My Criterion Top 10: Alex Withrow

The Criterion Top 10 Series rolls on. As I mentioned yesterday, over the next few weeks, I’ll be running contributions from some of my favorite film critics, writers, and theorists from around the internet. Each writer will list their top 10 from the Criterion Collection, mirroring Criterion’s own Top 10 series. Today’s article is a real treat, coming from filmmaker Alex Withrow. While most of us enjoy watching and discussing film, Alex is down in the trenches actually making them, having moved to Los Angeles last year to continue his dream. He has written and directed two shorts- Full Circle (2008) and Earrings (2012)– and is currently in post-production on his third film, Wait. Moreover, Alex has a tremendous site, And So It Begins, which regularly features incredible in-depth articles about directors, actors, essays, and film reviews.You can (and should) find his films here, and follow him on Twitter @shiftingPersona.

More Fun with Netflix Viewer Reviews

If the internet teaches us anything, it’s that there’s no shortage of people willing to say bizarre and often stupid things. Even people with reasonable things to say occasionally  butcher the language with poor grammar. It makes for a good time for the rest of us. In other words, I’m revisiting a subject I touched on a few weeks ago- bad Netflix viewer reviews. These are presented completely unedited.

The Evolution of the Movie Trailer

Movie trailers have taken on a life of their own. We’ve reached a point as a movie-watching society where people will go see films that they’re less interested in, purely in the hopes of catching a trailer for an upcoming movie with tremendous buzz. The whole process is absolutely fascinating. Despite the fact that most movie trailer styles have had an impact on the trailers of the modern era, trailers haven’t always had such importance for movie-goers and studios. Someone had to come up with the idea and implement it.

Movies Where Hot Weather Sucks and Makes Everything Worse

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While summer doesn’t technically start until June 21st, the sun has already started the process of goring us like a bull might with its horns. Here in St. Louis, we just completed a stretch of 13 days in which 11 of them featured 89 degree temps or higher. Five of those days were 92 and above. And in St. Louis, nestled between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, it’s not just the heat. It’s the humidity. Summer here is a lot like living inside of a dog’s mouth for a third of the year. I imagine it’s becoming brutally hot all over the country. Having said all of that, as you can plainly see, I’ve started my annual rite of becoming an angry, ornery jackass about the oppressive heat. But I’m not the only one who’s affected by the hot weather. Here are some movies in which heat waves changed everything.

Failed Product Endorsements from the Movies

I wish any of these had ever been real.

Swanson Liver and Fava Bean Frozen Dinner

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