You might notice that the new films in this selection are all better than the old ones - a strange situation from a lover of classic cinema. Why? I picked two out of three old movies not because I believed they were good, but because they were historically interesting. The other was, well, not as … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: No Time to Die | 15 Minutes of Shame | The Life of Emile Zola | Libeled Lady & Wee Willie Winkie
Category: Recently Seen
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Big Chill | The Man Who Would Be King | Island of Lost Souls | Gretchen the Greenhorn & The Good German
It's amazing I've been seeing so few movies recently, aside from those I reviewed for the Mill Valley Film Festival. But I managed these four. A- The Big Chill (1983) A group of baby boomers, now coming into their 30s, come together for a funeral. They were all radical activists back in the day; now … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Big Chill | The Man Who Would Be King | Island of Lost Souls | Gretchen the Greenhorn & The Good German
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: CODA, Respect, Thunderball, & Annette
Over the last few months, my Movies I've Recently Seen articles have focused entirely on old movies, streaming into my home. But things are changing. Three of these four movies are brand-new. And two of them I actually saw in theaters. A CODA (2021) You rarely find so much in such a conventional story. Teenaged … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: CODA, Respect, Thunderball, & Annette
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Brief Encounter, Topsy-Turvy, Siren of the Tropics, & Cotton Comes to Harlem
Thanks to the current COVID surge, which I'm calling the Delta Blues, I've been staying away from movie theaters. But I'm still watching movies at home. A- Brief Encounter (1945) Love, romance, and marriage may make the world go around, but it often goes in the wrong direction. This pre-epic David Lean drama follows the … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Brief Encounter, Topsy-Turvy, Siren of the Tropics, & Cotton Comes to Harlem
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Gray Flannel Suit | Charming Bourgeoise | The Blue Dahlia | Crossfire
There's a theme going through this list of theoretically random movies - they're all listed at the bottom of my last Criterion article. A- The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) This is much more than an attack on 1950's conformity. Gregory Peck stars as a father, husband, and breadwinner, and doing all that … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Gray Flannel Suit | Charming Bourgeoise | The Blue Dahlia | Crossfire
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Gunda | Demolition Man | Drums Along the Mohawk & Summer of Soul
Another set of films I've recently seen - two new ones and two classics. And only one of them have I seen on the big screen. A- Gunda (2020) The non-fiction version of Babe is an amazing feat of cinematography. Viktor Kosakovskiy's camera crew captures farm animals like no other, bringing us the emotions of creatures that … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Gunda | Demolition Man | Drums Along the Mohawk & Summer of Soul
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Picnic | Black Orpheus | Princess Mononoke & Images
What can I say about these four movies as a group? I can tell you that they were all made in the second half of the last century. They have sound and they're all in color. And finally, I watched (or re-watched) all of them recently and had never written about them before. A- Picnic … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Picnic | Black Orpheus | Princess Mononoke & Images
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Green Valley | Mortal Storm | This Paris | David Copperfield & The Blob
Three of these five films were set in Europe but made in and around Hollywood. Another was set and shot in England. And the last one starred a young unknown named Steve McQueen (it was shot and set in a small American town). Curiously, the three black-and-white movies were better than the two color ones. … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Green Valley | Mortal Storm | This Paris | David Copperfield & The Blob
Movies I’ve recently seen: Chloé Zhao’s first feature, James Whale’s haunted house, Hannah Arendt, & Dr. No
Another selection of movies that no one asked me to watch. I just wanted to see them (or see them again). A- Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015) Chloé Zhao's first feature isn't quite as good as the two she made since, but it's still very much watching. Like The Rider, it's set on a … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: Chloé Zhao’s first feature, James Whale’s haunted house, Hannah Arendt, & Dr. No
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Man in the White Suit | He Who Gets Slapped | A New Leaf | Bamboozled
Here are four more movies I've seen in the last few weeks. A- The Man in the White Suit (1951)I doubt no other movie is remembered for a single, recurring, and very funny sound effect. The story: Alec Guinness plays a brilliant but unrecognized scientist trying to create a cloth that repels dirt, never wears … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Man in the White Suit | He Who Gets Slapped | A New Leaf | Bamboozled
