One-Third of the Year Down, Two-Thirds to Go

First and foremost, I’m back at CrimeReads with another feature story, this time a look at what may be the most snakebit project in Hollywood history. The caper comedy The Comeback Trail has been made twice, almost fifty years apart, most recently with a cast brimming with Academy Award winners. But neither version received a proper release. I dig into the backstories of both movies and explain why.

Next up, a recap of the first third of 2025 at my Substack outpost Cocktails and Crime.

I take in a trio of Nicholas Hoult movies, including my pick for the best crime film of 2024, and recommend Alex Segura’s Alter Ego.

L.A. crime fiction from Nick Kolakowski and Scott Phillips.

New biographies of Johnny Carson and Dorothy Parker, plus the best movie night I’ve had in a while.

A rundown of my then-upcoming, now-recent appearances, and the movies Presence and Soundtrack to a Coup d’État.

A recap of Noir City Seattle, cohosted by yours truly.

I’m blown away by The Penguin, plus new books by Sara Gran and Bruce Vilanch.

Nothing but love for Christa Faust’s The Get Off, plus Laura Lippman’s latest sends me in search of more maritime mayhem.

Recent releases: September 5, Black Bag, and my favorite film of 2025 so far, Eephus.

I revisit David Lynch’s Dune on the big screen for the first time in forty years.

Background on my CrimeReads article about The Comeback Trail that focuses on the astonishing career of filmmaker Harry Hurwitz, which runs the gamut from Charlie Chaplin to disco vampires.
 

Year-End Closeout

I’ll open this recap of what I’ve written over the last third of 2024 with a link to my CrimeReads feature on Mike’s Murder (1984). The film, marking its fortieth anniversary, has haunted me since I first saw it, and I delve into its true-crime origins—it’s inspired by the real-life murder of the former lover of an Academy Award-nominated actor, who was essentially cast as himself—as well as its famously tortured postproduction. The movie, which disappeared for decades, is again available, and even in compromised form deserves an audience.

Meanwhile, a rundown of what you may have missed at Cocktails & Crime.

A new history of Malört, plus thoughts on one of the year’s better TV offerings, Bad Monkey.

My year in 4K restorations, with big-screen rewatches of Le Samouraï, The Conversation, and The Shining.

Against my better judgment, I wrote about Megalopolis.

A report from my all-too-brief trip home to New York City, with multiple jazz shows.

How I spent Election Night with Joel and Ethan Coen, plus book and movie recommendations.

New books on science fiction movies and American horror.

Background on my Mike’s Murder article, plus movie recommendations.

A review of my favorite novel of 2024 and a neo-noir that slipped under the radar.

I may post a similar recap at Substack before 2024 is out, but otherwise that’s it for a year I’m happy to see the back of for a host of reasons. Spare yourself an extra resolution and subscribe to Cocktails & Crime now.
 

Summer Summary

I’m popping in again to remind you that the action these days is at Cocktails and Crime, my Substack newsletter. A recap of the last few months of entries—

The Netflix documentary How to Rob a Bank, and how I was hired to tell the same story decades ago.

Reviews of two new jazz histories.

I marked the one-year anniversary of C&C by going to a book signing for Baseball: The Movie.

I try to figure out why everyone keeps asking me if I’m retired, and why that means staying connected. Also, a related few words on one of the year’s best films, the documentary Flipside.

A pair of books on vintage spirits puts me on a birthday quest to drink Howard Hughes’s whiskey.

A memoir and a raucous comedy set in the ancestral homeland of the Keenans, plus Martin Scorsese’s heartfelt tribute to Powell & Pressburger.

You should subscribe now. I’m always yammering about something.

Elaine May into June

The main news in this post: my new story at CrimeReads on the crime films of Elaine May went live late last month. Swing on over and check it out.

My Substack experiment continues, and is looking more and more like a success. Exhibit A: Cocktails and Crime was singled out in a Drawing Media interview at Kottke.org with polymath Michael Sharp, the man behind Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle, the pulp fiction blog Pop Sensation, and the Twitter account The Lamps of Film Noir. Drawing Media’s Edith Zimmerman even transformed the C&C welcome screen into a gorgeous illustration. If you’re at all interested in my ramblings, subscribing to C&C is your best bet. I give you my solemn oath that I won’t spam you. You’ll receive a newsletter approximately every seven to ten days, with rare exceptions like my coverage of the Seattle International Film Festival. A look at those stories and what else you may have missed—

On murder clubs, death cleaning, and reaching the age of not bouncing back.

I finally read Steven Bach’s Final Cut, which meant finally watching Heaven’s Gate.

I rant about baseball, but actually about something even larger that has nothing to do with sports.

A history of Blaxploitation, Michael Keaton’s second hit-man movie, and more recommendations.

SIFF crime films, including an early look at Thelma, a terrific heist movie, and a questionable Hitchcock doc.

SIFF serves up food and drink fare, like documentaries on Spanish wine and Seattle beer.

Background on the Elaine May piece for CrimeReads, including the story of how I didn’t meet her.

Another round-up of recs, among them a history of the Village Voice.

The infamous Tinseltown P.I. Fred Otash in a biography, a novel, and his own words.

Cocktails and Crime Catch-Up

A summary of what I covered in February and March at Cocktails & Crime.

A recap of this year’s Noir City Seattle, four nights of which I hosted solo.

Revisiting Elmore Leonard’s Get Shorty, both book and film, prompts me to revisit Be Cool, both book and film, which doesn’t prove as good an idea. Also, I matriculate at Rum University.

Reviews of the sublime Perfect Days and the underrated Dumb Money.

Two new books on show business: Edward Zwick’s surprising memoir and an appraisal of every iteration of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Almost four decades later, I finally watch the sequel to Jean de Florette, paired with a suitable cocktail.

Love Lies Bleeding, Drive-Away Dolls, and how my first car made me like the second movie.

2024 So Far at Cocktails and Crime

The main thing you need to know: Noir City Seattle is coming back from February 16—22, and I’ll be serving as your host for the final four nights. Meanwhile, here’s what I’ve written about so far this year at Cocktails & Crime.

Amazon made a show starring an Academy Award winner and didn’t tell anyone, but I watched it anyway. Also, multiple movie recommendations.

Good stuff from people I know: books by Duane Swierczynski and Kate Alice Marshall, and music by Ethan Iverson.

More details on Noir City, a report from the celebration of life held for Murray Stenson, and killer cats.

Farewell 2023 and December at Cocktails and Crime

Is there ever going to be a year I’m sorry to see end? I seem to remember that happening. In any event, bring on 2024.

2023 did turn out to be when I returned to blog-style writing. It just happened to be at Substack, that’s all. Here’s what happened at Cocktails and Crime this month.

It’s a Shane Black Christmas made its debut over there.

I started doing the program outlined in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, which meant dealing with the terrors of reading deprivation week. I also reviewed Sam Wasson’s The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story.

I decided to start taking financial advice from movie directors, a choice that I’m sure will not backfire.

25 years of Zero Effect, the great private eye movie featuring a final terrific turn from the late Ryan O’Neal.