Being Maria

There is a bit of a Maria Schneider moment going on, and the new movie Being Maria, which I just wrote about, is part of it. I also highly recommend Vanessa Schneider's book My Cousin Maria (translated by Molly Ringwald!) Here's my NY Times feature about Jessica Palud's film.

Mayhem

I know that this post's subject line will draw some Gaga fans but it's the Norwegian band I'm talking about. Bucket-list interview for me! Thataway for my story on the ur-black metal band. 

The rites of spring skiing

Kooky outfits, wacky races, cold drinks on warm decks: I wrote about the rites of spring skiing for the Washington Post. Click here for a gift link.

Off Broadway and streaming

I wrote two theater roundups for the NY Times this month. The first one covers new shows that are playing Off and Off Off Broadway. The second features streaming theater. Since we've extended the net to theater-centric film and television, I included the 1982 made-for-TV movie Who Am I This Time? Trust me, you want to see that gem with the young Christopher Walken and Susan Sarandon.

Five sci-fi movies for March 2025

Here's my latest batch of streaming sci-fi movies you may have missed. Oh, let's face it: You're extremely likely to have missed them!

Buena Vista Social Club

I didn't actually use that term in my review, but Buena Vista Social Club is a jukebox musical, and a good one. My write-up for the NY Times is here.

The Electric State

Watching The Electric State, I wondered what the writers and directors understood from their nominal source material (an illustrated novel by Simon Stålenhag), because the movie is pretty much the polar opposite in terms of both content and aesthetics. Just baffling. My review for the NY Times is here.

O'Dessa

I reviewed the offbeat sci-fi musical (as if a sci-fi musical could be anything else) O'Dessa for the New York Times — one of my two reviews of movies starring Stranger Things alums in a single week. Click here for my take on this Sadie Sink vehicle.

Mary Said What She Said

There's an expression for actors like Isabelle Huppert in France: "monstre sacré." And wow did she live up to it in this show at Skirball. It was a demonstration of rigor and virtuosity the likes of which we don't often see in the US. So yeah, I was impressed, as you can tell from my review for the NY Times.

Dakar 2000

Rajiv Joseph's new play is described as a thriller but for that it'd need suspense or menace or sexual tension or something. My review is here.

Five sci-fi movies for February

Life comes at you fast…and you forget to post link to your own articles! I've been working on my selection of streaming sci-fi movies for March and remembered that I hadn't posted the February one so here goes.