Category Archives: Performers

“Margin Call”

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: “Margin Call” is an ensemble drama that treats the 2008 financial meltdown as a race-against-time thriller. Written and directed by newcomer J. C. Chandor, the movie takes you behind the hermetic glass sheathing of a prominent … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers, Politics and Economics | Tagged finance, Honey Badger, J.C. Chandor, Jeremy Irons, Margin Call, movies, Star Wars | 7 Comments

“Journey’s End”

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Based on a play by R. C. Sherriff, the 1930 “Journey’s End” is a good example of a movie which benefits from its stage origins. It’s less a war film than a waiting-through-a-war film: for most … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers | Tagged All Quiet On the Western Front, Colin Clive, David Manners, Dawn Patrol, Ernest Hemingway, Great War, Ian MacLaren, James Whale, Journey's End, Laurence Olivier, movies, R. C. Sherriff, Richard Barthelmess, War Films, Westfront 1918, World War I | 2 Comments

“The Tree, the Mayor and the Mediatheque”

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: When you think of New Wave filmmakers who’ve delved into politics Eric Rohmer probably isn’t the first guy to spring to mind. And for good reason: he was always the group’s miniaturist-philosopher, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Movies, Performers, Politics and Economics | Tagged architecture, Casualism, Cinema Verite, Conservationism, Conservatism, Environmentalism, Eric Rohmer, France, Gustave Courbet, movies, Musicals, politics, Socialism | 8 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

“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

Mark Knopfler’s “Golden Heart”

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Can’t resist passing along this Mark Knopfler song that I just ran across. You’ll have to click through the embed to watch and listen to it on YouTube. It’s worth the effort: Such an evocative murky/clear, tender/sad, … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Performers | Tagged Mark Knopfler, Music | Leave a comment

“Two Days in Paris”

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: The Wife and I managed only 20 minutes of this charmer-wannabe, written and directed by the French actress Julie Delpy, before giving up. It’s about a spatting/loving couple (Adam Goldberg, not very appealing, and Delpy herself), and … Continue reading →