Director Howard Hawks proved his talent in many genres, including westerns. He made four of them, and the first two, Red River and Rio Bravo, are masterpieces. Both belong on my A+ List of all-time greats. And yet, they're so different that it's hard to imagine they were made by the same director. Red River … Continue reading A+ List: Rio Bravo (also Red River)
Category: A+ List
A+ List: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Also Ran & Rashomon)
In late January, I revisited Raiders of the Lost Ark, and discovered that it didn't really belong in my A+ List of all-time greats. Thursday night, I revisited that series' second sequel, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It has been my favorite in the series since I saw it in first run. With a … Continue reading A+ List: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Also Ran & Rashomon)
Taking Raiders of the Lost Ark off my A+ List
Tuesday night, I revisited Raiders of the Lost Ark, with the intention of writing it up for my A+ list of all-time favorite classic films. But as I watched it again for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help feeling that I didn't quite like it as much as I used to. Which isn't to say that … Continue reading Taking Raiders of the Lost Ark off my A+ List
A+ List: Do the Right Thing (also Napoleon)
For a 27-year-old film, Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing feels very much like the here and now. The only obvious difference is that when cops kill an unarmed black man, no one records it on their cellphone. By focusing on a few blocks of Brooklyn's Bed Stuy neighborhood over the course of one very … Continue reading A+ List: Do the Right Thing (also Napoleon)
A+ List: Singin’ in the Rain (also Some Like It Hot)
You will not learn anything by watching Singin' in the Rain. It will not make you a better person or help you understand the human condition. But for 103 exhilarating minutes, this movie will entertain you like no other. Singin' in the Rain contains several of the best dance routines in film history. And when … Continue reading A+ List: Singin’ in the Rain (also Some Like It Hot)
A+ List: North by Northwest (also Notorious)
A glib advertising man with two ex-wives and a drinking problem becomes the victim of mistaken identity. Foreign spies want to kill him, and the police want to arrest him for the murder of a man killed by the spies. Clever witticisms won't help him this time. Alfred Hitchcock made thrillers more frightening and thoughtful … Continue reading A+ List: North by Northwest (also Notorious)
A+ List: The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (also Lone Star & My Darling Clementine)
Has there ever been an ingénue with a more perfectly comical name than Trudy Kockenlocker? Or a code-era Hollywood movie that so deftly outwitted the censors of its time? There are funnier movies than The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, but not many, and none this funny that flew in the face of traditional morality with … Continue reading A+ List: The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (also Lone Star & My Darling Clementine)
