Category Archives: Performers

Notes on “Cry Danger”

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: “Cry Danger,” the first film directed by Robert Parrish, may come closer to the wry, frugal tone of Dashiell Hammett than even Huston’s adaptation of “The Maltese Falcon,” which leans rather heavily — and quite successfully … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers | Tagged Bunker Hill, Cry Danger, Dick Powell, Film, Film Noir, Los Angeles, movies, Richard Erdman, Robert Parrish | Leave a comment

No Man Needs Nothing

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” is unusual in that it attempts to build a character-based epic around an enigma. I am not among those who find this strategy unproblematic. In fact, I think the movie loses … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers, Uncategorized | Tagged Alec Guinness, David Lean, Film, Lawrence of Arabia, movies, Peter O'Toole | Leave a comment

Happy Easter

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Kate Upton doesn’t want to be left out:

Posted in Performers, Sex, The Good Life | Tagged Cassandra Peterson, Easter, Elvira, He Is Risen | Leave a comment

Notes on Recent Movies

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: If you’re like me, you don’t get around to seeing “the year’s best movies” until several months into the subsequent year. In case you’re wondering (and I doubt you are), of the 2015 releases that I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers | Tagged Adam McKay, Adele Haenel, Alex de la Iglesia, Andre Techine, Carmen Maura, Carol, Carolina Bang, catherine deneuve, Chi-Raq, Christian Bale, Crimson Peak, Guillaume Canet, Guillermo del Toro, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, In the Name of My Daughter, Justin Kurzel, Love at First Fight, Macbeth, Marion Cotillard, Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Samuel L. Jackson, Shakespeare, Shu Qi, Spike Lee, Steve Carrell, Teyonah Parris, The Assassin, The Big Short, Thomas Cailley, Todd Haynes, Witching & Bitching | 2 Comments

“Woman on the Run”

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: This 1950 noir, directed by Norman Foster, and written by Foster and Alan Campbell, from a story by Sylvia Tate, is intriguing for the way in which it uses its thriller premise to mine the complexities … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers, Uncategorized | Tagged Ann Sheridan, Dennis O'Keefe, Film, Film Noir, movies, Norman Foster, Ross Elliott, San Francisco, Woman on the Run | Leave a comment

Curation: Van Morrison

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Did you notice the other day that Van Morrison received a Knighthood? As someone who has spent countless hours being charmed and transported by his music — Sir Van has been to me what Bob Dylan has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Performers | Tagged concerts, Music, van morrison | 6 Comments

Juxtaposin’: Housework

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes:

Posted in Movies, Music, Performers | Tagged american hustle, Ann-Margret, David O. Russell, George Sidney, Jennifer Lawrence, Juxtaposin', live and let die, Musicals, Viva Las Vegas, wings | Leave a comment

Notes on “Beasts of No Nation”

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Writer-director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “Beasts of No Nation” is the most viscerally affecting war movie in recent memory. Based on a novel by Uzodinma Iweala, which I haven’t read, it focuses on guerrilla warfare in an … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers, Uncategorized | Tagged Abraham Attah, Africa, Beasts of No Nation, Cary Fukunaga, Film, Idris Elba, movies, war, war movies | Leave a comment

Music for a Blizzard

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: As this delicate, SoCal-born-and-raised boy endures his first East Coast blizzard, I’ve been forced to retreat to my Happy Place. “Getz/Gilberto,” which lives up to its reputation — the album is sly, seductive, and transporting — can … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Performers | Tagged Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, bossa nova, jazz, João Gilberto, Stan Getz | 2 Comments

“Janis: Little Girl Blue”

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Even though my wife and I have watched a few other docs about Janis Joplin — many of the sources, interviewees and anecdotes here were awfully familiar to us — we still enjoyed this new one, directed by Amy … Continue reading →