mainly succeeds. Well done.

The Zone of Interest (2023) **

Nicely shot and designed drama about "the banality of evil" but it could have been a terrific Twilight Zone episode at 30 minutes and we'd get the point and perhaps even have more impact.

Happyend (2024) ***

Director Neo Sora's bildungsroman/dystopian mashup is a great example of how to shoot an effective film without extreme closeups. Good cast and no schmaltz.

The Millionairess (1960) *

Fails to engage despite lustrous cinematography and peak Sophia.

Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965) **

Admirable ambition and weirdness in depicting the often overlooked (in films) gauntlet women have to deal with nearly every day but there's a lot of awkward and amatuerish moments that ruin the vibe. Has an unrelenting need to provide EVERY character with a too pat motivation that's irritating. Still, the divine Juliet Prowse is worth the price of admission to whatever she decides to do.

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (2025) **

Essentially a remake of The Way It Is with an added focus on Elvis's POV and showcasing footage not used in that earlier film. It's well done and highly entertaining (how could it not?) but it's impact was fleeting despite the ominous foreshadowing ending. Benefits immensely from the photography by the great Lucien Ballard.

Le Magnifique (1973) **

Over-the-top slapstick aside, an amusing take on pulp spy novelists and their sometimes dreary lives. Belmondo shows a deft hand with comedy and Jackie Bisset was never lovelier.

Winterset (1936) *

Might have worked better as a play. Interesting that to this day, in America, any sympathy with the working class is considered radical, leftist and dangerous.

The Internecine Project (1974) ***

Well produced heist flick masquerading as a political thriller features Jimmy Coburn and the eternally lovely Lee Grant (still kicking at 99!) essentially playing themselves. Nifty 70's London locales, beautifully lit.

Wuthering Heights (2026) **

It's entertaining but the soundtrack is overbearing at times and the lighting and shot selection is terrible, as are so many current films, but it has a nice collage of images at the finale that works well. The casting is strange and it's interesting that Edgar (Shazad Latif) would appear to more closely resemble the features of Heathcliff per the novel than Elordi.

Heat Lightning (1934) **

The two female leads are the attraction in this desert noir. Nifty direction at the climax evokes kaidan films.

The Woman in Green (1945) **

Fairly forgettable Holmes flick watchable for the top cast members.

The Time Travelers (1964) **

Intriguing classic Trek style sci-fi flick could have used a bit more moolah for the spfx, but the cast are all game and the script keeps things fairly straight. Interesting ending.

Light Sleeper (1992) **

Answers the question nobody asked: what if Paul Schrader had directed Taxi Driver? Top notch cast keeps it watchable. Nice soundtrack too.

Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets (1995) *

I think it was supposed to be more of a comedy but not sure that would have helped. Terribly shot, cut and directed. Waste of a good cast.

Peter Hujar's Day (2025) *

Technical prowess of the two leads aside, the premise has already been done and this go round brings nothing more to the table.

Monterey Pop (1968) *

Nice time capsule of The Summer of Love with an eclectic concert in beautiful Monterey. Too bad Pennebaker can't seem to shoot in anything but close-ups. You get no sense of place and no sense of the performances.

Shampoo (1975) ***

Manic day in the life of a swinging LA hairdresser is an entertaining charcter study and subtle critique of late 60's mores and manners. Excellent cast is top notch.

The Oblong Box (1969) *

The photography is the only reason to sit through this mash-up of various horror tropes.

Fremont (2023) **

Indie character study has its moments but the lead is just not a compelling enough actress to handle such an under-written role.

Extract (2009) ***

Hilarious plot driven comedy that is perfectly cast and well played. The production design is top notch and rings true.

Two Minutes Late (1952) **

Nobody's a hero in this sordid Danish noir that was definitely not approved by Bill Hays.

Hidden in the Fog (1953) **

Human behavior takes a back seat to murder mystery tropes in this Swedish noir that has just a few too many twists.

Death Is a Caress (1949) **

I suppose it's a "noir" but really it's a realistic look at a couple who have a very strong physical attraction but little else. Troubles ensue.

Girl with Hyacinths (1950) **

Ulf Palme, a Swedish Alastair Sim, keeps it entertaining enough but it's very difficult to care about the lead. Maybe that was intentional?

2025 In Review: Music

**** HAIM - I Quit
**** Stereolab - Fed Up With Your Job (Single)

*** Arthur Buck - Arthur Buck 2
*** Astral Bakers - Vertical Life
*** Automatic - Is It Now
*** Beths, The - Straight Line Was A Lie
*** Buddie - Glass
*** Convenience, The - Like Cartoon Vampires
*** Deep Sea Diver - Billboard Heart
*** Dragon Inn 3 - Full Disclosure
*** Dumb Things - Self Help
*** GHOSTWOMAN - Welcome To The Civilized World
*** Guided By Voices - Thick Rich And Delicious
*** Housewife - Work Song
*** I Was A King - Until The End
*** Ivy - Traces of You
*** Magic Fig - Valerian Tea
*** Miki Berenyi Trio - Tripla
*** Minus 5, The - Oar On, Penelope!
*** Momma - Welcome to My Blue Sky
*** Penfriend - House Of Stories
*** Prism Shores - Out From Underneath
*** Salt Collective, The - A Brief History of Blindness
*** San Gabriel - Nights And Weekends
*** Sloan - Based on the Best Seller
*** Superchunk - Songs in the Key of Yikes
*** Suzanne Vega - Flying with Angels
*** Swervedriver - The Worlds Fair EP
*** Wolf Alice - The Clearing

** Avers - Empty Light
** Beach Bunny - Tunnel Vision
** Cate Le Bon - Michelangelo Dying
** Future Clouds And Radar - Big Weather
** Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On
** Jay Som - Belong
** Liminanas, The - Faded
** Ringo Starr - Look Up
** Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
** Sleigh Bells - Bunky Becky Birthday Boy
** Tubs, The - Cotton Crown
** Waeve, The - Eternal EP
** Wishy - Planet Popstar EP
** Witch Post - Beast EP

2025 In Review: Movies

*** One Battle After Another
** Black Bag
** Megadoc
** The Phoenician Scheme
* The Thursday Murder Club

Black Angel (1946) **

Novel twist on the blackout trope plus strong support help to overcome weak leads.

Blackout (1954) **

Amusing dialogue and the performers are enjoyable just don't expect the plot to make any sense.

Stranger Than Paradise (1984) ****

Minimalist slacker dramedy is expertly shot and directed with a stunning debut performance by Eszter Balint. Transcends its genre.

Megadoc (2025) **

Fascinating look at big budget movie making and how the inherent bloat and Shia Labeouf nearly kill Francis Coppola.

Birth of the Endless Summer: Discovery of Cape St. Francis (2021) **

A doc about the back story to another, better, doc is well done but probably only for fans of the better doc.

The Endless Summer (1966) ****

Enjoyable surf doc is a masterpiece of photography, editing and writing. Impressive. This film was shot on 16mm film and has better visuals than any movie made in the past 20 years. You can keep all your Imax's and VistaVisions, they don't matter if the pic is not lit properly.

Guilty Bystander (1950) **

Zach Scott is strong in this gritty blackout noir nearly stolen by Kay Medford.

Confessions of an Opium Eater (1962) **

Cheap (and cheaply made) exploitation flick is just bonkers enough to be entertaining. Vincent Price as an action star is one thing and the dialogue is a hoot. At least they used Asian actors to play the Asian characters.

Deadline at Dawn (1946) **

Frustrating blackout noir that has some terrific dialogue, a never better Sue Hayward, a couple of great supporting turns but also some crazy plot twists and an awful lead. Entertaining nonetheless.

5 Steps to Danger (1956) **

The great Sterling Hayden fixes a lot about this breakneck paced cold war noir.

The Stars Look Down (1940) **

Mostly dull kitchen sink melodrama about pre-war Scottish miners saved by a gutsy finish.

The Sleeping Cardinal (1931) **

Worthy Holmes mystery is well written and stylishly filmed (for the time). Mr. Wontner sets a high bar for future Sherlocks.

Nightmare (1956) **

Preposterous blackout noir is watchable thanks to Eddie G.

An Englishman Abroad (1983) **

Well played two hander, sort of a sequel to Blunt. Strong script.

Ladybug Ladybug (1963) **

Efficient anti-nuke flick touches almost all the bases in less than 90 minutes, with maybe just a tad too heavy of a hand. Good work by the mostly kiddie cast.

Blunt (1987) **

Spy v. spy chamber drama shines whenever Sir Anthony shows up. Otherwise fairly pedestrian quality Brit flick.

Down by Law (1986) ****

Superbly photographed and directed buddy pic with a trio of stellar performances. Goes from artsy to fine art.

The Night Heaven Fell (1958) ***

Unusual French flick sticks to the Hollywood formula with Steve Boyd and Brigitte as doomed lovers on the run through some gorgeous Spanish countryside. Well shot in CinemaScope (which means no extreme close-ups) and briskly paced. Touching finale.

Eyes Without a Face (1960) ***

French shocker goes there and has several iconic scenes. Well made, very creepy.

The Depths (1963) **

Out there flick that's not sure if it's some kind of Marxist allegory or true crime reenactment, features two mesmerizing performances, some hilarity and some horror. Nicely shot and composed.

One Battle After Another (2025) ***

Thrilling, and often hilarious, actioner has a fistful of superb sequences. Not a fan of the cinematography nor shot selection however.

Florida Man Arrested For 'Maliciously' Starting Palisades Fire In LA

As the LA Times reports, among the evidence collected by invesitgators was an image that Rinderknecht allegedly used ChatGPT to generate depicting a city on fire. He also allegedly asked ChatGPT, while calling 911, "Are you at fault if a fire is lift because of your cigarettes?"

Theater of Blood (1973) **

The dream of all actors to get revenge on the critics is played out in this grand guignol flick enhanced by top notch actors including the lovely Dame Diana.

The Gun Runners (1958) **

Another go at that Hemingway story, this time with the miscast Audie Murphy and the terrific Eddie Albert as the heavy. Tight script, a brisk pace and Gita Hall also helps.

The Sentinel (1977) *

The movie looks good and has a stellar cast but is so ridiculous and not believable for a minute.

The Tomb of Ligeia (1964) **

Typically well produced/shot Roger Corman spooky feature is kind of silly and suffers from a miscast Vinnie. And I say this as a huge Vinnie fan! He's just too old for the lovely Liz Shepherd.

Invaders from Mars (1953) **

Terrific first half hour then there's too much footage of tanks and the finale goes off the rails. Along the way it's well filmed and for the time fairly provocative.

Chess of the Wind (1976) **

Nice to look at but the story is not compelling and the characters one dimensional.

The Killer Is Loose (1956) **

Boffo finale and a terrific Wendell Corey performance saves this police procedural that sorely lags in the middle.

“Megadoc” Shows Francis Ford Coppola Going for Broke on “Megalopolis”

A revelatory sequence in “Megadoc” shows Coppola arguing with the cinematographer, Mihai Mălaimare, Jr., about the lighting of a shot, which Mălaimare wants to keep consistent with other shots in the scene, for the sake of a conventionally smooth edit. Coppola says that Mălaimare has no business anticipating how the film will be edited, and the director lays down the law: “To me, your job is not to match all the light. Your job is to get beautiful images of the scenes that we have.”

Modern cinematographers need to learn this.

Possession (1981) ****

A film that never condescends, featuring a trio of superb performances. It's often harsh but always true to the story and the point.

The Thursday Murder Club (2025) *

The gracefully ageing stars make it watchable...to a point.

To the Devil a Daughter (1976) **

Handsomely produced and lushly filmed with a top notch cast, ultimately silly but always watchable. Nice to see Dick Widmark as the hero for a change.