Note: This article was published on Fandor in the summer of 2016. I recently discovered that the article is no longer available on that site. I therefore placed it here. John Sayles' Lone Star turns 20 this year. Few people will notice it, and that's a shame. Both commercially and artistically, Lone Star was the peak … Continue reading John Sayles’ accidental trilogy: The Secret of Roan Inish, Lone Star, and Men with Guns
Category: A+ List
A+ List: Before Sunrise (and a bit about the sequels)
After seeing Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise in 1995, I described it as My Dinner with Andre, with scenery and sex appeal. Today most people have forgotten the Wallace Shawn/Andre Gregory talkfest, but those who have watched Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy walking and talking and falling in love happily retain the memory. How many low-budget … Continue reading A+ List: Before Sunrise (and a bit about the sequels)
A+ List: Stop Making Sense at the Elmwood
Great films can affect you in different ways. Some make you laugh, cry, or think. But the Talking Heads concert movie, Stop Making Sense, makes you want to jump out of your seat and dance. I saw this 1984 film two or three times long ago at the UC Theatre, and people were dancing in … Continue reading A+ List: Stop Making Sense at the Elmwood
A+ List: Seven Samurai on the big screen
Sunday night, I saw one of cinema's greatest masterpieces, The Seven Samurai, at the Pacific Film Archive. It was the first time I'd seen it on the big screen in maybe 35 years. Which isn't to say that I hadn't seen it plenty of times at home. I've owned this epic on Laserdisc, DVD, a … Continue reading A+ List: Seven Samurai on the big screen
A+ List: Rio Bravo (also Red River)
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)
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
