Top-ten lists of holiday films abound right about now, but what about picking the top three Christmas movies ever made? Lord knows there’s plenty to choose from. Christmas movies are a genre unto themselves: between live-action and animated features, there are literally hundreds of titles out there. Inevitably, some are pretty bad, others amusingly cheesy. Given all this choice and … More Details
First, let’s acknowledge that I laughed as hard at Bridesmaids as most anyone else. It was a consistently diverting, often very clever romp, and I thought Kristen Wiig and the rest of the cast were, on the whole, first-rate. That said, even with the extra smarts and wit that distinguished this movie from so many imbecilic contemporary comedies, Bridesmaids still … More Details
Next week marks the 108th anniversary of Cary Grant’s birth. Have people forgotten Cary Grant? He’s been gone a quarter of a century now, and his last movie was made forty-five years ago. Personally, I don’t believe so. He was too good, too much of an original to fade away from our collective consciousness. What made him so special? For … More Details
I’ve just sat down dutifully and read the reviews for the new 3-D rehashes of Conan the Barbarian and Fright Night, as well as the treacly-sounding One Day, and realized once again there is no reason to make my way to the multiplex this weekend. Just where are all the great movies these days? I think I’ll stay home and … More Details
When Christian Bale won his Oscar for “The Fighter” (2010), I was hardly surprised, but nor was I elated. And I had to ask myself why. This now hugely successful movie star is prodigiously talented, blazing with intensity and intelligence- not to mention killer good looks. Still- with apologies to all the self-proclaimed “Baleheads” out there, on an emotional level … More Details
Sometimes I feel the very word “romance” is becoming quaint, like “soap flakes”. Romance used to sound exciting; it was both the build-up and the pay-off to another out-of-date expression: “making love”. Now it’s all about “getting with” or “hooking up”. In this year’s much-hyped comedy “No Strings Attached”, we have man-boy Ashton Kutcher and current “It” girl Natalie Portman … More Details
Below you’ll find the movies that to my mind, best capture the essence of the holidays, year in and year out. The values and emotions imparted in these timeless films are sure to stoke the spirit of “Peace On Earth, Good Will Towards Men” (and women). This leads me to suggest that they belong in every home. Happy viewing! Holiday … More Details
Walking around the city of Bologna on my recent trip there, I was struck at how often I saw images of female stars long past from our scene – specifically, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly – and how seldom I glimpsed the faces of today, like Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie. This may simply be a matter of what attracts … More Details
On the first of this month, Walter Matthau, who left us just a decade ago, would have turned ninety. Ruminating on this unnoticed milestone made me consider anew what a unique and gifted screen actor he was. Matthau was never endowed with the superficial attributes of your typical Hollywood star: he had a pronounced New York accent, a stooping gait, … More Details
On the first of this month, actress Olivia de Havilland turned 94 in Paris. For some time, she has held the distinction of being the last surviving principal cast member of the storied film “Gone With The Wind”. Meanwhile, younger sister Joan Fontaine also survives at 93, living comfortably in Carmel, California. What is exceedingly strange and more than a little sad is that the sisters have been estranged for many years, the result of an intense sibling rivalry which has never dissipated.
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