Movie omnivore, librarian, IT instructor, Clevelander.
Favorites listed below are recent five-star watches.
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Meltdown: Three Mile Island 2022
It’s hard to overstate how big a deal Three Mile Island was at the time of my late childhood, both as a political and cultural event. It dominated news, comedy, t-shirts, and car bumpers. Watching this really hit my nostalgia button, and it did a good job of showing what happened, at least for the first couple episodes. It then began to suffer from the frequent sins of its type; it’s too damn long, and is shamelessly pumped up to…
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To Have and Have Not 1944
Both Hawks and Hemingway liked manly men doing manly things competently, and both were very hard on men who didn’t or weren’t. Characters who meet the standard are often rewarded with a swell dame (though with Hemingway it is often transitory). Characters who fall short get a bullet, or a fiery crash, or crushed by an elephant, or other such desserts just or not. I don’t know why Hawks didn’t film more of his stuff; it seems like the sort of bromance Hawks was so fond of.
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Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief 2010
Fun flick. It is yet another movie based on a Young Adult book series, and no doubt made in the hopes of hooking up to the Harry Potter gravy train. But the mythology aspect provides a firmer peg on which to hang a movie than most.
Watched and reviewed 2010
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The Wolfman 2010
It has some nice FX to be sure; Rick Baker is still getting it done. CGI Victorian London is once again a star. The cast is also good, but the story is very weak.
Watched and reviewed 2010
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West Side Story 2021
In June of 2021 I wrote “I’m almost certain to wish Scorsese did this instead of Spielberg. Can you imagine?”* When I saw the trailer it looked as though it was going to be an earnest respectful remake, but very similar to the original. I wondered why Spielberg would do such a thing, and now that I’ve seen it I’m still wondering. Sure; he is such a great craftsman he made a good movie out of it. I’m sure he could…
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Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory 1971
I never thought I could walk into my local theater and choose from E. T., Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the original Fast and the Furious, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and The Fellowship of the Ring all at the same time. Then some guy in China eats an undercooked bat* and now here we are. I can't say I'm suffering. I love watching this stuff. I've never seen the original Wonka in a theater, or even in High Def. I did…
