By John H. Foote (****) Ten years after Apocalypse Now (1979) rolled on movie screens, the definitive film about the war in Vietnam, three years after Oliver Stone’s powerful Oscar winning Platoon (1986) came Brian De Palma’s incendiary film about the conflict in Southeast Asia, Casualties of War (1989). Having read the article upon which…
By John H. Foote (****) Released in late summer 1988 after screenings in New York and Rome caused an explosion of controversy, the film was supposed to play the Toronto International Film Festival, still known in 1988 as The Festival of Festivals. However, when word leaked out of the screenings that director Martin Scorsese had…
By John H. Foote Some directors are just wizards with actors and bring out their finest work. Clint Eastwood believes that half his job as director is done when casting the film, and he might be right. As a former stage director, the greatest lesson I ever learned was when to be quiet, when to…
By John H. Foote America celebrated her 200th birthday in style at the movies, with another massive summer laden with blockbusters, the year’s best film was a spring release, and at years end came a film that forever altered the landscape of American film, taking us away from the darkness of films previously acclaimed. It…
By John H. Foote (**) How often has a film become beloved and a financial smash despite being savaged by critics? Let me answer: often. Though a massive box office hit and generational piece of pop culture, a star making vehicle for John Travolta, who exploded off the screen with raw charisma and sex appeal,…
By John H. Foote (****) Let’s start by stating throughout this article the film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford will be known as just Assassination for obvious reasons. I was in a full theatre the first time I saw this film, in the excellent Special Presentation category, my favourite, at…
By John H. Foote (****) Along the highway to Disney World in Florida there is a tract of low rent hotels, home to poverty-stricken people who pay by the week for a roof over their head. It is ironic that such low living exists so close to a fantasy theme park where dreams come true…
By Alan Hurst There’s a little too much reality these days and you can get overwhelmed with the barrage of information, dire predictions, and lack of social interaction. This is a new experience for all of us and we’re all going to develop different ways of coping. Mine, not surprising, is retreating to the joys…
By John H. Foote (****) When Stephen King comes to mind, obviously the urge is to think of the great horror novels which have made him the greatest and most prolific writer of our time. Yet King, a born storyteller has stepped outside the horror genre many times with great results often coming to the…
By Craig Leask As we approach what looks to be another global recession, and probably not our last, I started thinking about how economic hardships such as these have been handled in the movies. There are many – from documentaries through to movies based on real events and people to full on creative endeavors. Movies…