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Recent Posts
- On “Die My Love”: Jennifer Lawrence Channels Her Inner Kristi Noem, and Does Not Write the Great American Novel
- “The Salt Path” (2025): An Underappreciated Film That Includes Actual Humanity
- Our “White Lotus,” Or Life as a Set-Jetter
- On Sleeping With Dogs
- The Year Without a Winter (in the Southwest): 2025-2026
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Category Archives: Film
On “Die My Love”: Jennifer Lawrence Channels Her Inner Kristi Noem, and Does Not Write the Great American Novel
So after a lot of pre-release buzz the Jennifer Lawrence film Die My Love fizzled at the box office and did not get much attention. (Note: Minor spoilers ahead.) That’s a bit unfortunate, as it has the terrific performance of … Continue reading
“The Salt Path” (2025): An Underappreciated Film That Includes Actual Humanity
So my wife and I are inveterate backpackers—the seasoned, often bedraggled kind. We’ve backpacked in many locations from Denali National Park in Alaska (perhaps the “wildest” backcountry) to Yellowstone and the Wind Rivers in Wyoming and many others. But truth … Continue reading
"The Hunt" Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a Bomb
So we all heard the hoopla about the notorious “anti-liberal” film The Hunt back in the Fall, causing its debut to be delayed, but it’s out now and it’s a hoot. First let me admit to being roughly in the … Continue reading
"Underwater" movie review: You think you got a big monster?
So in this time of virus lockdown and pandemic horror, let’s imagine creatures that don’t exist and have some scary fun! Or that seems to be the thinking of whoever made the new Kristen Stewart film, Underwater. It’s like Alien … Continue reading
Monsters Within & Without the Bunker: On "10 Cloverfield Lane," Which High-Fives "The Revenant," With a Nod to the Original "Cloverfield"
So I was amused by the original Cloverfield (2008), with its cool poster of the Statue of Liberty and tagline: Some Thing Has Found Us. It’s no great film or anything—kind of a Heineken ad spliced with (the film version … Continue reading
Posted in Bears, books/film, Film, Horror Films, The West
Tagged 10 Cloverfield Lane, Fiction Writing, Film, Horror Movies, Stephen Graham Jones, The Revenant
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On Alexander Payne's "Nebraska" & a Christmas Without the Internet
So I happened to see the awesome/sad/hilarious film Nebraska, another classic by Alexander Payne, at a swanky art house theater (the Plaza Frontenac) in St. Louis before Christmas, but was unable to post anything about it, as I left the … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books/film, Film, The West
Tagged Alexander Payne's Nebraska, Christmas, Film, Good Fiction, The West
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My Review of Jim Harrison's "Brown Dog" in the Dallas Morning News
So I’ve been woefully out-of-touch with my blog, my misbegotten red-headed stepchild (with apologies to all ginger stepchildren in the world), but I haven’t been woefully out-of-touch with reading & living, which should always trump blogging. My review of Jim … Continue reading
Posted in books, books/film, Film, The West, writing
Tagged Birding, Book Reviewing, Fiction Writing, Film, Good Fiction, Jim Harrison, Pete Dexter, The West
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"The Place Beyond the Pines": True Grit or Truly Gritty, With a Nod to Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
So last night I caught the new Derek Cianfrance film The Place Beyond the Pines in St. Louis, once-great Gateway to the West, though the film should more fittingly be seen at a small cinema in New Paltz, New York, … Continue reading
Review of "Oz: The Great and Powerful," Plus "The Paperboy" Meets "The Master"
So last night I stumbled into the new James Franco/Mila Kunis special effects love-a-thon Oz: the Great and Powerful, and could easily do one of those catty, snarky Hollywood send-ups that go, “It was like The Princess Bride meets The … Continue reading
Posted in books/film, Film, Nicole Kidman, Pete Dexter, Uncategorized
Tagged Film, Nicole Kidman, Oz: the Great and Powerful, The Master, The Paperboy
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"Django Unchained": Cloudy With a Chance of Spaghetti Western & Meatballs
So I saw Tarantino’s Django Unchained yesterday—out of curiosity, not out of a being any huge Tarantino fan. (At their best, as in Pulp Fiction, Tarantino’s films are clever and zingy, and at worst—that unwatchable B-movie Grindhouse he made with … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Gun Control, Pete Dexter, The West
Tagged Book Reviewing, Cormac McCarthy, Django Unchained, Film, The West
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