Known for his quirky revamps of genres like screwball comedy, writer-director David O. Russell now has reinvented himself: from an on-set hothead to a filmmaker with a compassionate approach and a golden touch. His own dry spell made filmmaker David…
Hollywood Hams for the Holidays
Even though Thanksgiving is behind us, we film fans are thankful for ham … acting, that is. Often synonymous with the showiness of William Shatner (“Khaaaaaaaaaaan!”), hams aren’t bad actors per se; they just know when to exaggerate. A glint…
Christian Bale Dives Into His Characters
Christian Bale has earned a standout reputation as an actor by disappearing thoroughly into his characters, whether by losing weight, learning sleight-of-hand, eating worms, or spending hours with someone to absorb his mannerisms. “I like the idea of movies having…
Dysfunctional Thanksgiving Films
For all its charms of sumptuous food, football, films and family, Thanksgiving has its share of dysfunction: delayed flights, kitchen mishaps, leftover resentments. It’s a recipe for relatable drama and even a few laughs. Writer-director Will Slocombe cooks up this…
From Goonie to Go-To Guy
More than twenty years after breaking into film as a Goonie, Josh Brolin has emerged as the go-to guy for many high-profile film adaptations, I wrote in my piece on Word & Film today. Since 2007’s “No Country for…
Fade to Black
Sad to see that the great Syd Field has died at age 77. With “Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting” and “The Screenwriter’s Workbook,” he’s helped so many of us get the images in our heads onto the page.
“Breaking Bad”: Hubris, Blood, Meth and Tears
With Sunday’s series finale, the acclaimed AMC crime drama “Breaking Bad” wraps up a modern-day Greek tragedy. Over five seasons, this Primetime Emmy winner for Outstanding Drama Series has watched Walter White (Bryan Cranston) evolve from an Albuquerque chemistry teacher…
Hard-Boiled Humor
Robert De Niro brings lightning intensity to mobsters and miscreants in films such as “Mean Streets,” “Raging Bull,” “Cape Fear,” and “Goodfellas.” But with “The Family,” opening September 13, he taps into another skill set: his capacity for comedy. From…
“What will your verse be?”
School season made me think how movie buffs are in class year-round. (This summer we attended “Monsters University,” right?) So I’ve rounded up a list of my favorite school films with life lessons, such as “Stand and Deliver,” “Wonder Boys,”…
Making crime an art and crooks “fun”
I’d love to say something appropriately poignant and witty on the death of Elmore Leonard, who wrote dialogue that made me laugh out loud. (One of his 10 rules of writing? “Try to leave out the parts that readers tend…