Films That Matter
Stealers Wheel
A film noir with some eccentricities, The Big Steal (1949), directed by then third time film maker Don Siegel (who would go on to make such greats as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dirty Harry, and Escape from Alcatraz), plays like a long chase within a longer chase, while the meeting between gent and femme is something akin to a will they/won’t they screwball comedy. The usually laconic Lt. Duke Halliday (Robert Mitchum) is in quite the conundrum, as he has been robbed of a U.S. Army payroll totaling a whopping three hundred grand by swindler Jim Fiske (Patric Knowles). On the lam in Mexico (a rather rare noir location, also think Ride the Pink Horse and Touch of Evil), Halliday is on his trail... but the problem is, so is his superior – Captain Vincent Blake (William Bendix), who, of course, thinks it was actually the Lieutenant who ran off with the money.
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Star Pick with Nathan Andrew Jacobs
WANTED Someone to Go Back in Time With MeSafety Not GuaranteedJanuary 1, 2016Sometimes it is not easy to qualify exactly what genre a movie is. Safety Not Guaranteed is one of those films. The 2012 picture was recommended to me by Nathan Andrew Jacobs, the writer/director of the independent film Killing Poe, who stated that it was an excellent Indie film that should be seen by more people.
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Star Pick with Nathan Andrew Jacobs
Sometimes Less is MoreRushmoreDecember 30, 2015Nathan Andrew Jacobs, the writer/director of the independent film Killing Poe, spoke to me at the St. Lawrence International Film Festival back in October. According to him, his film, which built up an unbelievable buzz over the four day festival, has been influenced by the work of Wes Anderson. He mentioned two of Anderson’s movies – The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore as being his favourites, and the latter will be reviewed here today.
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Star Pick with Joe Kraemer
Take a Return Journey to a Galaxy Far, Far AwayStar Wars: Episode IV - A New HopeDecember 27, 2015Star Wars is the talk of the town once again. Episode 7, entitled The Force Awakens is sweeping the box office by storm. So, perhaps it is wise to return to the year 1977 to look at the first film: A New Hope.
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Christmas Update and Video
December 23, 2015First off, I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season and an excellent New Year. I hope that you have enjoyed my site thus far and that you will check back next week for more great reviews.
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Wick Lights the Fuse
John WickDecember 21, 2015Every once in a while, an action movie comes out of nowhere and blows people away. John Wick is one of those movies.
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Frankly Speaking, See This Great Comedy
Frank and CindyDecember 19, 2015The closing picture of the St. Lawrence International Film Festival was G.J. Echternkamp’s Frank and Cindy; and it may have one of the more unusual pre-production tales to come out of Hollywood in recent history.
