I like to think that, overall, 2022 was a better year than 2021. There were some down moments, to be sure - Billie Eilish won an Oscar before Lin-Manuel Miranda, I had to move my mother into hospice, Republicans retook the House, basically every celebrity we still cared about died, AMC charged us more money … Continue reading The Best (and Worst) of 2022
Luca Guadagnino is one of the most surprising filmmakers working today. With Call Me By Your Name, he made statutory rape and jizzing into a peach somehow heartwarming. With his version of Suspiria, he managed the rare feat of creating a remake that felt unique enough to stand on its own. And with Bones and … Continue reading Bite Me – Bones and All
As any reader is aware, there are two things going on with this blog right now. One, I'm in a near-constant state of clearing my backlog due to the absolute glut of films being released right now. Two, this is because it's Awards Season, and everyone is jockeying for position, attention, and prestige. Well, as … Continue reading Let’s Hear it For the Multiverse – 38th Independent Spirit Awards Nominees!
As I watched the utterly delightful The Phantom of the Open the other day, I had an odd thought. Given all of the various movie franchises we've got crammed into our collective consciousness these days, this film provides an opportunity for something truly groundbreaking. What we need are cinematic universes where Mark Rylance gets to … Continue reading The Road to Perfection – The Phantom of the Open
In 2014, Graham Moore was relatively unknown. A novelist and writer for the short-lived TV spinoff of 10 Things I Hate About You, Moore garnered some attention a couple of years before for writing a screenplay adapted from a biography of Alan Turing, one of the pioneers of computer programming. That script eventually became The … Continue reading Pulling the Thread – The Outfit
The Oscar nominations have finally been announced, and as such, the annual Blitz is in full effect. In the final days leading up to the reveal, I was able to squeeze in two more movies via Netflix in the hopes of checking off a couple nominees in advance. Well, I half succeeded. One of these … Continue reading DownStream – The Netflix Pre-Blitz
If you're a fan (or detractor) of the works of Aaron Sorkin, you know he keeps to some pretty well-established patterns. Call them trademarks or tropes depending on how much you like them. But throughout his career, both as a writer and director, you can always see his earmarks. His scripts are often witty, dialogue-heavy, … Continue reading The Newsroom, er, Courtroom – The Trial of the Chicago 7
Okay, right off the bat I feel I have to give away a major spoiler for Steven Spielberg's latest film, Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline's best-selling novel (Cline also co-wrote the screenplay). Don't worry, I'm not telling you how it ends, just how it doesn't end. You see, it's a sci-fi film from Spielberg, but … Continue reading Future Gamers Go on a Cinematic Speed Run – Ready Player One
As I mentioned in the introductory post, I saw 56 movies in calendar year 2017. There's a lot I didn't see, and some that I can't see until Oscar nominations come out later this month. It's also no coincidence that I started this blog on the night of the Golden Globe Awards. Part of the … Continue reading Bill’s Top 10 for 2017
I Actually Paid To See This 