Essay Archive
Recent essays
Galleries and collections
- DFF 33 (2010) : The 33rd Denver Film Festival as covered on Movie Habit
- DFF 34 (2011) : The 34th Denver Film Festival as covered on Movie Habit
All essays, sorted alphabetically
- “Inglourious” Cinema : An exhaustive guide to men-on-a-mission films
- #SDFF37 : The Denver Film Festival returns in 2014, and so does our coverage
- 18 Hours at Telluride : Movies and Consensus
- 2002 OFCS Voting Record : See how Movie Habit votes in the Online Film Critics Society 2002 awards
- 2002 Quotes : Pit your wits against the screenwriters of 2002
- 2003 OFCS Voting Record : See how Movie Habit votes in the Online Film Critics Society 2003 awards
- 2003 Special Features : Movie Habit does more than review movies
- 2005 Denver International Film Festival : Come here for recommendations and opinions
- 23 Capsules : Short Reviews from Sundance 2002
- 35th Starz Denver Denver Film Festival begins : Tributes, panels, and lots of movies
- 36th Starz Denver Film Festival : Our overview of the 2013 festival
- 8 Scottish Films to Inspire a Returning Traveler : Villages, Countryside, and Whisky Galore
- 9 Capsules : Short Reviews from Sundance 2001
- A Few Words with the boys of 21 Jump Street : Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, and Rob Riggle
- A Hard Question: Worst Movies Ever : Is there a bottom to the barrel?
- A TIFF Beneath the Headlines : Toronto isn't all U2, Madonna, and George Clooney
- Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon : Belgian economist and Canadian actress, silent-comedy heirs of Tatí and Etaix, earn a Rare Pearl
- About Us: Anand Ramachandran : Woody Allen, Ricky Bobby, Lizzy Borden 2
- About Us: Andrea Birgers : Reading, reading, more reading, and superhero movies
- About Us: Brad Weismann : Opera, midget wrestling, and everything in-between
- About Us: John Adams : Painting, futurism, and dragsters
- About Us: Marty Mapes : Science, essays, and human behavior
- About Us: Matt Anderson : I'm Mattman.
- About Us: Pablo Kjolseth : Big screen time travel, traumatizing children
- About Us: Risë Keller : Booster, hippie, drone, mom, hipster
- About Us: Robert Denerstein : Writing professionally, disaster movies, and Chinese food
- About Us: Ryan Hurtig : Movies... and TV shows, sports, video games...
- Amy Adams and Phil Morrison : Too Young
- Adapting Brokeback Mountain : From Page to Screen, a Q&A at DIFF 2005
- Adventures in Widescreen : It's hard to get widescreen right... and easy to get it wrong
- Al Gore: Questions and Answers : United Artists Pavilions, Denver, Colorado, May 11, 2006
- Another Fall, Another Star Wars Set : ... But why does Lucas still refuse to play nice with his most loyal fans?
- Apocalypse Now: Full Disclosure
- As Good as They Say : Ten classics we're lucky to be able to see
- Atlantis in Depth : It Builds Character
- Atlantis in Depth : To Infinity and Beyond!
- Atlantis in Depth : The Circle of Life
- Atlantis in Depth : Milo Thatch
- Atlantis in Depth : Introduction
- Atlantis in Depth : Birth of a Nation
- Atlantis in Depth : PG or Not PG?
- Atlantis in Depth : The More Things Change...
- Atlantis in Depth : Parlez-vous Atlantean?
- Kevin Bacon : An evening with the 27th DIFF's John Cassavetes award
- Javier Bardem : Sundance 2002 Interview
- Belfast, Maine : New film from Frederick Wiseman a good bet
- Nir Bergman : Director talks about seeing and making movies in Israel
- Best of BIFF 2005 : The best of the fest, officially and unofficially
- BIFF 2011 Filmmakers Panel : Persistence Is Key
- Bill Plympton on the Red Carpet : In our series of one-photo photo essays from the opening night of DFF 2008
- Mike Binder : Director/actor walks the line between indie and studio
- Mark Borchardt and Mike Schank : Sundance 2002 Interview
- Bruno Bossio : A Movie Habit Interview
- Mehcad Brooks and Al Shearer : On the Road to Glory #2
- Jerry Bruckheimer : On the Road to Glory #4
- Canaan Brumley : Q&A with the Director of Ears, Open. Eyes, Click.
- George Butler Endures : An amiable Butler talks about home, heritage and work
- Bobby Cannavale : Rising star has made friends with acting
- Chaplin and Agee : The Untold Story of the Tramp, the Writer, and the Lost Screenplay
- Peter Chelsom : British director makes an American remake of a Japanese film in Canada
- Austin Chick : Indie director talks with Movie Habit at DIFF:25
- Lisa Cholodenko : Laurel Canyon writer/director talks about art, intimacy, and influences
- Cinema Interruptus sans Roger Ebert : 2007 Interruptus the first without Ebert. Can it work?
- Coffee Talk : Documentaries the subject of a coffee klatsch at DIFF
- Cold Movies : ... to make you appreciate being warm
- Kerry Conran : Sky Captain director explains how the latest computers recreate the world of yesterday
- David Cronenberg : Spider, The Fly, and Cronenberg's movie habits
- Marshall Curry and If A Tree Falls : When does arson become terrorism?
- Matt Damon : Damon lets his Bourne Identity come out
- Darwin Day Movies : Celebrate Darwin Day with a scientific, skeptical, atheist, humanist movie
- David Ansen : Newsweek critic talks about his list, criticism, and the state of cinema
- Denver Film Fest Turns 32 : Ed Harris in person, Precious, red carpets galore, and Terry Gilliam's latest, to name a few
- Denver International Film Festival 2003 : DIFF moves into its second quarter-century
- Denver International Film Festival 2004 : The world comes to Denver
- Denver Loses Denerstein : 30-year film critic of the Rocky Mountain News retires
- DIFF:25 : The 25th Denver International Film Festival
- Drew Goddard and Amy Acker : Cabin director returns to Boulder, C.U., and The Sink
- DVD Gifts for 2004 : Recommended recent movies on DVD
- DVD Gifts for 2004 : Kid-friendly movies for those looking for good clean fun
- DVD Gifts for 2004 : Classics for movie lovers with a longer attention span
- DVD Gifts for 2005 : Recommendations for the DVD lover on your list
- DVD Gifts for 2006 : Recommendations for the DVD lover on your list
- DVD Gifts for 2007 : Recommendations for the DVD lover on your list
- DVD Gifts for 2008 : Recommendations for the DVD lover on your list
- Aaron Eckhart and John Cameron Mitchell : Creating and capturing difficult emotions takes preparation and the right atmosphere
- Ethics and Movies : Ben Stein's Expelled, the cost of mistakes, and truth tickets
- Fall 2005 Remakes : Even Oscar season isn't immune to remakes
- Farväl Bergman, Ciao Antonioni : Two greats are gone, but may show up on an island
- Fifth Annual Waterfront Film Festival : A town without a movie theater hosts a film festival
- Fighting on Film : Anti-war docs wonder what we ask of our soldiers
- Film (in Boulder) is Dead : Boulder's second-newest theater goes dark
- Five Days at Sundance 2002 : by Pablo Kjolseth for the Colorado Daily and Movie Habit
- Mike Flanagan : A few words with the director of Oculus
- James Foley : Director of Confidence, Glengarry, goes with his gut
- Marc Forster : The middle ground is a great place to be a director
- Francis Ford Coppola : Twixt at TIFF
- Stephen Frears : British humor, British actors flavor Mrs. Henderson Presents
- Morgan Freeman : An evening with the 27th DIFF's Lifetime Achievement Award winner
- Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe : Denver International Film Festival 2002
- Charlotte Gainsbourg and Yvan Attal : Husband and wife talk about their husband-and-wife picture
- George Butler in Boulder : In our series of one-photo photo essays from the opening night of DFF 2008
- Rémy Girard : Star of Barbarian Invasions returns after 17 years
- Valeria Golino : After 47 movies plus a TV mini-series, the actress is still going strong
- GPFF Interviews : Four winners talk about their movies
- GPFF Awards Ceremony : Festival continues, but awards cap a week of Midwestern movies
- GPFF Day 2 : Day 2 reveals the eclectic architecture of Lincoln, Nebraska
- GPFF Day 3 : Third day reveals some of the festival's keynote films
- GPFF Day 6 : Feature films, good shorts, and an eye-opening documentary
- GPFF Narrative Shorts : Short, sweet, and usually funny
- GPFF Opening Night : Films reveal more than just flyover country
- GPFF Youth Media : Kids strut their stuff and compete for money
- GPFF: a Day of Documentaries : Nonfiction films abound on the Great Plains
- Great DVDs of 2003 : Notable discs were released in 2003
- Great Plains Film Festival 2003 : Films reveal more than just flyover country
- Great Plains Film Festival 2003 Schedule
- David Gordon Green and Paul Schneider : Two promising filmmakers speak eloquently about inarticulateness
- Greetings from Telluride : Thursday in the park with Zoltan
- Greg Harrison : November director on grief and structure
- Ray Harryhausen : Haunted Carnival Interview
- Haunted Carnival ‘98 : First annual horror film fest comes to life
- Haunted Carnival Unites 5 Film Series : Sequel brings new stars
- Cole Hauser : Denver International Film Festival 2002
- Judith Helfand and Daniel B. Gold : Sundance 2002 Interview
- Brian Helgeland : Writer, director, producer, and Oscar-winner endures a day of questioning
- How to survive a film festival : Or, how I spent hours driving in the Sweet Rush, where time was My Dear Enemy
- Indiana Jones and the Hollywood Game Changer
- Indiana Jones and the Resurrection of Dreams : "Raiders Boys" lived their dreams -- twice
- Intro to DIFF 29 : What we're looking forward to at this year's festival
- Is It Patriotic Enough? : The staff evaluates American, and American-sounding movies
- It will be good to be “The King” : King's speech a shoo-in for Best Picture
- James Franco Is a Mad Scientist
- Eugene Jarecki : Director of Why We Fight gets lots of answers
- Jeff Feuerzeig : Director of The Devil and Daniel Johston says Johnston's a Genius
- Christian Johnston and Brent Henry : Independent Adventure: The Making of September Tapes
- Jonas Cuaron : Storytelling in the Desert and in Outerspace
- Kirk Jones : A Movie Habit Interview with the director of Waking Ned Devine
- Neil Jordan : on writing, Ireland, and the influence of music
- Milla Jovovich : Beauty Kicks Beast Butt In Style
- Just Stay Home? : Is it time to stop going the theater to see a movie?
- Chiemi Karasawa : Filmmaker-subject relationship started in a hair salon
- Kim Ki-Duk & Jung Suh : Sundance 2001 Interview
- Harmony Korine : A Brief History of "the Future of American Cinema"
- Lawrence Kasdan and Meg Kasdan : After 9 years, Lawrence Kasdan strikes back
- Lawrence Kasdan, Meg Kasdan, and Anthony Bregman : Darling Companion as an example of producing a film
- Claude Lelouch : Oscar-winning French director takes Q&A at DIFF
- Lilo & Stitch’s Islands of Adventures : DVD game ingeniously re-interprets DVD standards
- Live Fast, Die Young : The Wild Ride of Making Rebel Without A Cause
- Long Live Film (in Boulder) : Boulder's newest theater lights up
- Josh Lucas : On the Road to Glory #3
- Derek Luke : On the Road to Glory #1
- Lynn Hershman Leeson : Director finds Strange Culture in post-9/11 U.S. of A.
- The Many Faces of Oliver : Oliver Twist lives (yet) again on the big screen
- Marty Mapes’ Top Ten of 2012 : No zeitgeist, just epiphanies
- Marty Mapes’ Top Ten of 2013 : Time and cinema march on
- Marty Mapes’ Top Ten of 2014 : Sweet 16 years of my movie habit
- Marty Mapes’ Top Ten of 2015 : Shunning the mainstream and peering into festivals
- Matt Anderson’s Top Ten (Six) of 2012 : Of Love and Bondage
- Matt Anderson’s Top Ten of 2013 : Unearthed gems from earlier in the year
- Matt Anderson’s Top Ten of 2014 : Creativity inspired in 2014
- Matt Anderson’s Top Ten of 2015 : 2015 was a lot like the ’80s and ’90s
- Albert Maysles : Maysles on DIFF, Castro, flies on walls, and the poetic eye
- Mea Culpa, They-a Culpa 2002 : Mistakes were made in 2001, some by us, some by others
- Mea Culpa, They-a Culpa 2003 : Mistakes were made, some by us, some by others
- E. Elias Merhige : Director of Suspect Zero brings art to commerce
- Chris Metzler : Director finds plagues, pleasures, and more at film festivals
- Wentworth Miller : Persistence pays off for Princeton grad
- Anthony Minghella, 1954-2008 : An untimely loss, truly, madly and deeply
- Hans Petter Moland and Damien Nguyen : Norwegian director, Vietnamese-American actor lead international film
- Scott Moore : Bigger than Animal House, for chrissake!
- Catalina Sandino Moreno and Josh Marston : First-timers tell of mules from Colombia
- Bill Morrison : Sundance 2002 Interview
- Movie Habit’s Top 25 of 2015 : Less overlap between our top contributors in 2015
- Movie Habit’s Top Ten of 2013 : The best from the 225 reviews we wrote this year
- Next 10 of 2007 : The also-rans for 2007
- Christopher Nolan : Sundance 2001 Interview
- Norman Jewison : Director receives 2007 Mayor's Achievement Award
- Philip Noyce : On Rabbit Proof Fence and The Quiet American at DIFF:25
- On Alfred Hitchcock’s Entire Career : Or, Spot the Fat Man: Further Adventures with Auteur X
- On the Aisle: AMC Westminster Promenade 24 : It's an a-MAZE-ing place
- On the Aisle: Forest Room 5 : To the hallucinatory abyss
- On the Aisle: Kerasotes Colony Square 12 : Under the melancholy Minuteman
- On the Aisle: Landmark Mayan Theater : The last movie palace
- One View of Telluride 2008 : A dozen movies, a very good day
- Ozzy Osbourne : Sundance 2001 Interview
- Oscar Nominees for 2006 : Oscar noms generate yawns
- Babak Payami : Iranian-Canadian filmmaker reveals his Secret Ballot
- Stacy Peralta and Greg Noll : Director and subject dig into surfing's history
- Peter Anthony : Director of The Man Who Saved the World
- J.T. Petty : Sundance 2002 Interview
- Wally Pfister : Lighting the Dark (Knight)
- Sally Potter (for TCM) : Director of Yes on language, dance, and film
- Sally Potter : Director of Yes talks language, dance, and film
- Doug Pray : Turntablists Are Here for Good
- Doug Pray : Ahead of a possible truckers' strike, Big Rig director opens up
- Punks, Animation, and Crowds : Friday Night Lights at the Toronto Film Festival
- Qatsi 101 : Qatsi director Reggio speaks at CU
- Quattro Noza Cast and Crew : Curtis, Cianfrance, and Hernandez talk video style
- Recommendations for BIFF 2007 : Festival's third year looks good; let us suggest some movies
- Godfrey Reggio : Man of vision comes to Boulder
- Remakes for Summer 2007 : Remakes of Halloween, Nancy Drew, Hairspray & Others Are Coming Your Way Soon!
- Rian Johnson on the Red Carpet : Our one-photo photo essay from the opening night of DFF 2008
- Richard E. Grant’s Wah-Wah : L.A. event launches wistful study of a colonial paradise lost
- Peter Riegert : Local Hero turns from acting to directing
- Robert Denerstein’s Top Ten of 2012 : Sorry, Abe, The Master was more haunting
- Robert Denerstein’s Top Ten of 2013 : Despite a woeful summer, we had a good movie year
- Robert Denerstein’s Top Ten of 2014 : Colorado fares well in a year of small triumphs
- Robert Denerstein’s Top Ten of 2015 : "Good but not great" beats a ton of mediocrity
- Phil Alden Robinson : Dreams director talks about Fears
- Rocky through the Decades
- Roger Ebert, Newspaper Guy : Get enough sleep, and keep writing
- Salmon fishing and competitive child ballet : Day 2 at TIFF 2011
- Marjane Satrapi : Drawing from Conflict and Comics
- John Sayles : America's laureate independent filmmaker on race, culture, and editing
- Shaun of the Dead Boys : Filmmakers discuss comedy, remakes, and the subtext of zombie films
- Joe Simpson : Author, climber was almost Tom Cruise-d
- Sisters Give Birth to BIFF the First : Boulder International Film Festival Begins
- Sneak Peek at New Web Site : Cross-links the first feature in Movie Habit overhaul
- Michael Spears and Zahn McCarnon : Actors get real for Into the West
- Penelope Spheeris : Sundance 2001 Interview
- Star Power Kick-Starts BIFF 2 : Opening night gala beats last year's by 5
- Stargazing in Telluride Misses the Point : Three films feature great performances
- Steve Preeg : Animating a Legacy
-
Oliver Stone: Master of Cinema
: Stone awarded honorary ti
tle at 2011 BIFF - Students Leave their Prints on Telluride : Student shorts are just the right size
- Jerzy Stuhr : Polish director and actor explains post-communist life to an American
- Sundance 2004 : Three out of 167 ain't bad
- Sundance Glance 2001 : Festival Overview
- Sundance Sampler ‘03 : Short Reviews from Sundance 2003
- Superhero Sequels are No Fun : The love of money is the root of all evil, and superheroes are powerless to stop it
- Talent to Spare : Dream project from CU's heyday crashed and burned
- Telluride 2004 : They say it's all about the movies at Telluride, but is it?
- Telluride 2005 : Notes on the 2005 Telluride Film Festival
- Telluride Wrapup : Final thoughs about Telluride 2006
- Tentpole Films of Toronto 2014 : Yeah, I Saw That Too
- Chris Terrio : Heights director found literary doorway into film
- Chris Terrio and Amy Fox on Heights : Director and screenwriter find art in their twentysomethings
- Thanks, Roger : Roger Ebert educated and dominated a generation of critics
- Thanksgiving in February : BIFF 5 a film feast
- The Aurora Century 16 : Sympathy, thoughts, and prayers to the family and friends of the victims
- The Big Red One Reconstruction : A conversation about the new version shown at DIFF27
- The Blue Planet turns 25 : Nonnarrative predecessor to Koyaanisqatsi honored in New York
- The Complete Works of Auteur X : The Complete Works of Auteur X: or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Fellini's 8 1/2
- The Hobbit at 48fps : Higher frame rates may not make better movies
- The Next Park City? : The Boulder International Film Festival expects growth in its second season
- The snoozers of TIFF : Are the films sub-par, or was it the wrong day and wrong time?
- theDVDetective Opens its Doors : Region-free specialty shop adds bricks, mortar
- This One Goes to Eleven : A few notes from the 2015 Boulder Film Festival
- TIFF 2012 Wrapup, part 1 of 4 : The primacy of story
- TIFF 2012 Wrapup, part 2 of 4 : Literally fantastic
- TIFF 2012 Wrapup, part 3 of 4 : Based on a true story
- TIFF 2012 Wrapup, Part 4 of 4 : Parents and Children
- Tiff 2013 : A quick Q&A with Movie Habit's correspondent
- TIFF 2014’s Returning Directors : Finding a Source You Can Trust
- TIFF 2015 : TIFF turns 40. Or has it always been there?
- Tinsel Korey and Booboo Stewart : Shedding Light on Eclipse
- Top Ten 2004
- Top Ten 2005
- Top Ten 2007 Data : The raw data from our Top Ten 2007 poll
- Top Ten 2009 Data : The ingredients for our Top Ten list
- Top Ten 2010 Data : The ingredients of our top ten list
- Top Ten 2011 Data
- Top Ten of 1998
- Top Ten of 1999
- Top Ten of 2000
- Top Ten of 2001
- Top Ten of 2002
- Top Ten of 2003
- Top Ten of 2006
- Top Ten of 2007 : Solid films from reliable directors, and powerful documentaries
- Top Ten of 2008 : Nothing to change the course of cinema; just entertainment
- Top Ten of 2009 : Seek outside the main stream
- Top Ten of 2010 : The harmonic converge of worthy movies
- Top Ten of 2011
- Top Ten of 2014 : Performances, cinematography, human spirit, and the sheer passage of time
- Toronto souvenirs and the brothers Dardenne : Markets, theaters, and The Kid with a Bike
- Turkish patience, Korean action, Bieber’s Hightops : Festival films aren't like what you see back home
- Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz : The Peanut Butter Falcon
- Underrated at Toronto 2014 : It's still possible to be surprised at TIFF
- Video Store Owner Turned Filmmaker Shows Heart : First-time director tells his own story on screen
- Warhol and Weerasethakul : Experimental filmmakers talk narrative at 2012 Brakhage Symposium
- Mark Waters : Not Heathers, but a modern-day John Hughes movie
- Wednesdays with Alex : It's easy to take a local institution for granted, hard to recognize a rare opportunity
- Wim Wenders : Chance favors the prepared mind
- When Every Movie is a Tentpole... : ... Then none of them are
- Robin Williams : Williams Returns to his Roots and Turns Over a New Leaf in the Process
- John Woo and Christian Slater : Woo and Slater shoot the breeze about Windtalkers
- You’re Too Kind : Movie Habit gives 3 stars, on average. We break it down for you.
- Zizek! : Guest director of Telluride 2008 a philosopher, not a filmmaker