The Lens

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, July 31, 2009 - Science-fiction movies are typically big-name/big-studio/big-budget affairs, but…

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: November 18, 2008 - The Shady Oak theater has bowed to the wrecking ball. While some may see this as…

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: May 30, 2008 - Almost immediately after dropping a completely irrelevant and pointless reference to…

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: John Ford (“The Searchers,” “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” “Stagecoach,” “My Darling…

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 11, 2012 - First, note that this essay contains spoilers. Late in Jason Reitman's most recent…

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 27, 2010 - On Oct. 29-30, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (www.stlsymphony.org) commemorates…

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 15, 2010 - Knowing nothing about 'Nowhere Boy' Leonard Maltin claims that he saw "Nowhere Boy" -…

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 11, 2010 - Although he's the most significant filmmaker to emerge from France in thepast 15…

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 23, 2010 - "To her great relief, the Grand Duchess did not recognize the dead man."That…

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 16, 2010 - Qu'est-ce que le cinema Francais? Is the nation that gave birth to the flickering…