Key Largo, a 1948 noir crime drama, was the fourth and final theatrical paring between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I was looking for something to watch on Monday night (January 22) and didn’t want to watch something ridiculously long. Nothing against long films but if I’m pressing play just before 9 PM, I don’t want to be up way too late. Rather than turn to any of the streamers, I decided to check the…
"Key Largo: The Second Best Huston, Bogart Film Of 1948"Category: Movie Reviews
Lisa Frankenstein might not be the most memorable feature directorial debut but there are laughs to be found during the film. The combination of Zelda Williams and Diablo Cody piqued my curiosity. Not being one for horror, I had to make sure that the film was a horror-comedy first. Sure enough, it was. Believe me, it was worth hiking a mile and a half after missing the bus on Wednesday night. Will this film be…
"Lisa Frankenstein Offers a Twist on the Mary Shelley Classic"
The Coen brothers did not suffer from the sophomore slump as their second film, Raising Arizona, is a complete 180 from their first. My rewatch of Raising Arizona over the past weekend was my first viewing in just over 15 years. I went back to my original notes from the 2009 viewing in which I wrote that it was funnier than Fargo. To be fair, the AFI 100 Years, 100 Laughs list has this film…
"Raising Arizona: Coens Go For Humor in Second Film"
Premiering in 1984 and released in theaters in 1985, Blood Simple is the neo-noir crime film that put the Coen Brothers on the map. The Coens head to Texas for their first feature film. It’s hard to believe that March 2024 will mark the 40th anniversary of Blood Simple’s world premiere. A festival run would follow, including Sundance in January 1985. The film would also launch a number of careers and collaborations. Meanwhile, the script,…
"Blood Simple: The First Coen Brothers Movie"
Following the 50th anniversary edition in 2018, Kino Lorber Studio Classics is re-releasing The Thomas Crown Affair on Blu-ray. There is no special wording on the disc’s packing about 2018’s 50th anniversary edition. This is just a regular special edition. The 4K transfer, encoding, and bonus content is the same. While there is a missed opportunity in upgrading to 4K Ultra HD, there’s no need to purchase if you own the 2018 Blu-ray. Per Kino…
"The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) Gets Reissued On Blu-ray"
Alfred Hitchcock teams up with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in Notorious and the result is one of the greatest classics in his filmography. The film is one of four Hitchcock films starring Grant, joining Suspicion, To Catch A Thief, and my personal favorite, North by Northwest. David O. Selznick tried for Joseph Cotten in the Grant role but it was to no avail. The producer did, however, get his way with casting Claude Rains…
"Notorious: An Alfred Hitchcock Classic"
A few years after starring in The Producers, actors Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder would reunite in a screen adaptation of Rhinoceros. The 50th anniversary came and went with hardly any celebration. A few weeks after it hit theaters in 1974, Wilder would be seen again in the Mel Brooks classic, Blazing Saddles. Anyway, the 1974 film brings Eugene Ionesco’s play to the screen. After watching Remembering Gene Wilder in late January, I decided to…
"Rhinoceros Marked 50th Anniversary in January"
Anne Hathaway delivers one of the best performances of her career in Jonathan Demme’s 2008 film, Rachel Getting Married. We have Sidney Lumet to thank for Jonathan Demme deciding to direct this film. Lumet had suggested that Demme read a screenplay written by his daughter, Jenny, and the rest is history. Jenny Lumet’s script takes audience in such a different direction than one might expect going into the film. It sometimes helps to go against…
"Rachel Getting Married: Anne Hathaway is Phenomenal"
John Patrick Shanley adapts his 2004 play, Doubt, for the screen and gets a number of masterclass performances in the process. I’ve been meaning to watch the film for years. The 2008 recession was not kind to me so it meant picking and choosing what I saw in theaters. The further we get, the more films there are to focus on. Even with subscribing to Netflix back in the day, there were always other films…
"Doubt Features Powerhouse Performances"
Argylle offers audiences the first fun film of 2024 as filmmaker Matthew Vaughn does it again with a new spy thriller. I went into the film knowing absolutely nothing. Lo and behold, it had my attention from start to finish. By this point, Vaughn knows the important ingredients of a spy thriller. What I didn’t expect was–well, if I told you, you get the idea. Maybe it’s the fact that I didn’t watch the trailer…
"Argylle: Matthew Vaughn Does It Again"