The following is from my series of Oscar Best Picture rankings, as well as my strongly worded suggestions for what should have won from among the nominees. For an introduction to the project, click here. For a way to vote on some Oscar-related ideas, click here. If I’ve written a review on any of the… Read More Better than the Oscars: 20-16
Dir. Delbert Mann. Starring Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti Usually one should shy away from calling a movie “universal,” but there really is something universal in Marty: give people what they tell you they want, and they’ll complain about not getting enough. In Act I, Marty (Borgnine), an amiable and well-meaning butcher on the cusp of… Read More Marty (1955)
Dir. Sidney Lumet. Starring Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch In Sunset Blvd, Joe Gillis recognizes that he has seriously damaged two women and decides to bail out back to Ohio: not because he’s running away from them, but because he sees it as a penance for his sins. (Of course, we know what happens to… Read More Network (1976)
Seeing Things Secondhand 