Movies I’ve recently seen: Almost Famous ֍ Young Mr. Lincoln ֍ Planet of the Apes ֍ The Saphead

While reviewing films for the SFFilm Festival, I found some time to just enjoy some old movies. Click a picture's title to find how you can see one. A- Almost Famous (2000) The story would be unbelievable if similar events happened to writer/director Cameron Crowe in his adolescence. In 1973, a 15-year-old boy gets a … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: Almost Famous ֍ Young Mr. Lincoln ֍ Planet of the Apes ֍ The Saphead

Movies I’ve recently seen: The Birdcage ֍ Cyrano De Begerac ֍ 5 Fingers ֍ Doughboys

Another four movies I've seen for the first time. None of them are masterpieces, and none of them are awful. They were all made in the 20th century. Click a film's title to find how to stream the movie. As usual, I'm going from best to worst. B+ The Birdcage (1996) The American movie version … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: The Birdcage ֍ Cyrano De Begerac ֍ 5 Fingers ֍ Doughboys

Three of the four movies here are part of the Criterion Channels' current Pre-Code Paramount series. I saw and liked two of the Pre-Code movies decades ago, and was disappointed when seeing them again. But hey, when two of the four films star W.C. Fields, they can't be totally bad. A- Hive (2021) It's the … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: Hive ֍ Million Dollar Legs ֍ International House ֍ Murder at the Vanities

Sorry. I accidentally sent a version of this article Sunday night. Here's the real version. As Oscar season approaches, the new movies get better. So, I started with three good, new films that may be award fodder. But I have two vintage movies worth watching. Curiously, out of five films, only one is mostly in … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: C’mon C’mon ֍ Belfast ֍ Benedetta ֍ Stormy Weather ֍ Gentleman’s Agreement

I haven't been going to theaters recently, but here are a few, mostly old movies that I've watched at home. The fact that four of the five movies are in black-and-white tells you that that most of these pictures are vintage. And if you want to find out how to stream any of these, click … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: From Here to Eternity ֍ Tick, Tick… Boom! ֍ Terror in a Texas Town ֍ One Hour with You & ֍ No Way Out

I've been trying to see as much Oscar bait as I can lately. That means that I've seen some very good, new movies. And that's why the new films on this list are better than the vintage movies. A West Side Story (2021) I've seen the 1961 version maybe seven times, but I never cried … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: West Side Story ֍ Don’t Look Up ֍ The Power of the Dog ֍ The Last Emperor ֍ & The Edge of the World

For various reasons, I haven't seen a movie in a theater recently. So here are three old movies and one new one that's already streaming. A- The Searchers (1956) The last time I wrote about The Searchers, I gave it a B. That's a pretty low grade for what many consider John Ford's masterpiece. Seeing … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Searchers ֍ Panic in the Streets ֍ Passing and ֍ Soup to Nuts

In my last "recenty seen" post, I noticed that new movies seemed to be better than old ones. Not this time. A- They Were Expendable (1945) The Navy very much wanted to make this film, and especially have it made by Captain John Ford USNR (yes, that John Ford). Much as I like the picture, … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: They Were Expendable ֍ The French Dispatch ֍ Laura ֍ Eyes Wide Shut

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

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