Tuesday, April 16, 2024

How Eleanor Coppola Helped 'Apocalypse Now'


For RogerEbert.com, I wrote about Eleanor Coppola, who died last week. My focus: her massive contribution to her husband's 1979 war epic, Apocalypse Now.

'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' Review


Henry Cavill has great facial hair in Guy Ritchie's latest. As for the rest of Ungentlemanly Warfare ... here's my Screen International review.

Monday, April 15, 2024

My Interview With John Early, Star of 'Stress Positions'


John Early worries about being pretentious. We talked about that -- and Britney Spears and millennials and his sharp new film Stress Positions -- for Cracked. (Also, there's a lot of conversation about Early's 2023 special Now More Than Ever, which connects to Stress Positions in interesting ways.)

My Interview With Wagner Moura, Star of 'Civil War'


Before he was an actor, Wagner Moura was a journalist. So he understands a little about the character he plays in Civil War. We talked about that, and trying to hold on to hope during dark times, for RogerEbert.com.

Friday, April 12, 2024

Your 2024 Cannes Competition Preview


This was very fun: For RogerEbert.com, I wrote about every film that will be screening in the Official Competition at Cannes. (A few more movies are expected to be added in the next couple weeks.) Which movie, sight unseen, do I think has the best chance of winning the Palme d'Or? Read on.

'Challengers' Review


Challengers is Luca Guadagnino's best film since Call Me by Your Name. My review is up at Screen International.

The Rapture - "House of Jealous Lovers"

It's so funny, 20-something years later, how clearly this sounds like a LCD Soundsystem song.

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Reviews of 'Monkey Man' and 'Girls State'


The boys are back. This week, we agreed that Monkey Man is mediocre. I raved about The Beast. And then we dig into Girls State. Hope you enjoy.

Monday, April 08, 2024

How Kristen Stewart Became Kristen Stewart


The Criterion Channel is currently featuring the three most crucial movies in Kristen Stewart's post-Twilight career: Clouds of Sils Maria, Personal Shopper and Certain Women. I wrote about that remarkable run of superb films, and how they changed our perception of her, for RogerEbert.com.

Friday, April 05, 2024

The Movies That Got Sued Before They Got Released


In honor of this weekend's The People's Joker, I looked at six other films that had to deal with lawsuits before seeing the light of day. Whether it's the State of Massachusetts or Aretha Franklin, sometimes the powers that be have an issue with a movie, and they'll do whatever they can to stop its release. Hope you enjoy.

Kraftwerk - "Spacelab"

I'm not quite as high on La Chimera as many of my colleagues are, but I was very happy to hear some Kraftwerk in a movie theater.

Thursday, April 04, 2024

'The Beast' Review


Is it a horror movie? A sci-fi drama? A love story? Yes, yes and yes. For the Los Angeles Times, I reviewed The Beast.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Directorial Debuts From Dev Patel and Rudy Mancuso


I was on KCRW today talking about this weekend's new releases. Amy Nicholson and I reviewed The Beast, Monkey Man, Girls State and Musica. Check it all out down below.

'The First Omen' Review


While watching The First Omen, I thought, "This is like the Rogue One of horror prequels." I see others have already made that comment in their reviews, so I decided not to in mine. But you can read my thoughts over at Screen International.