The best of the John Sayles films, which is saying a lot. Sayles is an auteur of independent films. He wrote, directed and edited LoneStar. It all start with two off-duty soldiers finding human bones on an abandoned Army rifle range looking for old bullets. Then a sheriff’s star is discovered among the bones. It … More LoneStar (1996)
“Do you really think anyone’s going to pay money to see a movie about a dumb Texan who takes a bus to New York to seek his fortune screwing rich old women?” – John Schlesinger The answer to that question is, yes. On a $3.2 million budget, the film grossed more than $40 million on … More Midnight Cowboy (1969)
I was never a huge fan of Elvis, though I respect the legacy. His impact on rock and roll, and pop culture, is undeniable. Elvis was at the pinnacle of his musical and star power until the Beatles. The Beatles changed everything. For me, and this is just my opinion, Elvis stopped evolving, but the … More 1960s Elvis (Before the Jumpsuit)
Sue Grafton was my favorite mystery writer. She wrote the popular alphabet detective series of Kinsey Milhone. Grafton died several years ago before she could complete the alphabet, but she got close. In the years since, I’ve continue to enjoy the series of David Baldacci (although I missed the Camel Club), Lee Child’s Jack Reacher … More Stephanie Plum: Bounty Hunter
George Segal passed away this year. A working actor right up to the end, Segal had a relatively brief tenure as a leading man, but managed to find featured roles long after many leading men faded from memory. I wrote this blog about Segal and Elliott Gould, two actors who did not seem to take … More Remembering George Segal
English film director John Boorman’s high point was Deliverance, although he made some interesting films prior to and after that notable film. Boorman came from television and his body of film work is not huge, so his name is not as well-known as his contemporaries, yet he managed to helm some riveting story of human … More John Boorman: Beyond Deliverance
Back in the late 1950s through the late 1970s, Walt Disney Productions employed many of the same actors and crew on many films. Sometimes you saw the same characters on screen, like Professor Brainard and his Flubber, or young Dexter Riley at Medfield College, the ruthless businessman Alonzo Hawk or Merlin Jones in several films. … More Familiar Disney Film Actors and Crew
Tough guy Jean-Claude Van Damme was quite a successful actor during the 1980s and 1990s, his films were international hits. Since then, the quality and success of his films have taken a nosedive. I noticed his series (Jean-Claude Van Johnson) on Prime, a fictionalization of his real life. I tuned in to watch an episode, … More Van Damme
Writer Paddy Chayefsky’s last film and unfortunately, not his best. Altered States is very entertaining and thought provoking, as well as visually trippy (given special effects in 1980). Chayefsky (Network, The Hospital), one of the top five writers in Hollywood, adapted his novel for the screen. This film was a difficult birth. The first director, … More Altered States (1980)
Life, distilled down to its essence is: Love and pain and everything in between. Stated differently, Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing, which happens to be a film title from when dinosaurs lived in the neighborhood, or at least when bell-bottom trousers were fashionable. T-Rex did not wear them, those small arms could … More Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing
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