Rerun: Walter Matthau's Barbaric Yawp

It's been a busy week with all sorts of irons in the fire, movie- and life-related, so I thought I'd dust off one of the very first Watch List postings from 2021 because it was fun to write and because this guy is fun to read about.

One Good Film: "Ricki and the Flash" (2015)🔒

The silliest role of Meryl Streep's career is also one of the warmest, thanks to the late, great Jonathan Demme.

Why Are There No Good Movies About the American Revolution?

And a tip to a pretty good film for the upcoming Patriot's Day

New Review: "The Wedding Banquet" 🔒

Poster Boy

On movie posters and the mixed messages they send us. Plus: the lurid pleasures of the late Robert McGinnis, pulp illustrator extraordinaire

New Reviews: "Drop," "John & Yoko," "Sacramento," "Misericordia" 🔒

Four new theatrical releases, four reviews from the WaPo.

What to Watch: "Secret Mall Apartment"

Plus: A guide to the weekend's best streaming movie bets.

Michael Hurley 1941-2025

The original freak-folkie and one of this country's great outsider artists has passed on to the jamboree in the sky. You don't know what we've lost.

Watch List Digest 4/5/25

Compassion seems to be the watchword of the week's posts, and I know you know we could use some.

New Reviews: "The Friend," "Freaky Tales," "The Ballad of Wallis Island" 🔒

What to Watch: Animal Shelters

Bless the beasts and the ... never mind, just bless the beasts. Plus: movies to remember Val Kilmer by.

One Good Film: "The Painter and the Thief" (2020)🔒

A profoundly moving documentary about an unlikely friendship, with a little bit of Zen throat-clearing from yours truly.