Films That Matter
Star Pick with Kurt Angle
It was an absolute pleasure to meet and get a quick interview with the great Kurt Angle this past summer in Ottawa. First making a name for himself on the amateur wrestling circuit, it all culminated with a gold medal win (with a broken neck, no less) at the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia. The ultimate achievement for most amateur athletes, this was not the end for Angle, but only the beginning. Just a mere two years later, he had signed on to the World Wrestling Federation (now the WWE or World Wresting Entertainment), a leap that would soon find him taking professional wrestling by storm. Making his television debut in November of 1999, he was a natural, not only at the wrestling, but also on the mike.
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Two Timeless Classics from Buster Keaton
One WeekThe 'High Sign'April 15, 2016The triumvirate of silent era comedians, in no particular order, are as follows: the ever famous Charlie Chaplin, the oft forgotten Harold Lloyd and ‘The Great Stone Face’ Buster Keaton. As I have already reviewed a film of Lloyd’s and several of Chaplin’s, I thought it would be a good time to visit some of the work of Keaton’s acrobatic and stoic-faced silent era screen personas. To change things up a tad, I also thought it would be fun to look to some of his earlier short films instead of his more iconic full length features like The General.
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Luck be a Lady Tonight
GildaApril 10, 2016There is nothing like a memorable entrance/introduction to an onscreen character. The film that I am reviewing today has three. As the camera pans up at the very beginning of the movie, we are nearly hit by voice over narrator Johnny Farrell’s (Glenn Ford) trick dice. As he leaves the sketchy gambling room (after easily winning some cash with his fake cubes), he is held at gunpoint by a robber. In comes his saviour and soon to be boss, Ballin Mundson (George Macready), who uses his ‘best friend’, a walking stick that hides a dangerously long and sharp bayonet to save the nervous man. But it is the third and final entrance that blows the other two away. After Farrell begins to work for Mundson for some time, he learns, upon his bosses return from a trip, that he has gotten married. As the two enter the dame’s bedroom, her husband asks, "Gilda, are you decent?". Rita Hayworth’s title character, after a slight pause, pops up on the screen, and with a sensual flip of her perfect locks, flirtatiously responds "Me?". Dare I say, drama ensues.
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Scare Up Some Laughs
Hold That GhostAbbott and Costello Meet FrankensteinApril 8, 2016There are many classic comedians that are still honoured and remembered fondly today. People like the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are highly regarded funny men, yet the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are, in my opinion, less quickly thought of than those mentioned above. Despite this, many of their films, which include a mixture of memorable physical comedy and witty dialogue, still hit the funny bone today. Two of my favourites mix comedy with the horror genre: 1941's Hold That Ghost and 1948's Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein.
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A Fateful Reunion
The Night PorterApril 5, 2016Controversial, edgy, tasteless and taboo are just a few words that have been used to describe the movie that I will be reviewing today. If there was ever a love it or loathe it film – this may be it. It has been chosen by the acclaimed company Criterion as being one of their ‘important classic and contemporary films’ and many film afficionados have lauded it, yet others have absolutely trashed it – with legend Roger Ebert proclaiming that it is "as nasty as it is lubricious, a despicable attempt to titillate us by exploiting memories of persecution and suffering". I will leave it to you to decide.
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The Kid is Hot Tonight
In Old ArizonaMarch 29, 2016Sometimes, a film is able to transcend the era it was made in, truly making it feel as relevant and modern as when it was first released. Yet, others simply have not aged as well. This can sometimes create a rather difficult viewing experience – and that is somewhat the case with the 1928 western In Old Arizona. This western is one of the most important and influential films of the time –
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A Haunting Love Affair
The Ghost and Mrs. MuirMarch 22, 2016Every once and a while, a writer devises a ghost story that is not mere horror or thriller, but expands the eerie vibe to a more intimate otherworldly friendship or romance. Two of my favourites are the oddball buddy comedy Blackbeard’s Ghost (released by Disney in 1968) as well as the 1990 romantic dramedy simply titled Ghost. I now have a third excellent film to add to this rather abstract list – the 1947 motion picture The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
