CGI is rarely convincing to me, but the alien at the center of 2020’s Sputnik is almost good enough to make me forget its DNA is all ones and zeroes. This was even more of a surprise to me, as this is a Russian film, which I assume means less money went into it than […]
Movie: A Night at the Opera (1935)
It has only been in the past five years or so that I have truly come to appreciate the Marx Brothers, but I can still recall many of the reasons why, even if I didn’t actively dislike them, I was confused by why they are so legendary. With this in mind, I have decided to […]
Movie: Brain Donors (1992)
We will never see the likes of the Marx Brothers again, and woe to those who try to be them. On the other hand, we’ll never see a new Marx Brothers film, so it might be interesting if others tried to carry that torch. It was in that frame of mind that I approached 1992’s […]
Movie: The Ticket of Leave Man (1937)
You can learn all kinds of strange things from movies. For example, there’s the curious title of 1937’s The Ticket of Leave Man. I was wondering what that phrase meant, and it turns out it as an old British expression that is roughly analogous to parole. I wonder if that phrase is still widely in […]
Movie: David Holzman’s Diary (1967)
Some may wonder why the 1967 film David Holzman’s Diary was canonized into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Criterion also saw fit to include it in its collection; albeit, only on laserdisc. Anybody who was confused as to why Citizen Kane is ubiquitously considered a great film will surely be downright bewildered as to why […]
Music: The Velvet Underground (The Velvet Underground, 1969)
When I tell people my all-time favorite album is 1969’s self-titled release from The Velvet Underground, they inevitably think I mean The Velvet Underground & Nico, their debut. Instead, what I mean is their third release. It may seem odd a group with only four albums released during their time together would have two that […]
Movie: Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952)
Interesting how a film made in the 50’s and set in the late 20’s feels like it is from a vantage point of a hundred years, but a film made today about the 1990’s wouldn’t seem as if so much time has passed. Or maybe I’m being naïve. All I know is 1952’s Has Anybody […]
Movie: Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz (1997)
I have a weird listening relationship with jazz. I don’t listen to it often but, when I go through a phase where I do, I listen to it almost exclusively. So, I was aware of the legendary Blue Note label before watching 1997 documentary Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz, but didn’t know much […]
Movie: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
When I have heard the term “Capracorn” used to dismissively describe the output of director Frank Capra, I assumed it was warranted primarily by his It’s a Wonderful Life. It sure doesn’t apply to Arsenic & Old Lace, which is one my absolute favorite films. But, now that I’ve seen 1936’s Mr. Deeds Goes to […]
Movie: Hobson’s Choice (1954)
Among the more famous of the many renown album covers in Bob Dylan’s catalog is that of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. It shows Dylan and a woman walking towards the camera, her arm looped through his and hugging it tight. There’s a huge, genuine smile on her face. I challenge any guy who has seen […]
Movie: Nightmare (1946)
Kevin McCarthy is trapped in a noir nightmare. In 1956’s Nightmare, he has a dream where he kills some guy in what appears to be a house of mirrors, ala 1947’s Lady from Shanghai. He’s convinced he killed somebody when he discovers bruises around his windpipe and blood on his left arm. He also discovers […]
Movie: The Return of the Whistler (1948)
Richard Dix had starred in seven of the unrelated films in The Whistler series of noir pictures, but ill-health prevented him from appearing in the eighth and final entry, 1948’s The Return of the Whistler. It’s odd to have a new guy as the lead in film that is supposedly the return of the title […]
Movie: Black Tuesday (1954)
Days of the week have a certain personality to them. I think we all have our own mental images of what Saturday and Sunday feel like, and could probably imagine what they would be like if given human form. Consider Wednesday, the “hump day” everybody trudges through, and yet there is that light in the […]
Movie: Vice Squad (1953)
Poor Porter Hall. He’s a mortician who just has a bit on the side (Joan Vohs) he doesn’t want his wife to know about, yet he is repeatedly arrested by Edward G. Robinson’s police force on trumped-up charges. I could have sworn there are laws against cops doing things like this to perpetually keep somebody […]
The very, very tired mix
As I write this, I have no idea how the election will have turned out. For all I know, we will find ourselves in a horrible scenario where it won’t be decided for a long, long time. All I know is, I’m probably going to be exhausted, and I likely will be for a while. […]