1939 – Part 1
1939 is affectionately referred to by movie lovers as “The Golden Year.” Reverence and wonder fill the voices of film historians whenever they speak of this one year in the early 20th Century. All of Hollywood’s newest technologies of sound and color coalesced into a benchmark of the studio system. So many [...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
1939 — Part One
Posted in Reviews, tagged 1939, Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, James Stewart, John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich on October 19, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The Secret Life of Bees
Posted in Reviews, tagged Dakota Fanning, Paul Bettany, Queen Latifah on February 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Secret Life of Bees – 2008
This is one of the few times in my life that I responded more strongly to a movie than the book it was adapted from. That’s not to say that I didn’t like Sue Monk Kidd’s original novel because I did. It introduced memorable characters in delicate prose that [...]
Bringing Up Baby
Posted in Reviews, tagged Cary Grant, Howard Hawks, Katharine Hepburn on February 5, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Bringing Up Baby –1938
–When a man is wrestling a leopard in the middle of a pond, he’s in no position to run.
It’s no secret that my favorite actor of all time is Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn would easily make the top ten. They made four films together starting with the offbeat Sylvia Scarlett and [...]
Groundhog Day
Posted in Reviews, tagged Andie McDowell, Bill Murray on February 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Groundhog Day (1993)
–There is no way this winter is ever going to end as long as that groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any way out of it. He’s got to be stopped. And I have to stop him.
Well, Punxatawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday. Imagine that. Considering snow was pouring from the [...]
Bottle Rocket
Posted in Reviews on January 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Bottle Rocket (1996)
–Here are just a few of the key ingredients: dynamite, pole vaulting, laughing gas, choppers – can you see how incredible this is going to be? – hang gliding, come on!
Bottle Rocket is the debut of a trio of friends: Wes Anderson, Luke and Owen Wilson. These long-time friends made this small independent [...]
The Incredible Shrinking Man
Posted in Reviews on January 27, 2009 | 3 Comments »
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
–I felt puny and absurd, a ludicrous midget. Easy enough to talk of soul and spirit and existential worth, but not when you’re three feet tall. I loathed myself, our home, the caricature my life with Lou had become. I had to get out. I had to get away.
I’ve wanted to [...]
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Posted in Reviews, tagged David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson on January 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The X Files: I Want to Believe –2008
–This isn’t my life anymore, Mulder. I’m done chasing monsters in the dark.
I’ve been a fan of The X-Files for a very long time. I discovered it early in the second season during my final year of graduate school. While I enjoyed the plots, the thrills and the [...]
Under Capricorn
Posted in Reviews, tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotton on January 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Under Capricorn (1949)
–Why weepest thou?
I’ve wanted to watch this movie for years. Alfred Hitchcock is, by far, my favorite director of all time and I’ve been trying to track down all of his films. This 1949 movie stars Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotton, Michael Wilding and Margaret Leighton. It’s a reteaming for Bergman with her Notorious [...]
The Duchess
Posted in Reviews, tagged Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes on January 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Duchess — 2008
–You can’t ask me to battle nature in my own heart.
Those who have read my review of The Other Boleyn Girl know how many problems I had with that film’s historical inaccuracies. I love good historical fiction, but I’d prefer the dramatic fictional elements to still be at least plausible and there [...]
A Matter of Life and Death
Posted in Reviews, tagged David Niven, Emeric Pressburger, Kim Hunter, Michael Powell, Raymond Massey on January 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
–A weak mind isn’t strong enough to hurt itself. Stupidity has saved many a man from going mad.
Last semester I reviewed one of Michael Powell’s first films, The Edge of the World. His most famous works were in collaboration with Emeric Pressburger. Together they made some of Britain’s most [...]
