Dir. George Roy Hill. Starring Robin Williams, Glenn Close, Mary Beth Hurt “The Pension Grillparzer” is the story in The World According to Garp, the novel, which changes Garp’s life. It’s presented clearly as the best of his work, the purest expression of him as a writer. It’s why Helen Holm marries him. It’s not… Read More The World According to Garp (1982)
Dir. Denis Villeneuve. Starring Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Sharon Duncan-Brewster Spoilers follow. I mean, there’s not that much that happens in this sucker, but it’s a recent release, so…spoilers. Friends, Prestige television has been affected by a powerful and terrible scourge in the years since I gave up on it. Presumably guided by the perspective… Read More Dune (2021)
Dir. George Waggner. Starring Lon Chaney, Jr., Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers Dir. William F. Claxton. Starring Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun Both of these pictures—one a classic horror movie from Universal and the other a marvelously terrible horror movie that made me go “Aw!” for ninety minutes—begin with scientific invocations. In 1941, one goes… Read More The Wolf Man (1941) and Night of the Lepus (1972)
Dir. Brian De Palma. Starring Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, Saul Rubinek The Bonfire of the Vanities has an issue with its narration. I mean, you could make a long list of things that this movie has issues with, but the narration is what takes this picture from messy to stinky. You can smell the weakness… Read More The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
Dir. Todd Field. Starring Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl I had some issues with Manchester by the Sea, a movie which I found posed and a little preachy, but one thing I never doubted was the tragic moment at the center of the film. I never doubted the plausibility of Lee’s mistake which leads… Read More In the Bedroom (2001)
Dir. Jon M. Chu. Starring Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace There’s a post-post-credits scene in In the Heights where Samuel L. Jackson comes out to ask Lin-Manuel Miranda if he wants to join the Avengers. But before that post-post-credits scene, there’s a regular post-credits scene where Piraguera (Miranda) takes advantage of a breakdown in… Read More In the Heights (2021)
Dir. Ridley Scott. Starring Josh Hartnett, Tom Sizemore, Sam Shepard One of the stupidest things anyone has ever said about war movies is that they’re all anti-war movies. This is Steven Spielberg’s interpretation, and while I don’t think it’s necessarily a popular one, there are definitely movies which are anti-something else which are frequently mistaken… Read More Black Hawk Down (2001)
Dir. Elizabeth Banks. Starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska The Angels (angels? It somehow feels weirder not to capitalize it) are betrayed. Sabina (Stewart) has a moment not unlike that one that David Niven’s character has in The Guns of Navarone, where she says something along the lines of “Boy, it sure seems like… Read More Charlie’s Angels (2019)
Dir. George Seaton. Starring Burt Lancaster, Helen Hayes, Dean Martin Dir. George Seaton. Starring Burt Lancaster, Helen Hayes, Dean Martin There’s one really good moment in this movie, and I think it’s sort of ironic that it’s such a good moment because in a better movie I don’t think it would have worked nearly as… Read More Airport (1970)
Dir. Emerald Fennell. Starring Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Laverne Cox Rape, not seen despite the fact that multiple characters see and hear the video evidence. Suicide, not seen. Unwanted vaginal penetration, not seen because the shot cuts off the actors below the waist. Murder, seen without having to watch the light go out of anyone’s… Read More Promising Young Woman (2020)
Seeing Things Secondhand 