Saint’s Day

After you had waited in line, the moustached, ammunition-draped guard would unlatch the white metal door and let you into the little cell. Up above you now, there is a man sitting on a chair who smells like booze and has money stuck into his shirt and his shoes. Proffered candles surround him. He sits […]

The Heights

I guess movies about teachers are made for people who think they could never be teachers, so that they can imagine how great a challenge it would be. Like I would watch a movie about climbing Mount Everest. Real mountain climbers probably don’t spend a lot of time watching the Discovery Channel, either. They probably […]

Where the Child Things Are

I wish Spike Jonze had invited me over to screen his new movie, and I would have said, “But what is this ABOUT?” I don’t think the film takes a stand for or against conventional narrative structure, which bothered me, but then again, there is a good blanket fort. Max, in the movie, makes a […]

The Charm

To keep “4” (that’s what they call him) in my mouth, we have taken extraordinary measures. He’s had his roots dug out and refilled twice, then he got sliced into from the side. If I had taken 4 to my vet, he would now be buried in a box in my grandmother’s backyard. Partly because […]