Philomena (2013) Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) was a disgraced adviser for the British government trying to determine what he should do next. At a party, he was approached by a woman suggesting he write about her mother, an elderly Catholic who had been forced to give up her son for adoption while living in a … Continue reading My Last Three Movies
Category: Movies
The Last Three Movies
I miss posting movie reviews! And I would also like to learn how to be more efficient with my writing. So I thought I'd try to kill two birds with one stone by offering some short reviews of movies I've seen, three at a time. If something really warrants a bigger conversation, I might spin … Continue reading The Last Three Movies
Why I Loved “Boyhood”
The 87th annual Academy Awards were last night, and it was a big night for Birdman. Alejandro Inarritu won Best Director for what was admittedly an incredible movie that seemed like one long take over most of its two-hour running time, and the movie itself won Best Picture. A cynic might say that of course … Continue reading Why I Loved “Boyhood”
The AFI Top 100 Films: Citizen Kane (#1)
Citizen Kane (1941) Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten and Dorothy Comingore Written by Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles Directed by Orson WellesThis has been a really hard review to write; I've had to think a LOT about Citizen Kane and why I thought about it the way I did. I completely understand why the American … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Citizen Kane (#1)
The AFI Top 100 Films: Casablanca (#2)
Casablanca (1942) Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains Written by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch (screenplay); Murray Bennett and Joan Alison (stage play) Directed by Michael Curtiz Even at number 2 on this list, I think this movie is underrated. This love story is unlike any other … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Casablanca (#2)
The AFI Top 100 Films: The Godfather Part II (#32)
The Godfather, Part II (1974) Starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall Written by Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay) and Mario Puzo (screenplay, novel) Directed by Francis Ford Coppola When Ryan and I were watching the AFI Top 100, we decided that it would probably be a good idea to save The Godfather Part … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: The Godfather Part II (#32)
The AFI Top 100 Films: The Godfather (#3)
The Godfather (1972) Starring Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and James Caan Written by Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay) and Mario Puzo (screenplay, novel) Directed by Francis Ford Coppola I've become fascinated with stories of regular people becoming extraordinarily bad ones. I'm not talking about the "fairy tales from a villain's perspective" story that have become a … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: The Godfather (#3)
The AFI Top 100 Films: Gone With The Wind (#4)
Gone With The Wind (1939) Starring Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard Written by Sidney Howard (screenplay) and Margaret Mitchell (novel) Directed by Victor Fleming When I was but a wee leveret in the wilds of Baltimore City, I loved Gone With The Wind. This was a time before it (or … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Gone With The Wind (#4)
The AFI Top 100 Films: Lawrence of Arabia (#5)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Starring Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness and Omar Sharif Written by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson Directed by David Lean Have you seen Lawrence of Arabia? No? Well then, you should probably put down the Internet and go watch it as soon as possible. Because it's the internet, this review will be … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Lawrence of Arabia (#5)
The AFI Top 100 Films: The Wizard of Oz (#6)
Starring Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton Written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf (screenplay) and L. Frank Baum (novel) Directed by Victor Fleming 1939 was a very good year to Victor Fleming. He won an Academy Award for (co-)directing Margaret Mitchell's southern epic Gone With the Wind, and helmed what's arguably an even … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: The Wizard of Oz (#6)
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 