I was going to review The Mortal Storm this week, but it seems a wee bit too depressing and on the nose, so I decided to save it for later and go for something light. 1992's Encino Man was the winner. I got it a few weeks ago from the DVD rack at WinCo, and now seemed like … Continue reading Gettin’ Prehistoric, Bu-ddy
Live And Let Binge
Here we are again. The lockdown is pretty much over. Social distancing isn't really a thing unless someone's at a protest (or something more destructive, and in that case, all the shame on them). Worship services are finally starting to come back. Sorta. There's almost no point in going to meeting if there's no singing … Continue reading Live And Let Binge
Reading Rarities: Joan Of Arc In Her Own Words
No one is ever quite indifferent to Joan of Arc once they've found out about her. She's been called a witch, she's been called crazy, she's been called a mystic. Some people think her Voices were actual Saints and others don't. Either way, we all know Joan's a towering figure to many, and because of … Continue reading Reading Rarities: Joan Of Arc In Her Own Words
Shorter Basil
Mr. Rathbone, I presume... Basil Rathbone had the forceful act down pat. If he wanted to, he could take or throw a punch, hold his own with a sword, or bore a hole in his opponent with his eyes. In the 1935 film, Anna Karenina, where Rathbone played Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin, the rejected husband of the … Continue reading Shorter Basil
Five Reasons To See “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”
When people talk about horror or silent movies, the 1920 German expressionist masterpiece, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari inevitably comes up. There's been a lot said about it (Movies Silently and Silent-ology are two excellent examples), which I don't feel like I can add much to, but I will say this: Even people who don't normally … Continue reading Five Reasons To See “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”
The Tower By the Bay
Are you prepared? The seventies were a weird time in Hollywood. Studios were operating on tighter budgets, so the high output of a couple of decades earlier was unheard of. Instead, studios opted for fewer films with big ensemble casts and higher octane production values, and one of these was 1974's The Towering Inferno. Like … Continue reading The Tower By the Bay
Broadway Bound 2020: Curtain Call
So. It's been quite a weekend, guys. Other than the current stuff we've all been going through and which I'm not going to elaborate on, the wind knocked out my wifi on Friday afternoon. Then we got the wifi back only to have the wind knock the power out on Saturday. Fortunately these were only … Continue reading Broadway Bound 2020: Curtain Call
Broadway Plays the Ponies
The Broadway Melody of 1936 made a star out of Eleanor Powell, and in 1937 she was at it again with The Broadway Melody of 1938, which, unfortunately, was a flaccid follow-up to its predecessor. This time Powell is the daughter of a horse rancher who wants to break into show business, and once again Robert … Continue reading Broadway Plays the Ponies
Broadway Bound 2020: Day Three
Day Three is upon us--can you believe it? Days One and Two can be found here if anyone has missed them. All right, time for today's entries... MovieRob kicks things off with a Broadway triple-header: Hair, The Browning Version, and Jesus Christ, Superstar. The Midnite Drive-In has a review of the Shoah drama, Bent. Vitaphone Dreamer gets that … Continue reading Broadway Bound 2020: Day Three
Back To Broadway
In 1929, The Broadway Melody officially opened the era of the MGM musical. In 1935, The Broadway Melody of 1936 kicked things up a notch or five. It also is credited by some as the movie that saved MGM. Starring Eleanor Powell and Robert Taylor, The Broadway Melody of 1936 is at once typical and eye-popping. It's bigger, sparklier, and … Continue reading Back To Broadway
Broadway Bound 2020: Day Two
Day Two, everyone. We had a great time yesterday (find Day One's posts here), and now we've got more to come. So, here we go... 18 Cinema Lane starts us off with the famous tale of romance-by-proxy, Cyrano de Bergerac. Crítica Retrô goes full Capra with a review of the much-loved You Can't Take It With You. Dubsism gets … Continue reading Broadway Bound 2020: Day Two
Broadway Bound 2020: Day One
We have arrived on Broadway, people. Are you ready for this? I don't know about anyone else, but celebrating the Great White Way feels like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert of chaos. Not to be dramatic or anything, but current events are really sucky right now. And that's as far as … Continue reading Broadway Bound 2020: Day One
That’s the Broadway Melody
Broadway, street of a million sighs... Ah yes, The Broadway Melody. One of the movies that started it all. For MGM, it was their first all-talking, all-singing, all dancing movie that broke all the ground and made everyone sit up and take notice. So much so that it won a Best Picture Oscar in 1929. But … Continue reading That’s the Broadway Melody
Let the Sunshine In (Again)
I think we all need a little sunshine right now, and I've been racking up a couple more Sunshine Awards over the past few months. My friend Gill at Realweegiemidget Reviews just nominated me for one a couple of days ago, and I had an inkling there were other Awards I didn't really do anything … Continue reading Let the Sunshine In (Again)
Page to Screen: The Diary of Anne Frank
If she had lived, Anne Frank would be ninety-one this year. Her diary, technically known in English as Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl, was first published in the Netherlands in 1947. The diary has been translated into sixty-five languages, sold over thirty-five million copies and is one of the most widely-read books outside … Continue reading Page to Screen: The Diary of Anne Frank
Taking Up Room 