Thoughts on Living the Life Creative
Not All ‘40s-‘50s Detective Movies Are NoirDetective Story (1951) - A police detective is driven by a binary understanding of justice. There is no gray, only black and white. And there’s no stepping back over the line. That world view will drive his own life into the ultimate crisis.Directed by William WylerStarring Kirk Douglas, Eleanor... Continue Reading →
Of Movies and Afternoons On the Living Room FloorThe Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) - Sergeant John Stryker is a driven, hated, inflexible leader of a squad of young Marines headed into battle during World War II. When their boots hit the sands of a tiny island in the Pacific, both the source of his... Continue Reading →
But I Want to Hear Them FirstGet Low (2009) - Felix Bush is a hermit who knows two things. First, everyone in town hates him as much as he hates them. The second is that his time is coming. But he wants to hear the stories people will tell about him. There’s also a story... Continue Reading →
The Beauty of the BanalLife Is Sweet (1990) - A working-class London family tries to live their lives day to day. Dad's vivid imagination lets him survive a job he hates. Mom is the family optimist and their twin twenty-something daughters struggle with life in general.Directed by Mike LeighStarring Jim Broadbent, Alison Steadman, Claire Skinner,... Continue Reading →
The Second Best "White Christmas" MovieHoliday Inn (1942) - When the female dance partner in a nightclub trio chooses one guy over the other, the jilted one calls it quits. Instead, he opens an inn with an interesting hook. It’s only open on holidays. Along the way there’s a beautiful new female dancer, and the... Continue Reading →
Failure at a Giant ScaleThey Might Be Giants (1971) - A retired judge believes that he is Sherlock Holmes. When a relative, in pursuit of the judge's estate, tries to have him committed a new Dr. Watson enters the story. Together they face several mysteries they must try to resolve.Directed by Anthony HarveyStarring George C.... Continue Reading →
Getting It All Wrong Turns Out To Be Just RightArmageddon (1998) - An asteroid threatens worldwide extinction with only eighteen days to find a solution. An oil drilling team of misfits gets the call to be the heroes All they have to do is overcome the training, the spaceflight, using equipment that's never been adequately... Continue Reading →
The Greatest Comic Cast Ever?It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, World (1963) - When a career criminal dies in an automobile accident, he leaves clues to the secret location of a hidden fortune to a group of strangers. A cast of some of the greatest comedians of the 20th Century take off running is this comedy... Continue Reading →
Great Stars Will Always Be StarsDark Victory (1939) - A frivolous, beautiful heiress is diagnosed with a fatal illness. She faces a series of decisions about how she will face the end.Directed by Edmund GouldingStarring Bette Davis, Ronald Reagan, Humphrey BogartWhy I Liked It - Davis dominates the screen with a brilliant performance.This is Bette... Continue Reading →
The Tin Man Borrows The Lion's Courage? One Body Too Many (1944) – The unexpected death of a potential client leaves a shy insurance salesman trapped in a house with the likely murderer.Directed by Frank McDonaldStarring Jack Haley, Jean Parker, Bela LugosiWhy I Liked It – A lighthearted romp of a murder mystery with just a... Continue Reading →
Stories Are My Life 