“I fell in love with my work and I gave my life to it.” The thing I enjoy most about documentary films is that the best ones offer a glimpse into a part of our world I previously knew little or nothing about. The very first film I ordered from Netflix, way back when …
Continue reading Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)The eleventh in a series reviewing the American Film Institute Top 100 in random order. “Don’t say anything and we’ll get along just fine.” – Cindy Williams as Laurie Growing up as a child of divorced parents in Laurel, Maryland, a commuter town halfway between Baltimore and DC, I spent a good chunk of …
Continue reading AFI Top 100: American Graffiti (1973)The second in an ongoing series wherein I revisit films I loved when I was younger. “Cops?! What the hell do they want? I haven’t done anything lately.” Recently, I’ve felt like Hollywood has forgotten how to make date movies. Upon re-watching Romancing the Stone, I’m more sure of it than ever. The perfect …
Continue reading Films I Used to Love: Romancing the Stone (1984)The first in an ongoing series where I revisit films I’ve seen but did not care for. “The more you know who you are and what you want, the less you let things upset you.” I remember first seeing Lost in Translation when it came out on video and was wholly unimpressed. It struck …
Continue reading Films I Used to Hate: Lost in Translation (2003)“Hell you say.” – Robert Duvall as Cash My wife is a HUGE fan of Lee Child‘s books. She refuses to buy them in hardcover, though, so ever year or so, she spends several months in a state of literary tension, aware that there is a new Jack Reacher story out there yet unable …
Continue reading Jack Reacher (2012)The tenth in a series reviewing the American Film Institute Top 100 in random order. “Ben, this whole idea sounds pretty half-baked.” – William Daniels as Mr Braddock “Oh, it’s not. It’s completely baked.” – Dustin Hoffman as Ben Braddock In my quest to watch the AFI Top 100, I’m always worried that the …
Continue reading AFI Top 100: The Graduate (1967)I’ve been a fan of documentary film for years. The very first disc I ordered from Netflix, back in the pre-streaming days, was King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. I thought Rescue Dawn had some ludicrous plot points until I saw Little Dieter Needs to Fly and realized the feature hewed uncomfortably close to the documentary. And Grizzly Man, while …
Continue reading Blackfish (2013), Dear Zachary (2008)The ninth in a series reviewing the American Film Institute Top 100 in random order. “Put an amen to it! There’s no more time for praying! AMEN!” – John Wayne as Ethan Edwards I’ve been a fan of John Wayne movies since I was a kid. Back then, it seemed like every Sunday …
Continue reading AFI Top 100: The Searchers (1956)The eighth in a series reviewing the American Film Institute Top 100 in random order. “You’re a good-looking boy. You’ve big, broad shoulders. But he’s a man. And it takes more than big, broad shoulders to make a man.” – Katy Jurado as Helen Ramirez Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) has it made at …
Continue reading AFI Top 100: High Noon (1952)The seventh in a series reviewing the American Film Institute Top 100 in random order. “Aw, you don’t look old enough to get married, not even the first time, but then you never did. She needs trouble to mature her, Kittredge. Give her lots of it.” – Cary Grant as C. K. Dexter Haven …
Continue reading AFI Top 100: The Philadelphia Story (1940)