Iconic actress Maureen O’Hara had a long successful film career. She is known for her pairing with John Wayne in five films, but she was a great co-star with many of Hollywood’s great leading men. During the years 1961-1963, she appeared in four of her best roles and most memorable films. She portrayed many fiery, … More Maureen O’Hara (1961-1963)
If you have seen the Night At the Museum films, Around the World in 80 Days (2004), Philomena (2013) or Stan & Ollie (2018), you have seen English actor Steve Coogan. Usually he plays some sort of stuffy, abrasive character, but in The Trip to Greece, he plays a fictionalize version of himself. Coogan and … More The Trip to Greece (2020)
I like Weird Al. I get him. He’s a clever and funny guy. You either like him or you do not. Alfred Yankovic started calling himself Weird Al in college as a way to give himself some distinction. He started college at age 16 and admitted to be a big nerd. He got picked on … More Weird Al
Cary Grant, Tony Curtis and Blake Edwards in a comedy about a pink submarine. It’s silly, with a hint of sex, and darn enjoyable. In the 1950s, it was challenging to mix adult fare with family entertainment and make it work. Operation Petticoat accomplishes it. Today, it seems rather tame, but at the time, mixing … More Operation Petticoat (1959)
Ninety years is a nice long life, but you could not imagine the original James Bond ever really dying. Sean Connery was like John Wayne, larger than life and damn near immortal. Connery spent the last 17 years out of the public eye, acting in 2003’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as his last film. … More Sean Connery Remembered
The summer of 1983, a big budget television film crew landed in Lawrence, Kansas. The Day After told the story of a Midwest community and the aftermath of a nuclear strike. I was living in Lawrence and had been for the previous 20 years. When a film production comes to town, it’s a big deal. … More The Day After (1983)
What you figure out very quickly in the film, The Hospital, is that American healthcare is a fucked up mess. And this was almost 50 years ago! Sadly, while medical technology has made incredible leaps, the cost and availability for millions of Americans, is out of reach. I blame for-profit medical corporations and insurance companies … More The Hospital (1971): Return Check-In
James Garner was the king of silly, suggestive films of the mid 1960s. In the first half of the decade, Garner had starred in the comedies Boys Night Out, The Thrill of It All, The Texas Wheeler Dealers, Move Over Darling and The Americanization of Emily. He could be a debonair and a cad at … More The Art of Love (1965)
Westerns started making a comeback in the 1990s. The Quick and the Dead is one of my favorite Westerns. It has a bit of everything. Ordinarily, I’m not a big Sharon Stone fan. Here, she’s tough and she’s vulnerable, often at the same time. In my opinion, it’s her best role, which allows her to … More The Quick and the Dead (1995)
That name sounds familiar, right? If you were around during the 1960s or early 1970s, you knew of her television and film appearances, and her recordings. You might also remember here from the trial of causing the death of her boyfriend. Since, she’s lived out of the spotlight. Let’s look at her career, because she … More Claudine Longet
