May 9, 2021: Oh, hello. Today I review a fine novel by Eleanor Morse called Margreete’s Harbor for the Portland …
Sorry: Not about Abbott and Costello
All About Plumb
April 5, 2021: Oh yes: That’s Eve Plumb in a scene from 2013’s stellar indie neo-noir Blue Ruin. Say, did …
Punk Rock = Film Noir
March 24, 2021: That’s what I think, anyway. I wrote an essay on my little hypothesis, and the great Bright …
Cloris Leachman Is My Second Favorite Sorority Gal
January 31, 2021: Well, insert sigh here: I was already planning to use this Cloris Leachman photo for this post …
Not That You Asked…
December 31, 2020: In response to an overwhelming lack of demand, I’m listing the five best books about old Hollywood …
“I’m from the Bronx”
December 27, 2020: Oh good: today the Portland Press Herald runs my review of a thriller set in the Bronx—it’s …
I’m the Best! I Mean I’m a Best!
December 25, 2020: Merry Christmas to me: Salon has selected my essay “‘Low Class’ Donald Trump and the Wasps: Reckoning …
Such a Character (Actor)!
November 19, 2020: You know how I’ve always meant to but haven’t (yet) written a book about golden-age Hollywood character …
I Have a Good Excuse!
October 25, 2020: Today in the Portland Press Herald I review Carol Goodman’s The Sea of Lost Girls (see here), …
Bumpy Night, Holy Cripes
October 11, 2020: Jessica Barry’s second thriller, Don’t Turn Around, which I review today (see here) in the Portland Press …