ella taylor
@ellat.bsky.social
Film and book critic; Teaches at USC School of Cinema
RIP, brilliant Prunella Scales. And what a scale, all the way from the ineffably bossyboots Sybil Fawlty to a wry, knowing Queen Liz in Alan Bennett's A Question of Attribution, she was pure genius.
October 28, 2025 at 3:18 PM
RIP, brilliant Prunella Scales. And what a scale, all the way from the ineffably bossyboots Sybil Fawlty to a wry, knowing Queen Liz in Alan Bennett's A Question of Attribution, she was pure genius.
Kleber Mendonça Filho with Udo Kier at a screening of Filho's terrifically funny, ineffably saddening new film about Brazil's brutal 1970s, "The Secret Agent." From which we have much to learn about the ineptitude and chaotically destructive power of dictatorship.
October 1, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Kleber Mendonça Filho with Udo Kier at a screening of Filho's terrifically funny, ineffably saddening new film about Brazil's brutal 1970s, "The Secret Agent." From which we have much to learn about the ineptitude and chaotically destructive power of dictatorship.
This little fellow has been standing there all afternoon. I wonder if his E-Mom has tried sticking her head out of the window and hollering him home for dinner. It’s worked for centuries.
July 20, 2025 at 4:38 PM
This little fellow has been standing there all afternoon. I wonder if his E-Mom has tried sticking her head out of the window and hollering him home for dinner. It’s worked for centuries.
Massive, boisterous, peaceful crowd in Santa Monica today. Hardly noticed the dope who hired a plane with a banner saying HBD to the King. He must have meant Lear.
June 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Massive, boisterous, peaceful crowd in Santa Monica today. Hardly noticed the dope who hired a plane with a banner saying HBD to the King. He must have meant Lear.
Worried friends and consumers of national media, this tiny red circle is where the L.A. protests are. For this he sent in the National Guard.
June 9, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Worried friends and consumers of national media, this tiny red circle is where the L.A. protests are. For this he sent in the National Guard.
Criterion Closet came to my neighb and I got to hang out. I swagged Army of Shadows, In the Mood for Love, and the one I wrote the essay for , the Russian 8-hour War and Peace, which I saw when it came out in Glasgow in 1970.
#Criterion
#CriterionCloset
#Criterion
#CriterionCloset
June 7, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Criterion Closet came to my neighb and I got to hang out. I swagged Army of Shadows, In the Mood for Love, and the one I wrote the essay for , the Russian 8-hour War and Peace, which I saw when it came out in Glasgow in 1970.
#Criterion
#CriterionCloset
#Criterion
#CriterionCloset
All Holocaust survival stories sound like fiction, but Unbroken, a documentary now playing on Netflix, is particularly astonishing. Seven siblings escaped the camps by sticking together resourcefully. Then came America, and the tale grows more amazing. Absolutely worth your time.
April 24, 2025 at 7:41 PM
All Holocaust survival stories sound like fiction, but Unbroken, a documentary now playing on Netflix, is particularly astonishing. Seven siblings escaped the camps by sticking together resourcefully. Then came America, and the tale grows more amazing. Absolutely worth your time.
Not coming down from here, not nohow, till Those People are sent packing from our land. Meanwhile, you may serve my elevenses up here, Jeeves.
February 25, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Not coming down from here, not nohow, till Those People are sent packing from our land. Meanwhile, you may serve my elevenses up here, Jeeves.
Come on Brits, have a cuppa, gear up that stiff upper lip, get back in the EU, and fight. You have nothing to lose but Vance, Putin and other assorted Nazis.
February 15, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Come on Brits, have a cuppa, gear up that stiff upper lip, get back in the EU, and fight. You have nothing to lose but Vance, Putin and other assorted Nazis.
Appallingly, Trump sees devastated Gaza as "a lovely piece of land" that he wants to clear and develop as a resort. Here's what hundreds of rabbis had to say about that.
February 13, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Appallingly, Trump sees devastated Gaza as "a lovely piece of land" that he wants to clear and develop as a resort. Here's what hundreds of rabbis had to say about that.
John Carpenter accepting his Lifetime Achievement Award at the LAFCA Awards last night
February 7, 2025 at 5:40 PM
John Carpenter accepting his Lifetime Achievement Award at the LAFCA Awards last night
Dear Deity, please make Melissa McCarthy the host of next year's Golden Globes. And in that glam-satire outfit. Thanking you in anticipation.
January 6, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Dear Deity, please make Melissa McCarthy the host of next year's Golden Globes. And in that glam-satire outfit. Thanking you in anticipation.
Happy New Year, all! Or else.
December 31, 2024 at 6:38 PM
Happy New Year, all! Or else.
President-elect of the Feline Critics' Association nominates The Brutalist the movie of the year
December 22, 2024 at 5:47 AM
President-elect of the Feline Critics' Association nominates The Brutalist the movie of the year
I'm moderating a post-screening discussion of Payal Kapadia's beautiful new film, "All We Imagine as Light" this evening. Screening at the Royal at 4 pm. Do join us!
November 16, 2024 at 7:52 PM
I'm moderating a post-screening discussion of Payal Kapadia's beautiful new film, "All We Imagine as Light" this evening. Screening at the Royal at 4 pm. Do join us!
Poster for my film criticism class:
October 14, 2024 at 7:25 PM
Poster for my film criticism class:
It doesn’t hurt that Walz looks like the world’s kindest grandpa, while DT looks and acts like the crazy old uncle at Thanksgiving dinner.
August 6, 2024 at 4:30 PM
It doesn’t hurt that Walz looks like the world’s kindest grandpa, while DT looks and acts like the crazy old uncle at Thanksgiving dinner.
Asked why he would recommend immunity in the Sonya Massey case, hesaid, "I saw something about this. It didn't look good to me."
A jumble of unfinished sentences, non-sequiturs, and insults. Appalling opportunistic carnival barker,thick as two short planks.
A jumble of unfinished sentences, non-sequiturs, and insults. Appalling opportunistic carnival barker,thick as two short planks.
July 31, 2024 at 11:13 PM
Asked why he would recommend immunity in the Sonya Massey case, hesaid, "I saw something about this. It didn't look good to me."
A jumble of unfinished sentences, non-sequiturs, and insults. Appalling opportunistic carnival barker,thick as two short planks.
A jumble of unfinished sentences, non-sequiturs, and insults. Appalling opportunistic carnival barker,thick as two short planks.
Dress rehearsal for Torn Curtain, be very afraid
February 12, 2024 at 7:05 PM
Dress rehearsal for Torn Curtain, be very afraid
Gossiping, oh sorry, I mean debating the future of cinema, at the LAFCA Awards with critics Tim Grierson and the splendidly suited Guy Lodge
January 18, 2024 at 3:03 AM
Gossiping, oh sorry, I mean debating the future of cinema, at the LAFCA Awards with critics Tim Grierson and the splendidly suited Guy Lodge
Happy Hanukkah from the HanukCat:
December 7, 2023 at 8:46 PM
Happy Hanukkah from the HanukCat:
Let me in to your Robot Dreams, I beg you!
December 5, 2023 at 4:25 PM
Let me in to your Robot Dreams, I beg you!