Across the Universe

Across the Universe (2007)
-You’re either on the bus or off the bus.
 
It’s quite odd, but I seem to keep accidentally encountering Jim Sturgess in my reviews this fall. I have to admit, I was completely unfamiliar with him until I saw The Other Boleyn Girl. He made a minor, albeit, favorable impression on me. Then, [...]

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Captains Courageous

Captains Courageous (1938)
–Wake up, Little Fish. Hey, wake up, wake up! Somebody think you dead, they have celebrations.
 
Since this week is Thanksgiving, I wanted to be sure to review a good family movie. Captains Courageous certainly fits the bill. Directed by Victor Fleming and starring Spencer Tracy and Freddie Bartholomew, this movie adaptation of Rudyard [...]

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We Own the Night

We Own the Night (2007)
–Remember. It’s better to be judged by twelve people, than carried by six.
 
Joaquin Phoenix recently announced that, at age 34, he is retiring from his career as an actor. I’m not sure what has prompted this decision though mention was made of turning his attention to music. If he decides to [...]

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JFK

JFK (1991)
–The FBI says they can prove it through physics in a nuclear laboratory. Of course they can prove it. Theoretical physics can also prove that an elephant can hang off a cliff with its tail tied to a daisy! But use your eyes, your common sense.
 
If the ‘60s were, according to popular media, a [...]

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Alexander’s Ragtime Band

Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938)
–All right, fellas. Let’s fake it till we get our orchestrations.
 
I grew up watching RKO Astaire/Rogers and MGM musicals. It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve discovered the musicals made at other studios like Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox. Warner Brothers had Busby Berkley and James Cagney. This [...]

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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
–Wow, I feel sore. I mean physically, not like a guy who’s angry in a movie in the 1950’s.

~~~

–Umm, clearly I’m interrupting. I feel badly. Let me… What are you drinking?
–Bad.
–Bad? Sorry… feel…?
– You feel bad.
–Bad?
–Badly is an adverb. So to say you feel badly would be saying that the mechanism [...]

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Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet (1956)
–One cannot behold the face of the gorgon and live!
 
As much as I love classic films and science fiction in general, it almost seems odd that it’s taken me this long to see Forbidden Planet. I’m not regretting the wait, though, because I was able to watch it on HD-DVD which made the [...]

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Deception

Deception (2008)
–Are you free tonight?
 
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this film. It barely made a blip on the radar last spring when it was in theatres and received mostly mixed to negative reviews. Still, I was intrigued by the cast. Hugh Jackman and Ewan MacGregor in the same film – surely, that [...]

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The Adventures of Marco Polo

The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938)
–But what about the King of Persia?
–Oh, he’s a very patient man.
 
I love old movies. Ask any of my students, friends, family or colleagues. Browse through my past reviews. It’s a well-known fact which is why it hurts me to say The Adventures of Marco Polo left me cold. I [...]

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Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
–I guess you’ve noticed something a little strange with Dad. It’s okay, though. I’m still Dad.
 
When you review Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters, you have to specify which version you mean. I will be referring to the Director’s Cut available on the recent Blu-Ray transfer of the film. Close Encounters [...]

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