From the Archive: Charlie Wilson’s War
There was no question about which director should be represented in this space this week. Sadly, my options were somewhat limited. I would have loved to pull something from my days on The Reel Thing radio show in the early … Continue reading From the Archive: Charlie Wilson’s War
One for Friday: Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, “Here’s To Love”
This is the way I like to imagine it happened: director Peyton Reed and his collaborators on the 2003 film Down with Love, part pastiche of and part spoof of old Rock Hudson-Doris Day sex comedies, were almost done with … Continue reading One for Friday: Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, “Here’s To Love”
Mike Nichols, 1931-2014
I regret that I know the work of Mike Nichols primarily — almost entirely — from the movies he made. That’s no slight on his cinematic output. Nichols signed his name to a multitude of classic films, consistently bringing a distinctive sense of style to his efforts, one paradoxically defined most by its tricky invisibility. Nichols didn’t really have a signature, at least not one beyond a crisp mastery of the visual language of film. There was a spacial airiness to his compositions that made the films feel as though they’d been shorn of clutter. He had the efficiency of … Continue reading Mike Nichols, 1931-2014
Top 40 Smash Taps: “Don’t Pity Me”
According to Dion DiMucci, his time fronting the Belmonts came about because he decided to take his fledgling career into his own hands. In 1957, the Bronx-born singer signed to the newly-formed Mohawk Records. Almost immediately, the label heads had him record lead vocals for a pre-existing backing tracking, resulting in his first single, “The Chosen Few,” credited to Dion and the Timberlanes. DiMucci claimed he never even met the other individuals who performed on the record. He also found them unbearably bland, which inspired him to do what presumably any kid from the Bronx would do. He went back … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Don’t Pity Me”
Top Fifty Films of the 50s — Number Five
#5 — Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950) A story about the making of Rashomon insists that the actors were regularly asking director Akira Kurosawa to divulge the “official” version of the story they were telling in the film. That likely … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 50s — Number Five
Arms getting heavy, exhaustion’s setting in, waves getting bigger, life’s getting thin
The gimmick built into the construction of Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) has every likelihood of sinking it. The not wholly novel story of a desperate actor (Michael Keaton) mounting a troubled stage production in hopes of reviving … Continue reading Arms getting heavy, exhaustion’s setting in, waves getting bigger, life’s getting thin
College Countdown: Rockpool’s Top 20 College Radio Albums, November 1988, 7
7. Let’s Active, Every Dog Has His Day Back around #15 on this particular countdown, I noted the elevated stature of North Carolina-based producer Mitch Easter at the end of the nineteen-eighties, at least within the aspirational, twentysomething Neverland of … Continue reading College Countdown: Rockpool’s Top 20 College Radio Albums, November 1988, 7
From the Archive: The Prestige
This was written shortly after I decided I was going to use my silly online outlet of the moment to take another crack at writing film reviews, essentially doing so after a layoff of over a decade. I think there’s … Continue reading From the Archive: The Prestige
One for Friday: Polysics, “My Sharona”
Because some days more than anything else you need a Japanese art rock band heavily influenced by Devo covering the Knack’s biggest hit. There’s just no getting around it. Though I wrote a rave review of one of their albums … Continue reading One for Friday: Polysics, “My Sharona”
Top Fifty Films of the 50s — Number Six
#6 — Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952) A few years back, when the American Film Institute followed their surprisingly successful AFI’S 100 Years 100 Movies special with annual companion lists of increasing insignificance (anybody really care … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 50s — Number Six
