A Few Thoughts on “One Battle After Another”

Kevin Smokler on March 20, 2026

One Battle After Another movie cover

A few thoughts on ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER which we watched last night and enjoyed very much despite being a flawed movie that probably should not have won the Best Picture Oscar last week…

  1. This is Paul Thomas Anderson‘s third best movie behind BOOGIE NIGHTS and MAGNOLIA which for a director of his level of ambition is saying quite a bit.
  2. Liberal activism in ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER is portrayed as (i say this as a committed liberal).

    3. a. Viewed as a state of perpetual war similar to how Nanisca in THE WOMAN KING advises Dahomey to not be in the war captives business (i.e. signing up for perpetual battle always means losing eventually)

    b. All passion and no strategy. The movie having the equivalent of 90 minute chase scene in the middle comes from the characters unwillingness to be strategic and their addiction to being loud and performative.

  3. As such, PT Anderson is very into self-destructive characters (See BOOGIE NIGHTS). We are supposed to pity not sympathize w/ characters in this movie, who mistakenly think activism = glamorous battlefield activity instead of occasional victories and many loses.
  4. Its flaws are the same that haunt this filmmaker perennially. Namely…

    5. a.He does not know how to do villainy without it seeming outrageous and cartoony. See Daniel Day Lewis in THERE WILL BE BLOOD and whatever the hell Sean Penn thinks he’s doing in this movie.

    b. Too long by 40 minutes

    c. Shamelessly wastes resources. The list of great actors in this movie who have too little to do includes Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Paul Grimstad, Teyana Taylor.
    Very glad I watched it, would watch it again. Would have given BEST PICTURE to a good three of the other contenders though.

That’s a Wrap!

Smokler on July 25, 2019

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Friends, 

On behalf of Chris Boone and I and our entire crew, we're happy to let you know that, as of this past weekend, we have has completed principal photography on our documentary "Vinyl Nation: A Deep Dig into the Crates of the Record Renaissance:" The photo above includes our cinematographer Sherri Kauk and our production assistant Cariwyl in Detroit the evening of our last day.

15 cities, nearly 45 subjects over eight weeks, we spoke to musicians, DJs, record store owners, pressing plants, labels and ordinary people who have always loved records and those whose love is brand new. Our cameras were present at Record Store Day and The Austin Record Convention, the nation's largest record show. Poetically, our last day took place at Third Man Record Pressing in Detroit, the company widely seen as the public face of vinyl's return and increased cultural profile.

We have a long way to go. Post-Production has begun and will continue throughout the summer. But if all goes as it has so far (we have been blessed with an incredible team that makes the long hours and days not just bearable but a pleasure), our documentary will be finished by mid October, in time for film festival submissions.

This journey through our first gate has been an unforgettable creative experience for us all that would not have been possible without your belief in Chris and I and our story. Thank you so much for your faith, your support, your wisdom and your love. We feel so much gratitude for the opportunity to have worked to honor it as hard as we did.

Look out for our documentary film "Vinyl Nation: A Deep Dig Into the Crates of the Record Renaissance" coming your way next year.

In 33 and 45,

Kevin

See This Movie: Spielberg (2017 HBO documentary)

Smokler on January 11, 2018

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(Trailer)

Biopic documentary of the world's best known filmmaker than, to its credit manages to keep his body of work organized without marching like toy soldiers from past to present and includes criticism of his work while ultimately being complimentary. Made me want to watch more Spielberg movies again which is saying something because "more Spielberg" can feel like saying "I need more coca cola to drink."

Available on HBO Go. 

Me on the Ferris Bueller Soundtrack that Never Was

Smokler on June 11, 2016

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John Hughes didn’t think we’d want a “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” soundtrack, so we don’t have one. We can recreate, playlist or bootleg it, but we can’t possess something that never existed. Here’s the open secret of this movie and its soundtrack-that-never-was, three decades later: Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t waste time on something you never had, you won’t miss it.

Read the rest of my essay on Ferris Bueller's 30th birthday and the movie's missing soundtrack in Salon. 

Kevin Interviews William Zabka on Karate Kid’s 30th Anniversary

Smokler on July 17, 2014

Billy_zabka

Do you keep in touch with the folks from “Karate Kid”?

Yeah, we’re kind of a fraternity. Ralph and I have become better friends in recent years, first from me calling him out of the blue to work on the “Sweep the Leg” video with me. We also reconnected in 2008 at Pat Morita’s (Mr. Miyagi’s) memorial. The Cobra Kai guys I’ve stayed in touch the whole time. And Pat we were all very close to. We called him Uncle Pat. He called me BZ.

“The Karate Kid” is a family. Like family, you don’t talk every day. But when you do, you pick right back up. And I can’t really imagine my life without it.

Complete interview up at Salon. 

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