Make the Academy human. Put a face to it, put emotions behind it. Put real stories out to the public to hang their own emotional lives upon. Also, the Academy needs more winners in film genres. The Golden Globes discovered this years ago.
I love St. Patrick's Day. It's so inclusive. By that I mean that though it's a bona fide religious holiday, you don't need to be particularly pious to enjoy it. Wishing everyone a safe and (reasonably) responsible holiday, I present my own candidates for the top drinking movies of all time.
I figure if the Academy can arbitrarily choose nine Best Picture nominees this year, I can set my numbers wherever I want. So here are the eight best screenplays, and eight best cinematography jobs (OF ALL TIME!).
Like everyone, I have my personal goals, but ours is a generation that saw itself as bigger and better than that. We were about selfless, but damned if we didn't settle for selfish.'We were about change, but damned if we aren't reluctantly accepting the next and the new.
Many who think of him as the screen's ultimate tough guy will be surprised to learn that in his first paying gig on the stage, he cross-dressed to play a lady of the chorus. He was secure enough in his masculinity to be not the least bit embarrassed.
Why was the ending of TV's The Quatermass Xperiment changed for the silver screen? What would be the ultimate destiny of The Incredible Shrinking Man? Was screen credit denied to the stars of several cinematic and TV productions?
BeerBeisl is a stunning, delightful and delicious restaurant with authentic, enchanting food so satisfying and striking it will resound favorably in the inner recesses of your mind.
For those wanting a respite from today's low, "in-your-face" brand of comedy, here are a few tried-and-true classics featuring these top screen comediennes. These special ladies made us laugh -- and feel smart -- at the same time.
While everyone has their attention fixed on cinema because of the Academy Awards, there are some classic Blu-ray releases I'd love to kindle (or rekindle) interest in.
Who's the best director in Hollywood history? You could look at who's won the most Best Director Oscars -- that would be legendary John Ford, whose fo...
Should we call him "Spartacus"? Or "Champion"? Both names certainly fit the man. Kirk Douglas turns 95 tomorrow, and he is still very much with us.
Perhaps this morality tale will cheer up a few folks who are out of work in the big city...things could be worse, you could still be working for some schmuck, dating some jerk, serving the corporate beast.
If I could get all those black and white haters out there to watch just ten titles -- movies that constituted absolutely essential viewing -- which would they be?
I continue to be nostalgic for comedy that doesn't require constant profanity or a surfeit of fart gags to succeed, that relies instead on subtle, clever scripts and witty dialogue; movies that in the end give their audiences some credit for brains and taste.
I googled "best summer-themed movies" but I think what I got was "any summer-themed movie."For those who want a little extra quality in their summer fare, here comes a varied but more rewarding list.
You know the writers are in trouble when they have to rely upon Hathaway's mother and Franco's grandmother to help out in the audience. All in all the show was mediocre, but not a disaster.
The Bay Area has a large and loyal base of silent film fans, many of whom will descend on the Castro Theatre this weekend for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival's annual winter event.
Who was ever like Tura Satana? Tura was a tiger with a blackbelt, a true exotic who actually lived a life of hard knocks and one she, no doubt, disgorged in cathartic release on screen.
Even though Entertainment Weekly named him the 16th-best film director of all time, if I mention the name Ernst Lubitsch to my own middle-aged contemporaries, I usually get a hazy look.
With glitzier fare squeezing out this special old stand-by, is the new generation missing out on something special? I think so. In short, the film explores the fundamental, overarching importance of the ties that bind.
The values and emotions imparted in these timeless films are sure to stoke the spirit of "Peace On Earth, Good Will Towards Men" (and women). Happy viewing!
On the first of this month, Walter Matthau, who left us just a decade ago, would have turned ninety. Ruminating on this unnoted milestone made me consider anew what a unique and gifted screen actor he was.
It was Curtis' combination of toughness and vulnerability -- his predatory sexual magnetism and the almost female quality to his beauty -- that would make his career.
One had to acknowledge and admire Tony Curtis's sheer spirit and zest. But while Curtis was the ultimate public personality, filmmaker Arthur Penn, who died two days ago, was basically a private man.
