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 Alan Hurst Everyone has their favourite summer big screen movie, a movie that seems to define summer with just its very title – The Seven Year Itch (1955), Jaws (1975), Grease (1978), Dirty Dancing (1987), Independence Day (1996), Call Me by Your Name (2017). These are all movies where the season and time of…
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…
By John H. Foote 2. GOODFELLAS (1990) Ten years after his dark masterpiece Raging Bull, Martin Scorsese unleashed the film that has come to be known as his absolute masterpiece, GoodFellas, a journey through the inner workings of organized crime. In the years between the two films, Scorsese focused on the kind of films he…
By Marie-Renee Goulet Movies and music were always a source of joy, adventure and escape. However, the world being what it was from 2016 to June of last year, I completely stopped watching movies, and even listen to music. I had news channels on in the background for every waking hour, as if life depended on it. A year ago this…
By John H. Foote As a companion piece to Alan’s brilliant piece on actresses who, when cast against type, had stunned critics and audiences with their work, I have explored the actors. A note to Alan, my dear cousin and colleague: knowing me, you must know why I did not have the discipline to keep…
By John H. Foote 3. PULP FICTION The two bandits in a donut shop make the decision to rob restaurants, though I bet this is the last one they attempt, and draw their weapons screaming their threats. Freeze frame, the surfer guitar music comes in with a roar, the screen goes black and the words…
By John H. Foote 4. UNFORGIVEN (1992) By the late eighties, actor Clint Eastwood had established himself as a fine director, even causing Orson Welles to comment that “Eastwood is the finest director in the cinema” on the popular “Mike Douglas Show”. Having proven himself behind the camera right off the bat with his first…
By Alan Hurst For an actor or actress to play against type, they had to have had a certain amount of success in a particular genre of film or played a consistent type of character. Think of James Cagney’s gangster films, Esther Williams’ aqua extravaganzas, Burt Reynolds’ good ol’ boy comedies. Cagney and Reynolds did…
By John H. Foote 5. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998) It has been more than 75 years since Allied forces stormed that beach, dubbed Omaha, leaving it blood soaked, littered with bodies torn to pieces by heavy machine gun fire from the many nests above the beach. There are fewer and fewer veterans each year to…