The Devil’s Eye (1960)
“A woman’s chastity is a sty in the Devil’s eye.” —Irish proverb “Lack of principle is my principle, vice my virtue, debauchery my asceticism, godlessness my religion…Those capable of love are very few. Their suffering has no limit. I am told they are mirrors which reflect God and make life easier for us wretches in […]
Stormy Weather (1943), Blood Wedding (1981) & Carmen (1983)
This review is set up the way movies sometimes used to be: a short, followed by a double feature presentation. You remember shorts, don’t you? Those wonderful little documentaries on hot topics such as “A Tuber Plantation in the Andes”, “Wool Carding in Baluchistan”, and “Snorkeling the Everglades”? That bizarre, educational fifteen-minute interlude you & […]
The Last Wave (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfJ1c-6FFX4 Peter Weir wrote and directed The Last Wave in the year -9 B.D. That’s “Before Dundee.” Before Paul Hogan revamped Tarzan and had us all watching Foster’s beer commercials with our hockey games. Crocodile Dundee came out in 1986, and had absolutely nothing to do with a series of fascinating Australian films produced […]
Homicide (1991)
Let’s begin by confusing the issue. This is a movie review, so I’ll talk about books for a while. Trust me. You’ve probably seen copies of the standard movie review anthologies—Leonard Maltin’s Movie and Video Guide, Martin & Porter’s Video Movie Guide, Roger Ebert’s Movie Home Companion–at your local bookstores. All three are useful, and […]
Beautiful Dreamers (1990)
“I believe we’re doing this for your own good.” If one were a patient in an insane asylum in Europe or North America in the mid-1800s, that kind of comment from one’s doctor might have pushed depression over into suicide. We are speaking of a time when asylums could be more brutal than today’s maximum […]
‘night, Mother (1986)
Before the curtain falls: “Death is dark and quiet. No one will ever be able to get me. Hang a big sign on my neck—GONE FISHING. It’s my choice. Mama, I’m just not having a very good time, and I have no reason to think it’s going to get anything but worse. I’m tired, I’m […]
The Swimmer (1968)
Some heroes take a long time getting home. Odysseus wandered for 20 years before rejoining Penelope in Ithaca. Gilgamesh the King returned to Uruk empty-handed after living as a beast, climbing the Mountain of the Sun, crossing Ocean and the Waters of the Dead, and finding and losing the secret to eternal life. A few […]
The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q53Ki_VAKeI When John Sayles went looking for financing for his 1984 film The Brother from Another Planet, the following conversation probably did not take place. But it should have. Secretary: Mr. Z———, there’s a man here to see you about making a movie. His name’s – Studio Mogul: What kinda movie? Secretary: I, uh, […]
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
The rumours are false. I did not, repeat, did not, panic when the editors of the Review suggested that I choose a film that reflected on the warmth & cheer of the yuletide season. A family movie in keeping with the tone of the Christmas issue. In other words, Something Nice. As if they […]
Pennies From Heaven (1981)
Dr. Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde Steve Martin, meet Arthur Dent. I don’t know if an actor has ever been sued for deliberately traumatizing her or his audience, but the Steve Martin fans who went to see Pennies from Heaven because they wanted another shot of the Wild & Crazy Kinda Guy they loved in […]