By John H. Foote “I’m a dying man…. afraid of the dark.” – JB Books (John Wayne) Ironically the last time John Wayne was on screen he portrayed a gunfighter dying of cancer while he himself was being ravaged by the disease. Co-stars Ron Howard and James Stewart watched as Wayne gulped oxygen between takes,…
By Alan Hurst Robert Redford has been a reluctant celebrity since his Broadway debut in the Neil Simon smash Barefoot in the Park (1963). He was a solid actor and, with his leading man looks, it was inevitable that within a few short years he would achieve success in movies – and not just a…
By Alan Hurst 1980 was a good year for movies and even better one for performance by actresses. Sissy Spacek excelled as Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter, which also featured superb work by Beverly D’Angelo as Patsy Cline. Ellen Burstyn got some of the best reviews of her career in the little-seen Resurrection. Goldie…
By Alan Hurst I readily admit there are a lot of movies I don’t like, some that I’ve fallen asleep watching (yet they still went on to win a Best Picture Oscar) and a few – very few – that I’ve walked out of before they were finished (take that Blair Witch Project). But narrowing…
By Alan Hurst The idea to compile a list of some of the great production numbers from the last 90 or so years (basically since the advent of sound) came to me while watching – yet again – That’s Entertainment! (1974). The success of this documentary took a lot of people by surprise 44 years…
By John H. Foote By the time it had won five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director (Michael Cimino) the backlash against The Deer Hunter (1978) had been going on for several weeks. One of the first films to deal with war in Vietnam and how it impacted men and women who fought…
By John H. Foote At the conclusion of American Graffiti (1973) as the plane carries Curt high into the heavens, college bound, the faces of the characters we have just spent two hours with flash onto the screen, their futures briefly discussed. With melancholy and deep sadness, we learn that one of the friends will…
EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC (1977) By John H. Foote Just eighteen when I saw the film, not yet a film critic but already writing reviews, this was the worst film I had ever seen at that time. Forty-one years have past since seeing the film for the first time, and I have watched it three…
By John H. Foote In the hopes of bringing back young audiences, the Academy, in their infinite wisdom (yep, sarcasm) will add a new category, Most Popular Film. This further dilutes the Best Picture category, as moving from five to up to Ten Best Picture nominees did. The night’s biggest award has become Best Director,…
By Nick Maylor The Dark Knight (2008) recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its release. A sequel to Batman Begins (2005); the film was directed, produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Although Iron Man (2008) had come out earlier in the year, there was no way of knowing what kind of animal the Marvel Cinematic…