The Alphabet Murders (Frank Tashlin, 1965). The primary curiosity of this adaptation of an Agatha Christie mystery is the oddity of Tony Randall being positioned as the U.S. answer to Peter Sellers. The Alphabet Murders was released one year after … Continue reading The Playing — The Alphabet Murders; The Man from Laramie; Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
Journey Into Fear (Norman Foster, 1943). Shortly after Orson Welles recruited his troupe’s leading man, Joseph Cotten, to pitch in on the script for The Magnificent Ambersons, he handed him primary writing duties on another adaptation. RKO had already taken … Continue reading Then Playing — Journey Into Fear; Nights of Cabiria; The Marrying Kind
Bumblebee (Travis Knight, 2018). A prequel spinoff of the Transformers films, Bumblebee benefits immensely from the natural comparison to the unwatchable eyesores that director Michael Bay foisted on a helpless world. Making his first live action effort following wide acclaim … Continue reading Then Playing — Bumblebee; Stuber; Just Mercy
Ashes and Embers (Haile Gerima, 1982). Made around forty years ago, Haile Gerima’s experimental drama opens with Black men driving in a city who get pulled over police officers that immediately escalate the situation, presuming guilt as a default for … Continue reading Then Playing — Ashes and Embers; Brewster McCloud; A Star is Born
The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961). A horror movie that favors spooky atmosphere over jolting shocks, The Innocents is adapted from the Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw. Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) takes a position as a governess at … Continue reading Then Playing — The Innocents; Marshall; Things to Come
Fast Color (Julia Hart, 2019). Black girl magic made tangible, Fast Color lightly adheres to the superhero origin story template that’s unexpectedly become a cinematic mainstay. In the film, Ruth (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) returns to her Midwestern childhood home at a … Continue reading Then Playing — Fast Color; Monty Python’s Life of Brian; Blinded By the Light
American Made (Doug Liman, 2017). Now that Tom Cruise has moved entirely into the phase of his career that involves constantly putting his own well-being in peril to the delight of the audience, more serious fare — even something as … Continue reading Then Playing — American Made; Dark Phoenix; Hellboy
Alita: Battle Angel (Robert Rodriguez, 2019). Based on a nineteen-nineties manga series, Alita: Battle Angel is right in line with all the other sci-fi lite and reductive girl power product that bears the sticky fingerprints of James Cameron, who produces … Continue reading Then Playing — Alita: Battle Angel; A White, White Day; Harlan County, U.S.A.
Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016). German filmmaker Maren Ade puts pathos and comedy together in a way that’s borderline magical in Toni Erdmann. The title character, as it were, is a pseudonym commonly adopted by Winfried (Peter Simonischek) when he’s … Continue reading Then Playing — Toni Erdmann; Wildlife; The Seagull
Foreign Correspondent (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940). Alfred Hitchcock’s second Hollywood picture is basically a trial run for all slam-bang entertainments that would follow in his career. On the leading edge of World War II, a New York newspaper sends a metro … Continue reading Then Playing — Foreign Correspondent; The Rape of Recy Taylor; In Fabric
Coffee for Two 