John Ford and Howard Hawks are very tempting to lump together when talking about great American directors. And indeed, their careers roughly parallel each other in length and time period, they are without question two of the greatest directors of […]
There are few things I think of as fondly as American Westerns, but the movies of Robert Altman sure come close. So when I heard Altman passed away at the age of 81 on November …
Being a rambunctious sort, my past is full of tales of derring-do and mischievous insubordination. In this series I will examine specific instances of orneriness from my past so that you, the reader, might understand …
I thought I'd take a bit of time to write about some of my favorite movie mantras. I'm talking "mantras" in the loosest sense of the word, basically just any phrase that the central character …
While it may seem astounding that some people still believe The Lord of the Rings is just a book, this is perhaps only to be expected when you consider the wealth of misinformation that is …
Chaplin or Keaton...that is the question. Actually, not really, they are both great (along with Lloyd, Langdon and the rest of them). Still, I always answer with a resounding "Keaton!" and Our Hospitality is a …
Plato seems to get a bad rap when it comes to his views on art. Many first time readers are quick to protest, How could someone that so many people revere as the father of …
To start, I'll say that I've never liked musicals. I really hadn't seen any of the "classics" (aside from Westside Story in junior high), but pretty much whenever anyone breaks into song and dance I …
Having recently seen Wages of Fear for the third time, I have to say it is just as intense as the first time I watched it. This is really one of the only movies that …
To start with, I'll admit that John Wayne didn't have a great range, and most of his roles were just variations on the persona he created for himself. But honestly I can't think of anyone …