Masha wrote : It is of "Moses Supposes" routine in: Singin' in the Rain (1952) Which reminds me - Our gentile granddaughters attend a Jewish pre-school. Earlier this school year, our daughter was talking to granddaughter Naomi's teacher who said, "Last week we were learning about Mos...

November 17, 2014 ( in re : Sunday) Elliot and Don dubbed the Sunday matinee “The Hazards of Streetwalking.” That’s how to pull in a crowd, and they did. The 250 seats of the Roxie were again full. Up first was DEDEE D’ANVERS aka DEDEE OF ANTWERP (Yves Allegret 1948). Given my love for UNE SI JOLIE...

November 16, 2014 We were treated with a fantastic French foursome. LES MAUDITS aka THE DAMNED (Rene Clement 1947) kicked-off the day by forcing me to reflect on the American film noir cliché (all the while noting that a cliché often is a cliché due to its underlying truth) of the alienated U.S. vet...

Cultural imperialism. Too often film noir is thought of as an American film form. Those that are not American (or, at least, not in the English language) are then consigned to the “Foreign Film” ghetto. Or, that those non-American films noir that are in general commercial release are the only ones, ...

Okay...it's Halloween. Snowing (first measurable snowfall on Halloween in Chicago since records started being kept in 1873). Wind gusts up to 69 mph. Lake Shore Drive closed due to waves. Four-and-a-half hour delays at O'Hare (okay, right, that's normal). But... By unanimous resolution of the Illino...

I love the original THE FLY . But Cronenberg 's version surpasses it in my view. That, VIDEODROME and CRASH are films that, in spite of my inclination toward queasiness, make statements that allow me - force me? - to look beyond what otherwise I might find unsavory. ( Besides, it has Geena Davis . )

Yes, you're both right. The Beast dies so that a lesser figure may prevail.

KING KONG.

Sports, war, and sometimes little children are the proper occasions when a man may shed a tear. Not this fella. For me, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE certainly and ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (though I don't consider my tears in this instance to be gender-based). But for that male bonding that leads to ...

Ha-ha-ha! He wrote doo-doo. (I'm young at heart.)

Happy Birthday to the mysterious man who post pictures of the folks we love...whoever he may be, JOE.

No impersonations of George Sanders and Ingrid Bergman ? We recently saw LOVE IS STRANGE (Ira Sachs 2014). I kept thinking of MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW (Leo McCarey 1937). I liked John Lithgow , but Alfred Molina was fabulous. Just two guys very much in love. But nobody wants them when individually they...

How many fantasy films conclude with a declaration of faith in God?

That declaration really upset Richard Matheson. His ending was about the power of Man to overcome seemingly overwhelming obstacles, with no real hint of a higher power.

HIS GIRL FRIDAY is my favorite Hawks comedy. Mine, too. And my favorite Hawks movie in any category. And in the Comedy category, the only two movies that top it for my eyes and ears are DR. STRANGELOVE and DUCK SOUP . I find Comedy is so difficult to dissect and discuss. We can disagree about wheth...

The bleak ending is haunting Or, it can be seen as uplifting. He has become one with the Universe and is not merely resigned to that, but profoundly moved by that realization. He can continue to shrink, but his existence will continue. He and, by extension, humankind will not be obliterated. THE IN...

WG wrote:
Think I can top you, Wendy:

Charles Grapewin
Henry Travers
George "Gabby" Hayes
Tully Marshall

Two words:

Will...Wright.