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The Last Detail (1973)
There is no doubt that screenwriter extraordinaire Robert Towne wrote The Last Detail with his friend Jack Nicholson in mind. As 1st Class Signalman Billy “Badass” Buddosky, one of two Navy lifers tasked with escorting a young midshipman to the brig, Nicholson was gifted with a meaty role that enabled him to demonstrate his full…
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Michael Clayton (2007)
Critics swooned when Michael Clayton hit theaters in the fall of 2007, and rightly so. Here was the sort of legal thriller, went the conventional wisdom, that John Grisham movies always promise to be but rarely are: Smart, complex, suspenseful. The collective fawning was more than justified. Michael Clayton is just about pitch perfect, an…
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Nanking (2007)
In late 1937, one of the most harrowing atrocities of the 20th century took place in China’s then-capital of Nanking. Japanese imperial forces invaded the walled city after a series of punishing air raids, only to then engage in a systematic reign of rape, torture and murder. Nanking, a documentary chronicling that horror, is a truly…
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Killer Joe (2011)
Brutal, pulpy and lurid. That sums up the irresistible allure of Killer Joe – provided, that is, you find deep-fried perversity to be irresistible. The second collaboration between director William Friedkin and writer Tracy Letts (their first being 2006’s Bug) serves up trailer-trash noir as savage as it is savagely funny. You will be forgiven…
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Oklahoma Film Critics Circle unveils its 2023 best-of awards
Back in 2006, Kathryn Jenson White, Preston Jones and I launched the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle (OFCC) to help promote film in our state. The organization has come a long way since then. As the OFCC does each year, along with most of the world’s film critics, we vote to award the best movies, performances…
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The Iron Claw (2023)
Indulge me a quick childhood memory. Please. Preteen Phil (that’s me) was an avid professional wrestling fan. Growing up in Oklahoma City of the late 1970s, I religiously followed Mid-South Wrestling and spent many a Friday night at the State Fairgrounds to see National Wrestling Association stalwarts such as Harley Race (the NWA heavyweight champ!),…
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Female (1933)
The car-manufacturing magnate at the center of Female is one tough cookie, a take-no-prisoners mogul by day and take-no-guff seductress by night. That, in a nutshell, sums up the vitals of this 1933 comic gem. The movie is funny, the dialogue whip-smart, and dependable director Michael Curtiz doesn’t outwear things, with the picture clocking in…
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Best documentaries of 2023
While 2023 was a banner year for narrative films, at least in my opinion, I was less enthusiastic about the year’s crop of documentaries. There were a handful of standouts, such as the thrilling Beyond Utopia (pictured below), but none of my picks for the Best of 2023 approach what I would consider a masterpiece.…
Cutting to the Chase with Phil Bacharach
Let’s talk about movies.
Cutting to the Chase with Phil Bacharach 