Spitball Army

There is a terrific set piece in a booby-trapped antique shop that I would swear I’ve seen copied since in another film or TV show.

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In this 1942 film, Holmes is transported forward in time to World War Two-era Britain, where he is enlisted to help unravel a Nazi terrorist plot involving a mysterious radio broadcaster and a potential invasion of the England.

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Irwin Rommel is a mysterious figure in Patton, a wily military opponent who is rarely seen in person, but whose most memorable “appearance” in the film is when George C. Scott (as George Patton) shouts, “Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!”

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I had recently watched Surfing Hollow Days by Bruce Brown, and was struck by how similar in format this Warren Miller film was to Brown’s film(s)…and wonder if Miller has ever stated how Brown’s movies have influenced him.

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The first 45 minutes to an hour were nearly unendurable. Mamma Mia! follows the standard Hollywood musical formula, with characters singing a song where a mere sentence would suffice, in conveniently improbable settings.

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I approached this documentary with some hesitation.  After all, who would willingly settle, with any enthusiasm, into a screening of a film about suicide?  The few reviews I had read about the film were positive, so I watched it, hoping to learn something new. The film is beautiful.  That is to say, the footage and photography […]

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The use of jazz – an improvisatory art – underscores the heart of the story. Cage’s character has a goal and a method but, like a saxophonist winding his way toward the conclusion of the tune, is largely unaware of the bumps and turns that he will encounter along the way.

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The production value is of the highest quality, and the film has a painterly look and mysterious texture very similar to Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain.

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Bette Davis, trapped behind a chalky white face of pancake makeup, gets about as much emotional mileage from her facial expressions as would a drunken mime.

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I was not prepared for the emotional wallop contained in this seemingly simple documentary about Tennessee middle school students studying the Holocaust.

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