“Never a help—always a hindrance!”

Facebook veterans know that there’s a group on there for every person, place or thing currently in existence (and if it hasn’t been created yet...give it a few seconds) and as a member in good standing since 2009 (my dues are paid up), I know there are some really outstanding Facebook aggregations dedicated to a…

“The game’s afoot!”

I was just getting ready to call it a day last night around 11:30pm...and when my head hit the pillow, the thinking portion of my brain called out: “Hey...weren’t you supposed to put together another giveaway for the blog?”  So I apologize for not having this post up earlier.  I did hint last week about another contest,…

Adventures in Roku

Let me just state at the start of this post...that when it comes to home entertainment, I’m a physical media disciple.  I like to own movies. I like to own TV shows.  From the time I bought my first VHS player in 1986 with a bonus I received from my then place of employment (despite my…

Get Bent

Fragile young Daisy White (Mae Murray), a destitute child of the slums (plus she’s got a heart condition), pleads with a bartender for a little medicinal whiskey for her ailing mother.  Alas, Daisy has no credit with the proprietor, and she is shooed away—but not before her situation attracts the notice of confidence man John…

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…

Grey Market Cinema: All the Way Home (1963)

Upon his death in 1955, author and film critic James Agee did not leave his wife Mia with much money to keep their family going, and so editor David McDowell decided to publish an unfinished work of Agee's (which Jim had been working on since 1948) entitled A Death in the Family.  An autobiographical novel…

“I hate women even when I’m on vacation.”

I know this is going to be hard to believe...but during the early portion of my childhood, I was not the same kidlet who vegetated in front of a TV set that you all know and love today.  (Whoa...talk about an awkward pause.)  I enthusiastically participated in outside activities, particularly those of the variety that…

Grey Market Cinema: Non-Stop New York (1937)

On New Year's Eve in the Big Apple, down-and-out chorus girl Jennie Carr (Anna Lee) depends on the kindness of a stranger: mob lawyer Billy Cooper (James Pirrie), who takes the hungry woman in for some sustenance on the eve of his departure for England.  In Cooper's apartment, Jennie stumbles across a transient named Henry…