MMM is a screwball comedy reformulated into a pitch black misadventure where dangerous entanglements recur with greater intensity, and the nonsense begins when against Larry’s wishes Carol agrees to accept an invitation of coffee & cake by senior neighbours Paul and Lillian House…
Alice is clearer example of Woody Allen revisiting his familiar template of an unhappily married woman going through a series of personal adventures before she decides it’s time to change her life and begin a second and more enlightened phase that may not even require a husband or boyfriend…
The joy (and perils) of infidelity are centre-frame in Paul Mazursky’s Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) + Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives (1992), on Blu via Twilight Time.
Woody Allen’s last film starring Mia Farrow is one of his best and darkest comedies, hyper-fixating on the (largely) negative effects of infidelity – the film earned Oscar nominations for writing and supporting actress (Judy Davis) – but its most powerful moments…
Reviews of two Woody Allen satirical classics – Bananas (1971) + Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) – on Blu via Twilight Time.
Woody Allen’s reteaming with Take the Money and Run (1969) co-writer Mickey Rose struck pure gold in this poke at contemporary politics in which a moron becomes the leader of a South American country after it undergoes a Cuba-like revolution…
One of the toughest challenges for any film built around a series of thematically connected sketches is consistency of quality, and offering enough variation so that no segment is redundant nor feels disconnected from the original concept. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex…
Reviews of Woody Allen’s formal feature directorial debut Take the Money and Run (1969) from KL Studio Classics, the short mockumentary Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971), and the underrated drama September (1987) from Twilight Time.
Running a compact 25 mins. Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story is a satire of the Nixon Administration, which was past the halfway point of its first term mandate when the short was scheduled for airing in February of 1972, but as the lore surrounding this ‘lost’ film goes…
Released the same year as Radio Days, Woody Allen’s September retains the cast members Mia Farrow and Dianne Wiest, but the tone harkens back to the auteur’s Interiors (1978), a more dour and overwrought attempt at Serious Drama…
Politics, Politics, Politics: BlacKkKlansman (2018) + The Last Hurrah (1958)
Just in time for the U.S. midterms are two political dramas – Spike Lee’s BLACKKKLANSMAN (2018) from Universal + John Ford’s THE LAST HURRAH (1958) from Twilight Time.
Disaster 101: Skyscraper (2018) + Thoughts on Video Store Day 8 and the Human Touch
Review of the Dwayne Johnson disaster entry SKYSCRAPER (2018) from Universal + thoughts on Video Store Day 8 and the Human Element that keeps the very creation of Physical Media alive.
Gregory Peck, Henry King, and The Bravados (1958)
Review + additional thoughts on Fox’ A-level talent in the brooding western THE BRAVADOS (1958), new on Blu from Twilight Time.
CanCon 101: Changeling, The (1980)
CanCon 101 spotlights one of the best ghost stories ever made, Peter Medak’s chilling THE CHANGELING (1980), new on Blu via Severin Films.
Much Khan: Genghis Khan (1965) + The Conqueror (1956)
Yes, it’s finally time to compare the legendary conqueror as portrayed by Omar Sharif in GENGHIS KHAN (1965) on Blu via Twilight Time + John Wayne in THE CONQUEROR (1956) on DVD via KOCH Media.
Viva Amiga’s Zach Weddington (and a bit of gear talk)
Podcast interview with Zach Weddington on Viva Amiga, his affectionate documentary on the pioneering multimedia computer (plus a bit of gear talk).
Patricia Rozema’s Singing Mermaids & White Room + Bonus Audio from NCFD 2018
Review of the CanCon classic I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) and much-maligned White Room (1990) + Q&A audio of director Patricia Rozema & journalist Kiva Reardon during National Canadian Film Day.
ArtScopeTO 07: Interview with Photographer Andre Vittorio
Aprils ArtScopeTO podcast features photographer Andre Vittorio, whose series Abstractions on Metal can be seen at Toronto’s Urban Gallery until Sat. April 28, 2018.
Spike Lee’s latest feature is based on Black Klansman, Ron Stallworth’s recently published account of his time as an undercover detective for the Colorado Springs Police Department during the 1970s, with one heck of a premise…
The setting is a thinly veiled version of Boston, and the last election of its aging mayor Frank Skeffington (Spncer Tracy) who’s supposed to be a shoe-in for a seat he’s held for several terms…
It’s really tragic when a good premise and a few inventive jolts to the disaster film formula are torpedoed by lackadaisical script, but writer-director-co-producer Rawson Marshall Thurber is wholly responsible for hobbling what could’ve been a decent genre entry…
Written during his busiest period (1968-1970), Quincy Jones’ score for John and Mary was quite sparse, leaving obligatory space for the film’s myriad dialogue exchanges and source music, but the score is memorable for being atypical of the material Jones was writing at the time: action comedies (The Italian Job, The Hell with Heroes), comedies (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,Cactus Flower), and the funky style of They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!
For some soundtrack fans, it was a bit of surprise to learn the composer of pioneering synth scores had begun his career with large orchestral scores for John Boorman’s Excalibur (1981) and Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal (1982)…
LP: Bourne Identity, The (2002)
The first film in the enduring franchise gave John Powell the perfect opportunity to write what remains both his definitive action sound, and the definitive action score of that decade, blending large orchestral sounds with layers upon layers of electronics…
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