film criticism by maryann johanson | celebrating 25 years: 1997–2022
I don’t get football. I have no desire to get it, and feel no great loss in my life because of this. But there are a few great football movies aren’t really about football, far less so than the many great baseball movies are actually about baseball. And so these are movies I can love.
Is there any good news? Why, yes, there is.
It’s so disgusting today in New York City that it made me actually cry in frustration. But just thinking about a handful of films makes me feel a little better. Because baby, it’s cold in these movies…
With the long-awaited DVD release of Max Headroom arriving next week, I’ve been thinking about what other shows deserve to get DVD releases that are lingering in the ether. After the jump, a few I’d love to see.
I don’t expect everyone to agree with my opinions on films, and I welcome pushback from readers about my reviews. But if you want to not be treated like a complete fucking moron when engaging me in critical debate over a film, I do expect certain level of not-being-a-complete-fucking-moron from your comments.
With a look at balancing brains and appeal and impact, here are the filmmakers who are driving what we watch, how we talk about it, and what’s to come.
As a followup to yesterday’s five great spy movies, herewith five really terrible ones… and I find it interesting that the spy movie seems to go so wrong when comedy is attempted. Given the ubiquitousness of terrible movies, this list is far from comprehensive, so please do chime with more really awful spy movies. The … more…
Do you guys like lists? I tried doing a daily list a while back, and it never seemed to connect with you all. Plus it was a lot a work because I tried to be too comprehensive, too definitive. But maybe a quicker hit of a list — and ones that didn’t pretend to be … more…
…over the rest of the summer. And by that I mean till the end of August. I peeked ahead to September, since that is still technically part of summer, but the movies then are starting to feel like fall movies. So we’ll deal with those later. It’s a grim six weekends of new movies ahead … more…
After you’ve recovered from experiencing Heath Ledger’s harrowing turn as the Joker, honor his memory — and lament what else might have been — with a look at these other flicks, in which the actor truly distinguishes himself: 1. Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain. If Ledger wins an Oscar for Dark Knight, it’ll be … more…
