November 2025

I’ve always been amazed Twin Peaks ever made it to air on network television in 1990, and its 2017 return, perhaps David Lynch’s most unfiltered vision, upped the ante on that amazement considerably, even in the streaming age of pricey prestige dramas. Has there ever been a creative work this vast and this weird with a production budget this big? Whatever you think of Lynch’s work, you have to admire his ability to carve out… See more →

I don’t know if it’s because some new responsibilities are taking me out of the house more than usual, or because humanity’s current ugly streak makes everything else look more beautiful, or because the chlorophyll decided now was the time to leave it all on the stage, but I’m really noticing the fall colors this year. Waking up to this radiant pear tree outside our window has been a quiet blessing.

This undoubtedly would have fared better in a packed theater than it did with me watching it alone at home, but I was pleasantly surprised it made me laugh out loud several times. Inevitably, its comedy feels conspicuously out of time, and I don’t think it’s on the level of the original, but I’m also not 12 years old anymore, and that’s not its fault. I spotted a couple very subtle sight gags, and I’m… See more →

My unexcused absence from social media kept me from finding out about the first-ever Philly Animation Festival until just a few days before it started, but luckily that was enough time for me to get a festival pass and make plans to attend every screening except the one for kids. In keeping with my Ottawa tradition, I rated and wrote at least a sentence or two about every single film I saw. Watching and reviewing… See more →

I’ve never been much more than a casual fan of Stars of the Lid, but I’m always excited to see an impassioned archival project, and Jon Hicks has done a stellar job assembling this home for the band’s live recordings. Don’t miss Jon’s post about how the site came together.

Relentlessly grimy from start to (almost) finish, teeming with hardboiled lowlifes of every flavor, and plenty of location shooting that makes for a great little Brooklyn time capsule.

I’ve been threatening to get back into screenprinting for far too long, so this exhibition of prints pushing the medium far beyond its apparent limits seemed like it would provide a good nudge. Not a lot of the content really spoke to me, but this show was really more about technique, and in that regard, much of what was on display was astonishing. In all my years in the game, I can’t say I’ve ever… See more →

Among other things, I remain very appreciative of Lanthimos’s rare appetite for adventurous typography.