afraid of that
I only skimmed this week's review and last week's, because I haven't watched the episodes yet. But this is what I was hoping not to find:

That's certainly one aspect of the character, and the one that seems to irritate certain critics—they feel that the Coens are unjustly attacking Clifford Odets. But it seems obvious to me that the Odets and Faulkner and Louis B. Mayer references are just riffs that have little to do with the film is really about,…

In all honesty, this scene *is* among the most memorable in the movie for me, for the reasons discussed. More than that, though, it's the one that best exemplifies what I love about the Coen Bros., and what I feel is missing from A Serious Man. Which is less the clever dialogue or bravura set pieces than their…

soce: I've watched GERRY multiple times, so yeah.

Let me recant to a certain degree.
Y'all have made some good points, particularly about the value of a non-traditional approach for a character like this. I still think it potentially sends an unfortunate message that Damon opens up immediately after Williams reveals that he too was regularly beaten as a kid (since…

For the record, I spent a couple of years in therapy as a pre-teen following my parents' divorce, for which I blamed myself in the grand old tradition of eldest kids everywhere. As I recall this largely consisted of the shrink and I playing board games for an hour, though I suppose she must have been asking me…

Right now it's biweekly, but I'd love to do it every week and I'm told that might be a possibility down the road. Feel free to clamor.

Yeah, I'm doing this column as a regular feature and will be contributing to the blog, Inventories, possibly other stuff as well.

Haven't seen BOONDOCK SAINTS, but I have no problem with a movie being all style so long as there's no pretense of substance. And so long as the style is truly exhilarating.

I think it all depends on context. One of the reasons I despise ELEPHANT is that I'm repulsed by the way Van Sant aestheticizes (I say it's a word too) Columbine—that was a real tragedy with real victims, and I had no desire to see it transformed into ostentatiously gorgeous images. NOWHERE TO HIDE, as you foresaw…

Finding this movie
Guys, what's the big deal? I had no trouble finding a copy of the DVD—it was right there on my shelf where it's been since I bought it eight years ago.

Having watched the shot like two dozen times now, I have to say I think you're largely projecting what Dirk *should* be thinking/feeling in this moment onto Wahlberg's face, which I maintain starts out with a hint of a wicked smile (don't see how that fits "turmoil and terror and rage" or "paralyzing lucidity and…

I'd been thinking just in terms of feature films, and will likely stick mostly to that, but I like the notion of opening it up on occasion. I can think of one scene each from "The Shield" and "The Wire" I'd love to tackle.

How Boogie Nights is derivative would be a whole separate lengthy column. I do give one example of the kind of shot I'm talking about (specifically w/r/t Scorsese) in the piece. But I mean look at the entire sequence set to "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)*." That couldn't be more Marty if De Niro and Pesci were in it.

Wow, and you only saw half the scene. It gets wilder from there.

I'm not putting any restrictions on the quality of the film as a whole (which is totally subjective anyway). Masterpieces, solid efforts, utter trash—all that matters is the scene itself. And as I said, I intend to roam all over cinema history. The next entry will be from a film I imagine very few people will have…

There are certainly expressionistic elements to TWBB, most notably the score. I just said it's his *most* naturalistic movie since Hard Eight. He's not having the characters break into song or spend the entire movie wearing a ludicrous blue suit.

Good call on Putney Swope. I saw that film in 1995, two years before Boogie Nights was made, and the firecracker bit didn't stick with me. Had I seen them in the opposite order I'm sure it would've been blaring.

Not only is THE KEEP the only Mann film I've never seen, I'd completely forgotten about its existence completely until I looked up his filmography last week.

Noel is correct. I don't demand strict fidelity to the facts in films like this, especially now that we live in a world where you can look the facts up on your iPhone on the way home from the movie (which I do all the time). I mean, I'd be a bit gobsmacked if Mann had Dillinger escape Purvis at the Biograph and live…