By Alan Hurst Witches have always intrigued me. Whether it was watching the TV series Bewitched as a kid, touring the sites of Salem, Massachusetts (home of the infamous Salem witch trials) on a road trip, reading Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in school, or a first viewing of Rosemary’s Baby (1968), the mere idea of…
By John H. Foote Long ago Jack Nicholson passed Marlon Brando as the greatest screen actor of his generation. As good as his friend Brando was, Nicholson had greater range and was fearless with his image. He knew what audiences liked and could not care less, he took roles that interested him, that challenged him…
By John H. Foote He had been rising in the ranks slowly but when he shared the screen with Harvey Keitel in Mean Streets (1973) a trio of stars were born. De Niro, Keitel and Director Martin Scorsese were about to embark on a journey that would alter American cinema. De Niro would – zenith…
By Alan Hurst When it was announced a while back that the play End of the Rainbow – which detailed a few months towards the end of Judy Garland’s life – was going to be adapted for the big screen and that Renee Zellweger would be playing Garland, I was among the many skeptics who…
By John H. Foote With the release of his extraordinary new crime epic The Irishman, once again the legendary Martin Scorsese flexes his artistic muscles to show why he might be the greatest American director in movies. Listing 10 of his greatest films proved impossible so I pushed it to 15. Let me be clear,…
By John H. Foote November, 2004. The Aviator was headed for Oscar glory, there seemed no stopping this superb Howard Hughes in Hollywood biopic with Leonardo Di Caprio as Hughes for no less than Martin Scorsese. Critics loved the film, audiences adored it, this was the film that was finally going to bring the great…
By John H. Foote There was a time he was the most electrifying actor in movies, his performances earning raves from film critics around the world, legions of fans following his work, his peers celebrating his artistry, from film audiences around the globe. In the seventies his work was astounding, seeing him nominated for four…
By John H. Foote When the Academy Award nominees for film excellence in 1967 were announced, there were some audible gasps when the Best Picture category was read. As expected Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate and In the Heat of the Night were nominated, all richly deserved. But also among the five was Guess Who’s…
By John H. Foote For better or worse here are the 10 major happenings on screens at TIFF 2019 this year. The first festival without Piers Handling at the helm, Cameron Bailey has assumed the mantle, clearly ready to be the top gun. A remarkable 10 days of movies. Here are the 10 biggest happenings,…
By Craig Leask In the 1950’s Walt Disney had a dream to construct the ultimate amusement park, populated with unique rides and attractions in a clean, family friendly environment. To finance this dream, he created a weekly television program entitled Walt Disney’s Disneyland (1954–58) which launched on ABC on March 29, 1954. In a unique…