MILES DAVIS: THE BIRTH OF THE COOL
Watching Stanley Nelson’s new documentary, I felt both exhilarated and frustrated—just as I did while following Miles Davis’s career. I can’t imagine a more vivid or thorough portrait of this seminal figure in the world of jazz. Everyone you…
PATREON: THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL
Last week we sat at our kitchen table and did something I haven’t done in years: stuffed envelopes and licked stamps. Goodness knows I did all that and more in the nine years I published Film Fan Monthly, beginning…
CHARLEY CHASE, THELMA TODD, AND A SMITH NAMED PETE
When it comes to Hal Roach comedy shorts it’s impossible for me to be objective. It’s not that I think every one of them is great; what I feel is an overall affection for the people in them and…
THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON: ANOTHER SUMMER SLEEPER
The Peanut Butter Falcon has already proven to be a crowd-pleaser, winning a key Audience Award at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival. It’s easy to see why. First-time writer-directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz met a charismatic young…
WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE
If ever a movie had a recipe for success, it’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette. Based on Maria Semple’s best-selling novel, it stars the great Cate Blanchett with Richard Linklater directing. So why did I leave the theater feeling dissatisfied, as…
GOOD BOYS: JUST WHAT YOU EXPECT
When the first words out of young Jacob Tremblay’s mouth are “F—, yeah!” as he’s about to ogle pictures on his laptop, you know what you’re in for with Good Boys. The MPAA’s rating carries this impressively specific warning: “Rated…
