In her first movie, she kissed Marlon Brando. And then she won an Oscar. How many actresses get that kind of a debut? But then, how many actresses are as wonderful as...

No one has Montgomery Clift's eyes.

Those haunted, sensitive eyes that gazed at the viewer with method modernity and timeless emotion -- pleading and gentle, but with the potential for reckless...

This is art.

While conducting interviews for his newest picture, Spike Jonze was pleased when I called his work a children's art film, stating that art films are considered a "dirty word" to studios. He thanked me. He didn't need to. We should thank him. Jonze's...

A re-do of The Stepfather? It only led me to my archive of demented dads, a movie (and real life) character I'm fascinated by. From the anti-Atticus Finch figures of Bigger than Life to Lord Love a Duck to Paper Moon, varied degrees of problematic parenting are always interesting.  But for those special psycho stepfathers, however, no one should ever forget the biggest,...

With the buzz that Marlon Wayans has replaced Eddie Murphy in the upcoming biopic, Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said? I was brought back to one of my favorite comedy show, album, and film of all time: Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip.

Today I was asked a question I can never answer -- "what's your favorite movie?" When pressed to choose, the same picture always rises to the surface --  "The Third Man." It haunts me. No matter how many films I have seen and will see in the future, I'm fairly certain "The Third Man" will remain my...

Repulsion, rage and Roman. From comments, to blog posts, to emails, my entire day has been filled with Roman wrath. I can handle it. And I should -- I touched on a sensitive, flammable issue. But based on my "Repulsion" piece here, I think some readers failed to understand...

Update: After a flurry of comments and emails regarding this post, ranging from appreciation of my essay, to articulate disagreement, to insane sexist supposedly anti-rape salvos, I've written my take on the Polanski case, at my site. I wrote this piece not to defend his original actions, I wrote...

Vince Vaughn loves Buck Owens. He likes Gram Parsons and the Burrito Brothers. He reveres the work of Robert Plant with Alison Krauss. He has stories about George Jones and Merle Haggard -- current stories. He's hung with Willie Nelson. And he took the time to talk about all of...

"Nobody puts Baby in the corner."

How many young girls (and older women, and many men as well) swooned when that rough-hewn handsome yet sensitive, yet beautifully graceful Patrick Swayze stood up for the awkward, ...

Excerpt from my piece at Garage Magazine. I'd run the whole story, but I'd like people to still buy magazines. Also, there's other great stories inside.

"Come on dad, give me the car tonight..."

Some of my most vivid teenage memories were wrapped in chrome and steel. My first...

[Re-printed from my story "What Inglourious Basterds Owes to History" publlished at IFC. Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen Inglourious Basterds.]

There have been two moments in film this year that have moved me to my cine-loving core. Both involved individuals stirred by the power of image,...

Here's something you don't hear every day: Sir? Madam? Your child. He is not a blessed miracle of God sent from heaven above. He is not full of promise. He is not underneath it all, a smart kid, a pussycat, an angel. No. He is, in fact, a mouth-breathing brat,...

Inglourious Basterds is a gorgeous, violent, beautifully acted, gut-punching, genre-blending jolt that doesn't make you want to scalp Nahtzies (as Brad Pitt's hillbilly Aldo Raine so memorably intones), it makes you want to watch a lot of movies. Or rather, live in a world of movies. Escape into a world...

It Might Get Loud is about the allure, the mystery and the expression of the guitar. Bringing three very distinct, yet very different guitarists, Jimmy Page (The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin), Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs) and The Edge (U2)  together on one stage, filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient...

Inspired after watching Davis Guggenheim's fantastic It Might Get Loud featuring The Edge, Jack White and...Jimmy Page, I've fashioned some sort of list...

As a teenager, I discovered all kinds of music, from traditional to offbeat, blues to punk, country to classical, classic rock to rockabilly, but no matter who...

Nicholas Ray's In a Lonely Place is one of the most heartbreaking love stories ever committed to film. It's certainly one of the most poignant pictures (violently poignant at times) within the canon of film noir, a genre haunted by doomed love.

Noir love -- the kind that causes characters...

I miss New York City. I miss the New York City I've never seen -- the one I've only seen in movies. And after spending time in the Capital of the...

With the great titan of acting and frequent genius Karl Malden passing (at 97 years of age god bless him), I'm posting one of my favorite Malden movies and performances...

What is Michael Bay trying to say? We know he's an entertainer, first and foremost (or so he thinks). So if one asked him directly, he'd more than likely answer (I'm thinking arms...