Movies@Home
This week, zombie pets and dynamite Vietnam vets combine for a pair of hilarious late-2000s parodies. Fido (2007) For a seemingly limited genre, it’s amazing how many great zombie pictures have risen up and shambled …
It’s a tradition in excellence that dates back to when I was 9-years-old and first introduced to the Marx Bros. The local ABC-TV affiliate in Chicago would devote their Saturday night late-to-pre-dawn slot to Paramount …
Since outdoor activities seem to pose little threat, why not throw a picnic? I’ll bring the ants. Them! (1954) The opening scene packs a horrifying wallop not generally associated with monster movies from the ‘50s. …
Out with the new and in with the old with this trio of diverse films that all take place on or around New Year’s Day. La Bonne Annee (1973) The clip from director Claude Lelouch’s …
If you are worried and you can’t sleep, watch White Christmas instead of counting sheep. Works faster than a right hook with a bottle of Ambien clutched in its fist. — Scott Marks White Christmas …
Fade to Black has long been one of my favorite movies about the movies. I was lucky enough to see it new in 1980, a number of times, thanks to having just started work at …
Not yet in the holiday spirit? Here’s a trio of yuletide-themed cartoons from the 1930s certain to provide a much-needed Christmas goose. Santa’s Workshop (1932) In my teens, my friend Timothy Murphy asked me, “You …
This week we go West, Mae West, for a pair of saucy comedies: one’s pre-code, the other isn’t. She Done Him Wrong (1933) Across town at 20th Century Fox, it was child superstar Shirley Temple …
Jack Webb was many things — director, actor, writer, gun-lover, John Bircher, recording artist, ultra-right-wing Viet Cong-hating fascist, two-fisted drinker, producer, chain smoker — but first and foremost, he was an auteur. His could be …
How about a hilarious helping of Cold Turkey for Thanksgiving? Cold Turkey (1971) Looking to combat bad publicity with good, Big Tobacco offers $25 million to the one American town that can collectively kick the …
This week’s picks are meant to get us through this transitional period. Bartleby (1970) With all the movies in my mental Rolodex, surely there’s one tale of a lead character who refuses to budge even …
What do this week’s film have in common? A diverse trio of gay men with flavorful stories to tell. Capote (2005) There was something about the back page New York Times article detailing four grisly …
Tsui Hark is one of world cinema’s exemplars of action. One can learn more about editing from five minutes of Hark than all the Bourne duds combined. Once in my care, it was just a …
Keeping in the spirit of Borat’s return, here are a few words about his debut feature. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2005) Remember when enlightened comedy meant playing …
We may not recall the first time we laughed or cried at a movie, but who doesn’t remember the first time they got well and truly scared in a theatre? Here are a trio of …
Havana watch a trio of musicals set in pre-revolutionary Cuba. Care to join me? Week-End in Havana (1941) Out of the 480 steamship passengers stranded on a reef, Nan Spencer (Alice Faye), a hosiery salesgirl …