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…
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…
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…
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…
By Marie-Renee Goulet Are there movies that you are unable NOT to watch if you fall upon them while channel surfing? Films that feel like you just stepped into a leg hold trap, and you know you’ll have to sit there and (happily) finish it? I have a list of them. A few movies have…
By John H. Foote To begin, how is a fantasy different from a science fiction film? Granted there are cross overs, but fantasy cinema is defined as films which take the audience to the nether land, or bring about fantastical happenings, transcending the bounds of human possibility or the physical laws of nature. They often…
By Craig Leask In this, the final in my series on Armchair traveling, I’m following up on the articles on Italy, France, Great Britain and Sand and Surf with movies filmed in and featuring exotic locations. My definition of exotic locations includes those countries or areas that contain a certain mystique not generally found in…
By Marie-Renee Goulet By far, one of the best Rock and Roll biographical movies ever made. “I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments.” – Jim Morrison Fresh off the success of Platoon (1986), Wall…
By John H. Foote (***) To watch this magnificent horse in full flight was a miracle, a thing of natural beauty. Four legs, powered by a great heart, a mass of muscle hurtling down the track towards the finish line, setting records in his wake, he is hailed as perhaps the greatest racehorse to ever…
By John H. Foote (****) Martin Sheen spent most of the seventies making made for television films, developing a loyal audience fascinated with the electrifying young actor. On the small screen he was brilliant in Sweet Hostage (1974) opposite Linda Blair, and The Execution of Private Slovik (1974). He stunned critics with his haunted performance…