Now, I certainly “get” Shoot ‘Em Up, a point that I want to make sure is completely clear. The problem is that “getting” a joke and finding it funny aren’t necessarily the same thing. So I’m not a square, I’m just mirthless. The joke, of course (and I can say “of course” because it’s obvious […]

Much earlier in the year, I lavished some very reserved praise on the already-forgotten Seraphim Falls for being, and I am here quoting myself and yes that is wankery, “nothing so much as a tour of the Western…a synthesis of all Westerns.” It would appear that 2007 is now the Year of Western Syntheses, for […]

There exists a rare breed of film that takes as its sole raison d’être is Ungodly Size. It’s easy to call these films “epics,” but that isn’t a full enough term: Seven Samurai and Lawrence of Arabia are mere “epics.” The films I am thinking of are David O. Selznick’s Gone with the Wind, Peter […]

As usual, Martin Scorsese put it best: “It’s been said that if you don’t like The Rolling Stones, then you don’t like rock ‘n’ roll. By the same token, I think that if you don’t like the films of Sam Fuller, then you just don’t like cinema.” Bold words, but merely accurate. And quietly suggestive, […]

I hold it to be axiomatic that an interesting movie is more valuable than a good movie. Best of all to have both, of course; but given the unimpeachable craftsmanship of a sleepy drag like Babel or a gonzo mess made by an inspired psycho whose ideas spill over the film’s edges like red wine […]

“We have left all the rest behind, one after another. It seems almost like a dream that has slowly faded,” said Merry. Not to me,” said Frodo. “To me, it feels more like falling asleep again.” Here are some facts about the summer of 2003: -Twenty-three years had passed since Friday the 13th. -Nineteen years […]