Tim Grierson
@timgrierson.bsky.social
Senior U.S. Critic for Screen International. Member: LAFCA and NSFC. Frequently in the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Vulture, the A.V. Club and RogerEbert.com. Author of "This Is How You Make a Movie." Q&A moderator. Contact: timothygrierson@gmail.com
Ira Sachs' PETER HUJAR'S DAY is a lovely, intimate film. Happy to say I'll be moderating a Q&A with Sachs at the Royal on Sunday. Info here: www.laemmle.com/film/peter-h...
November 7, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Ira Sachs' PETER HUJAR'S DAY is a lovely, intimate film. Happy to say I'll be moderating a Q&A with Sachs at the Royal on Sunday. Info here: www.laemmle.com/film/peter-h...
Excited to see the movie that inspired Bruce Springsteen to record NEBRASKA.
November 4, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Excited to see the movie that inspired Bruce Springsteen to record NEBRASKA.
For the first time ever, the Gothams are giving out awards for adapted and original screenplay. Very happy to be on that inaugural committee, alongside @jon-frosch.bsky.social, @mcastimovies.bsky.social, @carlosfilm.bsky.social and @ezwrites.bsky.social. Here are our nominees.
October 28, 2025 at 4:13 PM
For the first time ever, the Gothams are giving out awards for adapted and original screenplay. Very happy to be on that inaugural committee, alongside @jon-frosch.bsky.social, @mcastimovies.bsky.social, @carlosfilm.bsky.social and @ezwrites.bsky.social. Here are our nominees.
There are times when I think this might be the best album of 2025.
October 28, 2025 at 1:42 AM
There are times when I think this might be the best album of 2025.
No Kings rally. Downtown Los Angeles. October 18, 2025. A mixture of joy and anger. But completely peaceful. And deeply patriotic. (Also: My wife is the cutest.)
October 19, 2025 at 2:25 AM
No Kings rally. Downtown Los Angeles. October 18, 2025. A mixture of joy and anger. But completely peaceful. And deeply patriotic. (Also: My wife is the cutest.)
Downtown Los Angeles.
October 18, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Downtown Los Angeles.
Greil Marcus talking about what criticism is. www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
October 11, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Greil Marcus talking about what criticism is. www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
This means a lot -- thank you. (And I am very sorry for your losses.) I mangled the excerpt badly, but here it is. (Only by finding this did I realize it's from FIND ME, André Aciman's follow-up to CALL ME BY YOUR NAME.)
October 6, 2025 at 2:29 AM
This means a lot -- thank you. (And I am very sorry for your losses.) I mangled the excerpt badly, but here it is. (Only by finding this did I realize it's from FIND ME, André Aciman's follow-up to CALL ME BY YOUR NAME.)
Making MLB playoff predictions during spring training is so challenging because the season is so long and so unpredictable. Nonetheless, to keep myself honest, here's what I had on March 27th. A couple weeks ago, these picks were looking a lot better until the Mets' and Astros' collapse.
September 29, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Making MLB playoff predictions during spring training is so challenging because the season is so long and so unpredictable. Nonetheless, to keep myself honest, here's what I had on March 27th. A couple weeks ago, these picks were looking a lot better until the Mets' and Astros' collapse.
Over at Seattle's KEXP, they're asking listeners to submit their ballot for the best albums ever made. You get 20 slots. Here's what I sent along, in chronological order. www.kexp.org/countdowns/2...
September 19, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Over at Seattle's KEXP, they're asking listeners to submit their ballot for the best albums ever made. You get 20 slots. Here's what I sent along, in chronological order. www.kexp.org/countdowns/2...
Harry Shearer: not a fan of BORAT. www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...
September 12, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Harry Shearer: not a fan of BORAT. www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...
On Saturday night at the Royal, I'll be moderating a Q&A with filmmakers Andres Veiel and Sandra Maischberger to discuss their new documentary "Riefenstahl." Tickets and info here: www.laemmle.com/film/riefens...
September 11, 2025 at 2:59 PM
On Saturday night at the Royal, I'll be moderating a Q&A with filmmakers Andres Veiel and Sandra Maischberger to discuss their new documentary "Riefenstahl." Tickets and info here: www.laemmle.com/film/riefens...
How you can tell I’ve been at film festivals.
September 4, 2025 at 3:48 PM
How you can tell I’ve been at film festivals.
….and now I’m in Toronto.
September 3, 2025 at 2:38 PM
….and now I’m in Toronto.
Venice, Sunday morning, 12:40am.
August 31, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Venice, Sunday morning, 12:40am.
BELOW THE CLOUDS: The best thing I've seen so far at Venice. Gianfranco Rosi's gorgeous black-and-white film conceives Naples as a living, breathing organism teeming with fascinating little cells. Its past so present, Naples feels timeless, haunted, like something we dreamed up.
August 30, 2025 at 2:40 PM
BELOW THE CLOUDS: The best thing I've seen so far at Venice. Gianfranco Rosi's gorgeous black-and-white film conceives Naples as a living, breathing organism teeming with fascinating little cells. Its past so present, Naples feels timeless, haunted, like something we dreamed up.
Everybody’s goin’ to BUGONIA.
August 28, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Everybody’s goin’ to BUGONIA.
Most of Venice is still asleep, but I’m up.
August 26, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Most of Venice is still asleep, but I’m up.
Watching MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS, it's impossible not to spot the parallels between Putin and Trump in terms of their authoritarian tactics. But what's most remarkable about Julia Loktev's film is, how often, everyday life looks completely "normal" in Russia. It's something she and I talked about.
![Inevitably, Americans will notice disturbing similarities between Putin and Trump, who has repeatedly threatened the press, challenged democratic norms, and ordered numerous detainments. Loktev, who is nearing completion of a second five-hour documentary that details what became of the exiled journalists, understands why American viewers will watch her film looking for clues to what might happen here. “We are so hungry for things that help us understand the current moment,” she says. “Part of living under an authoritarian [government] is it does make you feel like you’re going crazy — it doesn’t make sense. [Watching the movie] is a way of understanding, ‘Everything you’re feeling is normal under these circumstances.’”
Because she stayed close to the ground, documenting this pivotal political moment from the perspective of the journalists she followed, My Undesirable Friends is a powerfully emotional experience. And by cataloging everyday life under authoritarianism, she exposes the crushing normalcy that’s never depicted in Hollywood portrayals of dystopian governments.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6fcidzdkq25l6z5yi2fcjt7d/bafkreigzdratxp4q6neo6yww573moav4kr5la44x36ulylpax4rvnpd7ie@jpeg)
![“[TV Rain reporter] Sonya [Groysman] interviews this anthropologist: ‘It’s a strange feeling because there’s nice cafes everywhere and Moscow looks great and you can get anything delivered. Meanwhile, my friends are being arrested.’ And the anthropologist explains to her that we’re used to seeing films like V for Vendetta, which make it look like, in an authoritarian society, everyone suffers equally and everyone’s miserable,” Loktev says. “But actually this is what it looks like to live under authoritarianism — it looks really nice for a lot of people, and there are matcha lattes everywhere. I think about this every day now that I walk out in New York. My neighborhood looks really nice — meanwhile, there are people in unmarked vans with masks snatching people off the street.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6fcidzdkq25l6z5yi2fcjt7d/bafkreif2khshmh7hd2xvckhn4dwjeji24u6expkm6sprrnpxjyuun6d3mu@jpeg)
August 15, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Watching MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS, it's impossible not to spot the parallels between Putin and Trump in terms of their authoritarian tactics. But what's most remarkable about Julia Loktev's film is, how often, everyday life looks completely "normal" in Russia. It's something she and I talked about.