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 →
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 →
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 →
There Is No Doubt 12 Angry Men (1957) – Twelve jurors must decide if a young man is guilty of capital murder. What seems obvious at first is slowly worn away until something closer to the truth is found. Directed by Sidney Lumet Starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Martin Balsam, Jack Warden,... Continue Reading →
Jerry Goes Jekyll and Hyde!The Nutty Professor (1963) - A mild-mannered and socially awkward college professor finds his alter ego through a formula that makes him irresistible.Directed by Jerry LewisStarring Jerry Lewis, Stella StevensWhy I Liked It - Jerry shows off his ability to stretch into very different characters.This one is a reach back into... Continue Reading →
Stories Are My Life 