Movies

My Top 10 Films of 2023 of 2023

No more schlock. That’s the promise I made myself. I had a lot of growing up to do this year, and one way I had to get that done was going to the movies less. So I made the decision that franchise schlock was not worth going to the theaters. Guardians of the Galaxy 3? […]

Music

My Top 30 Music Videos of 2023

Kenneth Anger passed away in May this year. The director is probably most well-known for the 1963 experimental short Scorpio Rising, a film about neo-Nazi bikers set entirely to a soundtrack of contemporary pop music. I discovered it in a film class over 50 years later, and I can tell you it’s still a hit […]

Music

My Favorite Albums of 2023

This list is mostly a side effect of next week’s. I’m usually pretty bad at keeping up with new music releases, and when I do I’m (1) not at all adventurous and (2) more interested in singles than albums. Maybe I’m part of the problem. I think the way I engage with music is closer […]

Video Games

My Games of 2023

I didn’t play Tears of the Kingdom and I’m tired of starting these posts this way.The new Zelda is by all accounts a masterpiece, an enhancement of everything great about the previous one with new sandbox mechanics seemingly made to be shared on social media. I don’t doubt my friends when they rave about it. […]

Movies

Charlot #9: Cruel, Cruel Love

Release Date:March 26, 1914 Studio:Keystone Director:George Nichols Also Starring:Minta DurfeeChester ConklinEva Nelson Tramp:No Worth Watching?Not really I showed [A Woman of the Sea] exactly once at one theater … and that was the end of that. The film was promptly returned to Mr Chaplin’s vaults and no one has ever seen it again. Josef von […]

Movies

Charlot #8: His Favorite Pastime

Release Date:March 16, 1914 Studio:Keystone Director:George Nichols Also Starring:Roscoe ArbucklePeggy Pearce Tramp:Yes Worth Watching?No The moment we met we ignited; it was mutual, and my heart sang. How romantic were those morning’s turning up fro work with the anticipation of seeing her each day. Chaplin, My Autobiography

Movies

Charlot #7: Tango Tangles

Release Date:March 9, 1914 Studio:Keystone Director:Mack Sennett Also Starring:Roscoe ArbuckleFord SterlingMinta Durfee Tramp:I don’t think so Worth Watching?Nope Keystone comedies directed by Sennett are perhaps the best examples of the studio’s true vision. Tango Tangles is particularly boorish and violent, while the characters are merely one-dimensional caricatures. Oddly enough, this is precisely the brilliance behind […]

Awards Season

95th Oscars Will Win/Should Win

This is very last-minute, but I’m watching the clock count down to the start of the ceremony and feel compelled to just throw this out there. I haven’t been keeping up very closely with the races because I’ve been too focused on other things the last couple of months. These predictions are fun to make, […]

Movies

Charlot #6: A Film Johnnie

Release Date:March 2, 1914 Studio:Keystone Director:George Nichols Also Starring:Virginia KirtleyPeggy PearceRoscoe ArbuckleMabel NormandFord Sterling Tramp:Yes Worth Watching?Maybe! My character was different and unfamiliar to the American, and even unfamiliar to myself. But with the clothes on I felt he was a reality, a living person. In fact he ignited all sorts of crazy ideas that […]

Awards Season

95th Oscars Nominee Predictions

The nominees for this year’s Academy Awards will be announced tomorrow morning. Rather than try to predict the actual lists of nominees for each category, I thought I’d try something I’ve seen from other blogs and make some assorted predictions along with my sense of their likelihood. So I did that, and then realized that […]