Richard Dreyfuss delivers the best performance of his career in a film that spans thirty years of one man’s life and earns every emotion it asks you to feel. The ending alone is worth the price of admission. Continue reading Mr. Holland’s Opus Review (1995)
John Wayne was reported to have been offered a part in Blazing Saddles. After reading the script he called back and said “I can’t be in this, it’s too dirty… but I’ll be first in line to go see it when it comes out.” Imagining Wayne in the Wilder role makes me glad he turned it down. The other casting question that often comes … Continue reading Blazing Saddles (1974) Review
Almost Famous is a movie I not only love, but was important to me in my formative years, and my life in general. It tells the story of William Miller (Patrick Fugit), a 15 year old kid on assignment for Rolling Stone magazine. He has to cover an up and coming rock band during what critic Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) calls the dying days … Continue reading Almost Famous Review
While far be it from me to condone direct theft/plagiarism, I will say here, that even though this movie was a direct rip-off of Bram Stroker’s Dracula, as a motion picture, it remains superior to any subsequent attempt to film the Dracula story, even to this day. This is another review from the big 50-pack horror movie box set I bought a few weeks back. … Continue reading Nosferatu Review
Still trapped in the same cabin from part one, Ash, the sole survivor from last time out, still finds himself battling the undead. To keep things interesting a few interlopers and visitors pop up here and there, but mostly, this is Ashley’s inner-badass coming out party bay-bay. Evil Dead 2 is the film most people think of when they think of the Evil Dead franchise … Continue reading Evil Dead 2 Review
As we get nearer to Halloween, I was struggling to think of more horror titles to fit in with the QDR series when the ‘Evil Dead’ franchise popped in my head. This works as a double tie-in with the Halloween season, plus the new TV series starting this fall starring none other than Mr. Bruce Campbell in the role that only he can play. My … Continue reading The Evil Dead Review
Ben is a divorced screenwriter, recently fired, who has given up on life altogether. A chronic alcoholic, he has decided to take what money he has left and go to Vegas where he plans on drinking himself into an oblivion. Along the way he meets a Vegas hooker named Sera (Elizabeth Shoe) who takes pity on him, and he on her, and they begin a … Continue reading Leaving Las Vegas Review
I was a little younger when I first saw this movie, and I did not fully appreciate it to the extent I do now. I was watching it expecting a satisfying formulaic action movie, and of course, if you watch No Country For Old Men expecting that, you are going to walk out pissed. In a way though I am glad I had the original … Continue reading No Country For Old Men Review
Some of my most sacred childhood memories involve walking the local railroad tracks, most of the time with my dad trailing not that far behind. I grew up in the early to mid 90s, so it was not quite the same odyssey that the characters in this movie experience, but I get very fond nostalgia flashbacks whenever I think about this film. This is one … Continue reading Stand By Me Review
This is a story of two kids, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, who begin a life in crime early on. One of them winds up going straight and becomes a policemen, the other winds up a crook. You can guess which one James Cagney plays. This movie is over eighty years old but still feels fresher and more original than at least half of the … Continue reading The Public Enemy Review
Dr. Ben McKenna, (James Stewart) goes on holiday with his wife (Doris Day) and son in Morocco where they bump into a couple of strangers who will forever alter the course of their lives. The stranger winds up dead, and when they attempt to report his death they wind up mixed up in an assassination plot far bigger than they could have imagined. In order … Continue reading The Man Who Knew Too Much Review
Jeremiah Johnson is an overlooked northern western that tells the story of a man who leaves behind one society for a simpler life, but soon finds that simple definitely does not equate to easy. Johnson is played by Robert Redford in a role that he absolutely owns from beginning to end. This is one of the films I use a bench mark whenever I reference … Continue reading Jeremiah Johnson Review
When I think back on the elements that most of my favorite westerns share, a few things come back time and time again in nearly each of them. First, great cinematography and epic settings. Check. Then you must have a memorable score such as the whistling in the “Dollars” trilogy or the old standard title songs from “My Darling Clementine” and others. This movie has … Continue reading Once Upon a Time in the West Review
One of my favorite mini-genres of movies is the latter day western. In these types of movies, set normally in the early 20th century, you see the last of the true cowboys fighting the expansion/encroachment on their way of life that was surely coming with the rapidly advancing technology and population boom of that time. There’s indeed something quite romantic about being the last of … Continue reading Easy Rider Review
I, along with many others, have harbored a deep irrational and unfair grudge against Bruce Dern ever since his role in “The Cowyboys” back in the 1970s where he became forever known as the man who shot John Wayne in the back. Other men had done the same deed over the years, but thanks in part to Dern’s memorable lanky facial features and his signature … Continue reading Nebraska Review
“Madness! Madness! Madness! “ That is the enduring battle cry of ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’, a movie about stubborn obstinate people who stick to their guns regardless of the consequences. It is a war movie in the sense that it takes place during a war, but it has more in common with Indiana Jones than it does with Saving Private Ryan. ‘Bridge on the … Continue reading Bridge on the River Kwai Review
We all have our little rituals that guide us through our life. These are the things we do every day, week, month or year depending upon what it is we’re talking about. For every year since I was a small child around this time a year when it is approaching the Thanksgiving holiday I always make it a point to block out some time to … Continue reading Planes, Trains, & Automobiles Review
