I’ve never been the biggest Sam Peckinpah fan. He’s just a little too revisionist, a little too obvious, and a little too over-reliant on slow-motion bloodbaths. While nothing will ever compare to peak pre-revisionist …
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My Favorite Movies
In-depth reviews of my favorite movies of all time.
My Favorite Movies 77: The Red Shoes (Powell & Pressburger, 1948)
January 31, 2022
There are many movies "about" the creative process. Sometimes they can be indulgent ("key word here is 'indulgent'") self-referential films about making a film like Fellini's 8 1/2. Sometimes they can circle right …
My Favorite Movies 76: Fast Five (Justin Lin, 2011)
February 28, 2018
The Fast and Furious franchise has evolved over the last two decades from a testosterone-soaked fetishization of small-scale street racing to a testosterone-soaked fetishization of the joys of punching torpedoes into tanks. And, while the …
My Favorite Movies 75: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939)
September 21, 2017
Frank Capra, for all his talents, is a problematic director. He has directed some of my all-time favorite films, and yet he has also some of my all-time most hated films--and often the differences between …
My Favorite Movies 74: Steamboat Bill, Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1928)
February 8, 2016
There is a reason that Buster Keaton's films have aged better than any of his contemporaries. I'm not saying that there is anything remotely at fault with the work of Chaplin or Lloyd--it is just …
My Favorite Movies 73 – Fool’s Gold (Andy Tennant, 2008)
January 11, 2016
Today's post started while I was sitting around recently, just letting my mind wander. My thoughts were flitting around like a barracuda in a mangrove forest until, like a Ceti Eel, the words "I'd like to watch …
My Favorite Movies 72 – Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
December 14, 2015
Before I get on to the business of explaining why Casablanca is one of my favorite movies, I do need to admit that I really don't like the ending, or, for that matter, the major …
My Favorite Movies 71 – Conan the Barbarian (John Milius, 1982)
November 9, 2015
Sometimes it's easy to justify enjoyment of certain kinds of films by simply calling them "dumb fun." However, films like Conan the Barbarian seem to push the limits of dumb fun almost into the realm of, …
My Favorite Movies 70 – Man’s Favorite Sport (Howard Hawks, 1964)
October 12, 2015
Howard Hawks is known as one of the all time great Hollywood directors. And while his films from the 30s and 40s seem to get most of the attention, the man was still cranking out superlative …
My Favorite Movies 69 – In the Realm of the Senses (Nagisa Ôshima, 1976)
September 14, 2015
It’s hard to watch the 50 Shades of Grey movie without thinking “wait, that’s it?” Aside from one scene where Mr. Grey actually tries to sort of hurt his partner, about all the movie’s constant talk …