Alexander Payne - Jeffrey Overstreet

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Alexander Payne

A collection of 5 posts

The Holdovers lives up to its name

The Holdovers lives up to its name

Alexander Payne's latest has its highlights, even if it holds us a little too long, and strains a little too hard for a crowd-pleasing conclusion.

On Movies & Media

Initial thoughts on The Descendants

In February, I'll be speaking at Seattle Pacific University about the films of 2011. I'll also be appearing on Dick Staub's Kindlings Muse live-podcast show to talk about the same subject. What 2011 films showed us something new, challenging, and worth seeing many times?

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Sideways Dominates 2004 Film Awards

More and more critics' awards are coming in, and the Golden Globe nominations are in as well. And in this year of huge, expensive epics (Troy, Alexander), glamorous biopics (Ray, Kinsey, The Aviator), and big controversial titles (Passion of the Christ, Fahrenheit 9/11), it's a little

Sideways (2004)

On Movies & Media

Sideways (2004)

A friend of mine is aghast at the critical acclaim for Sideways, the latest film from Alexander Payne. She's upset because the movie is populated by characters who are self-absorbed, promiscuous, and willing to support each other in severe misbehavior. I understand her objections, but I don'

On Movies & Media

Sideways Should Earn Paul Giamatti Another Nomination

I finally caught up with Alexander Payne's latest film, Sideways, tonight and liked it much, much better than his last film, About Schmidt. Well, that's an understatement. I really disliked About Schmidt, which pushed the audience to laugh in derision its outrageously dislikeable characters for their