Posted on November 23, 2017 at 7:33 am
I love this film, about four families celebrating Thanksgiving with all of the secrets, drama, longing for approval, and, yes, gratitude and love. The cast includes Julianna Margulies, Dennis Haysbert, Kyra Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard, Mercedes Ruehl, and Joyce Chen.
Posted on September 2, 2017 at 8:00 am
The BBC surveyed critics to come up with the top 25 funniest movies of all time. Of course there’s a lot of overlap with the AFI list. And some of the movies are just what you might guess: “Some Like it Hot,” “Airplane,” “Blazing Saddles.” If by any chance you’ve overlooked any of these, please try to find them. If you’ve seen them, watch them again!
Posted on August 14, 2017 at 3:48 pm
Digital Trends has a list of movies that received a “rotten” rating on the critic aggregator Rotten Tomatoes but deserve another look.
While I don’t agree with every choice (“Europtrip” is pretty bad) and some are uneven (“Troy”), I strongly endorse the inclusion of two great movies, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” with Ben Stiller and “Defiance,” with Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber. And if “A Knight’s Tale” is on cable, I usually find myself watching it.
Posted on March 18, 2017 at 8:00 am
I don’t know why “What a Way to Go!” is not considered a classic. It is smart, colorful, and very funny, written by the people behind “Bells are Ringing” and with a once-in-a-lifetime all-star cast: Shirley MacLaine, Dick van Dyke, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Paul Newman, and Robert Mitchum. Which one of those stars does she get romantically involved with? All of them! This is a movie about a woman who just wants a simple, happy life, but who accidentally keeps marrying men who become hugely successful. Each marriage is portrayed in a different movie style. Husband number one is hometown boy Dick van Dyke (seen as a silent movie farce), followed by American in Paris Paul Newman (arty French film), industrialist Robert Mitchum (opulent, big-budget glamorous Hollywood romance), and small-town song-and-dance man Gene Kelly (big Hollywood musical). The costumes by Edith Head are wildly over the top.
Posted on February 11, 2017 at 3:32 pm
Gracie Fields, Roddy McDowell, and Monty Woolley star in “Gracie and Me,” a sweet, gentle British comedy about a down-on-her-luck actress who takes a job as housekeeper for a former politician. She ends up helping him out behind the scenes, reconnecting him with his estranged son, getting rid of his dishonest servants, helping him to go back into politics. Fields was a popular singer and actress and she has a wonderfully warm and engaging screen presence. Viewers will also be delighted to catch a glimpse of “Gilligan’s Island’s” ‘Lovey’ Wentworth Howell, Natalie Schafer.
