Monthly Archives: December 2023

Steven Spielberg mentioned in interviews over the years how a Cecil B. DeMille epic from the early 1950s changed his life. The spectacle, the larger-than-life presentation and the special effects of “The Greatest Show on Earth” turned little Steven into … Continue reading →

Almost every Hollywood movie of “the war years” was an embarrasment of riches when it came to European expats decorating the cast. “Casablanca” was practically a make-work project for conflict refugees. British films with a patriotic bent — “The 49th … Continue reading →

For everybody who figures The Hallmark Channel is too “edgy” and The Christian Channel too preachy, there’s UpTV, whose fare one hopes isn’t represented by “Something Brewing,” a bland, lifeless romance parked on Amazon Prime for the curious. Suffice it … Continue reading →

The lady priest tells the support group that “Grief is love that has become lost.” But Sara doesn’t want to hear it. Her last conversation with her husband, Daniel, was him telling her — by phone — that “This isn’t … Continue reading →

Less than a month before U.S. B-29s flew over Japan and leveled Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the only two atomic bombs ever used in combat, a bomb was mounted on a tower in the Middle of Nowhere, New Mexico, and … Continue reading →

It’s impossible to overstate the cat-fighting delights of George Cukor’s all-star adaptation of “The Women,” a title that often gets lost in the gilded glory of classic cinema’s greatest year — 1939. Consider the protagonists on offer. Rosalind Russell vs. … Continue reading →

Sad news from South Korea today. Lee Sun-kyun, one of the standouts from the Oscar winning parable “Parasite,” has died. He was 48, and the cause of death was suicide, as he was caught up in a drug abuse/drug trafficking … Continue reading →

Adam Driver isn’t miscast in the title role of “Ferrari,” Michael Mann’s trek through a month or so of 1957, a make-or-break year for the racing institution supported by a bespoke Italian performance sports car company. Driver is tall enough … Continue reading →

Danville, a small Virginia city on the state line with North Carolina, is a place I’m very familiar with as it is near where I grew up. And one thing I’ve noticed about it, returning from Alaska, Florida, and everywhere … Continue reading →

Oh not, not ANOTHER “pretend we’re getting married” rom-com, tricking the relatives so that somebody can fake his way to an inheritance. A “bet” is sure to be involved. The lies will pile on top of lies, as more and … Continue reading →