IF I HAD LEGS, I’D KICK YOU
By Marc S. Sanders “Stretched too thin” is a phrase I’ve always equated to having too much on your plate. (Sorry for using one cliche to explain another.) At the opening of Writer/Director Mary Bronstein’s film, If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You, the voice of Linda’s young daughter describes mom as being stretchy when she…
WAR AND PEACE (Soviet Union, 1965)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: Sergey BondarchukCAST: Sergey Bondarchuk, Lyudmila Saveleva, Vyacheslav TikhonovMY RATING: 8/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 100% Fresh PLOT: The Russian aristocracy prepares for the French invasion on the eve of 1812 in one of the most ambitious epic films ever made. The “Why” of Sergey Bondarchuk’s mammoth War and Peace is key to understanding…
BLUE MOON
By Marc S. Sanders Ever hear of a guy named Lorenz Hart? He was a lyricist. I’ll bet a few of you know some of the songs he was responsible for like My Funny Valentine and Blue Moon. Yup! That guy, Larry Hart, wrote hundreds of songs that might have established an ongoing pop culture lexicon. His partner was Richard Rogers. Surely…
FORGOTTEN FORTUNE
By Marc S. Sanders Forgotten Fortune is a welcome film that brings attention to the unwelcome ailments of dementia/Alzheimer’s disease. Yet, what writer/director Esteban “Stevie” Fernandez Jr demonstrates is that a diagnosis does not end the value of life. Brian Franks (Brian Shoop) is a retired mailman. One morning during one of his dementia induced…
WOMAN IN THE DUNES (Japan, 1964)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: Hiroshi TeshigaharaCAST: Eiji Okada, Kyôko KishidaMY RATING: 9/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 100% Fresh PLOT: An entomologist on vacation is trapped by local villagers into living with a woman at the bottom of a sand pit that threatens to engulf them unless they shovel sand every night without fail. Hiroshi Teshigahara’s Woman in…
THE BIG CITY (India, 1963)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: Satyajit RayCAST: Anil Chatterjee, Madhavi Mukherjee, Jaya Bachchan, Haren ChatterjeeMY RATING: 9/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 93% Fresh PLOT: The housewife of a lower-middle-class home in Kolkata decides to find a job to supplement her family with much-needed income, battling age-old customs and her own anxieties the whole way. Stop me if you’ve…
SORCERER
By Marc S. Sanders William Friedkin’s Sorcerer is that diamond in the rough kind of movie. In 1977, it was overshadowed by something called Star Wars. It had a no name cast with Roy Scheider as the headliner, but look, he was no Bruce The Shark. The movie lacked any confidence from two of the biggest studios in…
AN ACTOR’S REVENGE (Japan, 1963)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: Kon IchikawaCAST: Kazuo Hasegawa, Fujiko Yamamoto, Ayako WakaoMY RATING: 7/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 95% Fresh PLOT: A kabuki actor exacts a bloody revenge after he encounters the wealthy businessman who destroyed his family. In terms of good old-fashioned melodrama, Kon Ichikawa’s An Actor’s Revenge pulls no punches, utilizing a highly stylized, kabuki-esque…
LA DOLCE VITA (Italy, 1960)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: Federico FelliniCAST: Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne FurneauxMY RATING: 8/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 95% Certified Fresh PLOT: In episodic fashion, we follow the life of a philandering tabloid journalist in Rome as he chases stories and skirts with equal enthusiasm. Fellini’s La dolce vita is easily one of the most…
DIABOLIQUE (France, 1955)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: Henri-Georges ClouzotCAST: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles VanelMY RATING: 10/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 95% Certified Fresh PLOT: The wife and mistress of a loathsome school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi. [NOTE: If you have not yet seen Diabolique, READ NO FURTHER. I…
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2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 