TV: Poker Face (Season 1)
On one level, it’s surprising a show like Poker Face could succeed in the current TV landscape, but on another level, no—it’s surprising it didn’t happen sooner. A throwback to …
Film – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Rian Johnson’s hit Knives Out was bound to be a tough trick to replicate, but Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a shiny, energetic effort that does an entertaining …
Film: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
At this point, it’s safe to say the recent glut of Star Wars films can officially be categorized as “too much of a good thing.” In fact, if Stars Wars: …
Film: Knives Out
Rian Johnson is a remarkable auteur, and while his list of writer-director credits is more impressive in mystery-comedy mode (Brick, The Brothers Bloom) than in science fiction (Looper, Star Wars: …
TV: Breaking Bad
For years, I’ve wondered if a show would ever come along to dethrone The Wire, for me, as the best television series ever made. Breaking Bad may well be that …
Film: The Brothers Bloom
Rian Johnson clearly enjoys toying with genre tropes, and his second film The Brothers Bloom (2008) tackles the con game movie the same way Brick tackles noir: with energy, style, …
Film: Looper
In light of the dopey previews, I was totally prepared to skip Looper (2012) until I saw that Rian Johnson, the writer-director of Brick, was behind it. I figured in …
Film: Brick
Brick (2005) is one of those movies that’s been sitting around in my “to-watch” queue for a while, and now I feel like a fool for having waited so long. …