[10] Star Wars needs another review like a wookiee needs Rogaine, but let’s reflect anyway, lest we start to forget its cultural importance and overall awesomeness. After film reached (still) unparalleled popularity in the late ’30s and ’40s, television came along and the film industry instantly began to shrivel. The dry spell lasted until the mid-70s (perfect timing, mom and dad), when the ‘film school …
[10] A suicidal TV news anchorman strikes a nerve with the public, prompting his network to bastardize their news hour with his crackpot proselytizing. Before long, the network embraces pure tabloid sensationalism — live assassinations and all. Network is now famous for being ahead of its time, foretelling the Jerry Springer and Honey Boo Boo phenomenons decades in advance. But there’s more to it than …
[10] Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Peter Benchley’s shark thriller is extraordinarily well made and far more sophisticated than your average monster movie. The first half is a solid scare-fest that unwinds beautifully, from the first vicious attack on a late night bathing beauty to the sensational tragedy during the town’s Fourth of July festivities. Once the people of Amnity Island have had enough the movie …
[10] Oh, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… I love that you’re an unrelenting free fall into madness. I love that your first half is mysterious and suspenseful, and that your second half is hysterically macabre. I love how your 16mm film stock lends a raw, documentary feel to the horror. I love your locations — from …
[10] In the Depression-era Dust Bowl, a traveling con man strikes up an unlikely relationship with an orphan girl who may or may not be his daughter. Director Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show) coaxes magnificent performances from real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O’Neal, working from a beautiful screenplay adaptation by two-time Oscar winner Alvin Sargent (Julia, Ordinary People). The magic of Paper …
[10] Peter Bogdanovich adapts Larry McMurtry’s nostalgic coming-of-age tale, creating a film so believably rooted in a lonely time and place (the early ’50s Texas dust bowl), that you have a hard time shaking it when it’s over. The film chronicles the sexual indiscretions of its ensemble of characters, which include a high school infatuation between Duane (Jeff Bridges) and Jacy (Cybill Shepherd), as well …
[10] Which of King Henry II’s sons will succeed him on the throne? This question is rife with political intrigue, personal vendettas, and intense family drama in The Lion in Winter. The relationships are fascinating to watch unfold. The three sons will stop at nothing to wear the crown. King Henry has his favorite, and his wife Eleanor has hers. Their desires come to a …
[10] Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is lovingly adapted to film by director Robert Mulligan, screenwriter Horton Foote, and producer Alan J. Pakula. Gregory Peck earned the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus Finch, a lawyer of uncompromising morals who puts the safety of his family on the line to defend Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of raping a white …
[10] An unshakable sheriff and his riff-raff crew brace for a days-long siege when a swarm of bad guys descend on their town, threatening to free one of their own from jail. Rio Bravo is the last great film from legendary director Howard Hawks (Scarface, Bringing Up Baby, The Big Sleep). It’s not the epic western you might imagine from Hollywood in the ’50s. Nor …
[10] A young boy is orphaned and left in the care of his only living relative, an eccentric aunt who defies convention and encourages discovery. The pair endure challenge after challenge in an episodic narrative that ends in the boy becoming a man and getting married, a decision that threatens to finally tear them apart. It’s so rare for me to fall this much in …
Copyright © 2024 | Theme by MH Themes