Category Archives: Films

Super 8 (2011)

Posted on August 27, 2013 by tom

(nb: Thanks Brother Marky for making me watch this) “Super 8” is director J.J. Abrams’s loving tribute to Stephen Spielberg’s films of childhood wonder, films like “E.T. The Extraterrestrial,” “Close Encounters of The Third Kind,” and “The Goonies.” It’s sort … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming of Age Film, Films, Science Fiction/Fantasy | 3 Comments

Eight Men Out (1988)

Posted on August 25, 2013 by tom

One of my favorite scenes in “Eight Men Out” comes near the final act. The baseball owners—all of whom have figured out that the 1919 World Series was fixed—have selected Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis to be the new Baseball Commissioner, … Continue reading →

Posted in Based on a True Story, Films, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | 6 Comments

Zodiac (2007)

Posted on August 22, 2013 by tom

In Vallejo, California, July 4th, 1969, was more than a simple Independence Day. It was a door, behind which lay some incredible history for two young people like Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau. Woodstock would happen the following month, where … Continue reading →

Posted in Based on a True Story, Films, Mystery/Police Procedural | 5 Comments

All The President’s Men (1976)

Posted on August 20, 2013 by tom

Two Washington Post reporters–Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein–brought down the President of the United States. This is their story. The Watergate scandal is old hat to most Americans today. Nearly everyone knows about the bungled burglary at the Watergate office … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Academy Award Winners, Based on a True Story, Classics, Films | 9 Comments

Gimme Shelter (1970)

Posted on August 15, 2013 by tom

Gimme Shelter (1970) Some people have said that the Monterey Pop Festival was the beginning of the Hippie Movement, “Summer of Love,” “Era of Flower Power,” or whatever the hell you want to call it. Regardless of your chosen moniker, … Continue reading →

Posted in Documentaries, Films | Leave a comment

Young and Wild (Joven y Alocada) (2012)

Posted on June 4, 2013 by tom

Seventeen-year-old Daniela is in a slightly delicate situation. On one hand, she’s a member of a fervent Evangelical family, the kinds of people who go to church several times a week and speak in tongues at home. On the other … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming of Age Film, Films, Foreign, LGBT Issues | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Wedding Song (Le chant des mariées) (2008); After Fall, Winter (2011)

Posted on May 24, 2013 by tom

Yeah, like you’ve never enjoyed a Lizzie Brocheré double-feature before. I kid. As it happens, I did last night… “The Wedding Song” (Le chant des mariées) tells the story of a friendship imperiled when the Nazis occupied Tunisia during World … Continue reading →

Posted in Films, Foreign | Leave a comment

Black Snake Moan (2006)

Posted on May 23, 2013 by tom

In the rural South, a conflicted black man chains a  white teenaged girl to his radiator, and he refuses to let her go. On the surface, nothing good can come of this scenario. However, in Craig Brewer’s 2006 film, “Black … Continue reading →

Posted in Films | 1 Comment

Requiem (2006) and The Raven (2012)

Posted on May 20, 2013 by tom

There was just something odd about Michaela Klingler. She was pretty enough, in a plain way, but something had set her apart from her high school classmates. First off, she was an extremely pious Catholic girl in the 1970’s, when … Continue reading →

Posted in Films, Foreign, Horror, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Downfall (2004) Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)

Posted on May 9, 2013 by tom

So my doctor gave me some new meds, and whenever I sit up, I get dizzy. So how better to treat this than lying in bed with a double-feature of intense, German WW2 dramas. It turns out, while this was … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Films, Foreign, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | Leave a comment