"The Vampire Lovers," the first in Hammer's 'sex vampire' trilogy is a terrific film. "Twins of Evil" is okay, largely because of Peter Cushing's performance, although I admit there is a lot of interesting material here. I guess my favorite late Hammer, non-Christopher Lee vampir...

I was lucky enough to see "A Boy and His Dog" in a theater in the early 80s. I agree that it is a pretty witty film. (In some ways, it is what the "Planet of the Apes" sequels should have been.) I enjoyed it, but I remember that it was controversial at the time because of the end...

I saw "Hitchcock" back in April and enjoyed it a lot. I thought Hopkins was really good. Can't understand why a lot of critics seemed to hate the movie.

Watched "Fallen Angel" (1945) directed by Otto Preminger. I really liked this. The plot is not the typical noir story. Dana Andrews isn't a private eye or a crook. Linda Darnell was very appealing as the femme fatale. You could see why she had four men after her. What impressed me was how ...

Today I watched "The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu" (2010). This is a three hour long documentary that covers the 25 year reign of the Romanian Communist dictator. I found it compelling viewing. Even in this official Communist footage (there is no voice over narration. The foootage is...

Today I watched "Home from the Hill" (1959) directed by Vincente Minnelli. Wow. Usually this film is treated as an afterthought to "Some Came Running." And while there is nothing in "Home from the Hill" to compare to the carnival scene in "Some Came Running," ...

Today I watched "Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War" (2004). It is a South Korean film about two brothers ultimately divided by the Korean War. The film is deeply influenced by "Saving Private Ryan." There is a "frame" in the present around the bulk of the film set duri...

Have to agree that Diane Cilento was the best part of "Hombre."

And the partial title at the multiplex is very funny.

Today I watched "Daisy Kenyon" (1947) directed by Otto Preminger. This was a very surprising film. I found it hard to believe it was a Hollywood movie from the height of the Code era. Our heroine was having an affair with a married man, the "good" wife slapped her little girl aro...

I just watched "Hombre" (1967) directed by Martin Ritt. It actually annoyed me a bit. I'm not sure why. Maybe I found the pace rather pokey. Maybe the basic situation was a bit too much like "Stagecoach" and "The Tall T," two Westerns I like a lot better. But I found Ne...

I don't mind subtitles at all. I probably am exposing myself as Philistine, but "Daisies" doesn't do much for me. But I loved it when TCM showed "The Cranes are Flying" a few years ago, and I'm happy to see "Andrei Rublev" scheduled. (And happy to see a bunch of Hammer ...

I also watched "The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell" (1955) directed by Otto Preminger. Have to hand it to Preminger. He took a film about guys standing around and arguing about defense spending and made it compelling. The cast was terrific. Here we have Gary Cooper as a Mr. Deeds who fall...

I watched "The Wicked Lady" (1945) a couple of days ago. I really enjoyed it. Yes, some of the action scenes were rather inept, BUT from the moment Margaret Lockwood walked onto the screen this film had an atmosphere of danger and wickedness to it. She was wonderful, and when James Mason s...

"Best of Youth" was available from Netflix. It was a two disc experience but worth it.

Here's another vote for "Salvatore Guiliano." Now that you mention it, I do see a family resemblance to "Battle of Algiers." As you said, this isn't a film for everybody, but I was struck by how Rosi was able to get me into the story despite my weak background in Italian/Sicilian...