My Cinema Reviews
“Incendies” is one of those films that stays in your head for quite awhile. Powerful, moving, shocking… I have to admit that it gave me that “WOW!” feeling that a film such as “The Shawshank Redemption” gave be back in 1994, unpredictable climax and a Read More …
“Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” is a film that has always hit me in so many levels. As I appreciate its humorous take on high society, it’s almost dreamlike surreal situations that often take place, I enjoy how the film was cleverly written and Read More …
In 1931, Warner Bros. produced and distributed the pre-code gangster film “The Public Enemy”. Directed by William A. Wellman (“A Star is Born”, “The Ox-Bow Incident”, “Battleground”) and starring James Cagney (“Yankee Doodle”, “Angels with Dirty Faces”, “White Heat”), Jean Harlow (“Libeled Lady”, “Suzy”, “Red Read More …
“The Patsy” is perhaps the precursor to the screwball comedy and Marion Davies does a wonderful job with her comedy in this film. From playing the spunky younger sister who is starry eyed over her sister’s boyfriend Tony, to the comedic side of the actress Read More …
Akira Kurosawa, one of the most highly revered filmmakers of all time. Akira Kurosawa’s filmmaking debut begins with the martial arts film “Sanshiro Sugata” (Judo Saga). A film that was released in Japan by Toho films back in March 1943 but because it was during Read More …
“12 Angry Men”, the classic Sidney Lumet film that featured one of the most riveting, thought-provoking courtroom dramas in cinema history. But before the 1957 film was made, writer Reginald Rose would create a teleplay of “12 Angry Men” for Westinghouse Studio One, a CBS Read More …
The 1960 comedy/drama written and directed by Billy Wilder (“Sunset Blvd.”, “Sabrina”, “Some Like It Hot”, “Kiss Me Stupid”) and co-written with I.A.L. Diamond (“Some Like It Hot”, “Kiss Me, Stupid”, “The Fortune Cookie”) was an incredible success in the box office grossing $25 million Read More …
In 1962, a yachtsman named Kenichi Horie rose to prominence when he illegally sailed across the Pacific Ocean from Nishinomiya, Japan to San Francisco, California. It was a different time back in 1962 as postwar-Japan had strict rules on its citizens sailing but for three Read More …
The announcements of David Shepard’s passing came as a big surprise on Tuesday. For many of us who watch silent films, especially silent comedies and have seen the restoration and film preservation work of David Shepard, many of us know how much he put his Read More …
Luis Bunuel’s “Belle De Jour” starring the beautiful Catherine Deneuve. One of Bunuel’s most recognized films in his oeuvre, the film is also one of Deneuve’s most recognized films in her career. But if you want to read about Catherine Deneuve’s mindset during the filming Read More …
Federico Fellini, the legendary Italian filmmaker and screenwriter known for cinema masterpieces such as “The White Sheik” (1952), “I Vitelloni” (1953), “La Strada” (1954), “Nights of Cabiria” (1957),”La Dolce Vita” (1960), “8 1/2” (1963), etc. Fellini’s films are known for capturing ethereal storylines, fantasy that Read More …
“Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” is one of those films that stays with you. You don’t remember it so much as a war film, but a film about the relationship of man and their differences. During my trips to Japan during the Winter, you can hear Read More …
Harold Lloyd is such a wonderful performer. “Safety Last!” is a film that anyone can watch and just be surprised about his risky performance and just seeing a man dangling from a clock tower or a piece of wood with the city of Los Angeles Read More …
Yasujiro Ozu is one of the world’s beloved directors. Having made many films since the 1920’s up to his final film “An Autumn Afternoon” in 1962, his works have been appreciated by viewers and critics for his family comedies but also his serious family storylines Read More …
Chances are…that many people today have never heard of the silent actress Olive Thomas. If anything, for most people who frequent the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City, her name is known as the ghost that is supposedly haunting the theatre. Sure, there are Read More …
I make a film that will be seen and appreciated by the thousand of people I probably hate the most. I want to make a film in truly bad taste!” – Marco Ferreri Marco Ferreri, the Italian filmmaker who many looked at as a rebellious Read More …
Today’s blog I dedicate to one of my favorite Christmas films of all time. Bob Clark and Jean Shepherd’s “A Christmas Story“. Based on Jean Sheperd’s novel “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash”, “A CHRISTMAS STORY” has been a part of so many Read More …
Filmmaker Lasse Hallström is probably best know as the director behind the music videos of Swedish disco group ABBA but Hallström is also known for several major hits such as “Chocalat” (2000), “The Cider House Rules” (1999), “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and most recently Read More …
Austrian Director Michael Haneke is one of cinema’s most revered and also most reviled with films that are typically bleak or disturbing, nerve-rattling and shocking. From his first major film “The Seventh Continent” of modern alienation to his next film “Benny’s Video” about a 14-year-old Read More …