Category: movie reviews

This is a seminal movie in the history of film, and for good reason: the cast, storytelling, and cinematography are spectacular and ground-breaking for the time. John Wayne is sensational in his breakthrough role as is Thomas Mitchell (Scarlett O’Hara’s dad and George Bailey’s Uncle Billy) as a drunken doctor at the end of his rope. There’s a shot in here of an Indian shooting and re-loading his gun on a running horse that my dad excitedly pointed out to me the first time I watched it. Thanks, Daddy, for introducing me to this, and so many other classics.

Man, I wanted to like this. On the plus side, the animation is jaw-dropping, really stunning. On the negative side, is pretty much everything else. The plot is made up of a lot of ideas, most of them stale, but that doesn’t stop the fairly badly conceived characters from talking and talking and talking and talking about them as if they are profound. Hey everyone, did you hear that governments can be corrupt and that war is bad? Who knew?

The story of Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan is very effective thanks mostly to the ferocious performance of Anne Bancroft as Sullivan. The movie feels very stagey, which is understandable since it’s an adaptation of a play. The secondary characters are nothing to write home about either, but it’s really Bancroft’s movie, and she delivers, as does Patty Duke as Helen, so it’s all good.

This is a taut noir-horror-thriller hybrid about a serial killer who targets women with disabilities, and a mute woman’s efforts to avoid becoming the next victim. It’s very well shot, and has an ever-escalating feeling of claustrophobia and tension. I’m not a fan of Dorothy McGuire, but she’s quite good in a role that limits her to non-verbal communication.

You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBOGY6GPg6s

From the guys who brought you the ultra-low budget and amusing monster spoof “Lake Michigan Monster,” comes the story of a trapper and the toothy rodent army he goes to war with. It’s clever, dumb, visually amazing, and dam funny.

The visuals are great, but holy crap, what a mess this is. There’s a beautiful closing sequence, but the movie is s..o v…e…r…y s…..l…..o…..w you have to ask yourself is it worth aging 25 years in the time it takes to get there. Most emphatically not. So here it is:

Oh, by the way, this is supposed to be the story of Pocahontas, which should have made for a great movie because her short life was incredibly interesting. What a maddening, missed opportunity.

40. GRIZZLY (1976)

A gloriously inept rip-off (almost scene-by-scene) of “Jaws.” Truly laughably stupid in ever way. The better you know that shark flick, the funnier it is.
Verdict: I watched it with the assistance of the guys from RiffTrax. Here, check it out for yourself!

41. MY MAN GODFREY (1936)

I’ve never been as fond of this as many are, but William Powell can do no wrong, and he’s miraculous in it. Everyone else was too grating for me to care about, even the normally lovable Lombard.
Verdict: See it for Powell. He is, as always, a complete and utter joy and makes the movie, as he does every movie he’s in.

42. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)

What a freaking masterpiece this is. Dazzling visuals, intelligent and nuanced writing, a magnificent score, and superb performances. I know I’m supposed to revere Gregory Peck’s Oscar winning turn in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” but I don’t. Peter O’ Toole’s performance is imbued with genius and HE WAS ROBBED.
Verdict: One can’t help but not, in contemporary reviews, that one is supposed to be all bothered about “race-swapping” in the casting of this film (e.g. Alec Guinness playing an Arab). But since race-swapping is everywhere nowdays in all manner of productions, all I can say is…just shut up. Guinness is terrific and so is Anthony Quinn. Deal.

37. SHANE (1953)

Good movie, but I don’t think it deserves its lofty reputation. Gorgeous, thanks to the ever-looming Grand Tetons, it’s got very good performances, especially from Alan Ladd and Jean Arthur, who manage to have a relationship of real depth entirely in subtext. But it’s slow and some the writing is very labored.
Verdict: Overrated, and do they really need to say Shane’s name every damn second?

38. HOPE AND GLORY (1987)

I saw this in the theatre back in the day and remember liking it but thinking that it didn’t affect me as much as I thought it would. Watched it again, lo these many years later, and thought the exactly the same thing. Good WWII movie, with an unusual and compelling child’s point of view, but it’s lacking the emotional punch it seems like it should have.
Verdict: If you haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth watching.

39. AMERICAN FICTION (2023)

One of those movies that starts out better than it ends up, but it’s a very worthy effort, if for no other reason than Jeffrey Wright’s wonderful performance. The race relations material is trenchant and witty, the indictment of academia and culture works pretty well too. The family stuff is pretty trite, and distracts from the quality to be found elsewhere in the movie.
Verdict: Writer/director Cord Jefferson tries to do too much, but well worth seeing for Wright’s work. He’s terrific.

34. SAHARA (1943)

Terrific war movie with Bogart as an American tank commander leading a ragtag group of survivors as they battle the unforgiving North African desert as well as the equally hard-pressed Germans. Bogart is tremendous, and the rest of the cast, representing soldiers of differing nationalities, races, and faiths, is also splendid.
Verdict: Most highly recommended.

35. THE MUSIC MAN (1962)

If it had done nothing more than record Robert Preston’s force-of-nature performance for the ages, it would be worth seeing. But it is so much more. It’s just a pure joy. A tad long, perhaps, but it’s a minor carp.
Verdict: Highly recommended, particularly if you’re feeling blue, because you won’t be after watching it.

36. BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925)

As story-telling goes, it’s pretty ham-fisted, as state propaganda tends to be. But technically and stylistically, it’s a marvel.
Verdict: Nothing else to say really, except that I watched it because I’ve heard of it and it showed up on YouTube. See it here, if you feel so inclined.