Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: Love (1927) With the latest incarnation of Anna Karenina starring Keira Knightley having just having hit the big screen (see review this issue), I thought I would recommend my second favorite version of the story which is the 1927 silent film starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert.Continue Reading
Michelle Keenan’s Pick: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) A few weeks ago I caught part of William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives on Turner Classic movies, and it has stuck with me since. It’s a film I’ve seen a few times over the years, but notContinue Reading
Argo **** Short Take: Actor, Director Ben Affleck brings the now de-classified story of the covert operation to free six Americans during the 1980 Iranian Revolution to the big screen. Reel Take: For those of us who remember the Iranian hostage crisis that began in 1979 and ended just asContinue Reading
Arbitrage **** Short Take: Tense, well made character study of a charming but duplicitous financier whose perfect life suddenly spins out of control. Reel Take: Time was when a new film by Richard Gere would have garnered a major release by a major studio and been surrounded lots of publicity.Continue Reading
Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: Blood & Wine (1996) Seeing the new Richard Gere movie Arbitrage (reviewed in this issue) brought back memories of this 1996 modern noir that features Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine and a young Jennifer Lopez. Nicholson plays a successful wine merchant whose life suddenly spins out of hisContinue Reading
The Bourne Legacy ***1/2 Short Take: There was never just one. Reel Take: The tag line for The Bourne Legacy is “There was never just one.” This is a fitting line to lure Bourne fans (like myself) to the theatre. Written and directed by Bourne architect Tony Gilroy, The BourneContinue Reading
The Monthly Reel by Michelle Keenan As we put this issue to bed the summer blockbuster season is nearing its end. This season has delivered some crowd pleasing blockbusters including The Avengers, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Rises, and more recently The Expendables. However, in a summer chockablock full of big budgetContinue Reading
Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: The Blue Bird The Blue Bird (1940) It’s always risky for a performer to go against type. Silent movie fans didn’t like it when Mary Pickford stepped out of her little girl roles. When Bill Murray played it straight in the remake of The Razor’s Edge (1984),Continue Reading
The Amazing Spiderman ***1/2 Short Take: Remake of the first Tobey McGuire Spiderman film is well acted, well staged, and well photographed but winds up being totally forgettable. Reel Take: It would appear that we have now reached the stage where it is necessary to reboot successful comic book heroContinue Reading
