For many, 2017 was a stressful and anxious year due to the person presently in the Oval Office and all the political divisions and frustrations this has both caused and brought into the light. I share those anxieties and frustrations, although I won't allow myself to be consumed … [Read more...] about Top 20 Films of 2017
Favorites
Top 20 Films of 2016
I noticed two thematic threads weaving through the films of 2016, ideas which seem at odds yet perhaps have more in common beyond an initial reaction: grief and coming of age. It seems fitting for a year like 2016 that grief would pervade our filmic imagination. Movies like … [Read more...] about Top 20 Films of 2016
Half-Year Favorites of 2016
The first six months of 2016 have come and gone, and with them have been a. Lots of superheroes. Lots of sequels. Lots of animated or CGI talking animals. Even a sequel about CGI talking-animal superheroes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Somehow, none of … [Read more...] about Half-Year Favorites of 2016
Reviewing the Classics: Make Way For Tomorrow
When Leo McCarey won an Academy Award for directing The Awful Truth, he began his acceptance speech with the following: “I want to thank the Academy for this wonderful award, but you gave it to me for the wrong picture.” That same year also saw the release of one McCarey’s … [Read more...] about Reviewing the Classics: Make Way For Tomorrow
Reviewing the Classics: Casablanca
If you asked me about my top 10 favorite films of all-time, Casablanca would be on the list. It’s romantic, witty, adventurous. It is both ahead of its time and incredibly timely. The doomed romance between Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) is … [Read more...] about Reviewing the Classics: Casablanca