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Entries Tagged as 'movies'

Drive-by blogging: The Knave abideth

January 29th, 2010 · No Comments · Whatever ...

In the list of people I’d like to have over for dinner, the writer of  The Big Lebowski Shakespeare mashup has to be near the top

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For John Hughes: If you leave, don’t leave now

August 6th, 2009 · 1 Comment · 5 things, What's on the screen

I don’t care how many Home Alone movies he wrote — and he’s even forgiven for the hideously awful Maid In Manhattan (for shame, Ralph Fiennes!) –  John Hughes will always be the god of 80s teen romances. Maybe all teen romances ever.  So as a tribute, here are my favorite John Hughes-written films.

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Once upon a summer, twenty years ago

July 30th, 2009 · No Comments · What's on the screen

June 30, 1989: On a hot summer day, Spike Lee drops a bomb on America.

Spike Lee is like Woody Allen in many ways I think. Not just because they focus intimately on New York and because their best films feel highly personal to their own specific cultural milieu while being also deeply engaging and approachable [...]

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5 movies that were better than their books

March 24th, 2009 · 5 Comments · 5 things, What's on my bookshelf, What's on the screen

It’s a longstanding meme out there that the book is better than the movie.  But every once in a while, a not good book makes a good movie or sometimes, even more rarely, a good book is made into an even better movie.

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5 sexy pre-1970 movie scenes

December 9th, 2008 · 1 Comment · 5 things, What's on the screen

Inspired by Entertainment Weekly’s list and a little dismayed that there were so few films from pre-1980 represented, these are 5 sexy scenes in movies from earlier than 1970 (a totally arbitrary date) that may or may not be sexy overall.
Anytime Stephan Boyd smolders darkly at Charlton Hesston, Ben-Hur: You know the story, right? [...]

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Saturday spectaculistic: It’s sexy time at the movies

November 29th, 2008 · No Comments · What's on the screen

It’s Saturday and by now you abso-freaking-lutely cannot stand your family, are thoroughly sick of turkey and will chuck that TV out the window if you have to watch another football game.  So instead, plug in one of Entertainment Weekly’s 50 sexiest movies.
Nothing to truly disagree with here … except that there really are more [...]

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Saturday spectaculistic: Begin those Oscar pools now

November 22nd, 2008 · 1 Comment · What's on the screen

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the short list of documentaries that are eligible to be considered for Best Documentary Feature. They winnowed the list down to these out of 94 originally eligible.

At the Death House Door
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh*
Encounters at the [...]

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Saturday spectaculistic: Geeky cool movie kids

October 11th, 2008 · No Comments · What's on the screen

Wired has a list of the 10 coolest geek kids in the movies. Should I be embarrassed that I have seen every single one of these movies?  Some of them more than once?
10. The Goonies Kids
9. Lex Murphy from Jurassic Park
8. Newt from Aliens
7. Mitch from Real Genius
6. Jack from Pitch Black
5. The Feral Kid [...]

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Revisiting the troubled waters

October 1st, 2008 · No Comments · What's on the screen

I just saw the best movie of the year so far.  Trouble the Water.  It’s really, really good and definitely going to end up on my top 10 for 2008 and if it doesn’t at least get nominated for an Oscar, someone was robbed.
The film is only going to show up for a week or [...]

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5 films about politics

September 9th, 2008 · No Comments · 5 things, Politics, What's on the screen

So while you are avoiding all the political news and coverage for the next week or so, why don’t you ride out the Republican bounce with these movies?

Primary Colors: thinly-veiled fictional account of a horndog, good-ole-boy presidential candidate; his sharp, smart, exasperated wife; their assorted aides and advisers; their rise to the top of the [...]

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