Reviews and commentaries about classic movies, long-forgotten titles, and new releases.
Blood and Sand with Rudolph Valentino and Nita Naldi Blood and Sand (1922) movie review: Dominating Rudolph Valentino. Blood and Sand movie review: Rudolph Valentino star vehicle Bullfighting has never…
Beulah Bondi, Victor Moore, Make Way for Tomorrow The main conflict in Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow revolves around an elderly couple, Barkley and Lucy Cooper (Victor Moore and…
The Beast with a Million Eyes: Hardly truth in advertising as Roger Corman’s micro-budget sci-fi thriller is no “monster movie.” ‘The Beast with a Million Eyes’: Alien invasion movie predates…
The Love of Jeanne Ney with Uno Henning and Edith Jehanne. G.W. Pabst’s The Love of Jeanne Ney / Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney is a real mystery. And I mean…
Monique van Vooren, Joe Dallesandro, Flesh for Frankenstein The first time I saw Flesh for Frankenstein was during its theatrical release in 1973, when it was titled, Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein.…
All Quiet on the Western Front with Lew Ayres. Synopsis: World War I: A group of German schoolboys soon learn that war has absolutely nothing to do with either glory…
The Merry Widow with Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier. The Merry Widow is neither one of Ernst Lubitsch’s most discussed nor best-liked films. Film critics and historians generally tend to…
Vicky Cristina Barcelona set with Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, and Woody Allen. I saw Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona at its Canadian premiere at the 32nd Montreal World Film…
Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain As I sit here writing, I am finding it hard to gather my thoughts together. Most of this essay has already…
Directed by schlock-master William Castle (House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler), Shanks is a little-known curiosity piece, telling the story (written by Ranald Graham) of Malcolm Shanks, a deaf-mute puppeteer who leaves his abusive…
Straw Dogs with Dustin Hoffman and Susan George: Infamous rape scene. Straw Dogs movie (1971) review: Sam Peckinpah drama is best remembered for its infamous rape scene. If there has…
The Queen with Helen Mirren and James Cromwell. A more sober tone would have made Stephen Frears’ filmization of Peter Morgan’s The Queen screenplay less appealing to a mass audience.…
Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Inception.’ Inception movie review: Summer blockbuster with brains & soul Christopher Nolan’s Inception is a summer blockbuster that doesn’t act like one. Unlike so many of the…
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days with Julia Jentsch and Fabian Hinrichs. Directed with clenched fists by Berlin Film Festival winner Marc Rothemund, who seems to have been at least partly…
Boom! movie: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton critical and box office disaster is rediscovered and receives some belated cult classic appreciation.
The Girl. In rural Sweden, a young girl’s parents jet off to Africa on a charity trip, leaving the child (Blanca Engström) in the care of an inattentive aunt. The…
Riot movie with Jim Brown and Gene Hackman. “A protest, a riot, I don’t care what you call it,” says Red (Gene Hackman), the mastermind of an audacious plan to…
Monster’s Ball 2001 with Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton. This brief piece is an amalgam of two comments posted in response to Alt Film Guide’s Monster’s Ball review written by…
Cavalcade with Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook (upstairs), and Herbert Mundin and Una O’Connor (downstairs). Synopsis: Upstairs, Robert and Jane Marryot (Clive Brook, Diana Wynyard), and downstairs, Alfred and Ellen…
Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), How to Train Your Dragon (top); Jay Baruchel performing Hiccup (bottom) I have to commend DreamWorks. With movies like Kung Fu Panda and now How to Train…
Paul Winfield, the canine Sounder, Kevin Hooks, Sounder Sounder probably features more extremely wide shots than any movie besides Lawrence of Arabia – and Martin Ritt’s movie is only half…
127 Hours movie review: James Franco Great as Aron Ralston in Harrowing survival Story marred by Danny Boyle hyperkinetic direction.
Brief Encounter with Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. Brief Encounter one-line synopsis: A married doctor (Trevor Howard) and a housewife (Celia Johnson) have an adulterous (and platonic) affair. The Pros:…
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network When a movie, in subsequent viewings, not only sustains the brilliance one saw in it through the first viewing but reveals itself as a more…
The King’s Speech with Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter The King’s Speech movie review I can’t imagine what it must be like to be born into royalty. That kind of…
The Fighter movie (2010): ‘Smart’ (as in Marketable) Hollywood product with impressive Oscar winners Melissa Leo and Christian Bale.
René Navarre as Fantômas True cinephiles know what to say when asked to explain the relative aggregate crumminess of the films they’ve bothered to see in 2010: “Too many lousy…
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence with 1970s pop icon David Bowie. He stands in the courtroom, fully inhabiting his allotted space behind the bar, clad in fatigues and a rakish scarf,…
The Whales of August with Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, and Ann Sothern. According to my math, the careers of the three leading ladies – Lillian Gish, Bette Davis,…
Greed movie: Gibson Gowland and Jean Hersholt in Erich von Stroheim’s masterpiece. Erich von Stroheim’s masterpiece and one of the best silent films ever made, Greed remains a powerful indictment…
A Woman of Paris stars a fashion-conscious Edna Purviance. I must admit that I’m not a fan of Charles Chaplin’s comedies. Heresies aside, I did very much enjoy Chaplin’s dramatic A…
Alice in Wonderland 2010: Johnny Depp Mad Hatter no help to Tim Burton movie that is a travesty of Lewis Carroll tale. All visuals and no substance.