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Favorite “Taxing” Movies

April 15, 2013 By 2 Comments

Apparently I am not the first (nor will I be the last) to think of this as a theme on U.S. Tax Day (which I hope you know is TODAY). But here it goes anyway, my top films that deal with taxes, in varying forms (see what I did there):

Man Filling out Tax Form

 

The Untouchables (1987): Epic levels of violence only to draw to a close as a result of crappy mob bookkeeping.

the-untouchables

 

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938): Technicolor splendor.

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The Young Philadelphians (1959): Nuttin’ wrong with showing Paul Newman some love … he’s a tax attorney in this one!

the-young-philadelphians

 

What are some of your favorites?

 

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March 2013 Highlights

March 7, 2013 By 2 Comments

Boy, we are already into the month of March – seems like it was just yesterday that we turned the clock on 2012.

Oh well, what can we do? I guess the main thing is to look forward to all the wonderful things from the world of cinema that the month will bring – at least from my perspective :)

TCM – Musical Paris

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Whenever I walk down the streets of Paris, music fills my head. Its sights seemed to be set to score. Today (3/7), TCM will feature in its prime time lineup 5 musicals with the City of Lights as the backdrop:

  • Can-Can (1960)
  • Love Me Tonight (1932)
  • Folies Bergère de Paris (1935)
  • Roberta (1935)
  • April in Paris (1952)

Question: Are there any other films you would add to the list?

 

Playing at My Local

academy-of-music-2At the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)

 

 

 

Lammy-1It’s Time For the LAMMY’s

It is that time of year again – the Large Association of Movie Blogs (The LAMB) has officially opened up for nominations. For rules and the process, go here.

 

 

Nothing is piquing my interest that is coming out in wide release this month – or am I missing something? Share your thoughts below.

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Stuff I Learned By Watching the Oscars

February 25, 2013 By 6 Comments

Yeah. I got sucked into the fray and ended up watching the Academy Awards last night. It actually was not too bad. But since this is principally a film and not TV blog (although TV does on occasion creep into a post or two), I will not be reviewing or recapping this as a programming event. I leave that to the experts.

What I will gladly do is make a quick list (in no particular order) of the things that I learned by watching this year’s telecast.

    1. They really should have been using the Jaws theme for all these years! (Thanks to my friend QTS for pointing out)
    2. Jennifer Lawrence is definitely one of my favorite people in the world (even if I thought that Chastain should have won for Zero Dark Thirty). photo-4_3_r536_c534
    1. Charlize can cut a rug!!! d235888003913550_charlize_channing_dancing.xxxlarge
    2. I knew Seth MacFarlane liked his pop standards, but dude is a serious musical geek!
    3. Speaking of music – this telecast was more Grammys than the Grammys.
    4. I nominate Kerry Washington as the next Bond girl (did you see that Scandal promo? BTW you really need to be watching that show).

  1. ADELE and JHudson threw down.
  2. Kristen Stewart …
  3. DeNiro is a napper.
  4. Last, but certainly not least – apparently Argo directed itself.

Maybe next year, I will have a full-on Oscar party – stay tuned to this space. I am dying to make Oscar-themed cupcakes!

That’s me done – what was your take on the Academy Awards and the ceremony? Were you pleased with the results?

Share your thoughts below.

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Great List, Preston!

January 4, 2013 By 2 Comments

Happy Friday everyone! I would like to close out the week with this “oh so relevant even today” list created by one Preston Sturges:

  1. A pretty girl is better than an ugly one.
  2. A leg is better than an arm.
  3. A bedroom is better than a living room.
  4. An arrival is better than a departure.
  5. A birth is better than a death.
  6. A chase is better than a chat.
  7. A dog is better than a landscape.
  8. A kitten is better than a dog.
  9. A baby is better than a kitten.
  10. A kiss is better than a baby.
  11. A pratfall is better than anything.

sturges

I cannot, however, take credit for this find; it was included in the Guardian newspaper’s list of cinema trends for 2013. Be sure to check out the full list.

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September Highlights

September 5, 2012 By 6 Comments

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Well it is back to school for the kiddies up here in the Northeast and a return to a “normal” pattern for the rest of us.

Here are a few of the highlights that I am looking forward to this month:

1) Won’t Back Down Screening: this Thursday the plan is to take advantage of being the recipient of tickets to see the Viola Davis/Maggie Gyllenhaal “inspired by” piece. Hopefully with a review to follow.

 

2) The 50th Annual New York Film Festival. Oops! I missed the press credential-ing deadline, so if I do occasion to go to any screenings I am likely to go as a layperson.

 

3) Another classic to grace our screens: next, I am s excited about seeing the Hitchcock classic The Birds. Anyone else going to catch this one?

4) Also on TCM …: as per usual, TCM has a lot which tickles my fancy, including:

5) With any luck…: I am really hoping that the movie gods are shining down upon me nearer to the end of the month as I am hoping to score some tickets to small, independently-spirited film that opens in the UK on October 26th.

 

How about you all? What are you looking forward to this month?

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Remembering Neil Armstrong

August 30, 2012 By 2 Comments

I could not let this week go without saying how profoundly sad I was to hear the news of the passing of Neil Armstrong over the weekend at the age of 82. As I said on my Facebook page at the moment of Sally Ride’s passing:

I grew up in what we now know were the waning days of the “space race”/ Cold War, where the threat of nuclear obliteration was only bested by the scientific discovery that sprung up in the wake of the quest for world dominance.

Just the other day I was thinking about space again and a childhood film that I LOVED from the 1980′s Space Camp (1985). I just KNEW that was going to be me in a few years time. Alas, I did not reach those heights, but the curiosity of what is out there always stuck with me.

Looking around the world wide web I was pleased to find out that more people share in my sentiment when it comes to remembering the first man to land on the moon’s surface. Here is just a sample, my “mix tape”of sorts from a few film sites that also reflected on the life and achievements of a man who dreamed big and for a brief moment in time was among the moon and stars …

 

 

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In Memoriam: Tony Scott

August 22, 2012 By 14 Comments

Over the past several days, I debated about whether or not I should post something about Tony Scott, given the sensational dimension the circumstances surrounding his passing has wrought. Upon further reflection I decided that it is apt because, no matter what surrounds a person’s passing, it is always appropriate to reflect upon their life and work, especially when with one who gave so much to the entertainment of the masses.

It is in that vein that I present to you my top three films (no particular order) in his impressive oeuvre.

 

Crimson Tide (1995)

Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman jockey for power on a submarine. Enough said. Oh yeah and Viggo Mortensen was in it too :)

 

Enemy of the State (1998)

Is this type of conspiracy really possible? For me it did not matter because I simply loved this action-packed espionage thriller, a suspension of

 

Man on Fire (2004)

Yeah I know it is a remake and not a perfect film, but it kept me engaged all the way through. And it’s Denzel Washington – plus who could resist Christopher Walken as the biggest “hype man” in cinematic history.

 

Honorable Mention to The Last Boy Scout (1991) chalk this one up as a case of a very, very guilty pleasure.

(And yes, no Top Gun on this list – for whatever reason, this film never floated my boat).

How about you? Comment below …

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7 x 7 Time

August 15, 2012 By 4 Comments

Many thanks to Ruth of Flixchatter fame for passing along one of what I like to call the “getting to know you” memes :) This one is the 7 x 7 Link Award.

The 7 x 7 Award highlights a blogger’s favourite pieces of work and is passed on to others so that they too can do the same as a way to promote posts and/or blogs.

 

So without further ado …

1.Tell everyone something that no one else knows about you.

When I was young I dreamed of being a prodigious child athlete. First sport = gymnastics and then tennis.

 

2. Link to one of the posts that I think best fits the following categories

a. Most Beautiful Piece.

I don’t know so much about ‘beauty’ in the aesthetic sense, but the piece I wrote in dedication to my dad on what would have been his 65th birthday (he died less than two months shy of it in May 2010) was one that came straight from the heart and I hoped adequately represents what he means to me … he was (and remains) one of my best friends.

 

b. Most Helpful Piece.

The piece I did this year for Mothers Day when I asked my mom what some of her favorite films were. This piece made me realize that my mom and her movie selections have definitely left a lasting impression upon me and also informed the films that I have come to appreciate over the years. So in essence, it helped me understand myself a little bit better.

 

c. Most Popular Piece.

In terms of straight-up page hits = Tudors on Film

 

d. Most Controversial Piece.

I purposely try to steer away from controversy because I am afraid of offending people but I guess one that I debated going through with an posting was my overlooked piece on the film Coco Avant Chanel. Mainly because subsequent to seeing the film, I found out more than I wanted to know concerning the legendary fashion designer.

 

e. Most Surprisingly Successful Piece.

(Again based on page hits) My dedication to Dame Elizabeth Taylor at the time of her passing. This was another impromptu mental dump where I just wanted to give a straight, personal cinematic assessment of her life and work.

 

f. Most Underrated Piece.

One of my earlier (and quite frankly poorly written) pieces from way back in 2007 about Children of Men. It is for films like this (especially at the time) that I was inspired to discuss my love of film.

 

g. Most Pride-Worthy Piece.

My piece on moral obligations in filmmaking. If only for the reason that I think it is the piece I spent the most time contemplating and trying my  best to present a well reasoned and  balanced argument on the subject.

 

3. Pass this award on to seven other bloggers.

Yvette at in so many words …

Sergio at Tipping My Fedora

Paula of Paula’s Cinema Club

Candice at Reel Talk

Dan of PT Snob

Newlywed Pete of I Love That Film

Dawn of Noir and Chick Flicks

 

 

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Stuff to Look Forward to in July :)

July 3, 2012 By 10 Comments

Yipee – summer is in full swing! July has a lot on offer, including:

 

On TCM, this month there are a couple of cool things happening:

Spike Lee is a Guest Programmer for the evening of Thursday July 5th. His film selections include:

  • Ace in the Hole
  • A Face in the Crowd
  • Night of the Hunter
  • On the Waterfront

 

Tuesdays in July, TCM is featuring 23 films from British actor Leslie Howard (Ashley of Gone With the Wind fame). I really liked him as an actor; so sad to see that his life and career were cut short, albeit in a good cause. Here are few films I recommend you take a look at:

  • STAND-IN
  • THE PETRIFIED FOREST
  • OF HUMAN BONDAGE (1934)
  • ROMEO AND JULIET (1936)
  • A FREE SOUL
  • PYGMALION
  • THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (1935) *** A favorite novel and film of mine.

 

Over in Brooklyn, NY BAMcinématek is having an 8 film retrospect on one of the great beauties of the silver screen, Grace Kelly in a series of films called Grace Kelly: The Cool Blonde. My tickets are already purchased for To Catch a Thief and Rear Window. 

 

Oh yeah and there is the matter of this little Christopher Nolan film coming out:

 

 

And lastly, on what would have been my dad’s 67th birthday, I plan on doing a special post about one of his favorite films.

 

What are you most looking forward to this month?

 

 

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The Stuff of Legend

June 25, 2012 By 6 Comments

As I suspected, I spent this weekend focused on my Netflix (the result of being broke :) ). Just not in the way I planned. Initially I wanted to catch up on some film noir – instead I got caught up in playing ‘catch up’ with the television series Merlin.

Let me just state for the record: this is family entertainment at its core. It is not the highest form of art, true, but I enjoyed the series enough to remain engaged.

But what it did do is get me thinking – the Arthurian legend is something that has also fascinated me in print but has that translated to the screen? I began to dig a little deeper …

After examining a list of films based on the stories of King Arthur, I noticed that I have seen a handful of films, including:

  • A Connecticut Yankee (1931); based on Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
  • A Kid in King Arthur’s Court (1995); same as above
  • The Sword in the Stone (1963)
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

As you can see by this list, with the exception of Monty Python, all of the titles are family orientated films. The conclusion I draw is that I have a lot of catching up to do with Arthur-related movies. This is where you, the reader comes in … what are some of your favorite movies which center on the legend of King Arthur?

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