The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) 

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When I sat down to watch 1964’s The Earth Dies Screaming I naturally thought I was going to see a schlocky sci-fi stinker. Surprisingly, this British production is stylish, atmospheric, and spooky, even thought provoking, despite a

The African Queen (1951) 

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Rewatching director John Huston’s 1951 masterpiece, The African Queen, which I hadn’t seen in a very long time, I discovered it not only holds up, but looks like it could have been filmed yesterday. Almost nothing about it

Quartet (2012) 

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Funny and touching, 2012’s comedy-drama Quartet examines the challenges met by aging artists as their lives appear to have less and less meaning. Although somewhat uneven in tone, the story of elderly opera singers in a retirement

Babes in Toyland (1934) 

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Looking for an engaging, classic Christmas movie? How about the delightful, if eccentric, 1934 musical comedy Babes in Toyland (aka March of the Wooden Soldiers). It stars the iconic comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as toy makers who muck

David Byrne’s American Utopia (2020) 

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Spike Lee’s spectacular filming of the Broadway production of David Byrne’s American Utopia is the perfect argument for Byrne’s genius status. While he is clearly the main draw here, performing songs from both his days with the ground-breaking New-Wave band The

Dracula Untold (2014) 

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They tried to do it in the unfortunate Halloween franchise reboot, and they tried to do it again with 2014’s Dracula Untold. This origin story of the famous vampire commits the unforgivable sin of attempting to make one of

The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920)

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Every Halloween season I try to watch one classic silent horror film I’ve never seen before, so it was only a matter of time before I got to The Golem: How He Came into the World (Der

Death on the Nile (2022)

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A film doesn’t always have to be earth-shattering or cutting-edge or industry-changing, and the 2022 remake of Death on the Nile certainly isn’t. It’s old-fashioned to a fault, however that’s one of its immense charms. Director/Star Kenneth Branagh returns

Duck Soup (1933) 

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A rainy afternoon means it’s classic movie time. Today it was the Marx Brothers starring in 1933’s zany and biting Duck Soup. Many people consider this to be the brilliant comedy team’s finest film, and I certainly

Raise the Titanic (1980)

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Talk about a disaster. The 1980 direct-hit-to-the-iceberg Raise the Titanic lost so much money on its original release, producer Lou Grade famously said, “It would’ve been cheaper to lower the Atlantic.“  I can understand why. The ridiculously improbable plot has

I am Divine (2013)

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The 2013 documentary I am Divine, is a fascinating dissection of the life and death of actor, recording artist, drag performer, gay icon and unlikely superstar Divine. Harris Glenn Milstead, who transformed into the outrageous

The Lost Missile (1958)

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It had been a long work week, so I thought I’d look for a movie that was mindless, stupid, and maybe a little inept. I found it … in spades. The Lost Missile from 1958 may

The Wrong Box (1966)

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Black Comedy requires a very fragile balance of the macabre and the hilarious. 1966’s British romp, The Wrong Box, finds the perfect equilibrium. Two elderly brothers, in cahoots with their immediate families, try to murder

Yesterday (2019) 

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Sometimes when a movie is utterly original, and executed with an abundance of affection and fun, it becomes irresistible. 2019’s romance-comedy-fantasy-musical, Yesterday is one of those movies. An unsuccessful musician experiences a bizarre blip in

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) 

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Considered the last of the great Universal horror films, the moist 1954 classic Creature from the Black Lagoon, originally filmed in 3-D, involves scientists exploring a swamp, a romantic triangle amongst those explorers, and the mysterious

The Monuments Men (2014) 

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The Second World War is one of those conflicts where being on the winning side can give you a sense of moral victory. And with good reason. The Nazis perpetrated the Holocaust, invaded most of

Downton Abbey – Series (2010 – 2015)

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I decided to catch up with almost everybody else in the world and watched all six seasons of Downton Abbey in a span of two months. I think my overall reaction is my own fault,

King Kong vs Godzilla (1962)

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I’ve always loved kaiju (giant monster) films, and when I was a teenager King Kong vs. Godzilla was one of my absolute favorite movies in any genre. I can’t tell you how often I saw

Don’t Look Up (2021)

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Can the complete and total annihilation of Earth and every living being on it ever be funny? Netflix’s Don’t Look Up proves it can be hilarious, albeit in an unsettling way. It sits firmly in

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

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You know those movies you’ve wanted to see for years but for whatever reason you can’t find them, and then when you finally do, you’re terribly disappointed? That is not the case with 1955’s The

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

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I hadn’t seen it since I sat in a theatre in 1986, so I figured why not? Rewatching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, I was surprised I found it less laugh-out-loud funny than I remembered, but