Directed by Michael Curtiz Once again, crime doesn't pay. Harry Morgan (John Garfield) is a struggling fishing boat captain whose debts lead to criminal activity and a guilty conscience. We meet him as a Leave it to Beaver-kind of character, a happy family man, a gooey loving husband, who always wears that cocked to the side … Continue reading The Breaking Point (1950)
Where Is My Friend’s House (1987)
Directed by Abbas Kiarostami Where Is My Friend's House reminded me of several different children-centric European films: Truffaut's The 400 Blows (1959), Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief (1948) and another 1987 film, Louis Malle's Au Revoir Les Enfants. The story follows a young boy, Ahmed, as he doggedly searches a small town to return a notebook to … Continue reading Where Is My Friend’s House (1987)
Blue Collar (1978)
Directed by Paul Schrader "Everything they do is to keep us in our place." Underpaid, poorly represented and fed up, three Detroit auto workers hatch a plan to rob a safe at union headquarters. For Zeke (Richard Pryor), Smokey (Yaphet Kotto) and Jerry (Harvey Keitel), this is a last ditch effort. Zeke owes the IRS a … Continue reading Blue Collar (1978)
The Ladykillers (1955)
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick In The Ladykillers, a group of five burglars hole up in the home of an elderly lady while they execute an armed robbery. The ringleader, Professor Marcus (Alec Guinness), plans to use the elderly lady, Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson), as their unwitting getaway driver, a plan which mystifies the others but for … Continue reading The Ladykillers (1955)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Directed by Peyton Reed Okay, my first complaint with Ant-Man and the Wasp has nothing to do with the actual movie. Using moviepass, I had to pay surge pricing for a movie that had six people in attendance. It was also late, I had been traveling all day, and the point is that I probably didn't give … Continue reading Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Footloose (1984)
Directed by Herbert Ross Ren (Kevin Bacon) likes to dance, which is enough to fuel conflict in a small town that bans such a thing. Coming from big city Chicago, Ren is mystified by Bomont's puritanical tradition, put in place by Reverend Shaw (John Lithgow). Shaw’s coming from a place of genuine concern. The town … Continue reading Footloose (1984)
Taste of Cherry (1997)
Directed by Abbas Kiarostami A man drives around Tehran looking for someone, not just anyone but still no single person in particular. The camera remains static inside the car as people pass by outside, occasionally poking their head in to see if he’s looking for day labor. He’s not. The man, Mr. Badii (Homayoun Ershadi), … Continue reading Taste of Cherry (1997)
Passengers (2016)
Directed by Morten Tyldum There's a home run spike going on in baseball these days, which has been a bit unexpected because of the offensive drought that spanned most of a decade as the league cleaned out most or all of the performance enhancing drug users that defined the early 00's. Whereas you once had … Continue reading Passengers (2016)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Directed by John Hughes When someone plays hookie from work, what they might have in mind is Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Ferris (Matthew Borderick) is a high school senior whom the adults would say is a slacker but who commands the respect of "the sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all … Continue reading Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Affliction (1997)
Directed by Paul Schrader There are a lot of murder mystery movies out there in which the investigation offers unspoken redemption for the troubled protagonist, whether it's a cop, a private detective or just a motivated relative of the deceased. These characters might be alcoholics, they're probably divorced, and their lives have crumbled to the … Continue reading Affliction (1997)
