By John H. Foote (****) Limited release in theatres Of the greatest actors to emerge since the 70s – Sean Penn, Denzel Washington, Eric Roberts, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon – the most consistently daring and risk-taking is Nicolas Cage. Over his many years on the screen, he has continued to take risks no other actor…
By John H. Foote (***) Was it ever as good as people thought it was back in 1976? Who can forget that Rocky won the Academy Award for Best Picture over masterpieces of modern cinema such as All the President’s Men, Network and Taxi Driver, all greater films in every way. I was 17 years…
By John H. Foote (***) In Theatres and Streaming Fanboy alert—a new superhero opened, and it is a dandy. Great action sequences, two great performances along with several very good ones (however under-written) and enough high voltage action to be three films. Superheroes are back. This is a sure sign the film industry is back…
By John H. Foote Martin Scorsese is regarded by many as the greatest filmmaker in history, certainly the greatest living director. He just might be, though I would argue that Steven Spielberg gives him a powerful run for that title. Has Martin Scorsese ever made a truly terrible film? Choosing his 10 best films was…
By John H. Foote (***) Streaming on Amazon I like Chris Pratt. He gives off a Harrison Ford vibe, macho smart ass, though a lot more fun than Ford. Since his days on Everwood I have tracked his career because he had that bite-you-on-the-nose talent, that kind of “thing” the biggest stars have. I am…
By John H. Foote He made us believe a man could fly in his 1978 epic Superman, giving the film the perfect sense that Superman was a God sent from another planet. The entire year had seen previews with a booming voice announcing, “You’ll believe a man can fly” and then finally the film opened.…
By John H. Foote (**) Streaming on Apple TV Meyer Lansky has been portrayed on film twice: Ben Kingsley did it in Bugsy (1991), beautifully capturing the man’s intellect and quiet intimidation; Richard Dreyfuss did the same in HBO’s Lansky (1992). Though not in name, Lansky inspired the role of Hyman Roth in The Godfather Part II (1974), played superbly by…
By John H. Foote Is Barry Lyndon the greatest film Stanley Kubrick ever made? For years I have believed his greatest film is A Clockwork Orange (1971), which I still believe to be an absolute masterpiece, a stunner that comes along once or twice a generation. Barry Lyndon is a very different film, more emotionally…
By John H. Foote (***) In Theatres and Streaming The attacks are coming hard at Lin-Manuel Miranda for his casting choices in this new film, and any Oscar chances are now highly unlikely. Once again, the new madness of political correctness in Hollywood threatens to impact good movies or at the very least make casting…
By John H. Foote 1. SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993) My apologies it has taken so long to get to number one of my top movies of the 90s, but I found this decade more difficult to write about than any other. It certainly wasn’t because I was having difficulty choosing. There was never any doubt in…