On Movies & Media

Toy Story 3 (2010)

This review was originally published in an abridged version at Good Letters, the blog for Image. * Fifteen years ago, I approached Toy Story with skepticism. A full-length feature animated on computers? I feared it would look fake and robotic, a poor substitute for the hand-drawn brilliance of Disney classics. But

Overstreet's Books

Touchstone on Auralia's Colors

Despite my best efforts to remain unnoticed, it seems another reader has somehow found his way to a copy of Auralia's Colors. My thanks to my friend Mary McCleary, who alerted me to a new review... ... by Lars Walker, a novelist himself has just written up a piece

The Muppets

And now for something completely familiar...

Ever suffer from sequelitis? How about the reboot rash? This morning at Image, I reflect on Cars 2, The Muppets, The Smurfs, Winnie the Pooh, Transformers 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, etc, etc, etc...

USA

Freedom on the Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! Let's begin with a few words from Wendell Berry... In our limitless selfishness, we have tried to define “freedom” for example, as an escape from all restraint. But, as my friend Bert Hornback has explained in his book “The Wisdom of Words”, “free” is

Anne M. Doe Overstreet

Delicate Machinery Suspended: Anne M. Doe Overstreet's First Book is Here!

Ladies and gentlemen... you may now order Anne M. Doe Overstreet's first book of poetry: Delicate Machinery Suspended Enjoy! And don't forget to stock up on copies for birthday and Christmas gifts! Also: Choose LIKE on the Amazon page! Follow Anne on Facebook.

On Movies & Media

Cars 2 (2011)

Dear people of Pixar, I've seen the trailer for Brave... It gave me chills. It looks like an enchanting movie. I cannot wait to see it. I'm going to go ahead let my hopes soar, like Carl Fredricksen's balloon-raised house, right up into the

Mulholland Drive

Your favorite films of 2001?

So, it’s been ten years… Now that you’ve had a decade to chew on these films, I’d be curious to know what you would now choose as your top 5, 10, or 20 of 2001. It’s a list that includes titles that weren’t accessible in

On Books & Writing

Is Today's Young Adult Literature "Too Dark"?

If you were to ask me that question, I would refer you to my favorite Young Adult novelist: Sara Zarr. And she would say something like this... ...her contribution today to the Good Letters blog.

Facebook

10 Things My Friends and I Said On Facebook Since Friday

It's been a lively weekend on my Facebook page. Are you following the news and conversations there? Choose "LIKE" to do so. Here are some recent comments.... 1. "Whoa, as in, kick ass." * Mick Silva on the news that Danny Elfman and T-Bone Burnett

On Movies & Media

Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians (2011)

At a Seattle coffee shop, a friend of mine is talking about an intriguing fellow that both of us know. "Do you know how he pays the bills?" My friend smiles slyly. His half-whisper suggests that our mutual friend is up to something risky. I'm surprised

Benedict Cumberbatch

The Hobbit casts Bard the Guardsman... and Smaug.

Well, for fans of The Hobbit, there have been two more big questions related to casting Peter Jackson's upcoming movie. Who will play Bard the Guardsman, a strong fellow whose skill as an archer becomes very important in the story? And who will give a voice to the

Mike Mills

We're All Beginners

Beginners is a very persuasive film, largely due to nuanced performances—and that includes the charming Jack Russell terrier who plays Arthur, a four-legged grief counselor (via subtitles). Unlikely as it sounds, director Mike Mills weaves all of these emotional storylines together—and anthropomorphizes a canine—without stumbling into sentimentality

Mike Mills

Beginners (2010)

[This review was originally published at Good Letters, a blog hosted by Image.] • During a lecture last March, I spoke fondly of a friend whom I had recently lost to cancer. Halfway through the anecdote, I suddenly recognized his wife, the mother of his two young children, in the audience,

On Movies & Media

My Kind of Loser.

To continue this week of celebrating the 30th anniversary of my favorite adventure movie, here's an excerpt from my memoir of dangerous moviegoing... the book called Through a Screen Darkly: • The Paramount Studios logo — a crooked, rocky peak — fades out, replaced by a real-world equivalent, a stone pinnacle

On Movies & Media

30 years later, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is Still, For a Lot of Moviegoers (Including Me), the Big Screen's Greatest Adventure.

Apparently, I'm not the only one... Here's Ryan Holt: They had forgotten how violent the film actually is, but my interest level was so high that they lacked the heart to turn the film off. So the three of us sat there, and I, who was

On Movies & Media

The Tree of Life: My First Impressions

My first-impression thoughts on The Tree of Life are posted at Image's blog - Good Letters. ... * Part One: "Did You Like It?" * Part Two: A Storm of Poetry

On Movies & Media

The Tree of Life (2011)

The Tree of Life has quickly become one of the most talked-about movies ever made. And although it isn't my favorite of Terrence Malick's films—that distinction belongs to The New World—I've been invited to discuss this movie on more occasions than any

On Books & Writing

Job-hunting? Want to work for IMAGE?

IMAGE is ready to hire a full-time Director of Development. Could this be you? Apply now to work with a talented, fun-loving team in the office of my favorite literary journal. Download the job description here.

On Movies & Media

Meek's Cutoff (2011)

This review was originally published at Filmwell. • This is the best I can do translating the barely legible notes I made, and completing sentence fragments I scribbled, in a darkened theatre during a screening of Kelly Reichardt's film Meek's Cutoff: * "Dry." That's

Bob Dylan

Happy 70th Birthday, Bob Dylan!

In honor of the king of American music, here is my review of I'm Not There, the great film by Todd Haynes about the life of Bob Dylan. Have you seen it? Which of the many actors portraying Dylan in this film was most interesting for you? If

Mike Mills

Be Mindful: Beginners is Coming.

On Sunday, I had the distinct pleasure and privilege of shaking hands with filmmaker Mike Mills and actor Ewan McGregor, and sitting down with two other journalists (Sarah Fetters and Keith Simanton) to interview them about their new film Beginners, which also stars Christopher Plummer and Melanie Laurent. They were

On Movies & Media

Filmwell Returns!

Over the last week, I've been thrilled to see Filmwell - the collaborative and strange film blog for adventurous cinephiles that I started with Michael Leary a couple of years ago - transplanted to a new home base at The Other Journal, an online magazine I've

On Movies & Media

Wait... Who Gets "Left Behind"?

My friend Matthew Dickerson, author of Ents, Elves and Eriador: the Environmental Vision of J.R.R.Tolkien and Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: the Environmental Vision of C.S.Lewis, presented this meditation - a challenge to the conventional understanding of "the Rapture" - at a

On Songs & Albums

Return to The Suburbs: Two New Arcade Fire Songs!

Thanks to the folks of ListenBeforeYouBuy.net, we can listen to two new songs from the upcoming deluxe edition of Arcade Fire's Grammy-winning album The Suburbs. (I still can't believe I can say that: Arcade Fire's Grammy-winning album!) Elsewhere, my friend Stephen Lamb says:

On Movies & Media

Worst/Best Fake-Out Trailers of All Time

I submit that this was the worst fake-out trailer of all time. When the audience realized the real subject of the movie, and saw the horrible execution of an already idiotic idea, there was almost a riot in the theatre. Wow. Every time I see it, I feel physical pain.