Words and Movies

Category: Film

  • Cold War (2018) – Review

    Along with film, two subjects that interest me very much are history and music. Both of these subjects have fascinated me in my life in general, as well as when they’ve been the subjects of films I’ve liked. Both subjects are placed front and center in Cold War, Pawel Pawlikowski’s follow-up to Ida (my favorite…

  • The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) – Review

    1968, of course, was a year where it seemed like the world was on fire. After the Tet Offensive that happened during the Vietnam War, while the North Vietnamese lost the battle, the battle itself convinced many in the U.S. the war could not be won, and the protests against the war increased significantly, not…

  • One Night in Miami (2020) – Review

    On February 25, 1964, Muhammad Ali, when he was still being called Cassius Clay, defeated Sonny Liston in Miami, Florida to win the heavyweight championship of the world. Malcolm X, one of the most prominent voices at the time in the U.S. Nation of Islam, was there that night for support, and had talked to…

  • Insignificance (1985) – Review

    Like many directors who made their mark in the 1960’s and 70’s, Nicolas Roeg hit a bad streak in the 80’s. While I was a fan of BAD TIMING, it wasn’t well received by critics or the box office, and Roeg’s follow-up film, EUREKA, starring Gene Hackman as a prospector, ended up being barely released,…

  • The Bride With White Hair (1993) – Review

    Ronny Yu is probably best known in this country for directing horror movies in America, particularly Bride of Chucky (among the most popular of the Child’s Play sequels, not least of which because of the voice performance of Jennifer Tilly as the bride) and Freddy vs. Jason, the crossover between Friday the 13th and A…

  • Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) – Review

    John Huston is credited with saying there was no sense in remaking a good movie, that one should only remake a bad movie so it will turn out better. One movie that shows the validity of that argument is Frank Oz’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which is a remake of Ralph Levy’s Bedtime Story (Dale Launer…

  • The Man who Knew Too Much (1956) – Review

    As with the idea of a MacGuffin, the concept of “refrigerator logic” had been around for a long time in narrative (though obviously called something else before refrigerators, or iceboxes, had been invented, if there was a term for it at all), but it was Alfred Hitchcock who helped popularize it (though he referred to…

  • Loving (2016) – Review

    Jeff Nichols is another acclaimed director whom I’ve never fully been able to get behind. He has a sharp visual eye, but his stories have never been quite satisfactory to me, even Take Shelter, his acclaimed 2011 film starring Jessica Chastain and his usual star Michael Shannon. Not until Midnight Special, Nichols’ take on Close…

  • Loving 1970 – Review

    When people extol the virtues of 70’s movies, they tend to focus on the big names, from directors – Altman, Coppola, Scorsese – and actors – De Niro, Nicholson, and Pacino. However, while it’s certainly true many of the best films of the 70’s (in my opinion) came from those singular talents, it’s important to…

  • Starship Troopers review

    Along with Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein was one of the leading science fiction writers to emerge after World War II. He was praised for the accuracy he brought to the science part of his fiction. Heinlein was also the rare writer who seemed to be praised on both sides…