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If “The Long Arm” had been one of the films pitched to producers in Robert Altman’s superb film The Player, the pitcher would have said “It’s ‘Father Knows Best’ meets ‘Dragnet’! In London! And we’ll get that British guy to star, you know, uh, what’s-his-name!”. That ‘British guy’ in this case, would be Jack Hawkins, [...]
Archive for the ‘Popular Culture’ Category
April 7th, 2012
We’re having a big religious weekend in Judeo-Christian circles. Jews are celebrating their deliverance from slavery, but of course nothing is simple for the Jews, so we get to argue about inconsistencies and errors and missing pieces in what presents itself as a very detailed instruction manual for the Seder. And try to figure out [...]
April 6th, 2012
Category: Film
The White Knight Stratagem was the final episode of a handsomely produced 2000-2001 British television series that re-imagined the Sherlock Holmes stories. The protagonist of the “Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes” series was Arthur Conan Doyle (center of photo at right) who learns the methods of Professor Joseph Bell (far right of [...]
April 3rd, 2012
Category: Film, Personal moment
At the gym recently, a twenty something guy who was built like an offensive lineman rashly challenged his still-fit-but-fading father to take him on in any lift the dad cared to name. The older man wisely chose tricep dips, which allowed him to beat his son easily (he was lifting about half as much weight [...]
March 30th, 2012
Category: Film
Mark Twain said that “A ‘classic’ is a book that everyone praises and nobody reads”. I suspect that Thomas Hardy’s novels fall into this category. Admittedly, I think that because my dear mother suggested that I read “The Return of the Native”. After I finished it, I asked her why she recommended such a lousy [...]
March 23rd, 2012
Category: Film
Disappointed in “Cowboys and Aliens” and looking for a film that does a better job of blending the Western and Sci-Fi genres? Look no further than the gritty and exciting Peter Hyams film “Outland“. The plot of one decent man fighting a corrupt system while trying to redeem himself at the same time is familiar, [...]
March 16th, 2012
Category: Film
Charlie Muffin is a terrific British spy movie scarcely remembered in the UK and even less so elsewhere, which is a rotten shame. After appearing on UK Television in 1979, it was barely released in the US under the title “A Deadly Game”. If you are among the many people who doesn’t know about this [...]
March 9th, 2012
Artistic stars of 1830s Paris are brought vividly to life in the high-spirited and entertaining 1991 film “Impromptu“. Directed by Tony-winning Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, the film stars Judy Davis in a bravura performance as George Sand. She spends the film avoiding prior lovers (including Mandy Pantinkin as Alfred de Musset) and chasing a new [...]
March 2nd, 2012
Category: Film
Most made-for-television movies are disappointing. Most movies based on Stephen King books, likewise. But here’s a nightmare-inducing film that overturns both those rules: “It“. Ask an adult who saw it many years ago what they remember and you may hear, after a shudder, the half-whispered words “That clown…”. The plot (including the ending) is a [...]
February 24th, 2012
There is an above average Jimmy Stewart movie called “No Time for Comedy“, in which he is cast as Gaylord Esterbrook. Gaylord writes hilariously funny plays yet feels he should write dramatic productions of greater weight in order to be a “serious writer”…but his effort to do so is disastrous. The movie always makes me [...]
