BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: John SturgesCAST: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee MarvinMY RATING: 9/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 97% Fresh PLOT: Shortly after the end of World War II, a one-armed stranger arrives in a tiny desert town whose residents, for no apparent reason, behave in a hostile way towards him.…
THE SECRET AGENT (PORTUGUESE, 2025)
By Marc S. Sanders I’m not going to pretend I understand all of the dynamics of the Portuguese film The Secret Agent. Most of the events occur in Brazil, dating back to 1977 – apparently a time of “mischief,” as the opening text describes. Mischief is not the term I would use, but perhaps it is how…
THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA (1954)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: Joseph L. MankiewiczCAST: Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien, Marius Goring, Rossano BrazziMY RATING: 7/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 100% Fresh PLOT: The life of a Hollywood star whose candle burned briefly and brightly is told (mostly) by the writer/director who helped discover her. Towards the beginning of The Barefoot Contessa, I let…
THE BIG PARADE (1925)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: King VidorCAST: John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Tom O’Brien, Karl DaneMY RATING: 8/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 100% Fresh PLOT: Wealthy James Apperson deploys as a soldier in World War I France and grows from a naive kid into a battle-hardened veteran as he and his two buddies are paraded to the front. Films…
CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (1965)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: Orson WellesCAST: Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford, John Gielgud, Keith Baxter, Fernando Rey (!), Ralph RichardsonMY RATING: 8/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 96% Certified Fresh PLOT: King Henry IV’s heir, the Prince of Wales, is befriended by Sir John Falstaff, an old, overweight, fun-loving habitual liar. Through Falstaff’s eyes we see the…
THE HAUNTING (1963)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTOR: Robert WiseCAST: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Lois MaxwellMY RATING: 7/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 87% Certified Fresh PLOT: A paranormal researcher assembles a motley crew of assistants to spend a night or two inside a gothic manor estate to prove whether it’s truly haunted or not. If I had…
THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET (Czechoslovakia, 1965)
by Miguel E. Rodriguez DIRECTORS: Ján Kadár, Elmar KlosCAST: Ida Kaminska, Jozek KronerMY RATING: 10/10ROTTEN TOMATOMETER: 100% Fresh PLOT: During World War II, a carpenter in the Fascist Slovak State is appointed “Aryan controller” of a Jewish widow’s store. The first hour or so of the 1983 TV movie The Day After features some of…
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…
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2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 