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

Imagine if in “It’s A Wonderful Life“, Mr. Potter had actually prevailed and George Bailey, a ruined man, had to relocate. That couldn’t happen in a Frank Capra movie, of course, but sadly it can and did happen in real life, at Carnegie Hall, and without that much fuss or fall-out. Photographer Josef Astor’s new documentary “Lost Bohemia”, which opens … 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

Can it really be that Benjamin Braddock, the disaffected young man starting out his adult life in “The Graduate,” turns 73 today?
That character was of course immortalized in 1967 by a then unknown Dustin Hoffman, whose sheer talent and nervous energy compensated for a conspicuous absence of classic leading man attributes.
It’s sad to think young people today may know this gifted actor primarily as Ben Stiller’s hippy-dippy Dad in the execrable “Meet the Fockers” (2004). In truth, over the past fifteen or so years, almost invariably Hoffman’s performances have outclassed the movies featuring them.
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As we head into the Independence Day weekend, I wanted to suggest some classic titles scattered over the decades that each in their way evoke our country’s unique character. Some of these movies are overtly patriotic, portraying seminal moments and figures in our colorful history, while others delve into more complex, troubling periods and events which have also helped shape … More Details