Dir. Ray Müller By the early ’90s, Riefenstahl had had a long time to think about the answers to questions like those posed by Müller throughout the movie. She “regrets” making Triumph of the Will, was never a member of the Nazi Party, never infused her work with anti-Semitic language or “race theory,” was out of… Read More The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl (1993)
Dir. Susan Johnson. Starring Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Anna Cathcart Image links back here In all the articles weeping and wailing about how romantic comedies are dead, there are frequent culprits like “the demise of the mid-budget movie” or “the target demographics like superheroes” or even just “Katherine Heigl” are always at the forefront. But… Read More To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
Dir. William Wyler. Starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins One walks away from Friendly Persuasion wishing that the film had been more serious about its characters’ beliefs. It has the seeds of a good movie in it, even an unusual one. Friendly Persuasion is episodic and tranquil in a way that mainstream American movies rarely are anymore. Would… Read More Friendly Persuasion (1956)
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Claude Rains Pain boils down to a loss of control. Something outside of our reach hurts, and for the most part there is nothing we can do to stop that hurt from coming, and above all else that’s what makes us crazy. Lingering deaths would be scary… Read More Notorious (1946)
Dir. Richard Brooks. Starring Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Shirley Jones When I was at the student newspaper at my university, one of the team’s favorite little perks of the job was getting letters from an especially nutty fellow. Doubtless he sent out these rants to every newspaper, professional or otherwise, in the state, but we… Read More Elmer Gantry (1960)
Tim: Glad to report we’re back for another conversation. Also glad to report that this one may have less structure in mind than any previous conversation we’ve had. (That we’re typing and putting on a blog. I have no doubt this would not even register in real life.) Howdy, Matt. Matt: I’m wondering how many… Read More Baumann and Burch Conversations #8: Trilogies
Dir. Craig Gillespie. Starring Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney I, Tonya reminds me of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. They begin similarly. Both of them are absolutely terrified that you might not get the point, and so they begin with this awful lectorial pedantry. Three Billboards starts with the billboards, unveiling them interminably (Too… Read More I, Tonya (2017)
Dir. George Cukor. Starring Judy Garland, James Mason, Charles Bickford Dir. William Wyler. Starring Olivia de Havilland, Miriam Hopkins, Montgomery Clift A Star Is Born stands as a sort of caduceus, a mere movie entwined by the serpents “joyous star vehicle” and “anthropological document.” On one hand, this is Judy Garland’s last stand. “The Man That… Read More A Star Is Born (1954) and The Heiress (1954)
Since the announcement of “Best Popular Film” was made several hours ago, the general reaction has been something along the lines of “All this does is pander further to some non-existent audience at the expense of condescending to movies that make money.” Let’s take those one half at a time. First, I am generally speaking… Read More Best Popular Film: An Okay Idea Eighty-Nine Years Too Late
Dir. Jeff Nichols. Starring Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Nick Kroll My humble definition of a biopic is “any movie which makes months, and preferably years, of a real human being’s life into its plot.” By my own definition, I would say that Loving qualifies as a biopic of Richard and Mildred Loving (Edgerton and Negga,… Read More Loving (2016)
Seeing Things Secondhand 