This was the first piece I ever published online, in 2013, at Queens Free Press. Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen’s 45th film as a director, is an unusually spirited blend of his steadfast themes. Was he amused by Ruth Madoff’s declarations of innocence? Mindful of the ephemerality of the life he and others have worked, marriedContinue reading “A Leaky Ship Without A Country: A Review of Woody Allen and Cate Blanchett’s Blue Jasmine”
Monthly Archives: April 2021
Michael Pare: An Action Hero For the Rest of Us.
I like Michael Pare.
Stealth Cinema: The Shadow Careers of Our Favorite Actors
My first piece on “stealth cinema,” low-budget films with A-List actors, republished.
E. Spat Oktan Invites You to Get in on the Ground Floor of his Deep Space Sci-Fi Extravaganza, PROXIMA ONE
E. Spat Oktan talks up his new science-fiction novel PROXIMA ONE
An Investigation of Agnieszka Holland’s THE THIRD MIRACLE, and a career spanning talk with its author, Richard Vetere
THE THIRD MIRACLE, a sort of “spiritual detective story” about a troubled priest chosen to investigate whether a laywoman allegedly responsible for a miracle is a suitable candidate for sainthood, came out in the fall of 1990 and had a brief run on the art-house circuit, collecting some respectful reviews before gently exiting the OscarContinue reading “An Investigation of Agnieszka Holland’s THE THIRD MIRACLE, and a career spanning talk with its author, Richard Vetere”
The Rejected Flower: A Heartfelt Defense of Peter Bogdanovich’s Romantic Freefall Through Space, ILLEGALLY YOURS
A discussion of why ILLEGALLY YOURS didn’t deserve the death penalty and the intriguing nature of “humpback movies” made by great directors.
The Mythic, Unseen, long-lost film CHIEF ZABU has Now Arrived!
By James Kenney. This interview originally appeared at WhatchaReading? on October 25, 2017. Any film with Allen Garfield, Ed Lauter and Zack Norman can’t be bad. Any film with Allen Garfield, Ed Lauter and Zack Norman that was lost for 30 years, only to re-materialize this November 2nd at Videology for a screening and QContinue reading “The Mythic, Unseen, long-lost film CHIEF ZABU has Now Arrived!”
Missionaries, Mercenaries, & Misfits: Benicio Del Toro, Olga Kurylenko and Tim Robbins in A PERFECT DAY
A PERFECT DAY is an overlooked seriocomic look at a very dark subject. More of you should see it.
HONG KONG FAVORITES, FANTASIES, AND FEVER DREAMS: A REVIEW OF THE 6th OLD SCHOOL KUNG FU FEST, RUNNING APRIL 8th-10th, 2016 AT THE METROGRAPH THEATER, NYC
I reprint this article where I go deep on Hong Kong action cinema on its 5th anniversary
Fun in a Bottle: Sir Ridley Scott’s The Martian
Ridley Scott is good, sure. But he was never great and my review of the good (but not great) THE MARTIAN explains why.
Tremble...Sigh...Wonder... 