Category Archives: Movies

“The Mercenary”

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Paleo Retiree

I found this 1968 spaghetti western from action legend Sergio Corbucci pretty entertaining, if in a relentlessly hyperbolic, showboating way. It’s an amusing mix of the buffoonish, the witty, the visually spectacular and the stirring. A group of Mexican miners … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Franco Nero, movies, Sergio Corbucci, westerns | 3 Comments

“The Kissing Bandit,” Frank Sinatra, and Ricardo Montalban

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: I’ve been going through some of the lesser-known MGM musicals of late. There’s a lot of dreck hiding out in that celebrated body of work. But one of the things you quickly realize is that even … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers | Tagged Ann Miller, Auteur Theory, Choreography, Cyd Charisse, Dance, Ernst Lubitsch, Frank Sinatra, Jeanette MacDonald, Kathryn Grayson, Laslo Benedek, MGM, movies, Musicals, Nelson Eddy, Pauline Kael, Ricardo Montalban, Stanley Donen, The Kissing Bandit | 3 Comments

Bardot Iconography

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: The posters for Brigitte Bardot’s films constitute their own little genre of graphic design. Which do you like best?

Posted in Commercial art, Movies, Performers, Sex | Tagged Brigitte Bardot, Graphic Design, Movie Posters, movies | 8 Comments

“Black Wings Has My Angel”

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Someone recommended this to me a while back. I took a chance on it when I noticed it was available cheap for the Amazon Kindle. (Maybe it still is.) Written by the terrifically-named Elliott Chaze, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Commercial art, Movies, Personal reflections, Sex | Tagged Black Wings Has My Angel, Crime Fiction, David Foster Wallace, Elliott Chaze, Film Noir, Gold Medal Books, Pulp | 6 Comments

“Night Flight”

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: This MGM star vehicle has been out of circulation since its original run in 1933, probably owing to legal issues related to the rights of the source story by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. (Yeah, THAT Antoine de … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers | Tagged Airport, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Aviation, Clarence Brown, Clark Gable, Howard Hawks, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, MGM, movies, Myrna Loy, Night Flight, Only Angels Have Wings, The Towering Inferno, Warner Archive Collection | 3 Comments

“Killer Joe”

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: A white-trash/noir, doublecrossin’, absurdist melodrama, directed by William Friedkin from a Tracy Letts play that The Question Lady and I also loved. Friedkin may be in his 70s but he has made an energized and outrageous film … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Gina Gershon, Juno Temple, Matthew McConaughey, movies, Tracy Letts, William Friedkin | 9 Comments

Bully for you!

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Brundle Guy

Brundle Guy writes: Although a lot of animated children’s movies are by-the-book and rote, every now and then I feel like they can slip something through that’s exceptional. Every now and then the gatekeepers are looking the other way, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged animation, Bullying, harsh truths, kids movies, movies, ParaNorman | 1 Comment

“Chronicle”

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: “Chronicle” is a superhero film that strips the genre down to its essence, namely the exhilaration and consequences associated with extra-human powers. In doing so it manages to feel truer to Stan Lee’s dictum, “with great … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Brian De Palma, Christopher Reeve, Chronicle, Josh Trank, movies, Spider-Man, Stan Lee, Superhero | Leave a comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Ira Glass on why he hates dream sequences: “I hate symbolism…I’m against symbolism…I feel like symbolism comes out of English-class thinking that has no place in our entertainment.” Interview is here. Glass’s comments are around the 33:00 mark.

Posted in Movies | Tagged Ira Glass, story, symbolism | 9 Comments

Genre Movie Themes, Adult Fantasies

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Have you ever noticed how many genre movies of the late ’50s, ’60s, and early ’70s featured specially-composed pop songs? It’s one of my fave aspects of that era in movies. I’m not sure exactly where the … Continue reading →