Scott Wood's Page

... I have been saturating myself with cinema this summer, and have been impressed by most of what I've seen. I didn't feel as though many pictures were worth commenting on in a review, but here's a short rundown of a few of the more popular films that I have glazed over. Get Smart It's good, not great... But it didn't piss me off like it probably should have. Carrell is a good choice to play Maxwell Smart, and the movie wisely avoids the big laughs, going more for some of the silly cha… Continue

... I have stated for many years now, after my Coen-infatuation died down near the turn of the century that Tom DiCillo is my favorite filmmaker currently working in cinema. For years, he has struggled to get funding for his pictures (which is crazy to me) and my focus went on to other minds. “Double Whammy” was a bit of a disappointment to me. It seemed compromised, like it was trying to hard to be a crowd-pleaser, and that is something that I had never seen in his work before. That’s not to s… Continue

... After just a few short blog posts, I have disappeared. I have neglected this particular column like an unwanted pet or stale girlfriend. My apologies to anyone who cares (there should be many of you). My focus of late has been two-fold. I have been bettering myself health-wise (which has been wholly successful thus far), and I have also been writing a film of mine that has been in the works for in and around eight years now. It must have been fate that has allowed me to put off writing it… Continue

... I watched an old Nick Cage flick the other day called "Valley Girl" and days later, I still don't know what to make of it. It is marketed in the same vein as other teen flicks of the eighties which made me believe that it was going to be flighty and without substance, but at the same time would charm me with its music and its attitude. The film still had the same aesthetic attributes as I expected, but also contained scenes that I am shocked by. If you haven't yet seen "Valley Girl" and wi… Continue

I just finished watching “The French Connection” for the first time since I was about thirteen. I remember back then how it wrestled me down forcefully and nailed me to the floor, and it had a similar effect on me tonight. It is a remarkable feat considering that: A) I had seen the picture before; and: B) I misplaced the remote to my DVD player two days ago, and have been watching everything in bed since then on my little portable machine and a set of earplug headphones. It’s a great film. Pard… Continue