Now seated for John Woo’s THE KILLER, a movie I didn’t think I’d ever get to see in a theater.

OK, if you're looking for something to do, this is something you can do. This comes from a retired meteorologist who knows how local TV works. Currently recording the WGN Morning News (WGN is Nexstar) and making a list of local advertisers to call later. (Sorry, Joffrey Ballet.)

Support independent media, now more than ever. Not just news and politics, but film, TV, fashion and other cultural criticism and commentary, from podcasts to apps to good old-fashioned web sites. Pay for it. Turn your adblocker off so they can keep the lights on. Share it.

Haven’t heard the term “guardrails” in a while.

Today at The Reveal: I review A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY, a deeply flawed movie but a sincere and well-crafted one with a few great scenes. And @scotttobias.bsky.social reviews the great doc PREDATORS:

Thinking of this classic tweet. So much sowing going on right now. Ready for the reaping to begin.

Today at The Reveal: I review A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY, a deeply flawed movie but a sincere and well-crafted one with a few great scenes. And @scotttobias.bsky.social reviews the great doc PREDATORS:

Subscriber counts on a newsletter are misleading: many don't open emails, some have unsubscribed, etc. But it still feels good to know 10,000 people showed an interest in the work we do at Episodic Medium. No better time to join us than our subscription drive: www.episodicmedium.tv/month-to-mon...

As opposed to when someone says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, and dumb then builds a whole media empire out of the practice.

Sometimes I wish I could apologize to John Singleton for thinking the parts of HIGHER LEARNING about the alienated kid who gets seduced by white supremacists then shoots up a campus was kind of over the top back in 1995.

A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say. This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand. All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.

Following the money literally never misses

I was already hyped for this Boorman doc, but I’m over the moon now that I’ve read this piece in @thereveal.bsky.social from @scotttobias.bsky.social. thereveal.film/interview-da...

When I heard about the new documentary on EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC that premiered in Venice, I had to talk to its director @davidkittredge.bsky.social immediately. Today in The Reveal, he talks about the making, unmaking and revival of this one-of-a-kind sequel: thereveal.film/interview-da...

I keep getting served obviously AI Facebook posts from an account that seems to specialize in fake Rick Moranis news.

I know it’s unlikely but I want the eyeball alien to stay in the sheep’s skull, staring malevolently out into the world, forever.

Inspired by my first visit to Toronto I wrote about a film that seemingly all Canadians know and many revere. Americans like me, however, are another story. Read about Donald Shebib's GOIN' DOWN THE ROAD at The Reveal:

A couple of Redford pieces from the past: Around the time THE OLD MAN & THE GUN, Redford's lovely swan song, was released I looked at Redford's history of playing outlaws for @vulture.com:

The bad news is that a venerable publication no longer employs the great Alan Sepinwall as TV critic. The good news is that nothing is going to stop Alan from being a great TV critic and now you can support him directly via his excellent newsletter.

Inspired by my first visit to Toronto I wrote about a film that seemingly all Canadians know and many revere. Americans like me, however, are another story. Read about Donald Shebib's GOIN' DOWN THE ROAD at The Reveal:

Robert Redford playing a gentle incarnation of death, coming for a frightened old woman in The Twilight Zone episode "Nothing in the Dark" (1962). An extraordinary performance then, terribly bittersweet today

ICYMI last night: there’s a new episode of The Laser Age. @donnadb.bsky.social joins me to talk about all things robots and cops.

A giant. One of those people you can’t really grasp not being around anymore.

More tomorrow, but now might be a very good time to consider subscribing to What’s Alan Watching? alansepinwall.ghost.io

Oh boy! ROBOCOP is an all time favorite of mine. It was a treat and an honor to join my friend Keith on The Laser Age!

Fresh out of The Reveal's podcast factory, it's a new episode of The Laser Age. In this installment, @donnadb.bsky.social joins me to discuss ROBOCOP. Who is he? What is he? Listen along as we try to figure it out:

Time to forget the troubles of the world with a movie. What am I seeing again… THE LONG WALK? Sounds inspiring.

I was listening to an old Casey Kasem American Top 40 (I find this soothing these days) from 1985 where he told the story of Wendy Carlos, who scored The Shining and Tron, and her journey to becoming trans. Casey got all the pronouns right and it was presented as a slice of life, feel good story

The remnants of the 2010s A.V. Club have shared the space of newsletters too long without collaborating, so I invited @kphipps3000.bsky.social and @scotttobias.bsky.social from The Reveal to chat the blurred lines of "TV Movies" in the streaming age. Crossover episode!

Our friend @memles.bsky.social invited @kphipps3000.bsky.social and I to talk about the odd case of TV Movies in the streaming age. Please enjoy this Reveal/Episodic Medium crossover event! thereveal.film/the-tv-movie...

I’m still at TIFF today but the time felt right to file my report. (I’ll be updating it in the comments throughout the day.) There’s a lot of good stuff heading your way.

I’m still at TIFF today but the time felt right to file my report. (I’ll be updating it in the comments throughout the day.) There’s a lot of good stuff heading your way.

Not going to lie: cool seeing this in the TIFF store.

Today at The Reveal, @kphipps3000.bsky.social and I continue our Sight and Sound discussion project with SHERLOCK JR., a blissful 45 minutes of Buster Keaton comedy and movie magic: thereveal.film/54-tie-sherl...

Help me out: I saw a Cybertruck in Toronto. Does it mean the same thing in Canada as it does in the States? Specifically, are you an asshole whose politics align with everything wrong in the world right now or are you just a rich dork with bad taste?

Do you want to see men fight with bicycles? No, not on bicycles, _with_ bicycles. Keep an eye out for THE FURIOUS if that sounds intriguing.

Visiting a street I only know of because of SCTV. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtE7...

Sorry for not doing insta-reviews from TIFF. Nothing wrong with them. Just not my style. But I can tell you that I’ve seen two films about the history of houses across multiple generations and two films in which characters are locked in basements. Trends in the making!

There are no two ways to read this. This combination of words and images can’t just be waved away as trolling.

I’m at TIFF and mostly seeing the inside of movie theaters. If I have some downtime what should I see as a first-time visitor to Toronto? (I’ve already seen the Chihuly hanging on the lobby of Ruth’s Chris’ as I walked by.)

One important thing to remember is that if a movie hasn’t gotten good within, say, its first 20 minutes the odds of it getting good decrease with each additional minute.

What if vaccines were objectively good, actually?

This week's reviews: The new CONJURING shamelessly sentimentalizes the Warrens, which for me means it's time to talk about the real-life Warrens. And @kphipps3000.bsky.social reviews RIEFENSTAHL, a doc that also dismantles image control: thereveal.film/in-review-th...

Officially press.

Before the pandemic, I attended the Toronto International Film Festival 20 straight years and haven't been back since. With @kphipps3000.bsky.social going for the first time this year, I offer my memories of TIFF through 20 films: thereveal.film/20-years-20-...

For the night people.

I'm going to the Toronto International Film Festival for the first time ever tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it. But this is a really weird time to be leaving Chicago and my family behind for a week.

Supplemental viewing for today's CARNAL KNOWLEDGE piece: thereveal.film/the-scandal-...

Today at The Reveal I revisited Mike Nichols' searing CARNAL KNOWLEDGE and the scandal that surrounded its release (including an obscenity case that went all the way to the Supreme Court):

Well, that's disappointing.