Greatest hits? First listened to “Pink Flag” by Wire. Had heard Henry Rollins’ version of “Lion Tamer” back in grade school, never knew this was the source.
Lowest lows? Stuck on You. Going to hell for sure for that one.
Sept. 6
— Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Directed by George Armitage; screenplay written by Tom Jankiewicz, D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, and John Cusack.
Starring John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, and Joan Cusack.
Premiered in Los Angeles on April 7, 1997; released in the United States on April 11, 1997.
— A Face in the Crowd (1957), 30 minutes (from Vitajex to marrying Lee Remicks’s character)
Directed by Elia Kazan; screenplay written by Budd Schulberg, based on his short story Your Arkansas Traveler.
Starring Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau, and Lee Remick.
Premiered in New York City on May 28, 1957; released in the United States on June 1, 1957.
September 7
— Adrian Johns, Science of Reading, 10 pp.
— William Shakespeare, Richard II, 5 pp
September 14
— Three on a Match (1932)
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy; screenplay written by Lucien Hubbard and Brown Holmes, from a story by Kubec Glasmon and John Bright.
Starring Virginia Davis, Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart.
Released in the United States on October 29, 1932, by Warner Bros.
— Science, 10 pp.
September 15
— A Face in the Crowd (1957), last 30 minutes
— Someone Up There Likes Me (1956)
Directed by Robert Wise; screenplay by Ernest Lehman, based on the Rocky Graziano‘s autobiography by the same name.
Starring Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart, Harold J. Stone, and Sal Mineo.
— Brian’s Song (1971)
Directed by Buzz Kulik; written by William Blinn.
Starring James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden, Bernie Casey, and Shelley Fabares.
Originally aired on ABC on November 30, 1971.
— Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Directed by Joel Coen; written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.
Starring Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J.E. Freeman, and Albert Finney.
Premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 21, 1990; released in the United States on September 22, 1990.
September 20th
— In the Mood for Love (2000)
Directed and written by Wong Kar-wai.
Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung.
Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2000, where Tony Leung won the Best Actor award; released in Hong Kong on September 29, 2000.
— Science of Reading, 10 pp.
September 21st
— The Master (2012)
Directed and written by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Laura Dern.
Premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2012, where it won the Silver Lion for Best Director and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor (Phoenix and Hoffman); released in the United States on September 14, 2012.
Viewed on September 21, 2025 in 70mm at the Bryn Mawr Film Institiute in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
October 3rd
— Fool for Love (1985)
Directed by Robert Altman; screenplay written by Sam Shepard, based on his 1983 stage play of the same name.
Starring Sam Shepard, Kim Basinger, Harry Dean Stanton, Randy Quaid, and Martha Crawford.
Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 1985; released in the United States on December 6, 1985.
Something about this film seems desperately 1980s, although I know not why. Perhaps Kim Basinger, who was not successfully in anything until she starred in the 1997 film L.A. Confidential, in which she plays a prostitute who looks like a famous actress. Something about this role was easy for her, perhaps because of her unclear relationship to fame: what had she done? Who was she?
For what it’s worth, she’s very convincing in this role as a woman hoping to escape her … lover (?), played by the play and screenplay’s author. Yet this doesn’t really quite circumscribe the film’s plot.
The problem with this film is that it plays on film culture, on the expectations of the audience for a viewer about cowboys.
October 4th
— Die Hard 2 (1990)
Directed by Renny Harlin; written by Steven E. de Souza and Doug Richardson, based on the 1987 novel 58 Minutes by Walter Wager.
Starring Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Sadler, John Amos, Franco Nero, and Dennis Franz.
Released in the United States on July 4, 1990.
The first (but not the last) sequel to the original Die Hard (1988), which it’s worth remembering was an adaptation from the novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp (learned this recently … ah boredom!).
Not a successful adaptation for many reasons. Not the least of which is Sadler as the bad guy. He just doesn’t have that range (although he was quite good in The Shawshank Redemption (199?). Yet in truth, the script doesn’t help him … at all.
October 5th
— Cruel Gun Story (1964), first half
Directed by Takumi Furukawa; screenplay written by Seiji Hoshikawa and Takumi Furukawa.
Starring Joe Shishido, Mariko Kaga, Hideaki Nitani, and Chieko Matsubara.
Released in Japan on April 18, 1964.
— Two Cars, One Night (2004)
Directed and written by Taika Waititi.
Starring Jemaine Clement, Rachael Morse, and Tina Cook.
Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 15, 2004; released in New Zealand in 2004.
This is a very very charming film
— Shrinking, “Coin Flip” (2023)
Directed by James Ponsoldt; written by Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein.
Starring Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, and Harrison Ford. (Shrinking)
Premiered (streamed) in the United States on January 27, 2023.
October 7th
— Cruel Gun Story (1964), finished
October 9th
— Act of Violence (1949), last 20 minutes
Directed by Fred Zinneman; screenplay by Robert L. Richards, based on a story by Collier Young.
Starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor and Phyllis Thaxter.
Started in the scene where Van Heflin’s character comes to console his wife, played by Janet Leigh, and I was simply incredulous, is that Janet Leigh? And what exactly did Heflin’s character do?
— Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Directed by Len Wiseman; screenplay written by Mark Bomback and David Marconi, based on characters by Roderick Thorp.
Starring Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Released in the United States on June 27, 2007.
October 10th
— Twins of Evil (1971), 30 min
Directed by John Hough; screenplay by Tudor Gates.
Starring Peter Cushing, Damien Thomas, Madeleine and Mary Collinson, Isobel Black, Kathleen Byron, and David Warbeck.
— Stuck on You (2003), 45 mins
Directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly; screenplay written by Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly, Bennett Yellin and Charles B. Wessler.
Starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Eva Mendes, Seymour Cassel, Cher, and Terence Bernie Hines.
Released in the United States on December 12, 2003.
Boy, this was dumb. So dumb.
October 11th
— Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Directed and written by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Robert Smigel, Donna Mitchell, and Eddie Jemison.
Premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2002; released in the United States on October 25, 2002.
This film is so dreadfully charming. But it all seems to center around the scene that is captured in the poster.
October 12th
— Jacob Weisberg, “Algorithm Nation”, NYRB, Oct 23rd, 2025 issue.
— Garry Wills, “Man of the Year”, NYRB, Nov 21st, 1991 issue.
Netflix Power Hour (Powered by Criterion)
— Mallrats (1995), first 20 minutes
Directed and written by Kevin Smith.
Starring Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Claire Forlani, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Ethan Suplee, and Jason Mewes.
Premiered on October 20, 1995, in the United States.
Although there are elements of this film that harmonize with my 20-something life, my upbringing to that point, cultural touchpoints, I’d always avoided seeing this film because I assumed it was mostly offensive and stupid, puerile.
I guess it is not offensive, if by offensive you mean jokes that belittle women or minorities. But wait, don’t the introductory titles, with women symbolized by sexually provocative comic book heroines … but, yo, man, I think that was the point, highlighting the fantasy encoded within the kinds of images that are consumed by the boys presented in this film.
— Singles (1992) first 20 minutes
Directed and written by Cameron Crowe.
Starring Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, Sheila Kelley, Jim True-Frost, and Matt Dillon.
Premiered in the United States on September 18, 1992.
— Tanner ’88 (1987), #1, first 20 minutes
Directed by Robert Altman; screenplay written by Garry Trudeau.
Starring Michael Murphy, Pamela Reed, Cynthia Nixon, Kevin J. O’Connor, Daniel Jenkins, Jim Fyfe, Matt Malloy, Ilana Levine, Veronica Cartwright, and Wendy Crewson.
Premiered on February 15, 1988, in the United States; released (broadcast) in the United States on HBO during February–August 1988.
October 13th
— They Live (1988), up to the scene in which Piper and David brawl in the alley.
Directed by John Carpenter; screenplay written by John Carpenter and Ray Nelson.
Starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George “Buck” Flower, Peter Jason, Raymond St. Jacques, Jason Robards III and Norman Alden.
Released in the United States on November 4, 1988.
— Wire, Pink Flag (1977).
It was produced by Mike Thorne, recorded from September to October, 1977, in Advision Studios, London.
Omg. I’m in love.
October 14th
— Finished They Live
— Atomic Blonde (2017), an hour?
Directed by David Leitch; screenplay written by Kurt Johnstad.
Starring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, and Toby Jones.
Premiered at South by Southwest on March 12, 2017 in the United States; released in the United States on July 28, 2017.
They spent much more time stylizing this film than they did writing the story.
October 15th
— Law & Order, “Open Season” (2002). Aired on NBC in the United States on November 20, 2002.
Directed by Matthew Penn; written by Richard Sweren.
Starring Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, S. Epatha Merkerson, Sam Waterston, and Elisabeth Röhm.
Danielle Melnick is shot!
October 20th
— Jamón, jamón (1992)
Directed by Bigas Luna; screenplay written by Cuca Canals and Bigas Luna.
Starring Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Jordi Mollà, Stefania Sandrelli, Anna Galiena, Juan Diego, Tomás Martín, and Barbara Ewing.
Premiered in Spain on September 4, 1992; released in Italy and everywhere else subsequently.
October 23rd
— The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Directed by Judd Apatow; screenplay written by Steve Carell and Judd Apatow.
Starring Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, and Jane Lynch.
Premiered in the United States on August 19, 2005; released in the United States on August 19, 2005.
October 25th
— Science of Reading, 12 pp.
October 26th
— Dying for Sex (2025), Season 1, Episode 3 “Feelings Can Become Amplified,” aired April 4, 2025 on FX.
Directed by Chris Teague; written by Keisha Zollar.
Starring Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, Rob Delaney, Jay Duplass, Kelvin Yu, David Rasche, Esco Jouléy.
— Season 1, Episode 4 “Topping Is a Sacred Skill,” aired April 4, 2025 on FX.
Directed by Shannon Murphy; written by Madeleine George, Kim Rosenstock, Elizabeth Meriwether.
Starring Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, Rob Delany, Jay Duplass, Kelvin Yu, David Rasche, Esco Jouléy.
— Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Directed by Robert Aldrich; screenplay by Lukas Heller, based on the novel by Henry Farrell.
Starring Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Maidie Norman, Anna Lee, and Marjorie Bennett.
Released in the United States on October 31, 1962.
— Ali Wong: Single Lady (2024)
Directed by Ali Wong; executive produced by Ali Wong and John Irwin.
Starring Ali Wong.
Released on Netflix October 8, 2024.
October 27th
— Panic Room (2002)
Directed by David Fincher; written by David Koepp; starring Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam, Jared Leto, and Patrick Bauchau.
Released in the United States on March 29, 2002.
— Joy Lisi Rankin, A People’s History of Computing, 26 pp.
October 28th
— Science of Reading, 10 pp.
