Warner Bros. in the 1930s was a studio that produced a large number of gritty social exposés. Black Legion (1937) is one of the best of the bunch, dealing with a secretive, ultra-patriotic group of hooded hooligans very much like the […]
Continue reading »Month: December 2011
The Dead Zone (1983) ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
A great many crappy movies have been made from Stephen King’s novels, but David Cronenberg’s 1983 version of The Dead Zone is not one of them. With a heartfelt performance by Christopher Walken at its core, a nightmare scenario at its […]
Continue reading »Duel at Diablo (1966) ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Ralph Nelson made some important films during the ’60s (Lilies of the Field, Soldier in the Rain and Charly) but my favorite has always been Duel at Diablo (1966). From the opening image of a knife cutting a map to shreds to […]
Continue reading »Sayonara (1957) ✰ ✰ ✰
Frank Gutierrez writes: The second film is also set in the Orient: Sayonara, starring Marlon Brando as an Air Force fighter pilot during the Korean War who is reassigned to Japan by an area commander in hopes that Brando will […]
Continue reading »Oil for the Lamps of China (1935) ✰ ✰ ✰
Subscriber Frank Gutierrez has two more recommendations for Movies Worth Rediscovering, and I heartily concur with his selections. The first is an oldie from 1935; I’ll let Frank briefly describe the plot and his reasons for recommending both titles. Pat […]
Continue reading »The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011) ✰ ✰
Although I have enjoyed and given good reviews to a couple of the Twilight films in recent years, I was bored by Breaking Dawn, Part 1. It is so slowly paced, with so little significant action or plot development, that I […]
Continue reading »My Week with Marilyn (2011) ✰ ✰ ✰
Though I have no way to support this thesis, I believe that most people, especially younger audiences, are aware of Marilyn Monroe primarily through her fame — and have never seen her movies. Other than Some Like it Hot, and […]
Continue reading »The Descendants (2011) ✰ ✰ ✰
This low-key feature, set in Hawaii, is a fairly rich character study. George Clooney stars as a businessman whose wife has had a boating accident and lies in a coma. His young daughters are too much for him to handle […]
Continue reading »Without Love (1945) ✰ ✰ ✰
This is the third film that Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn made together and appears to be one of the less remembered. A romantic comedy by the same playwright who created The Philadelphia Story, Without Love documents a marriage based on […]
Continue reading »Requiem for a Dream (2000) ✰ ✰
Requiem for a Dream is the film that truly made director Darren Aronofsky’s reputation and was a well-regarded art film when it was released. A young heroin addict (Jared Leto), his best friend (Marlon Wayans), and his girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly) […]
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