The Oscar-nominated Rear Window isn’t just one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films but one of the greatest thrillers ever made. I was late to watching Hitchcock films for the most part. Up until the pandemic, Rear Window and North by Northwest were probably among the few Hitchcock films that I’ve watched. But even then, I put off Psycho for several years with the thought that it was a horror film and not a psychological thriller.…
"Rear Window: One of the Greatest Thrillers Ever Made"Category: Movie Reviews
The Naked Spur is an Oscar-nominated Western and the third of five Westerns and eight films directed by Mann and starring James Stewart. Screenplay nominations for Westerns were quite rare when the film was released. But sure enough, Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom’s script earned a nomination. They could have had their military history better researched but it is what it is. In any event, their work would play a tremendous role in redefining…
"The Naked Spur Redefines the Western"
How the West Was Won is an epic Western that follows the Prescott family bloodline during a 50-year period stretching 1839-1889. Spencer Tracy narrates the Oscar-winning film through its five main segments and an impressive epilogue showing the transformation of the West into the early 1960s. In particular, we see the Hoover Dam, the Four Level Interchange in Downtown Los Angeles, and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It’s kind of like the ending…
"How the West Was Won: An Epic Western at 60 Years"
It Happened One Night is one of three films to win the Big Five at the Academy Awards and put Columbia Pictures on the map. Originally titled Night Bus, the film is based on the short story, “Night Bus,” by Samuel Hopkins Adams in Hearst’s International-Cosmopolitan (August 1933). Until the film swept every nominated category at the Oscars, Columbia Pictures had been a Poverty Row studio. Everything would change in light of the Oscar wins. The…
"It Happened One Night Put Columbia on the Map"
Shazam! Fury of the Gods isn’t quite as fun as its predecessor but the sequel is just entertaining enough to offer audiences a good time. If you don’t read any further in this review, please make sure to stay for the credits. There is a mid-credit scene and a post-credit scene. My main question is what do these scenes mean given the new leadership at DC Films and the future of the DC Universe (DCU).…
"Shazam! Fury of the Gods Is Entertaining Enough"
Inside is about an art heist gone wrong but audiences are better off just saying outside rather than watch very horrifying images on screen. Things you should know about Inside before reading any further: A pigeon is left for dead just outside an unbreakable window. After depleting the food in the kitchen, Nemo (Willem Dafoe) has no choice but to eat dog food, which is cringe-worthy enough as it is. He takes a fish out…
"Inside: You’re Better Off Staying Outside"
Tetris might be a popular computer and video game but the game’s origin is a non-stop thrill ride that nobody could have guessed. Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) first discovered Tetris back in 1988 during the Consumer Electronics Show. He was hooked immediately and knew it would but popular but there was a question of who held the rights. His journey took him to find the game’s rightsholders in Moscow. This was towards the end of…
"Tetris: The Social Network of Video Game Movies – SXSW 2023"
An American radio announcer finds out that they are the new king of Barovia in Where There’s Life but a secret society has other ideas. It’s hard to watch this film and not think about a similar film, The Princess Diaries. Unlike Where There’s Life, the Julie Andrews/Anne Hathaway vehicle doesn’t feature any assassination attacks on the Queen of Genovia or her newly identified heir. They do feature people that want a change in the…
"Where There’s Life: A Bob Hope Comedy Thriller"
In watching Santa Fe Trail, one starts wondering if this Western was the consolation prize for Warner Bros. after losing Gone with the Wind. In the first moments after pressing play, my first question was just what the hell was Warner Bros. thinking? It’s not just the studio. Michael Curtiz is a filmmaker that is better than this pro-Confederate propaganda. Leave it to him to read into the history of the Santa Fe trail but…
"Santa Fe Trail: What Was Warner Bros. Thinking?"
The Sea Hawk reunites director Michael Curtiz and swashbuckling star Errol Flynn, resulting in one of their best collaborations together. This film might be a period adventure film but it was an allegorical film about Hitler and the need to fight back during WWII. King Philip II of Spain basically stands in for Hitler in the 1940 swashbuckler. While the film takes place in the late 1500s, one can definitely see how they use the…
"The Sea Hawk is One of Errol Flynn’s Best Performances"