- DVD Reviews (82)
- Film Reviews (17)
- Forgotten Classics (26)
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Forgotten Classics
Fiddler on the Roof
The 1971 film adaptation of the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof is not only one of the best musicals of all time; it is also one of the best movies ever made.
August 23rd, 2010
Gladiator
Ridley Scott employed the perfect balance of narrative, cinematic imagery and adventure to build the timeless tale of a once great empire beginning its fall into the moral decay that was Rome.
May 6th, 2010
The Lost Boys
Not just another teen angst meets brood vampire movie, "The Lost Boys" has always been special to me.
March 18th, 2010
E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
Director Steven Spielberg chooses relatively unknown actors for his cast to go one step further to create a sense of familiarity in the audience.
January 1st, 2010
Taxi Driver
Travis Bickle is "God's lonely man," peering at New York through the rear-view mirror of his taxi cab. Though he tries to make sincere human connections, Bickle finds himself lonelier.
January 1st, 2010
It's a Wonderful Life
Major Capra was fresh from his stint in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Colonel Stewart had just provided the U.S. Army Air Corps his best years. And these two great patriots made one great film.
December 23rd, 2009
The Royal Tenenbaums
Royal "Died Tragically Rescuing his Family from the Wreckage of a Destroyed Sinking Battleship" This is Royal's epitaph that is the centerpiece, upon the stage, of the last scene of Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums." The enigmatic Royal is dead, of a massive heart attack, and it is left to his e
September 28th, 2009
Once Upon a Time in America
Sergio Leone's Classic Film Almost Died on the Cutting Room Floor As I mentioned in my forgotten review, Spring, 2009, of one of Sergio Leone's best films: "Once Upon a Time in the West," I wrote that I would eventually take a look at his next, even better film, "Once Upon a Time in America" in that
September 2nd, 2009
Vanilla Sky versus Open Your Eyes
On this Occasion the Nod Goes to the Remake Most film purists, who on occasion give opinion, will never give remakes of good films a first chance (forget the second chance), unless possibly, the subsequent film is on a smaller budget, or has a European director. Recently I viewed "Abre los ojos" ("O
August 23rd, 2009
The Last Waltz
"I Got a Tombstone Head and a Graveyard Mind, I Turned 41, I Don't Mind Dying: Who do you Love?" Ronnie Hawkins, one of The Band's earliest front-men when they were known as The Hawks, in the early 1960's before they were known as The Band, sang these words, as a visiting artist, in the rhythm and b
August 16th, 2009
Pulp Fiction
Lightweight subject is built into a heavyweight classic just the film title itself, "Pulp Fiction" denotes a lightweight film. Hardly. The film's rich dialogue is legendary.
July 20th, 2009
Wyatt Earp
"But Now he's (Wyatt) Going to be a Marshal and an Outlaw. Best of Both Worlds, Son." These words were spoken by a tubercular Doc Holliday, played by a gaunt 145 pound Dennis Quaid, to Warren Earp, played by a young Jim Caviezel, in the junior classic "Wyatt Earp," which sums up the life of a comple
July 5th, 2009
The Godfather: Part II
"It's Not Personal, Sonny. It's Strictly Business" This is the line Al Pacino, as Michael, delivered to his oldest brother, Santino Corleone, and Tom Haden in the "The Godfather" when Don Vito lay near death and Michael, because of his father's demise, was being drawn deeper into the family business
June 18th, 2009
Sling Blade
"Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade, I Call it a Kaiser Blade." This line, spoken by Karl Childers, explains the farm implement that he used to kill his white trash mother and her lover 25 years earlier, when he was still an adolescent. After 25 years in a mental institution (Karl calls it "the nervou
June 8th, 2009
The Godfather
La Cosa Nostra or Family First? The best film of 1972 was Mario Puzo's widely read novel turned Oscar Winning film, "The Godfather," and that year they got it right. This great film, directed in the perfect tones of an extraordinary classic by Francis Ford Cappola, was the initial chapter in the tri
June 3rd, 2009
Cold Mountain
As Salmon Struggle Upstream to Return to the Place of their Origin so Must Inman Whenever I am drawn into a discussion about whether the film, "Cold Mountain," is better than the novel by Charles Frazier, the film always loses. That's understandable, considering that Frazier's Cold Mountain is one o
May 30th, 2009
Big Fish
The Biggest Fish in Every Pond was Edward Bloom Or, so he would have us believe. In fact, Tim Burton directed his masterpiece and John August adapted the screenplay from the great Daniel Wallace story just so Edward Bloom could recount his larger that life stories to us, the audience, simply so we c
May 17th, 2009
Once Upon a Time in the West
Time Loves a Hero: Everyone Else Take a Seat This is the legacy of arguably two of Sergio Leone's best films: "Once Upon a Time in the West," and to be reviewed later, "Once Upon a Time in America." Our subject in the now is the classic western that features an enigmatic cast, fantastic staging of s
April 25th, 2009
Unforgiven
Unforgiven is the Minimalist's Approach to Producing a Classic Western Clint Eastwood put on his director's cap and actor's battered stetson and filmed one of the finest Westerns ever made. The film was released in 1992, and qualified for that years Academy Awards. It was nominated for 9 Oscars and
April 21st, 2009
Full Metal Jacket
"Goodbye My Sweetheart, Hello Vietnam" This refrain from Dave Dudley's country ditty, an integral melody in the soundtrack of the classic "Full Metal Jacket" regarding a more patriotic approach to the Vietnam predicament, is etched in my subconscious as I reconsider Stanley Kubrick's grim satirical
April 14th, 2009
Being John Malkovich
All Things Malkovich And the film works. I know it sounds crazy, but that is essentially why this film is so alluring. An entire film built around seeing the world through the eyes of one of America's great current character actors - John Malkovich - and it works due to the outstanding story / scree
March 27th, 2009
Donnie Darko
Looking to the future can be hazardous to your health or maybe I could be wrong. That's what the coming of age / sci-fi film "Donnie Darko" does to me - every time I see it. By the time it is over, I don't know whether I'm coming or going - more questions than answers - and then I get it.
March 16th, 2009
Being There
Naivety and Innocence are Comfortable Collaborators in this humorous farce, Peter Sellers' second to his last movie, before his death in 1980, may also be his second best. "Being There," directed by Hal Ashby, is a humorous farce that marries the innocence of an illegitimate child; sheltered from the
March 1st, 2009
To Kill a Mockingbird
I Always Wanted to Know an Atticus Finch And yet I never quite met him. I never found him in any of my coaches, my teachers, my friends, the fathers of my friends and even my beloved father never had that perfect pitch of character while he still ranks as the greatest inspiration to my manhood. I on
February 16th, 2009
Band of Brothers
"But We In It Shall Be Remembered" This titular phrase was borrowed from the "Crispin's Day Speech" from William Shakespeare's classic "Henry V." The necessary comrade that existed in those dark days for Henry V. was most similar for a young nation, like the U.S.A., to send its young men to fight an
February 11th, 2009
