Email Author Jim Ridley

Awards

• 2006 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published March 24, 2005

  "Blown Opportunity"

• 2006 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published May 19, 2005

  "Lost in the Stars"

• 2006 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published September 1, 2005

  "Pulling Punch Lines"

More

2007 Stories by Jim Ridley

• 2007: The Year in Movies and Music

  published December 19, 2007

  Revenge of the Nerds Absolutely, unequivocally, this has been The Year of The Apatow: Judd got Knocked Up to the tune of... More >>

• Hock the Line

  published December 19, 2007

  As an actor, John C. Reilly is the opposite of Mr. Cellophane. He doesn't disappear into a role; roles disappear onto him — the unlikely... More >>

• No Future? Not Exactly

  published November 28, 2007

  Punk died, the Silver Jews sang, the first time a kid shouted "Punk's not dead!" The words are never uttered in Julien Temple's Joe Strummer:... More >>

• Once Upon a Time

  published November 14, 2007

  The Princess Bride: 20th Anniversary Edition (MGM) As far as anniversary-edition DVDs go, The Princess Bride is crushingly... More >>

• Beantown Boys Make Good

  published October 17, 2007

  Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid," Raymond Chandler wrote in 1950's "The Simple... More >>

• You'll Laugh Dying

  published October 10, 2007

  You Kill Me (Genius) Funny thing seeing Philip Baker Hall in You Kill Me, as he's already played the role of a... More >>

• Fist Things First

  published October 3, 2007

  Caligula: Imperial Edition (Penthouse) (Spoiler alert: Fisting!) One day back in the swingin' '70s, somebody mentioned... More >>

• After Sunrise

  published September 5, 2007

  Back in 1995, Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise gave flesh to a Yank's fantasy of worldly European womanhood: Julie Delpy's Celine, a sprite who... More >>

• Maybe Another Teen Movie

  published August 22, 2007

  It seems fitting that a movie about debate competition should produce ambivalent feelings. As a master debater says early on in Jeffrey Blitz's... More >>

• Keeping the Meter Running

  published August 15, 2007

  Taxi Driver: Collector's Edition (Sony) "Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads: Here is a man who would not take it anymore."... More >>

• Chow Time Again

  published July 25, 2007

  Hard Boiled: Two-Disc Ultimate Edition (Weinstein) The Criterion version of John Woo's masterpiece, about two cops (the... More >>

• Cold War Reheated

  published July 18, 2007

  Red Dawn: Collector's Edition (MGM) John Milius' 1984 war pic was a mighty bonkers release even back then; not since the... More >>

• When He Was Small

  published July 4, 2007

  Chancer: Series 1 (Acorn) Available solely in the U.K. for years, this is a small-time release featuring a modestly... More >>

• Crackers & Cheese

  published June 27, 2007

  Black Snake Moan (Paramount) The best place to see Craig Brewer's mash-up of blood-boiling exploitation elements would... More >>

• Sagebrush & Spaghetti

  published June 6, 2007

  The Sergio Leone Anthology (MGM) Sergio Leone made westerns like Wagner made ditties. This essential boxed set -- four films... More >>

• Keeping the Meter Running

  published April 25, 2007

  Taxi Driver: Collector's Edition (Sony) "Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads: Here is a man who would not take it anymore."... More >>

• What Garry Didn't Know

  published April 18, 2007

  Not Just the Best of the Larry Sanders Show (Sony) The greatest boxed set ever -- not so much for the made-up... More >>

• Franchise Player

  published March 14, 2007

  Casino Royale (Sony) James Bond gets a stirring shake-up in the best -- yeah, Goldfinger fans, the best --... More >>

• Chick Flick: Shut Up and Sing

  published February 21, 2007

  Shut Up & Sing (Genius) It's a shame that one of 2006's best documentaries is being released without extras; it would... More >>

• Message Bored

  published February 7, 2007

  What could be scarier than yet another PG-13 creepfest serving up pasty, staggering ghouls with stringy hair? Why, the same PG-13 creepfest set... More >>

• Old Man's Still Got It

  published January 24, 2007

  Maurice Russell, a septuagenarian actor facing the end of his career and life, gazes raptly at the present that fate has given him: the company of... More >>