The Running Wild Blog
Articles on the craft of filmmaking and the films we create.
MOVIE MONDAY: Western Movie Reviews – Week 188 – The Return of Draw Egan
Each Monday, I continue to share Western movie reviews. I have now launched a podcast about the making of Westerns and the overall filmmaking process. Click here to listen. Week 188: The Return of Draw Egan (1916) Reading a book about the early history...
MOVIE MONDAY: Reviews of Someone Behind the Door, The Sea Wolf, Cabo Blanco, and The Stone Killer
My weekly movie reviews. You can also read these on letterboxd. This week focuses on four films starring Charles Bronson. Someone Behind the Door (1971) Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars This is an atypical project for Bronson. It has little to no action, focused on...
MOVIE MONDAY: Western Movie Reviews – Week 187 – The Old Way
Each Monday, I continue to share Western movie reviews. I have now launched a podcast about the making of Westerns and the overall filmmaking process. Click here to listen. Week 187: The Old Way (2023) There aren't many good Westerns made these days and...
MOVIE MONDAY: Reviews of The Funeral, The Blackout, Light of Day, and Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
My weekly movie reviews. You can also read these on letterboxd. This week focuses on two films directed by Abel Ferrara and two directed by Paul Schrader. The Funeral (1996) Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars During this period of Abel Ferrara's career, which started...
MOVIE MONDAY: Reviews of The Firm, Runaway Jury, and A Time to Kill
My weekly movie reviews. You can also read these on letterboxd. This week focuses on three John Grisham adaptations. The Firm (1993) Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars This Grisham adaptation has one of the best casts ever assembled from Cruise to Hackman to Holbrook to...
BONUS WESTERN MOVIE REVIEW: The Great Silence (1968)
This is one of the best spaghetti Westerns I've seen, yet I still cannot warm to the Italian variation of the genre. What is admirable about The Great Silence is the stunning photography, taking full advantage of a snow-covered Italian landscape, the...
2022: A Kick in the Head, A Punch in the Gut, and Learning to Run Wild Again
Before writing this retrospective of the year, I returned to my thoughts about 2021 and what I presumed was the direction of the coming year. Last December, I made two proclamations which can now be read with a sense of irony: Statement #1: "I not only need a...
My Favorite Music of the Year
I started a habit years ago when I worked in record stores before becoming a full-time filmmaker: I'd read reviews for new albums, listen to the ones which interested me, and collected my favorite songs of the year into a playlist. Far removed from that period...
My Favorite Movies of 2022 and More
If my list of favorite films told a story, it would not be a favorable one for the theatrical experience. Only three of the films received a wide theatrical release and my #1 choice barely got any attention on the big screen. By contrast, five of the films went...
My Favorite Books of the Year
I fell short of my goal to read a book every two weeks during 2022, a total of twenty six for the year. However, I read far more than I did during 2020 or 2021 (which was a shameful amount) and ended up finishing a total of twenty books. Unlike my list of...
