I’ll bet that plenty of Russians enjoy this Cold War thriller — Sean Connery charms everyone. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan tale is a real winner, with a a cast that really shines: Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones, Richard Jordan, Peter Firth, Tim Curry, Stellan Skarsgård and Jeffrey Jones. The seagoing…
In Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, Pilate dismisses Jesus as “just another Jewish politician.” Jesus a politician? The idea has enraged some and inspired others. Written by Paul Schrader, the 1988 film was harassed from the word “go” but it wasn’t the only movie of its kind to be attacked by the mob,…
Head Against the Wall. Georges Franju’s first feature adapts a novel protesting the French system of mental health asylums — and breathes poetry into every scene, with images that evoke more than what meets the eye. Young star (and screenwriter) Jean-Pierre Mocky is a spoiled punk locked away by a vengeful father. There’s no appeal:…
High on the list of ’60s mainstream movie entertainments is this twist-laden comic-romantic murder thriller, cleverly modeled on the Hitchcock template by screenwriter Peter Stone. The subgenre usually concentrates either on style or the charm of its personalities; with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant we get both. It’s got chemistry and a sense of fun:…
Director Joe Dante’s special skill with actors shines in this overachieving ‘juvenile’ space adventure that overflows with The Sense of Wonder. It is now in crystal 4K clarity. With a boost from aliens unknown, intrepid space cadets Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix and Jason Presson construct a fantastic vehicle; they dare to escape from the petty…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, we take a look at three films in the science fiction realm. We also have three earth-bound wines to pair with them. Explorers, from 1985, was the film breakthrough for Ethan…
Dennis Bartok brings an oddball film back from obscurity — an unreleased big budget comic Sci-fi musical given a big 1970 premiere, only to drop out of sight for decades. The immediate point of interest is that its star is the late Olivia Newton-John, a full eight years before her big breakout co-starring with John…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, it’s a John Frankenheimer party. Three Frankenheimer films and a wine pairing for each. Frankenheimer directed Dead Bang back in 1989. It has Don Johnson as a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department…
Criterion’s reboot of their branded line Eclipse goes in a great direction with a remaster of Carlos Saura and Antonio Gades’ marvelous flamenco movies of the 1980s. The three features together did a lot for flamenco’s international standing. The most popular was the dynamic and sexy flamenco ballet Carmen, a picture that filled art theaters…
