Film
The Hobbit: The www.isleyunruh.com Review
Even the most cursory of looks around my website will tell you that I’m a bit of a Tolkien fan. So obviously I should have no shortage of opinions on the recent Tolkien adaptations right? And yet, whenever I’m asked about The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I can usually only come up with a…
Read MoreMy Favorite Movies 36 – Destry Rides Again (George Marshall, 1939)
As one of the first, and most famous, “pacifist westerns,” it is tempting to discuss Destry Rides Again in terms of the fascinatingly contradictory tenants of that genre. However, because I’ve already discussed pacifist westerns, I figured that today I would instead discuss what it takes to be a “classic western,” something of which today’s film is…
Read MoreMonthly Movie Reviews – November, 2012
Here are some two sentence reviews of the movies I watched in November. Stats Movies watched – 16 Movies that were new to me – 5 Bond Movies – 5 Monthly Masterpieces – Palm Beach Story November 29 The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – A lot of people call this one the best Roger Moore Bond,…
Read MoreMy Favorite Movies 35 – The Palm Beach Story (Preston Sturges, 1942)
Few directors dominated the early 1940s like Preston Sturges. While not the first writer-director, Sturges was the most famous early example of a screenwriter who also directed his own films, paving the way for Orson Welles, John Huston and many other. His impressive run of back to back screwball comedy masterpieces, 5 perfect films from…
Read MoreJames Bond Picture Book I: Dr. No
While the Bond films, with their jet packs and suitcase airplanes, seem like the would already be pretty accessible to children, I recently discovered that they also lend themselves quite well to the children’s picture book format. So, for those occasions when you don’t have the time to watch the full movie, I give you James Bond…
Read MoreMonthly Movie Reviews – October, 2012
Here are some two sentence reviews of the movies I watched in October. Stats Movies watched – 15 Movies that were new to me – 12 Horror Movies – 4 Monthly Masterpieces – The Seventh Seal October 30 Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) – This plays kind of like a quirky indie version…
Read MoreIO5M 9: The Top Five Worst James Bond Theme Songs
Welcome back to my most infrequently occurring Monday feature! I’m speaking, of course, of Infrequently Occurring Fifth Monday (IO5M), where I come up with a new “top 5″ list on a quad-yearly basis. This time, in honor the the impending release of the new Bond movie Skyfall, and its rather good theme song, I take…
Read MoreMy Favorite Movies 34 – A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (Woody Allen, 1982)
1982’s A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy marked the beginning of a remarkable 30 year unbroken streak of yearly film production for Woody Allen. As with any filmmaker that prolific, there are bound to be some stinkers in there, but I’m here today to let the internet know that the reports of A Midsummer Night’s Sex…
Read MoreMonthly Movie Reviews – September, 2012
Here are some two sentence reviews of the movies I watched in September. Stats Movies watched – 17 Movies that were new to me – 11 Fairly badass and/or sweet action movies watched – 3 Monthly Masterpieces – It Happened One Night, Broken Blossoms September 29 Dredd 3D (2012) – This is a no nonsense, hyper-violent day in the life of…
Read MoreMy Favorite Movies 33 – Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, 1975)
Everybody knows that Monty Python and the Holy Grail is (along with This is Spinal Tap) the funniest movie of all time. I could go on and on listing all the funny parts, but, bottom line, if Brave Sir Robin soiling his armor, or the guard trolling the king at the Swamp Castle, or the…
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