The Silver Screen Oasis

We both enjoyed Woman in Gold . Like Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, Helen Mirren is now a bigger star than she was when she was younger. This well-directed and well-photographed film deals with Maria Altmann's attempts to recover the famous Gustav Klimt painting of her aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, which w...

I'll be posting comments about some of the films from this year's festival. Still trying to adjust to "real" life after a weekend of great films. It was so good to spend time with friends.

Also, editor Anne V. Coates , still going strong at age 89, will be present for showings of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA , for which she won an Oscar, and OUT OF SIGHT , for which she received an Oscar nomination. It's unclear if they are going to interview her. Given that her credits as editor go back to PIC...

Singer Lesley Gore has died of lung cancer at age 68. She is best known for songs like "It's My Party" and "She's a Fool."

Maven, I love that picture of Lizabeth Scott. I do wish that she had written an autobiography, attended the TCM Film Festival, and fully understood just how much many of us love her work. Are any of you familiar with the English actor Richard Pasco ? He passed away in November 2014 after a long life...

Serenade would not make the list of the top ten Anthony Mann films, and it has little if any resemblance to his celebrated noirs and westerns, but is thoroughly entertaining in both good and Bad Movie We Love ways. Mario Lanza sings. Joan Fontaine smirks. And wears designer gowns. And smirks some m...

Brent, thank you so much for meeting with us. I'm so pleased that you're giving attention to someone who has never received his due. A lot of critics don't let Charles Walters sit at the cool kids' table, but movies like Easter Parade , Lili , and The Unsinkable Molly Brown , to name only three, sug...

Yes, I agreed that poor Anna is now the prime suspect for the killing of Mr. Green. When her cottage is searched, the contraceptive device will seem to be proof that she had an affair with him. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. We seem to be approaching meltdown for the Edith storyli...

I like the idea of the Lady Mary story: she sleeps with her prospective husband, enjoys the physical relationship, but spending time with him makes her realize that he's not so interesting with his clothes on. However, we haven't actually heard Lord Gillingham make remarks that show a limited intell...

This is great news, Maven. By the end of the year I plan to do the same. You and Christy are setting great examples for the rest of us.

Last night we saw THE GANG’S ALL HERE (1943, dir. Busby Berkeley) on the big screen. This is the kind of movie which supported the war effort while providing temporary escape from it. This Twentieth-Century Fox film is in the muted Technicolor tones favored by Natalie Kalmus, and the print we saw lo...

Thanks for the post. Certainly her picks as a Guest Programmer, mentioned in the story, were excellent. The statement about her gay son is beautifully written.

It will be interesting to see what she picks and how she works with Robert in the coming months.

We had a Friday night movie date to see, on the big screen, a movie you may have heard of: Sunset Boulevard . My other half had never seen it. As predicted, he really enjoyed it. There were maybe 75 people in the theater, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. The audience was about half gay...

Robert Redford is Star of the Month--I'm looking forward to This Property Is Condemned , which I've never seen--and the Friday Night Spotlight salutes Neil Simon. For me, the two most exciting events are 1) the showing Wednesday night (Jan. 7) of Hakuchi , which is Akira Kurosawa's version of Dostoe...

Lynn, we are also enjoying this season of Major Crimes . Who would have thought they could do such a good job of re-working The Closer without Kyra Sedgwick? I always prefer their lighter episodes, and the Santa flashmob robbery showed what they can do superlatively. By far the best thing about this...