"2017"

With Halloween approaching, thoughts turn to that prized commodity in our popular culture: the horror movie. It’s been with us since the silent days (“Nosferatu,” anyone?), and it’s one of the few genres Hollywood feels comfortable taking a risk on anymore. Horror has a built-in fan base, skewing younger and male, but also with loyal […]

Who can say why one year yields so many more memorable films than another?  Somehow, a number of dynamic factors and elements coalesce to create something extraordinary, as happens with a superb Bordeaux vintage, or for that matter, an outstanding film. There are tangible reasons, of course, but a mysterious alchemy is also working its magic.

Gary Oldman's range is undeniable: how many actors could tackle the roles of  Sid Vicious, Dracula and Winston Churchill over the course of their careers? He can master any accent and play sensitive souls or depraved lowlifes with equal virtuosity. And in the grand theatrical tradition, he enjoys disappearing into the characters he plays. He is, in fact, barely recognizable in many of his films.

In the realm of feature films today, I think it’s awfully hard to find a good comedy. Of course, everyone has their own tastes, but personally I tire fast of today’s coarse, sophomoric movies that seem to be straining really hard for a laugh.

Like me, Frances McDormand is not a big fan of the Academy Awards. As she put it in her characteristically wry, plainspoken way: “I don't like award shows. At our house we call this time of year 'the convention'. It's too bad we haven't figured out how to stop it. But I think…because of the Internet… it will naturally go away. We'll have other ways to gather; it's not going to be this stuff. The shoes hurt too much.”

It’s astonishing how many Christmas movies are out there. Just do a Google search and your head will spin. Like movies in general, a few are fabulous, some just okay, while the rest is dreck.

“England and America are two countries divided by a common language.” That famous quote is most often attributed to gifted playwright George Bernard Shaw, who was actually Irish. It’s not just witty but wise, containing a core truth. We’ve always had an innate curiosity about our cousins across the pond, because though we do share a language, we are different in so many other ways.

To understand the power of “the cinema” in our past, and the comfort and escape it offered our forebears, we need only think back to the Great Depression, when many people would skip a meal to be able to afford going to the movies.

Let’s face it: nobody does (or makes) “l’amour” like the French. Their fascination with, and avid pursuit of, romance is as engrained in their national character as “vin rouge” at mealtime.