any time i complain about the degredation of our ability to express ourselves through language people go "language always changes, it wasn't the same 200 years ago either" but have u read letters from 200 years ago? they actually were better at expressing themselves through language than we are lol

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (Johnson, 2026): “You think this is funny? My whole life is riding on this.”

PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER (Tykwer, 2006): You can’t be smelling like that White Baby

Wrote a brief obituary for Frederick Wiseman, largely about ASPEN and IN JACKSON HEIGHTS, two films whose points of view shine through in editing and focus. Gift link below. www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...

For the @reverseshot.bsky.social symposium, I wrote about THE TARGET SHOOTS FIRST and the Hi-8 camera, selling out vs. buying in, the shadow of the ’90s on our current moment, and my tenure managing Downtime Magazine. A more personal piece than usual! Check it out! reverseshot.org/symposiums/e...

If you haven’t already seen it, please seek out Tom Noonan’s debut feature WHAT HAPPENED WAS… One of the great American independent films of the ’90s directed by one of the very best American character actors ever.

I’ve had Duvall’s delivery of “big, fat, BIG-TITTED HIT” burned into my brain since I was 14 years old.

Been listening to APOLOGIES TO THE QUEEN MARY on repeat for the first time since high school, which basically means strangers sometimes have to hear me mutter stuff like, “I got water and I got holes” like a fool.

F1 is *fine*. The cars go zoom and the guys are mad. What’s the problem?

He’s gonna live until he’s like 95 yrs old, and when it finally happens it will be profoundly unsatisfying.

A year ago, I had the opportunity to write some thoughts about my personal history with David Lynch, a sui generis filmmaker who, like so many others, meant the world to me. For @thenation.com. www.thenation.com/article/cult...

For the ~12 people who care, Sammy's DEBUT ALBUM is back on Spotify after being removed. Notable for being the only Pavement rip-off record, to the point where legal action might have been warranted, feat. a guitarist who went on to become a billionaire. open.spotify.com/album/5CwHg3...

Did Mary Bronstein go an entire press cycle without being asked about Guided by Voices?

The run of Filmmaker Magazine under Scott & Vadim produced some of the most fascinating and important work on understanding indie film in terms of economics, technology, and the actual stakes of art. I was honored to write for Vadim, easily one of the best editors I've worked with. Hire Vadim!

If you enjoy my writing, much of that is because I was edited by, and worked alongside, Vadim, who made me a stronger, more perceptive critic, thinker, and viewer. Words can hardly express how much of a blow this is to “the culture.” Hire him.

My first taste of Béla Tarr was THE TURIN HORSE and I was hooked from the masterful opening shot. His work is still essential and awe-inspiring. The best way to honor his legacy is to watch his films. The second-best way is to watch this mashup. youtu.be/ZZ3-7C6RYOE?...

Well, this is specific.

It’s been a bad year for myriad reasons, but as always, a sincere thanks to the lovely editors who commissioned work from me. Business is bad all around, so if you saw my byline and chose to engage with the writing, I appreciate it. May it continue. Good tidings. Here’s a photo.

Here's 30 of my favorite first viewings from 2025 in (autobiographically) chronological order.

Don’t really know how to contain my rage after a guy at the cinema took my coat off my chair and gave it to lost and found because he “thought someone had just forgot it.” Stared at this idiot for like five seconds before realizing I can’t blow him up with my mind.

MEGADOC (Figgis, 2025): “All I’m saying is: What’s on the screen? Is it real or is it flickering light?” “It’s real!” “Okay, it’s not real.”

One of my favorite actors period. A true ringer, someone who elevated material just by showing up. His funny, unaffected delivery was unparalleled. There’s like half a dozen GENERATION KILL scenes that ran through my head after hearing the news. I found this one the quickest.

Definitive version. Have gotten a ton of mileage out of “You say that you’re a pervert, you’re a vulture / Don’t you wanna be popular culture?” youtu.be/i8yehVUF8h0?...

Last month, I spent four days in Knoxville attending FILM FEST KNOX where I watched cool regional cinema and basked in the sights. Wrote about it at length for @filmmakermagazine.com.web.brid.gy. Please check it out. filmmakermagazine.com/132553-revie...

Last month, I spent four days in Knoxville attending FILM FEST KNOX where I watched cool regional cinema and basked in the sights. Wrote about it at length for @filmmakermagazine.com.web.brid.gy. Please check it out. filmmakermagazine.com/132553-revie...

Some insufficient, drive-by thoughts on MARTY SUPREME, one of the funnest and funniest movies of the year. Was happy with it not being “about” much, but then it reveals its hand at the last minute and everything snaps into place…

am kinda over the damn moon about this review of ANOTHER WORLD ISN'T POSSIBLE in The Whitney Review (but you'll have to buy it to see it)

Sorta in awe of this talk show appearance. Eight mins are spent discussing now-niche late ’70s, early ’80s TV character actors and LOVE BOAT storylines. Vic Tayback gets name checked thrice. Hanks mentions STALAG 17. Exclusively for nerds and anyone 65+. m.youtube.com/watch?v=0SKa...

Only for the heads: if you have the chance to see Kyle Kinane in the next few months, take the chance. As a fan from the beginning, he has his best hour in maybe a decade.

Spoke with Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar about TRAIN DREAMS, shooting the logging scenes, working with animals, and, um, my *very* different interpretation of the source text. For the most recent @filmmakermagazine.com.web.brid.gy issue now online. filmmakermagazine.com/131835-inter...

Kinda funny that a pop star has a Substack at all, but I suppose it’s nice that every generation receives their own MEETING PEOPLE IS EASY (1998) in the form (blog post) they deserve.

The Bar, which lines a wall with bawdy political paintings, once featured a portrait of a nude Mark Sanford in a loving embrace with a woman on the Appalachian. Since the public quickly forgot that particular sex scandal, I often explained its origins to curious tourists. Anyway.

mayor zohran sir please immediately dispatch the boppers, gramercy riffs, turnbull ac's, hi-hats, electric eliminators, rogues, lizzies, orphans, punks and warriors to chicago to join the fight against ice

I’ll say I’m a cynical pessimist by nature, but the last time I felt this hopeful was when I canvassed and phone banked for Obama in 08 when I wasn’t old enough to vote for him. “I’m running outta heroes man. Guys like you are in short supply,” etc. etc.

You know, he lit up the world with his beautiful smirk.

At least twice during tonight’s performance, The Beta Band transcended the ’90s—white guys into rap, “sampledelica,” the legacy of Beck—to become the Scottish rebirth of Can (if every member was a percussionist). I wanna tell my stoner 16-yr-old self: You backed the right horse.

Heartbreaking, unfair, inevitable.

This game may have made this the craziest World Series of my life. What happens when this is over? These guys played two games in one night. How is anyone gonna be functional?

They’re cooking over on /r/baseball right now

oh no, the fox broadcast is zooming in on normal food in the stadium somewhere while the broadcasters say "that looks good to eat." they're developing Regular Season Madness

Who is doing this horrible cover of “Behind Blue Eyes” in the trailer for this dogshit Patrick Dempsey-starring hitman show on Fox? It’s horrible.

I honestly believe if the game goes to the 14th inning, you gotta start selling beer again. What are you, an asshole?

Happy to be there writing On IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (one of the year’s finest films) and the relief of seeing Jafar Panahi finally working outside his own head. Also includes a brief examination of my own (embarassing, unsettling) feelings about vengeance in fascist times.

On THE MASTERMIND, Kelly Reichardt’s reserved political sensibility, the rise of the Me Decade, and the fact that we’re all on the chopping block, for @thenation.com Check it out! www.thenation.com/article/cult...

No correct aspect ratio upload to be found on YouTube, and I could be more rigorous about my editing, but I genuinely think this is some of the funniest 106 seconds in comedy history, and definitely in my top five Simpsons jokes.

One of my best friends recently discovered, and has been painfully remastering, the archives of our radio show Unbridled Enthusiasm that we eventually transitioned into a podcast hosted out of his dorm room. Was pleasantly surprised how not bad it was. College radio is manna.

VOODOO probably has legit claim to best post-Marvin R&B record and BLACK MESSIAH was such a massive deal in my corner of the world. Ludicrous that he’s gone so soon.

R.I.P.