The Best Fictional Bookstores

Posted on July 5, 2017 at 8:00 am

Electric Literature has a delightful piece about the best bookstores in movies and books. People who write books love bookstores, and the ones they imagine are very enticing. “You’ve Got Mail” is all about bookstores, and this one is perfect — and just about to disappear. I’m sorry to say that I am pretty sure the big bookstore driving her out of business has probably since been itself eclipsed by Amazon.

Humphrey Bogart visited a bookstore that didn’t have what he was looking for in “The Big Sleep.”

Audrey Hepburn got her first kiss from Fred Astaire in a bookstore in “Funny Face.”

Certainly the movies’ most unusual bookstore scene was this one filmed backwards in “Top Secret!”

New York in the Movies

Posted on July 3, 2017 at 8:00 am

It’s often said that New York City is a character in the movies set in its five boroughs. It’s a lot of fun to get a glimpse of some of its many portrayals, especially seeing iconic images like Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge show up in different genres and times.

New York in Cinema – Supercut from Sergio Rojo on Vimeo.

Sergio Rojo included these films:

The Apartment (1960)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
West Side Story (1961)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
The Godfather (1972)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Annie Hall (1977)
The Warriors (1979)
Hair (1979)
Manhattan (1979)
Fame (1980)
Escape from New York (1981)
Tootsie (1982)
Annie (1982)
Once Upon A Time in America (1984)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
Wall Street (1987)
Big (1988)
Oliver and Company (1988)
When Harry met Sally (1989)
Ghostbusters 2 (1989)
Ghost (1990)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Teen Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Léon: the Professional (1994)
Men in Black (1997)
Godzilla (1998)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Stuart Little (1999)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
American Psycho (2000)
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Serendipity (2001)
Gangs of New York (2002)
Phone Booth (2002)
Daredevil (2003)
The Terminal (2004)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Hellboy (2004)
Rent (2005)
King Kong (2005)
Madagascar (2005)
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Night at the Museum (2006)
I Am Legend (2007)
Across the Universe (2007)
Enchanted (2007)
Cloverfield (2008)
27 Dresses (2008)
Bolt (2008)
Precious (2009)
Watchmen (2009)
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
Black Swan (2010)
Devil (2010)
Eat, Pray, Love (2010)
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010)
Shame (2011)
The Avengers (2012)
The Great Gatsby (2013)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Begin Again (2014)
Birdman (2014)
Brooklyn (2015)
The Walk (2015)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Collateral Beauty (2016)
The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

Music: “Jennifer Lawrence” by Nova and the Experience.

This month on TCM: Ronald Colman

Posted on July 1, 2017 at 7:01 pm

There has never been an actor more elegant than Ronald Colman, one of my all-time favorites. I’m delighted that some of his best films will be featured on Turner Classic Movies every Thursday this month. Be on the lookout for “Lost Horizon,” “Prisoner of Zenda,” and “Random Harvest.”

The director of “Lost Horizon,” Frank Capra, described him as “Beautiful of face and soul, sensitive to the fragile and gentle, responsive both to poetic visions and hard intellect.” He always had a touch of melancholy that made him seem aware of life’s imponderables.

Father’s Day: Great Movie Dads

Posted on June 18, 2017 at 4:51 pm

Happy Father’s Day! And extra Father’s Day love to the two great dads in my life, my father and my husband.

These are some of my favorite movie dads. Give the dad in your life an extra hug and ask who his favorite movie father is!

And don’t forget to get a FREE copy of my book, 50 Must-See Movies: Fathers today!

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For Your Netflix Queue

New York Times: Best Movies Since 2000

Posted on June 11, 2017 at 1:56 pm

New York Times critics Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott have listed their favorite films of the 21st century so far, with some help from filmmakers Kathryn Bigelow, Guillermo del Toro, Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins, Richard Linklater, Robert Pattinson and Michelle Williams. Like any such list/ranking, it is best seen as a conversation-starter and Netflix-queue refresher rather than any kind of canon. Their list includes my favorite film of the 21st century (so far), “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” but also one of my least favorites, “Million Dollar Baby.” I was glad to see “Inside Out” on the list, and “Inside Llewyn Davis” and the underrated Steven Spielberg film, “Munich.” (And got a kick out of their admitted split over “A.I.” which provokes very mixed feelings in me.) As always from these critics, it is fun to read and think about because of its thoughtful assessments, a rare chance for critics to take a more distanced look at some of their favorites.

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