There’s a quote by the wonderful W.C. Fields that I absolutely adore, where he famously stated his belief that “a rich man is nothing but a poor man with money”, which is both a hilarious quip and a shockingly relevant observation. Wealth is a concept that seems easy to define at first, since it is…
Tag: writing
The Searchers (1956)
The exceptionally insightful critic Stuart Byron once famously asserted that “in a broad sense it can be said that all recent American cinema derives from John Ford’s The Searchers” – and it just so happens that this was amongst the first pieces of film criticism I read as an adolescent. It is something that has…
Il posto (1961)
When I was younger and entering into the workforce, I came across a quote by Ernest Hemingway, who said “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master”, which stood out to me not only because of its relevance, but also how (in only a few words), he encapsulated so…
Final Portrait (2017)
“It is impossible to ever finish a portrait” There tend to be many ambiguities related to the nature of art, but perhaps most challenging to comprehend is its tendency to never be complete. Anyone who has peddled in a form of creation, whether professionally or merely as a pastime, will know that there are two…
Marty, Life Is Short (2026)
When asked how he manages to maintain such a joyful disposition, Martin Short simply attributes it to being born with the “happy gene”, the kind of personality that always finds the positive in any situation. It has informed his outlook on life, guided his career, and been the foundation on which he has built what…
Midwinter Break (2026)
There are many reasons to end a relationship. In some cases, there’s a clash of personalities; in others, some indiscretion committed by one (or both) of the partners causes them to re-evaluate whether it is worth saving, or if just cutting it off would be better. Sometimes, it’s simply a case of two people drifting…
Nickelodeon (1976)
While in principle it is not a good practice to speak ill of those who have passed, we often find that certain stories resonate slightly more once someone has died. After his death a few years ago, there were countless stories about the genius of Peter Bogdanovich, perhaps the person many of us would choose…
A Piece of the Action (1977)
A brief disclaimer: A Piece of the Action is a film that co-stars Bill Cosby, a notorious figure whose fall from grace has been well-documented. While I maintain the importance of separating the art from the artist in most instances, it is also vital that it is made clear that by covering this film, I…
Le Lac (2025)
There is a quote by the master storyteller Herman Melville in his timeless classic Moby Dick that I absolutely adore: “As for me, I am tormented by an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts”, which is a beautiful and evocative description of the desire to…
Love (2025)
How do you define love? Is it a biological process or a psychological reaction? Perhaps it is a socially mandated act of seeking out a partner, or a philosophical craving to have some kind of companion. The reality is that there are more questions than there are answers when it comes to discussing love and…
The Postmodern Pelican 