From the DVR: Nothing But a Man (1964)

Thanks to The Greatest Cable Channel Known to Mankind™, I was able to DVR a feature film that’s been on my “must-see” list for many years now. The groundbreaking independent feature Nothing But a Man (1964) was selected to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 1993 (the same year it was restored and…

“Hello again…Peabody and Sherman here…”

I was an underachiever in my high school years. Mind you, I did all right scholastically...though admittedly, I didn’t always apply myself where studying was concerned. In retrospect, I don’t have too many regrets because most of what I was taught focused on memorizing facts and regurgitating them on command...as opposed to far-more-practical critical thinking…

From the DVR: The Underworld Story (1950)

This past Saturday evening (January 25) saw the premiere of Try and Get Me! (1950; a.k.a. The Sound of Fury) on The Greatest Cable Channel Known to Mankind™ as an offering on their Noir Alley showcase, hosted by the Czar of Noir himself, Eddie Mueller.  TCM ran Get Me at midnight as part of a…

From the DVR: The Wonderful World of Disney

The Starz/Encore people have managed to acquire some feature film titles from Walt Disney Pictures of late, because I was afforded an opportunity to catch up with two of the studio’s animation releases that had eluded me for a good while: The Princess and the Frog (2009; I liked this one) and Frozen (2013; not…

From the DVR: The Candidate (1972)

Political strategist Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) has been handed an assignment that would surely make a saner man run fast, run far.  The Democratic Party is anxious to field a candidate in the California race for U.S. Senator—but that means taking on a powerful Republican incumbent, three-time Capitol Hill veteran Crocker Jarmon (Don Porter).  The…

From the DVR: Coma (1978)

Dr. Susan Wheeler (Geneviève Bujold) is a surgical resident at Boston Memorial Hospital and though this sort of thing should be discouraged because office romances are always complicated (if Chicago Med is any indication), she's dating the chief resident in surgery, Dr. Mark Bellows (Michael Douglas).  A longtime friend and college chum of Wheeler’s, Nancy…

“You folks live out of town?”

Twin Oaks, Ohio plastics executive George Kellerman (Jack Lemmon) is being considered for a company promotion, which will require him to relocate—along with his wife Gwen (Sandy Dennis) and two children—to New York City.  Mr. and Mrs. Kellerman catch a flight to the Big Apple for George's interview, but from the moment they depart the…

From the DVR: …and justice for all. (1979)

By any measure of the yardstick, Arthur Kirkland (Al Pacino) should not be a member of the legal profession.  He’s far too principled.  Which is not to disparage lawyers, you understand—it's just that Kirkland has difficulty functioning in a world where integrity and ethics take a backseat to winning at all costs.  Asked by his…

My heroes have always been in documentaries

I’m sorry that the blog has been kind of quiet over the past week; the good folks at DISH were generous enough to give us an HBO/Cinemax freeview, and I spent a little time getting re-acquainted with some old favorites including Secretary (2002—with my gal Maggie Gyllenhaal) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006).  (Prada may…

From the DVR: One Exciting Night (1922)

Wealthy John Fairfax (Henry Hull) returns to his family estate after a sabbatical abroad and while attending a garden party with his "Auntie" (Grace Griswold), is hit with Cupid's arrow after gazing upon one of the hostesses—a young girl named Agnes Harrington (Carol Dempster).  John's barely-disguised romantic affection towards Agnes is reciprocated in kind...though she's…