A ghost story for Christmas, and something timeless for your festive viewing; Orson Welles’ Return to Glennascaul is only 23 minutes long, which makes it a pleasure rather than a chore. Shot during a break on his troubled production of Othello, it’s billed as ‘a story told in Dublin’ but takes the form of a […]
There’ve been a few attempts, over the decades, to rewrite the history of Billy Wilder’s 1964 clunker “Kiss Me, Stupid.” It’s “underrated” thanks to a winning Dean Martin as “Dino” (Dean Martin) performance, worth re-assessing because of a risque late scene Wilder was forced to edit out, somehow worthy of elevation because of its satiric […]
Classic Film Review: Billy Wilder’s “Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)” reconsidered
A boy growing up on Long Island seeks out father figures among the patrons at his uncle’s bar.
Movie Review: “The Tender Bar” Is A Nice, Family-Centered But Ultimately Mundane Film
While the world seems to be spinning out of control, Hollywood seems to reach further and further back into the past for ideas and inspiration; writer and director Aaron Sorkin feels that comedy icon Lucille Ball is the most urgent subject that he could possibly address in 2021. Ball’s heyday was in the 1950’s, and…
When I first became interested in classic film, I’d stalk the forums on tcm.com in an attempt to seek out movies to watch. Anytime the subject of tearjerkers came up, it seemed like the first and most discussed movie was a film that would likely have otherwise flown under my radar: the 1941 drama “Penny Serenade,” directed […]
Holiday Classics: “Penny Serenade” (1941)
“Luuuuuucy… I’m Home.” Probably one of the most timeless, classic … that is still uttered today. But behind the scenes of not only the “I Love Lucy” show itself, but the marriage between Lucy and Desi itself, was a very tumultuous relationship. This is the story of one week in the lives of these two […]
REVIEW: “BEING THE RICARDOS” (2021) Amazon Studios
Nightmare Alley is Guillermo del Toro’s followup to his surprise Oscar winner The Shape of Water. It serves as both a remake of the 1947 film noir of the same name and a new adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s novel from a year earlier, with the beloved filmmaker delivering […]
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Not every person is equipped to become a parent. It’s a duty of a lifetime that must be carried out without flaws. Yes, no one is perfect. But the one who considers themselves to be one can easily become distanced from their own flesh and […]
Film Review: “The Lost Daughter” (2021)
Antoine Fuqua’s Infinite is a sci-fi action flick that imagines a world of reincarnated souls where a group of people called Infinites have the ability to remember their past lives. Within this group, there are two subgroups; the “believers,” who view their ability as a gift, and “nihilists” […]
Zola (2020) Y’all wanna hear a story? Perhaps this is simply what happens when you turn a Twitter thread into a movie. Zola, the film’s origin lies in a 148-tweet thread posted by Zola the person — A’Ziah ‘Zola’ King — in October 2015, detailing a wild, chaotic road trip from Detroit, Michigan to Tampa, […]
Satan in High Heels is a 1961 American film about a carnival burlesque dancer who goes to New York and gets a job and at a high-class club. She becomes the mistress of the wealthy owner but then seduces his son and causes a murder. Directed by Jerald Intrator from a screenplay written by John […]
SATAN IN HIGH HEELS (1961) Reviews and free to watch online
The Benedict Cumberbatch cat movie is better than the Benedict Cumberbatch dog movie, in our view. Not just because the dog movie has no dogs, just shadow that looks a but like one, whereas the cat movie has actual cats, lots of them, some of which speak to us via subtitles, but because the cat […]
We haven’t had a good old-fashioned exorcism for a while, so Leroy Kincaide’s British take on the familiar genre, released via Samuel Goldwyn in the US, seemed worth a shot; the trailer features most of the staples, and several elements seem to be lifted directly from 1973’s The Exorcist. It’s a crisply shot film to […]
With the darkness. So this is about an everyday guy named Frank (Rainn Wilson). His wife (Liv Tyler) is a recovering addict and starts to cozy up to a drug dealer (Kevin Bacon). When Frank loses her completely, he turns to God for direction, and because he is not the most mentally stable person, he […]
Shut Up, Crime! – Super (2010)
After switching gears and directing the comic book movie Aquaman, Warner Bros. has allowed James Wan to return to his low-budget horror movie roots with Malignant, an absolutely gnarly little film that I’m honestly impressed the studio even agreed to put out. Wan, who has kickstarted no less […]
Before he was a filmmaker, Peter Bogdanovich was a critic and historian par excellence. Coming of age as the first wave of Hollywood filmmakers were being put out to pasture, Bogdanovich sat at the feet of the men who made the movies and fell in love. Among those titans he admired, Buster Keaton stood tall, […]
THE GREAT BUSTER: A CELEBRATION
Pig tells a compelling story in a unique way, focusing more on the quiet moments to explore tragedy and grief without hitting us over the head with what it wants to say. Is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…
Spoiler-Free Review of “Pig” on Hulu: Unique and Effective Storytelling
I wasn’t old enough to beat the 18 certificate back in 1986, and it’s been a long, long wait for me to finally catch up on Ruthless People, 35 years to be exact. Directed by the Airplane team of David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, and written by Dale Launer, it’s never been remade […]
Here’s some random waffle from your friendly movie blog host Mikey Wolfman and a review, of sorts, for Rebel Without a Cause. I do hope you are sitting down, not because the length of the upcoming ramblings but for the shock horror factor that this here “movie fan” had never seen it! Insert blood curdling […]
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Confession, Preconception And My Punishment.
Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro’s take on “Nightmare Alley,” a noirish carny novel first adapted for a Tyrone Power film in 1947, is a pitiless vision of an underworld of grifters and tent-show hustlers. Stunningly-detailed, with an A-list cast up and down the line, it’s a gorgeous and gloomy dip into the dark side, immersive […]
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