The Phantom
Ah, the mid-to-late 1990s. It was a new Golden Age for the cinema, and 1996 was a banner year: it brought us Barb Wire, Dragonheart, and the Billy Zane superhero film, The Phantom. I have a soft-spot for The Phantom. Which should not come as a surprise, since my film collection runs the gamut from … Continue reading
Three strides back and kind of OK with it
Have I mentioned that there are too many Best Picture nominees? Has that come up before? I digress. Once again find myself a few movies shy of the full category. And although I did manage to sneak The Help in at the buzzer – too late for an article – I was unable to get … Continue reading
Top 5 movies to watch when no one’s watching
I’m not a Friends fanatic or anything, but there are a few moments from that show that are so spot-on awesome. One of these is when the pals play a trivia game based on (what else?) themselves. Through their game show-like line of questioning we come to learn that Chandler’s TV Guide arrives addressed to … Continue reading
The top 10 movies I’ll miss most now that the Starz deal has expired
Let us all take a moment of silence for all the unwatched Starz movies that are no longer streaming as of today: The Pixar Story – Really regretting that I never got around to watching this documentary about the Pixar studio since it’s not even available on DVD now. Toy Story 3 – You’re … Continue reading
Silence is golden. . . maybe
The Artist is a much cheekier film than I had expected going in, because as much as it strives for (and attains) authenticity it also spends a good deal of time winking at those who don’t like (or at least think they don’t like) silent films. Its story is a sort of mash-up of Singing … Continue reading
Baseball is like church: Many attend, but few understand
“It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball” — Billy Beane Many great things have been said about the game of baseball (and a few silly things, too — Just Google Yogi Berra), but the above quote wraps it all up nicely and puts a bow on top. I would argue that you’d be hard-pressed … Continue reading
When good Americans die they go to Paris
If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a movable feast — Ernest Hemingway I have been lucky enough to have visited Paris twice in my life (so far) — once on a back-backing … Continue reading
You are born, you die, and in between you make a lot of mistakes
Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life is a difficult film. It speculates, but does not clearly state. It admires a mother’s warm smile, the smallness of a newborn in its father’s arms, and the cosmic ballet of the universe as one in the same. In short, it is a film about everything, and it is … Continue reading
The death of a mother is the first sorrow wept without her
Hawaii is a vacation spot. To most of us, it’s not a place where people live and certainly not where anyone dies. My wife even remarked during the opening minutes of Alexander Payne’s The Descendants that it was strange to see office buildings through Matt King’s (George Clooney) own office window. “I didn’t know they … Continue reading
The Great Oscar Race, 2012: Already out of breath
So the nominations have finally come out and I find myself even further behind than last year. I have seen a total of two of the Best Picture noms, one of the Best Actor, and an impressive ZIPPO of the Best Actress. The supporting categories are even worse. Even cinematography, a favorite category of mine, finds me at a pathetic … Continue reading
