David Denby Dissects My Mother's Favorite Movie Director

Actually, I can't state with absolute certainty that Clint Eastwood is my mother's favorite director. But in our last few phone conversations she has made mention of how Eastwood manages to bring pleasant surprises to the movies she watches. Even after reading David Denby's analysis of Clint Eastwood, I still consider Eastwood a mostly above average filmmaker. But that capacity to surprise is well demonstrated (and documented), and makes Eastwood someone worth keeping an eye on.