by Chip Kaufmann When I refer to British director Terence Fisher as “the poor man’s Hitchcock,” I do not mean that in a disparaging way. I mean it as a compliment, for while Fisher made his movies pretty much the way Hitchcock did, he never had the kind of budgetsContinue Reading
by Michelle Keenan On the night of August 11th the world was stunned to learn of the death of beloved actor and comedian Robin Williams. Making the news even harder to digest was that he had been in a dark enough place to commit suicide. In the world of celebritydom,Continue Reading
in a Short Attention Span Theatre by Chip Kaufmann If you’re a regular reader of Rapid River Magazine’s movie section, then you know that when I write an article it’s usually a profile of some movie person, such as silent movie comedienne Mabel Normand (March 2014). Or, it’s to provideContinue Reading
by Michelle Keenan Usually the summer movie season brings action-packed CGI fests, animated blockbusters and little else. This year that is not the case. Asheville continues to book the usual big budget box office fare as well as a host of smaller titles. Since 2008 the good Professor Kaufmann andContinue Reading
Who would have thought that a radioactive, fire breathing dragon, originally intended to be a metaphor for the firebombing of Tokyo during World War II, would have turned into a cultural icon known and loved (yes, loved) the world over? Certainly not the Japanese, but that’s exactly what happened withContinue Reading
Just a couple of weeks ago the good Professor Kaufmann and I were lamenting the offerings at the cinema. We were actually wondering what we were going to force ourselves to see in order to cobble a section together. When a superhero movie and a mainstream faith-based film are theContinue Reading
by Chip Kaufmann The next time you watch a TV show on the Fox Network, cheer or hiss a talking head on Fox News, see a movie produced by Twentieth Century Fox (or any studio for that matter), or visit the Fox Theater in Atlanta, then spare a thought forContinue Reading
by Chip Kaufmann Last month marked the 100th anniversary of the first appearance of a movie icon. But, if it weren’t for the intervention of another film comedy pioneer, his first appearance might have been his last. On February 2, 1914 Charlie Chaplin appeared in a Keystone comedy called MakingContinue Reading
Chip’s Take Here we go again! Nine Best Pictures and only five Best Directors leaving four films that directed themselves. The days of team player directors who shared responsibilities like Michael Curtiz and John Sturges are long gone, so what’s going on here? While it’s a simple matter to removeContinue Reading
