Since we can't escape from COVID-19's reality, we can at least spend some time with the most escapist genre in the history of cinema: swashbucklers. Although these sword-wielding adventure movies are usually set in Europe or the Caribbean from 1500 to 1800 CE, you can find them set in ancient Greece or 19th-century China. The … Continue reading Swashbucklers: A needed escape from reality
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Beanpole, What’s Up Doc, Extra Ordinary, and Angels Over Broadway
Two new movies that, if it were not for COVID-19, would be playing in theaters, along with two pictures that were made before films streamed on the Internet. As usual, they're in order from best to last. A- Beanpole (2019), helping the Balboa or Rafael Within minutes after this Russian film starts, the extremely tall title character (Viktoria … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Beanpole, What’s Up Doc, Extra Ordinary, and Angels Over Broadway
What’s Streaming: April 10 – 16
I'm still figuring out this streaming-based newsletter. But everything seems entirely different than it used to be. Alteration by Lincoln Spector Helping a theater The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum is more than just a movie theater with a museum attached. It's also an archive, protecting rare prints. But with the theater and museum closed, … Continue reading What’s Streaming: April 10 – 16
Columbia Noir at the Criterion Channel
It's a dirty, corrupt, and evil world, filled with lust for money, lust for power, and just plain old lust. And it just got dirtier on Wednesday, when the Criterion Channel opened up a collection of Columbia Noir. Yes, the lady with the torch is looking over the crime-filled streets. The collection contains 26 movies … Continue reading Columbia Noir at the Criterion Channel
Streaming services and the pandemic
As we're stuck at home, streaming television services help keep us sane. Some of these services are making it easier or cheaper to stream during the pandemic. Kanopy If you haven't yet discovered Kanopy, it's about time. Supported by your local library, it's free and contains no advertising. But your library can limit how many … Continue reading Streaming services and the pandemic
What’s Streaming: April 3 – 9
Two weeks ago, I wrote that I didn't know when I would start doing What's Screening, my weekly newsletter, again. Well, I'm starting it up again, now as What's Streaming. Hopefully, it will soon be back to What's Screening. In the meantime, I'll be writing about struggling theaters and streaming movies. Helping a theater Last … Continue reading What’s Streaming: April 3 – 9
Gerrymandering gets boring in Slay the Dragon
C+ Documentary Directed by Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance We all know that gerrymandering is a threat to our democracy. Filmmakers Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance want us to understand how we can end this problem. But their documentary is sometimes scattered, unfocused, and conventional. It's also occasionally boring. Gerrymandering has been around almost as … Continue reading Gerrymandering gets boring in Slay the Dragon
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Wild Goose Lake, Fantastic Fungi & American Psycho
Here are three films I've streamed recently - in order of best to worst. But to be frank, none of them were all that good. B- The Wild Goose Lake (2019), helping the Roxie Early in this Chinese crime thriller, a top criminal gives something like a masterclass on stealing motorcycles. It all seems very … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Wild Goose Lake, Fantastic Fungi & American Psycho
Henry V times 2
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention… I can't read or listen to the prologue of William Shakespeare's Henry V without thinking that he was wishing he were writing a screenplay. He may have wondered if the stage could hold "The vasty fields of France?" Or if the … Continue reading Henry V times 2
When this is over, we’ll still want movie theaters
While we watch movies on our TVs, the good people who run the theaters we love worry about paying their bills. They don't know how long this situation will last, and for the time being, they're not getting any money. "On paper, they've only shut their doors temporarily—but faced with the prospect of being shuttered … Continue reading When this is over, we’ll still want movie theaters
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