Movie reviews

Days of Heaven (1978)
Outstanding films are usually greater than the sum of their parts. This seems obvious. When you take great acting, great cinematography, a terrific story and

The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978)
First, a shameless plug. Question: What’s almost as addictive as chocolate? Answer: A really good TV series. All of you Simpsons fanatics out there know

Smoke (1995)
“You never know what’s going to happen next. And when you think you know, that’s when you really don’t know. That’s a paradox.” -Auggie Wren

Reds (1981)
Look up Warren Beatty’s Reds (1981) in just about any guidebook to movies and somewhere in the review you’ll find the word “epic.” This undoubtedly

Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
I am really sorry about this. I mean it. You see, I just didn’t know. It was only after I’d done the notes for this

Let Him Have It (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLCSvfRrleM I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning. —Stevie Smith In 1953, in London, England, a young man

The Magic Flute (1975)
“Somehow he [Mozart] managed to make this preposterous bit of humbug the most profound of all his operas….In the most dazzling feat of his career,

Into the West (1992)
Ordinarily, I wouldn’t choose a word such as “gritty” to describe a children’s film. This is not an adjective that sits well with Disney, or

Northern Lights (1978)
“One of these days [the Powers that Be’ll] go too far and, well, you know what I’m talking about. I’m an optimist and I know

Barton Fink (1991)
GARCIN: Hm! So here we are? VALET: Yes, Mr. Garcin. GARCIN: And this is what it [Hell] looks like? VALET: Yes. GARCIN: Second Empire furniture,

The Grifters (1990)
Dolores protested,] “Surely, you cannot think that—” “Think it?” Toddy shook his head. “I don’t even think that you’re trying to steer me away from

King of Jazz (1930)
While I’m sure that a good number of my readers will at least have heard of Lucille Ball, that may not be the case with