North by Northwest (1959) Starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason Written by Ernest Lehman Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Cary Grant is Roger O. Thornhill, an advertising executive who has no problem with lying. During a dinner with "friends," he's abducted by two thugs and driven to a grand house in the countryside. … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: North by Northwest (#40)
Month: February 2013
My Whole30 – Week 3
It's hard to believe that I've just finished my third week of Whole30 eating. Day 21 passed on Monday, and today I'm looking at the home stretch -- in just 8 days, I'll have completed one of the more difficult things I've ever done. I'll have been living on meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts and … Continue reading My Whole30 – Week 3
My Wildly Inaccurate Oscar Predictions 2013
As almost every cinephile knows, the Academy Awards will be held this Sunday, capping off a few months of hype and speculation about which movie will be crowned the best movie Hollywood made all year. Whichever film takes the honor will have quite esteemed company, joining the ranks of Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, The … Continue reading My Wildly Inaccurate Oscar Predictions 2013
The AFI Top 100 Films: West Side Story (#41)
West Side Story (1961) Starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn and Rita Moreno Written by Ernest Lehman (screenplay), Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) Directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise This movie comes with the weight of all its baggage. Granted, a lot of classic movies do, but this … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: West Side Story (#41)
My Whole 30 – Week 2
I've been on the Whole30 adventure for two weeks. I'm really hesitant to call it a "diet," because that comes with all kinds of baggage I don't want. A diet is something you're on for a brief amount of time, drop a bunch of weight, and then gain it all back again when you hop … Continue reading My Whole 30 – Week 2
The AFI Top 100 Films: Rear Window (#42)
Rear Window (1954) Starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Written by John Michael Hayes (screenplay) and Cornell Woolrich (short story) There is so much that impressed me about this movie that it's difficult to know where to begin. This was the second of four collaborations between director Alfred Hitchcock and star … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Rear Window (#42)
All I Can Eat
It was Super Bowl Sunday, and I was riding the high of a dominant performance by the Ravens. I admit that I may have had a rather heavy Baltimore Bang or two, and I was in that state of mind where you're friends with the world, and you can do anything. Our host brings up … Continue reading All I Can Eat
Thursday Prompt: The Future
(Author's Note: This little bit of fiction doesn't really fit within any of the worlds that I regularly write about, but I have to admit that the main character feels an awful lot like Robert, the main character for Bird. I wanted to capture a sense of frustrated pessimism, but built on a pragmatic basis. I … Continue reading Thursday Prompt: The Future
The AFI Top 100 Films: King Kong (#43)
King Kong (1933) Starring Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot and Robert Armstrong Written by James Ashmore Creelman and Ruth Rose (screenplay), Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace (story) Directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack I think most people from my generation know all about King Kong but haven't actually seen it. We know … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: King Kong (#43)
February 2013 – The Plan
One of the things I learned last month is that my writing practice hasn't developed enough that I can simply write through unusual circumstances. I'll need to plan around stretches of time where I know I'll have company or will need to travel. That doesn't necessarily mean I'll never learn to write when there's something … Continue reading February 2013 – The Plan