I've written many times about so-called "doomed gangster" characters and their noble (and doomed) struggle to rise above a world that just wants to drag them under a sea of conformity. And while these doomed …
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My Favorite Movies
In-depth reviews of my favorite movies of all time.
I've talked about stoner comedies before, and I've talked about "one crazy night" movies before, today I'll talk about a movie that is both. Obviously, as the perfect mixture of film genres, Harold & Kumar …
My Favorite Movies 49: The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932)
January 13, 2014
Of the string of early 1930s Universal Studios horror films for which director James Whale is best known, my easy favorite is The Old Dark House. Not to take anything away from the brilliant Invisible …
My Favorite Movies 48: The Big Lebowski (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1998)
December 9, 2013
One possible reason the private eye film has always been so resonant with myself might be how closely it aligns with the hero cycle that is supposedly embedded in the psyche of the human condition. …
My Favorite Movies 47: Caddyshack (Harold Ramis, 1980)
November 11, 2013
Caddyshack is the kind of movie where a character pauses mid-conversation to let out a giant fart and then says "hey hey, did somebody step on a duck?" More specifically, Caddyshack is the kind of …
My Favorite Movies 46: Rififi (Jules Dassin, 1955)
October 14, 2013
Heist films haven't always been the cheery Ocean's 11 style affairs that we know today. Once upon a time, when the world was young, heist films were brutally nihilistic affairs where, spoiler alert, EVERYONE died …
My Favorite Movies 45: Up in Smoke (Lou Adler, 1978)
September 9, 2013
I was never much of a drug user. I mean, sure, like everyone else, I've tried plenty in my time, but I just couldn't ever get anything to stick I guess. Hell, I don't even …
My Favorite Movies 44: It’s a Gift (Norman McLeod, 1934)
August 12, 2013
It's a Gift is one hell of a depressing comedy. It's like just being on the edge of going to sleep with a mosquito buzzing in your ear, and no matter how many times you …
My Favorite Movies 43: Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
July 8, 2013
For someone who has always been a silent comedy fan, it took me a while to give the humor of the Marx brothers a chance. Sure, the visual gags were still there, especially with Harpo …
This is Spinal Tap is not the first "mockumentary," but it is probably the most famous one. And, in a time when the genre can be seen all over film (Borat, Bruno, and the slew …