REVIEWING GROUCHO, HARPO, CHICO, JIMMY STEWART—AND ME
It’s a bit awkward reviewing projects in which I am involved. I’ve always made a practice of stating it up front, even though in most cases I’m only a contributor and not responsible for the documentary, book, or DVD…
THE AMAZING STAN LEE
An assignment from Parade magazine, the popular Sunday newspaper supplement, enabled me to spend some quality time with Stan Lee. I learned long ago that he’s a diehard movie buff so I knew we’d have fun chatting. More importantly, he…
‘CHRISTINE’ IS SPINE-TINGLINGLY GOOD
Rebecca Hall is one of the best actresses working today, a woman of great versatility and command of the screen. Like any great performer she makes what she does look easy, unfortunately she hasn’t received the attention or acclaim…
‘CERTAIN WOMEN’ STAYS WITH YOU
It requires patience to watch Kelly Reichardt’s deliberately slow-moving films but when they are as good as Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy and Meek’s Cutoff I feel amply rewarded. Certain Women is an anthology of vignettes about women who…
A HORROR MOVIE MECCA IS ABOUT TO CLOSE
The day before I left Fantastic Fest in Austin some friends asked me if I knew about the SFANTHOR! House of Wax. I was embarrassed to admit that I didn’t. It’s a castle-like structure with wax-museum replicas of great…
SILENT FILM ACTRESS STARS IN A FUND-RAISING VIDEO
That headline is not inaccurate, nor is it an example of hyperbole. 96-year-old Lassie Lou Ahearn is supporting a crowdfunding campaign to restore a 1927 film called Little Mickey Grogan in which she starred with Frankie Darro. As film…
A WORLD OF DISCOVERY AT FANTASTIC FEST
If you didn’t know better you might think that an event called Fantastic Fest simply shows horror, sci-if and fantasy films, attracting a crowd of geeky genre fans. What makes this annual gathering in Austin, Texas so special is…
