Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying, in his sixties, to re-establish himself as an action star after his stint in California politics. To his credit, he’s attaching himself to projects written and directed by good young filmmakers. However, the results have been […]
Continue reading »Month: March 2014
Inherit the Wind (1960) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
Our eighth classic of 2014 is the first film adaptation of a famous play which dramatizes one of America’s most infamous court cases. That film (and play) is Inherit the Wind (1960). The distinction I am noting that the film dramatizes […]
Continue reading »Inherit the Wind (1960)
by Barb Lentz. The five movies Bob provided for me from which to choose were these: Anatomy of a Murder (1959) Bullets or Ballots (1936) Inherit the Wind (1960) Mildred Pierce (1945) Too Many Husbands (1940) I chose […]
Continue reading »The Longest Day (1962) ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Our seventh classic of 2014 is producer Darryl F. Zanuck’s epic retelling of the World War II D-Day invasion, The Longest Day. At the time it was made, this film was one of the most expensive productions ever put together, […]
Continue reading »The Longest Day (1962)
by Barb Lentz. The five movies Bob provided for me from which to choose were these: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) How Green Was My Valley (1941) The Longest Day (1962) Rashomon (1950) The Sugarland Express (1974) […]
Continue reading »Non-Stop (2014) ☆ ☆
Setting a murder mystery on an airplane in flight is a neat premise — as long as it maintains suspense without sacrificing credibility. Non-Stop takes this premise and stretches it well past the breaking point by tossing in extortion, 20-minute death […]
Continue reading »The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) ☆ ☆ 1/2
A decade ago writer-director Wes Anderson was considered a wunderkind, following the releases of Rushmore (1998) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). He has had cult success since then, with The Darjeeling Limited (2004), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012), but he has yet […]
Continue reading »My Little Chickadee (1940) ☆ ☆
Our sixth classic of 2014 is the first and only teaming of comedy legends Mae West and W. C. Fields, in My Little Chickadee. This 1940 film is a Western parody in which “novelties and notions” salesman Cuthbert J. Twillie […]
Continue reading »My Little Chickadee (1940)
by Barb Lentz The five movies Bob provided for me from which to choose were these: Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Deadline USA (1952) The In-Laws (1979) My Little Chickadee (1940) A Raisin in the Sun (1961) I chose […]
Continue reading »Twenty Feet from Stardom (2013) ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
When I made my Oscar predictions I knew that this documentary was the front runner in its category, but I bet on an upset. That didn’t happen. Now that I’ve actually seen the film, I see why it won — […]
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