It’s time to return the romance and melodrama section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, and the title under examination time is the 1935 Greta Garbo classic based on the epic novel by Leo Tolstoy. Garbo is the titular Anna in 19th century St. Petersburg. Her husband, Karenin is played…
Tag: romance
Superman III (1983) – Richard Lester
My time with Kal-El (Christopher Reeve) continues during my exploration of the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, and where nostalgia will forgive a lot of the things in Superman II, it can’t even pretend with Superman III; though, admittedly, there are a few sequences and story threads I like. However, if director Richard Lester’s version of…
Spring (2014) – Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
Available today from Anchor Bay is this unique film from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, their follow-up to the delightfully mind-bending Resolution. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray this is a gentle, and beautifully filmed concoction that marries the romance film with the monster movie. At the story’s heart is Evan (Lou Taylor Pucci), whose…
The Lost World (1925) – Harry O. Hoyt
Returning to the Sci-Fi Chronicles book (which I’m loving!), it’s time to take a look at one of the cinematic creations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Not only is he the creator of the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes (sorry Batman fans), but he also wrote a few stories involving a professor by the…
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949) – Tay Garnett
So far, my purchase of the Sci-Fi Chronicles book has been well worth it, I’ve watched some great films, have added books to my bedside pile, rediscovered favorites and stumbled across new ones… like this one. Based ever so loosely on the tale by Samuel Clemens, Mark Twain himself, this time travel tale from…
Mysterious Island (1961) – Cy Endfield
The Sci-Fi Chronicles book continues its exploration of the cinematic Jules Verne. I’ve previously covered the highly enjoyable Walt Disney version of 20,000 Leagues, so up next is Mysterious Island, which serves as a bit of a sequel to Leagues as it sees the appearance of Captain Nemo; this time played by Herbert Lom…
The Rockford Files (1978) – Black Mirror
This two-parter aired 24 November, 1978 and was written by David Chase. As it was later split into two episodes, there are two separate phone gags. The first is a friend calling from London trying to figure out what his arrival time is, with time changes and flight times. The second one is the…
Girls: Season 3
Releasing from HBO today, is the third season of the Lena Dunham created series. Serving as the creator, writing with a number of talented people, including Judd Apatow, directing some of the episodes, and of course starring in it as Hannah, alongside Marnie (Allison Williams), Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet). For a…
Road to Singapore (1940) – Victor Schertzinger
The first musical recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Jazz Singer, is this highly enjoyable romp starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Hope and Crosby play Ace and Josh respectively, a couple of sailors, and chums who love to crack-wise, drink, chase…
The Devil is a Woman (1935) – Josef von Sternberg
The final pairing of von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich is this film, and it is also the final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of The Blue Angel. This time around, Dietrich, who plays Concha Perez, is nothing but trouble. And, she doesn’t even get any proper…
