Film #102: Kramer Vs. Kramer

After a low-key credits sequence radiantly scored with Vivaldi's "Concerto in C Major for Mandolin & Strings," Kramer Vs. Kramer begins with an exquisite, madonna-like image of Joanna Kramer (Meryl Streep) as she's wishing her nearly-sleeping son Billy (Justin Henry) a good night. Trying to prolong the moment, she says "Don't let the bedbugs bite," and as she strokes his blond hair, he

Film #101: Twelve Angry Men

Studio One was an original series of stand-alone dramas that appeared on CBS for a full decade--1948 to 1958. In that time, the show gave the airwaves over to artists that would forever change the movie industry, while leaving TV and Broadway in the dust, standing lonely as mere training grounds for the movies (thus setting each up to be moviedom's bitch, a stance which is now finally fading).

TCM says goodbye in a most classy way...

Turner Classic Movies--for my money, the only reason to have cable or satellite--has put together a masterful obituary piece that salutes those moviemakers who passed from this mortal coil in 2008. Even the Oscars' obit won't highlight some of those familiar people you see here--it's really a beautifully researched bit of TV. Having worked at Turner before, I know positively that the camera

Brushes with Greatness: My Ten Thrilling Celebrity Sightings of 2008

Living in New York City has a few minuses, to be sure. But the pluses far outweigh them, especially if you're an attentive and active movie lover such as myself. One of those benefits is being able to see and even talk to your favorite film and media stars. They're milling about all over the place up here--appearing at film festivals, special screenings, and even just going about their daily

Little goldfish

Happy New Year 2009 everyone!

This is just a little sketch I made recently, using pen, ink and watercolor.

Best of the Movies: 2008

For me, this past year was all about:The Fall (Tarsem Singh)Synecdoche, NY (Charlie Kaufman)Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt)The Wrestler (Darrin Aronofsky)Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant)Wall-E (Andrew Stanton)Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson)In Bruges (Martin McDonagh) Smiley Face (Gregg Araki)The Promotion (Steve Conrad)Doubt (John Patrick Shanley)Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller)JCVD (Mabrouk El

Film #100, and The Best Movie of 2008: The Fall (and Its Most Overrated Movie: The Dark Knight)

In the spring of 2008, I was wandering around New York City when I saw a stunning poster plastered all over a city wall.Always on the lookout for new movie posters (which trump trailers as my preferred way of being notified about new films), I saw this masterful work of art glued to these battered bits of particle board and exclaimed inside "WHAT IS THIS??" I read the fine print. At the top, it