FROM THE ARCHIVES

Category: Movie Reviews

Movie Reviews category header

Movie reviews from Titanquisitor. Classic films, new releases, and everything in between — reviewed without a political agenda and without telling you how to feel about them. Every review closes with Theia’s Decree, our five star rating scale for film.

Hocus Pocus Review Throwback Thursday
Movie Reviews

Hocus Pocus Review (1993) (Throwback Thursday #14)

Gary Smith

Thirty-two years after renting *Hocus Pocus* from Movie Gallery, I'm revisiting the Sanderson sisters, childhood crushes, talking cats, and Halloween nostalgia. Does Disney's 1993 cult classic still hold up, or is nostalgia casting its own spell? Find out in Throwback Thursday #14!

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North by Northwest Review Throwback Thursday
Entertainment

North by Northwest Review (1959) (Throwback Thursday #13)

Gary Smith

In honor of Eva Marie Saint, who passed away at 102, Throwback Thursday heads back to 1959 for Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. Cary Grant, spies, trains, Mount Rushmore, one very determined crop duster, and Eva Marie Saint at her absolute best. Nearly seventy years later, this thing still moves better than most thrillers made today.

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Movie Reviews

Death to Smoochy Review (Throwback Thursday #12)

Gary Smith

Critics hated it, audiences stayed away, and I couldn't care less. Death to Smoochy remains my favorite comedy ever made, thanks to Robin Williams going completely off the rails, Edward Norton playing the world's most sincere fuchsia rhino, and one very unfortunately shaped batch of cookies.

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Entertainment

We Were Soldiers Review (2002)

Gary Smith

The Memorial Day countdown reaches its last new review at #3. We Were Soldiers covers the Battle of Ia Drang in 1965 with the respect and emotional weight it deserves. Mel Gibson, Sam Elliott, and the entire cast are extraordinary. Full review.

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Platoon Review
Entertainment

Platoon Review (1986)

Gary Smith

The Memorial Day countdown reaches #4. Oliver Stone served in Vietnam and spent ten years trying to get Platoon made. That urgency is in every frame. Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, and Charlie Sheen are all exceptional. Full review.

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Hacksaw Ridge Review
Entertainment

Hacksaw Ridge Review (2016)

Gary Smith

The Memorial Day countdown continues with #5. Hacksaw Ridge tells the true story of Desmond Doss, the unarmed medic who saved 75 men at Okinawa. Mel Gibson directs it with ferocity. Andrew Garfield is extraordinary. Full review.

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Entertainment

Full Metal Jacket Review (1987)

Gary Smith

The Memorial Day countdown rolls on with #6. Full Metal Jacket is two movies in one. The Parris Island half is Kubrick at his absolute peak. The Vietnam half is excellent on its own terms. Both together are essential viewing.

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The Longest Day Review 1962
Entertainment

The Longest Day Review (1962)

Gary Smith

Our Memorial Day countdown continues with a review of The Longest Day. This beast covers D-Day from every angle with one of the greatest casts ever assembled. It's three hours of old Hollywood ambition that still holds up.

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Midway Review
Entertainment

Midway Review (2019)

Gary Smith

Midway got written off by critics in 2019 and that was mostly unfair. Roland Emmerich's Pacific War epic is flawed but worth your time, especially around this Memorial Day weekend and the lead up to it.

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Wait Until Dark Review
Entertainment

Wait Until Dark Review (1967)

Gary Smith

Terence Young directs Audrey Hepburn in the most underappreciated film of her career — a claustrophobic thriller that ranks among the best ever made, with one of the great villain performances from Alan Arkin.

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Roman Holiday Review 1953
Entertainment

Roman Holiday Review (1953)

Gary Smith

William Wyler directs Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the film that made her a star. Charming, beautiful, and honest enough to skip the fairy tale ending. A perfect film.

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Entertainment

Charade Review (1963) (Throwback Thursday #4)

Gary Smith

Stanley Donen directs Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in their only film together — a mystery thriller dressed up as a romantic comedy, and one of the most underrated films of the 1960s. The Audrey Hepburn Rewatch series rolls on, this time doubled up as the fourth Throwback Thursday feature.

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