John – Foote & Friends on Film

REVIEW: UNHINGED

John H. Foote — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 15:55:56 +0000

By John H. Foote (**) It has been a long time since we have seen Russell Crowe in a lead role, in a major film. Emerging out of Australian cinema after Romper Stomper (1996), he followed it with a central and outstanding performance in L.A. Confidential (1997) which put him on the map as an…

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REVISITING HOFFA (1992)

John H. Foote — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 11:56:34 +0000

By John H. Foote (**) Watching Al Pacino thunder brilliantly through The Irishman (2019), portraying Jimmy Hoffa, earning an Oscar nomination for his work, I finally got around to re-watching Hoffa just a couple days ago. Danny DeVito directed the film written by the great playwright David Mamet and, despite the weaknesses in the film…

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REVISITING TENDER MERCIES

John H. Foote — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 12:35:19 +0000

By John H. Foote (****) For the first time on Blu Ray, the gentle, sparse love story, and tale of redemption Tender Mercies comes to the small screens. Like a well written country and western song, Tender Mercies is all about hurtin’ and living with the pain. Life deals out some harsh cards and it…

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REVISITING ON GOLDEN POND (1981)

John H. Foote — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 14:45:18 +0000

By John H. Foote (***) The moment it was announced the Henry Fonda had been cast as crusty, cranky Norman Thayer in the film On Golden Pond it seemed a given the aged actor would win that long elusive Academy Award for Best Actor. Nominated just a single time for The Grapes of Wrath (1940), it…

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REVISITING MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1978)

John H. Foote — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 12:51:29 +0000

By John H. Foote (***) The first time I saw Midnight Express (1978) I was astounded by the story, the direction, the exquisite performances of the cast, that brooding electronic score and the production design. For an 18-year old sitting in the wonderful old University Theatre on a Saturday afternoon, happily on my own, this…

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REVISITING BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY

John H. Foote — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 12:01:29 +0000

By John H. Foote (***) Tom Cruise became an actor in Rain Man (1988) but he became a great actor as real life war veteran Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July, an adaptation of Kovic’s best seller, and his evolution from patriotic soldier to anti-war crusader. Cruise really is magnificent…

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REVIEW: OLIVER STONE’S “CHASING THE LIGHT”

John H. Foote — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 13:38:20 +0000

By John H. Foote The moment I opened the package containing my copy of Oliver Stone’s new book “Chasing the Light”, a memoir, I devoured it. Putting it down was just never an option, and one day after opening the book, sadly, I was finished. So I promptly read it again. “Chasing the Light” is…

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ALAN PARKER PASSES

John H. Foote — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 14:54:57 +0000

By John H. Foote Academy Award nominated Best Director Alan Parker has passed at the age of 76. The talented Brit first came to the attention of North American audiences directing Bugsy Malone (1976) but it was his explosive film Midnight Express (1978) that truly brought him to the attention of North American film audiences…

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