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Year by year: My faves of the 1960s
The decade of Vietnam, the civil rights movement, assassinations, hippies, mods, the British Invasion, Dylan, drugs, the counterculture, man lands on the moon, Woodstock, the Manson family. It was a tumultuous decade, to put it mildly, and movies reflected it. 1960: 10. The Virgin Spring, director: Ingmar Bergman9. Spartacus, director: Stanley Kubrick8. Inherit the Wind,…
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Capote (2005)
Truly great acting is always thrilling to see, but it reaches a different level of accomplishment when the performance is of a real-life icon. Such is the case with Capote. Philip Seymour Hoffman more than earned his Best Actor Oscar as the late author Truman Capote. The actor, arguably the best of his generation, transcends…
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The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
In its tale of death and loyalty along the U.S.-Mexico border, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada bears similarities to the great westerns of John Ford. Like that masterful storyteller, director Tommy Lee Jones (in his big-screen directorial debut) and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga revel in the splendor of nature and the small, lyrical moments of…
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Year by year: My faves of the 1980s
No doubt some of these selections, or at least their rankings, will make no sense to some people. And that’s OK. It’s a big world. 1980: 10. Superman II, director: Richard Lester9. The Blues Brothers, director: John Landis8. The Elephant Man, director: David Lynch7. Used Cars, director: Robert Zemeckis6. The Changeling, director: Peter Medak5. Ordinary…
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Platoon (1986)
Oliver Stone is not known for timidity of vision, and in Platoon, the often-controversial filmmaker doesn’t hold back. Having been a 21-year-old infantryman during the Vietnam War, Stone synthesized that life-changing experience into his 1986 masterpiece that would go on to earn Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. Platoon, in my estimation, is easily…
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Year by year: My faves of the 1940s
Periodically in these here parts, I am going to drop my favorite 10 movies decade by decade. It’s among my compulsions, for better or worse. Thank you for humoring me. 1940: 10. All This, and Heaven Too, director: Anatole Litvak9. The Thief of Bagdad, director: Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell & Tim Whelan8. The Letter, director:…
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Valley Girl (1983)
For that segment of the population that doesn’t remember a time before email and social media, the 1980s have the haze of nostalgia, a romanticism borne from snappy oddities like skinny ties, checkered sneakers and Andrew McCarthy. But don’t believe it, youngsters. It wasn’t all lollipops and John Hughes. Not even the syrupy gaze of…
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Another Year (2010)
Nothing much happens in Mike Leigh films, at least not in the strictest sense of Plot Mechanics 101. There are no car chases or explosions, not even a juicy epiphany in the final reel. The British writer-director is seeking something else. In emotionally rich films like Secrets & Lies and Topsy-Turvy, he explores the complexities…
Cutting to the Chase with Phil Bacharach
Let’s talk about movies.
Cutting to the Chase with Phil Bacharach 