Jan 24, 2021Member-onlyThe heartbreaking reason my dog thinks “The Booksellers” is the best film of the year.Last week, my dog Doug and I finally caught up with The Booksellers, the recent documentary about antiquarian and second-hand booksellers which is now streaming, without any sense of irony, on Amazon Prime. Doug usually isn’t very interested in movies, preferring, instead, the movie that plays out from the windows…Dogs4 min readDogs4 min read
Nov 24, 2020Member-onlyAmazon Prime’s new dog-adventure competition is bonkers and addictiveSending dogs and their owners around the world looking for clues and scooting down ziplines seems like a bad idea, but I can’t stop watching The Pack A few months ago, I received the screeners for nine of the ten episodes of The Pack, Amazon’s new Amazing Race competition…Dogs4 min readDogs4 min read
Oct 23, 2020Member-onlyIn “On the Rocks,” Sofia Coppola and her cast get lost in privilegeWith “On the Rocks,” Sofia Coppola gives us just the sort of myopic, unaware tale that she’s always been mistakenly accused of making. It happens all the time in pop culture, primarily in popular music, when, after years of producing smarter than average pop that might fly slightly over the…Bill Murray3 min readBill Murray3 min read
Oct 2, 2020Member-onlyIn the best of the New York Film Festival (so far), the world doesn’t seem so far awayThe New York Film Festival is midway through an extended virtual edition:here’s what’s been good, what’s been strange, and what you can still watch from home. On September 17th, the 58th edition of the New York Film Festival burst back to life with the world premiere of Steve McQueen’s Lovers…Film5 min readFilm5 min read
Sep 4, 2020Member-onlyI crossed state lines to see TenetChristopher Nolan’s new film is thrilling nonsense, but that may be enough. Starved for a live, communal film watching experience, on Wednesday I drove across the state line to Connecticut to see an “Early Access” screening of the new Christopher Nolan film Tenet. It was my birthday. I deserved it…Tenet 20205 min readTenet 20205 min read
Aug 10, 2020Member-onlyFilm Comment and the physical worldThe magazine Film Comment was a tangible space for discovering and exploring the world of film; then the pandemic swept it away. Even today, I could find that section of the library stacks blindfolded. The first floor of Stevenson Library, to the very end of the L-shaped layout, then a…Filmmaking6 min readFilmmaking6 min read
Aug 5, 2020Member-onlyPandemic, with dogsQuarantine changed my relationship with my dogs. What happens if things go back to normal? This morning, when I reluctantly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, Bananas was at my side. She was scampering. She made eye contact with me, as if to say, “Don’t dally, we…Dogs5 min readDogs5 min read
Jul 10, 2020Member-onlyTrust ExerciseWhen my heart gave out mid-pandemic, I had to make some grown-up decisions. Spoiler alert: I’m alive. But a few weeks ago, I wasn’t so sure that would be the case. After three months of quarantine and fear of contracting Covid-19, I was being attacked from within. The pandemic, up…10 min read10 min read
Feb 24, 2020Member-onlyMy New York on Film: From “The Taking of Pelham 123” to “I Like It Like That”Growing up far outside the city in the 1970s, I felt strangely inspired by films that reflected the danger, isolation and diversity of what now seems a forgotten place. In a recent podcast with Film Comment, the Safdie brothers discuss their recent film Uncut Gems through their own influences of…New York City7 min readNew York City7 min read
Feb 18, 2020Member-onlyChasing After DuqueMy love for a Costa Rican strays led me to two women: one who ran a dog sanctuary on her farm, the other who initiated a spay/neuter movement. Note: I wrote this in 2006, after returning to Costa Rica since my first visit there in 2000. I was struck by…Dogs10 min readDogs10 min read
