Mike S.
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FIRST FOLIO! Cinematic Shakespeare Cage Match! Welles vs. Kurosawa
Without a doubt, William Shakespeare has been the most adapted author in cinema history. The Guinness Book of World Records even says so! And if they’re the authority on “Farthest Distance Walked Balancing a Lawn Mower on the Chin*” then it’s indisputable. What is in dispute is which filmmaker was the greatest adapter of Shakespeare’s… Continue reading
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Most Egregious Oscar Snubs, 2016 edition
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Top 10 DVD releases of 2015
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Movie Mondays: Top 10 DVD releases of 2014
MIKE’S TOP 10 1. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. After years of unavailability on home video, French director Jacques Demy’s magnificent, one-of-a-kind musical gets a deluxe release from Criterion. This is what movies were meant for. 2. Sleeping Beauty. Disney opens the vault once again to give us another look at this gorgeous film, the last… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Writer Directors
Directors who pen their own screenplays are a dime a dozen. The Coen brothers write their own films as do Paul Thomas Anderson, Jia Zhangke, and Jim Jarmusch. And while there are a number of novelists who have tried their hand at directing, from Michael Crichton to Norman Mailer, few filmmakers have done the reverse… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Pictures about Pictures
Two critically acclaimed documentaries about art, Finding Vivian Maier and Tim’s Vermeer, have recently been released on DVD. The holds list for those titles is a bit long, so while you wait for your copy to come in feel free to check out these other fascinating documentaries about art and the lives of artists. Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Charming Cheats
~posted by Mike One of the great opportunities cinema affords us is the chance to be a willing accomplice to acts we would otherwise condemn in real life. Robbery is horrible, fleecing deplorable, but with Cary Grant’s smile everything is adorable. The real magic of movies is that there are no repercussions once the house… Continue reading
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Happy Birthday Harry Dean Stanton!
~posted by Mike S. Harry Dean Stanton may not be a household name but he sure is a household face. One of the most iconic character actors in film history, Stanton has been working steadily for the past sixty years. Perhaps you remember his brief appearance in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, where he stumbled upon… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: First & Final Features
Sometimes getting a handle on an artist’s oeuvre can be a bit daunting. Even tackling the output of creators whose work we adore can be an uphill battle. For example, Howard Hawks is my favorite director but I’ve only seen a measly 13 of the 47 films he helmed. Imagine the plight of the John… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Hitchcock through the Decades at the University Branch!
Few artists have had such long and successful careers as the supreme stylist of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. The University Branch is celebrating Hitchcock’s remarkable longevity with a film series showcasing one film from each of the six decades he worked in, from the silent era of the 1920s all the way to the grimy Technicolor… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: A Country Called the West
~posted by Mike My brother hates Westerns. At least he says he does. As far as I know he’s only seen two of them, one of which was Quentin Tarantino’s weakest feature. But such a blanket statement like hating all Westerns ignores how truly… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: A Cinematic History Lesson with Bill and Ted
~posted by Mike On their first outing, Wyld Stallyns guitarists Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan traveled through time in a phone booth (not unlike another wacky adventurer), kidnapping historical figures for their make-or-break history project. The fate of humanity hung in the balance. Genghis Khan went bananas in a sporting… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: DVDs Delving Deeper – Orson Welles
In certain circles the received wisdom is that Orson Welles, a theatrical prodigy who rose to fame through live drama and radio, made one cinematic masterpiece, Citizen Kane, and then floundered for the rest of his career, squandering his talent by appearing in wine cooler commercials and Transformers movies. However, even the briefest exploration into… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Hollywood Classics at the University Branch
All month long the University Branch is highlighting classic Hollywood genres with free screenings every Saturday afternoon! Join us at 2:00 PM for these upcoming features. Did I mention FREE POPCORN? Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: When the Oscars Get it Right
The 86th annual Academy Awards are imminent. The Oscars are the Super Bowl for film nerds and they can certainly cause just as much anguish and frustration as when <INSERT FAVORITE TEAM HERE> loses. Looking back over the Academy’s track record can be a dismal experience. There’s the year Driving Miss Daisy beat out Do… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: A Chaplin Centennial
One hundred years ago this week, cinema’s most iconic and enduring character, Charlie Chaplin’s the Little Tramp, was born. On February 7, 1914 theatregoers were given their first taste of the lovable, laughable vagabond as he wrought havoc in Kid Auto Races in Venice. Two days later saw the release of Mabel’s Strange Predicament, a… Continue reading