I watched the movie yesterday in the theater, and it was a blast. So wanted to share some thoughts about it, but first, we need to talk about Andy Weir’s first book. The Martian I swallowed the book in just a few evenings. It was a thrilling read that kept me engaged from start to finish. It is a must-read for anyone who loves science fiction. Fun fact: that was the first book I bought on my Kindle straight after finishing the sample. I was so excited to read it that I tapped the “Buy” ...

I'm sorry, I know you liked Brooke. He told me that she worships you, she kept talking about how smart you are, how interesting...

HippFest was thronging with eager punters on Sunday for its last day of this go-round, including the closing gala of King Vidor’s THE CROWD. Here are my programme notes for that one, and here are all the rest of this year’s notes, and a fine bunch they are, from such notables as Frtzi Kramer (Movies, […]

Yes, I am a week late. In my defense my workplace had a major event on Wednesday that was an All Hands On Deck situation. But also – the night itself was a bit of a roller coaster in some ways (although it was predictable in others). Best Supporting Actress was my first big surprise.… Continue reading Best Picture Oscars 2026 Extra Credit – Oscar Recap

Kristin here Last year at the Le Giornate del Cinema Muto film festival in Pordenone, Italy, attendees had the first opportunity to purchase Lea Jacobs’ fresh-off-the-presses book, John Ford at Work: Production Histories from 1927 to 1939. It was also given away as one of the perks for higher-level donors. The title says “Production Histories,” but Jacobs covers more than that phrase might seem to suggest. She has drawn on the strengths of the film-studies area of the Department of…

A small amount of planning string appears in Mercy (dir. Timur Bekmambetov, 2026).

PBS Masterpiece brings a reimagined version of John Galsworthy’s ‘Forsyte’ novels from the U.K. to

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is … Continue reading →

England constantly looks backward and forward at the same time provoking cycles of decline that means every promise of newness and possibility, every generation ends in failure and a nation that slips only further behind. It is the essence of state-of-the-nation drama and the revival of David Hare’s 50-year-old play Teeth ‘n’ Smiles at the […]

A devastating character study of a washed-up Colombian poet who discovers a gifted teenage student, exploring the toxic dynamics of artistic mentorship, racial exploitation in the literary world, and the difference between dedication and self-destruction in the name of art.

Responding to different takes on the movies I watched yesterday, and thoughts on the whole idea of "getting it." Spoilers for Saltburn and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

Dolemite Is My Name (2019) D: Craig Brewer. S: Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess. Good, not great biopic of DOLEMITE creator Rudy Ray Moore. In traditional Karaszewski and Alexander biopic style, the movie just doesn’t have a third act. Halfway through, it stops being Moore’s … Continue reading Briefly, Movies (22 March 2026)

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We had time for one Bluey episode before bed, and the first one that popped up on YouTube was Sleepytime. “This is one of my favorite Bluey episodes,” my seven year old said. Dude, same, I thought. It’s not only one of the best episodes of Bluey but also one of the finest shortform stories […]

I might have enjoyed the 90 minute long, modern take on British classics that's buried somewhere inside Saltburn