“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” one of the most frequently played holiday songs, is both somber and…
When I first pitched Scenic Routes, back in the summer of 2009, one of my big selling points was the idea’s sheer…
Resolved: Split screen is an underutilized cinematic device.
In the real world, making an entrance is something that you have limited control over. The people you’re hoping to…
On the day that I’m writing this, there’s a news item about a Northwestern University engineering student, Lawrence…
The tragic farce that was 2016 offered numerous disturbing wake-up calls—especially for those of us who’d…
Urban legends and false factoids rarely get past my bullshit meter, but I confess that I was surprised, a few years…
As someone who considers Donald Trump grotesquely unqualified for the office he’ll soon hold (to the point where…
Love and sex aren’t remotely the same thing, but movies frequently treat them as if they are. Mostly, it’s visual…
Every year around this time, I find myself pondering the thin line between horror and suspense. When push comes to…
“Over the years,” David Mamet writes in his slim volume On Directing Film, “I have observed that there are two…
When the sad news broke last week that Curtis Hanson died, it occurred to me that I’ve unconsciously associated…
As a writer, I tend to do a fair bit of what editors sometimes call “throat clearing.” I’m doing it right now, as a…
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Joe Versus the Volcano, we’re looking back at our Scenic Routes column…
Every critic develops ideological convictions, consciously or unconsciously. I have at least three significant…
“It’s all about men!” proclaimed the poster for 1939’s The Women, and the marketing department wasn’t kidding.…
Years ago, I dated a voracious reader. Her apartment was wall-to-wall bookshelves, showcasing a highly respectable…
Depicting stupidity intelligently is a paradoxical nightmare. Movies rarely even attempt the feat, opting instead…
Opening credit sequences often function as short films of their own, setting the tone for whatever’s to follow.…
Here’s an odd question: What’s the most adult film you’ve ever seen? Not in the pornographic sense, obviously—I…