For this issue, subscriber Frank Gutierrez has suggested two movies worth rediscovering, and I concur with his judgment. I’ll let him describe them, beginning with a 1937 drama. “They Won’t Forget is noteworthy because it was Lana Turner’s first film. […]
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Gorky Park (1983) ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
If ever there was an underrated murder mystery / suspense thriller, this is it. Based on the bestselling novel by Martin Cruz Smith, this 1983 adaptation opened to mixed reviews and mediocre business. That’s quite unfortunate, because it is a […]
Continue reading »The Devil’s Brigade (1968) ✰ ✰ ✰
The Dirty Dozen was such a popular movie for MGM that it decided to repeat the formula in another World War II action feature titled The Devil’s Brigade the following year (1968). And while The Devil’s Brigade is not quite the classic […]
Continue reading »The Monolith Monsters (1957) ✰ ✰ ✰
One of the coolest of the 1950s sci-fi movies that I love so much is The Monolith Monsters, released in 1957. Anyone who has ever grown crystals as a science project will appreciate the small alien rocks which land on […]
Continue reading »Fury (1936) ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Never having been satisfied with the column title “Overlooked (or Obscure) Goodies,” which appeared in the final two issues of volume 3, I am now quite happy to alter it to the more prosaic but heartfelt “Movies Worth Rediscovering.” Each […]
Continue reading »Take Shelter (2011) ✰ ✰ ½
The preview for this arthouse film drew me in at once; Ohio well-driller and family man Michael Shannon begins to see (and dream about) signs which may well point to a coming apocalypse. It all ties in with weather, so […]
Continue reading »Johnny English Reborn (2011) ✰ ✰ ½
Eight years after his bland and desultory original spy spoof Johnny English, Rowan Atkinson returns in a totally unnecessary sequel. Surprisingly, perhaps amazingly, it’s pretty good. The producers have spent a good deal of money and effort to create a […]
Continue reading »50 / 50 (2011) ✰ ✰ ✰
Some subjects seem to demand reverential treatment in movies or real life, and cancer is one of them. So a movie that dares to dilute the horror of the disease with humor seems refreshing. Even though there is nothing funny […]
Continue reading »The Big Year (2011) ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
So far my favorite film of 2011 is The Big Year. I loved it. Truthfully, I cannot say that it is a great movie — it is a rather formulaic comedy-drama that breaks no new ground cinematically — but I […]
Continue reading »The Guard (2011) ✰ ✰ ✰
American movies are notoriously short on surprises, but that isn’t always the case with global fare. The Irish film The Guard has several surprises, mostly character-driven, that make it seem fresh and original. It has the same casually profane tone punctuated […]
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