When The Oscar (1966) received the Academy of Arts and Sciences to use its trademark image and awards ceremony in the film, it’s doubtful they expected it to be so flat out dreadful. A film about Hollywood by Hollywood, this over baked, melodramatic take on Hollywood in-fighting is loosely based on a best-selling novel by …
A film he’s wanted to make since buying up the movie rights since before Jonathan Lessem’s novel was published in 1999, Edward Norton wrote, directed and starred in Motherless Brooklyn. Set in 1950’s New York City, Lionel Essrog (Norton) is a private detective who suffers from both OCD and Tourette’s syndrome (though he has no …
Adapted from Dan Jenkins book of the same name, the 1977 film Semi-Tough is best seen as a product of its era. Michael Ritchie had successfully directed two sports-themed films in the past; Downhill Racer and The Bad News Bears. Scripted by Walter Bernstein, Semi-Tough has a decidedly different tone. The story follows the misadventures …
[The review of the movie itself was taken from the 2010 Blu-ray. A/V and Extras have been updated — RW] A boat emerges out of a thick, dense fog; two men in fedoras are aboard, chain smoking and discussing the reason for their uncomfortable ferry ride—one is clearly more fidgety than the other, at one …
After finding success as a screenwriter on films such as Taxi Driver (directed by Martin Scorsese) and Obsession (directed by Brian DePalma), Paul Schrader earned enough clout to direct his own material. Schrader’s directorial debut Blue Collar follows three auto workers who can’t catch a break. Zeke (Richard Pryor) and Jerry (Harvey Keitel) are family …
Created by cartoonist Charles Addams, “The Addams Family” debuted in the New Yorker Magazine in 1938. Through the years, “The Addams Family” has been adapted into a live action format several times. The 1960s TV series starring John Astin as Gomez and Carolyn Jones as Morticia, is probably the most beloved, but two 1990’s feature …
Based on a play by Philip Barry, Holiday is the third film starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn and their third with director George Cukor. Released in 1938 around the time Katherine Hepburn was being called “box office poison,” she gives one of her more heartfelt performances. A romantic comedy, Holiday has a surprisingly serious …
As the New Wave emerged in late 1950’s France, Britain too, was experiencing its own cultural movement with the rise of the “kitchen sink” drama. Kitchen sink dramas presented gritty, realistic stories of domestic or socioeconomic situations involving working class families or individuals struggling to get ahead in postwar England. Released in 1959, Room at …
Adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel, Burt Reynolds directs and stars in, Stick aa Ernest “Stick” Stickney an ex-con just out of prison after a seven-year stint for armed robbery. No sooner has he arrived home in Florida, Stick decides to accompany a friend on a drug deal. Unfortunately, the drug deal goes bad, and …
In the decades since she died, it’s become common knowledge that Judy Garland struggled with drug addiction for years. As a child, MGM fed her diet pills, sleeping pills, and ‘pep’ pills to stay awake. She was a drug addict before she had a choice. It’s hard to watch self-destruction, but it’s even harder when …
