To see my running list of the hundred greatest movie stars in American film history, click here All stars are listed with a single film which is particularly important, though not exclusively so, to understanding what makes them vital to American movies. 35) Dustin Hoffman / Key film – Tootsie There’s something like the American dream… Read More Better than AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars: 31-35
Dir. George Roy Hill. Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross Surrounded by the Bolivian army, there is no escape for Butch (Newman) and Sundance (Redford). They know it. Half a lifetime of crimes that made the two of them celebrities in the West, and which made it too difficult for them to stay home,… Read More Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Dir. Martin Ritt. Starring Paul Newman, Brandon deWilde, Melvyn Douglas Dir. Sofia Coppola. Starring Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Emma Watson All these years I’ve been down on Paul Newman, and I don’t regret it. All the same, it’s not entirely his fault. He was so gorgeous, and had such easy body language, that it must… Read More Hud (1963) and The Bling Ring (2013)
The landing page, with rationale and links to other posts in this series, can be found here. Wreck-It Ralph is not an interesting or good enough movie to deserve a sequel, which is just resoundingly obvious in Ralph Breaks the Internet. Ralph and Vanellope are forced to reckon with their natures in the first movie, and that’s a story… Read More Disney/Pixar Rankings: 55-51
Dir. Richard Brooks. Starring Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Burl Ives Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a competent waste of time and energy, occasionally pretty and from time to time infuriating for the right reasons. My inclination is to say that it’s not much of a movie, but I’m willing to admit I’m wrong… Read More Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
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: 40-36
Seeing Things Secondhand 