Category Archives: Film

OOF Year-in-Review 2009: Top 10 films … adjacent

Uh … where was I. Really? Not so important. When I was so rudely interrupted by real-world endeavors, I was smack dab in the middle of expressing my love for any number of films released in 2009. I find it fascinating that such a crappy year (and awful decade) produced so many great films. Certainly,Continue reading “OOF Year-in-Review 2009: Top 10 films … adjacent”

OOF Year-in-Review 2009: Top 10 films of the year

The best film with a theatrical release I saw in 2009 was made in 1948. That’s not actually a knock on 2009, easily one of the stronger cinematic years this decade. But as I consider The Red Shoes to be among the top five greatest films ever made, I can’t ignore that the release ofContinue reading “OOF Year-in-Review 2009: Top 10 films of the year”

OOF Year-in-Review 2008: Top 10 Films of the Year

Nothing like a non-self-imposed deadline to get those Top 10 lists agoing. Somehow, I never even wound-up publishing my list for 2007, and I figure, it’s a little late now, even for me. And while 2008 is not yet complete and there are a slew of films I still plan to see over the holidaysContinue reading “OOF Year-in-Review 2008: Top 10 Films of the Year”

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK: A Reaction, Not Yet a Review via an open letter to Charlie Kaufman

Dear Charlie Kaufman, You don’t know me, and yet, you have created a film that touched the inside of my brain, heart and soul. I have never had as emotional a reaction to any of the thousands of movies I have watched in my lifetime as I had to Synecdoche, New York at a pressContinue reading “SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK: A Reaction, Not Yet a Review via an open letter to Charlie Kaufman”

SPEEDY with Alloy: If only it was outside like Chaplin’s Mutuals

Last Friday night, I had the extreme pleasure of going to Celebrate Brooklyn! to see Carl Davis conduct the 16-piece orchestra The Knights as they played his new original scores to three fantastic Charlie Chaplin shorts from his post-Keystone, Mutual Film days: The Immigrant, The Rink and The Adventurer. It was a truly fantastic eveningContinue reading “SPEEDY with Alloy: If only it was outside like Chaplin’s Mutuals”

Monday Miscellaneous Miscellany: Awards and Stuff

I’ve spent the whole weekend (yet again) holed up in my apartment encountering only those I had beckoned to bring me food, watching submission-after-submission, with intermittent breaks for news, a few episodes of Friday Night Lights and watching Broken English on DVD and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days on IFC in Theaters. (That’sContinue reading “Monday Miscellaneous Miscellany: Awards and Stuff”

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Oscar again presents the race for most overrated

As usual, subjecting myself to 15 minutes of E! feels like way too many brain cells have died, but it’s the sacrifice I make on Oscar nomination morning. I still need to digest and look at the full list of nominees, but here are some quick thoughts: The Good: If there is any justice inContinue reading “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Oscar again presents the race for most overrated”

The Business of Being Born: A Quick Plug for a Festival Fave

One night during last year’s Tribeca, I was hanging out at the AMC Kips Bay supervising my staff and doing some introductions of films. I was scheduled to intro one documentary which coming into the festival was one of my favorites. I had met the filmmaker briefly at our office one day, but not theContinue reading “The Business of Being Born: A Quick Plug for a Festival Fave”