Not all of John Wayne’s contemporary dramas stand up to the passage of time, but I revisit Hellfighters (1968), his oil well-firefighting movie, every few years because it does. Hellfiighters is a fictionalized version of real-life fire-fighter “Red” Adair’s adventures […]
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Dial 1119 (1950) ☆ ☆ ☆
A taut hostage drama takes place in a film noir titled Dial 1119 (1950), which today would have been called Dial 911 due to the revision of emergency telephone service numbers. Not knowing the then-present American system of emergency communication, […]
Continue reading »The Farmer’s Daughter (1947) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
Blending a realistic perspective concerning politics of the era, a yearning for something better and an absolutely delightful performance by Loretta Young (she won a Best Actress Oscar for it), The Farmer’s Daughter (1947) is at the top of the […]
Continue reading »The Tunnel (1935) ☆ ☆ 1/2
A futuristic drama concerning the construction of an underground passageway from England to the United States, The Tunnel (1935) was an ambitious project. It is perhaps better known by its alternative title, Transatlantic Tunnel, for two reasons. That was its […]
Continue reading »The Penalty (1920) ☆ ☆ ☆
Lon Chaney became one of the greatest stars of the silent era, and his performance in The Penalty (1920) is proof positive not only of his talent, but his remarkable dedication to his craft. Chaney plays the role of an […]
Continue reading »Cloud Atlas (2012) ☆ ☆
Cloud Atlas is a sprawling, ambitious drama with a strong cast, intriguing science-fiction elements, solid production values and impressive visuals. But it’s also a big mess without a unifying theme. Six stories set in time periods varying from 1850 to the […]
Continue reading »Flight (2012) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Sometimes you walk into a movie theater expecting a certain kind of movie and walk out having seen something completely different. It can be disconcerting, and even create a negative reaction just because it something unexpected. This is the reaction […]
Continue reading »Alex Cross (2012) ☆ ☆
If Summit Entertainment is hoping that Alex Cross is going to start another popular film franchise (the almost finished Twilight series is theirs), that hope is misguided. James Patterson’s inimitable forensic psychologist-detective was played in two previous films (Kiss the Girls, Along […]
Continue reading »Here Comes the Boom (2012) ☆ ☆ ☆
I would never have thought that a movie that combines elements of Mr. Holland’s Opus and Rocky could be so entertaining, even though I really like those two films. Here Comes the Boom is a funny and heartwarming mix of downtrodden school […]
Continue reading »End of Watch (2012) ☆ ☆ 1/2
As yet another in the parade of gritty modern cop thrillers — almost all of them set in the City of Angels — End of Watch distinguishes itself only in the palpable partnership established between fellow cops Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) […]
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