Ben-Hur (1959)

Dir. William Wyler. Starring Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet This is weird for me to say about him, but Charlton Heston was the right man for the job. Judah Ben-Hur spends the vast majority of this movie, which is probably about as famous for being long as it is for anything else, planning to… Read More Ben-Hur (1959)

Mildred Pierce (1945)

Dir. Michael Curtiz. Starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson I spent most of my life in the kitchen, Mildred (Crawford) tells a policeman in the beginning of the movie. It is bizarre to see Crawford in an apron not merely because she’s Joan Crawford, but because her star image was based primarily on the… Read More Mildred Pierce (1945)

Witness (1985)

Dir. Peter Weir. Starring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas The line between “wants to make you feel this” and “doesn’t make you feel much of anything” is one of the most difficult and most subtle lines to walk in a movie. Go too far to the former, and the viewer is alienated by the… Read More Witness (1985)

Frances Ha (2012)

Dir. Noah Baumbach. Starring Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Michael Zegen Frances Ha is occasionally a relentless series of moments far too short to even be vignettes. They are visual one-liners, which is a seriously risky way to make a movie and the only good way to tell a story about Frances (Gerwig). But for a little… Read More Frances Ha (2012)