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April Fools Day (1986)
Guess who's going to be the life of the party?
Filmmaker(s): Fred Walton

As soon as Muffy St. John and her college friends arrive on her parents' secluded island, someone starts trimming the guest list... one murder at a time.

The Opening By now you probably know that the meat of this is quite ordinary. It has an “it is all a joke“ sort of Scooby-doo ending. And this casts the whole thing retrospectively as a spoof of the genre. Not particularly interesting on that basis...


Published May 1, 2023
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Appointment with Crime (1946)
Filmmaker(s): John Harlow

Small-time jewel thief Leo Martin is deserted by his partners-in-crime, club owner Gus Loman and driver Hatchett, when the robbery they are committing goes wrong. After serving his prison sentence, Leo emerges with an intricate plan for revenge. Leo implicates Loman, as well as his amoral boss, Gregory Lang, for murder -- but Inspector Rogers suspects Leo.

Hands Off For me, noir is a very specific form. It is as pervasive and important an invention as Jazz. The thing that distinguishes it is a main character who is put through the wringer in circumstances that would never occur if there were not us...


Published May 1, 2023
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Apartment (1960)
Movie-wise, there has never been anything like it - laugh-wise, love-wise, or otherwise-wise!
Filmmaker(s): Billy Wilder

Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.

Mechanical I have just had quite an argument with a well known film critic. He maintains that films are either good or bad and any good film is just simply good. I maintained that films are little worlds. Some are created more successfully than others. Some...


Published April 15, 2023
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Antonia’s Line (1995)
A motion picture that celebrates everything you love about life.
Filmmaker(s): Marleen Gorris

After World War II, Antonia and her daughter, Danielle, go back to their Dutch hometown, where Antonia's late mother has bestowed a small farm upon her. There, Antonia settles down and joins a tightly-knit but unusual community. Those around her include quirky friend Crooked Finger, would-be suitor Bas and, eventually for Antonia, a granddaughter and great-granddaughter who help create a strong family of empowered women.

Lined Up Some movies are there just to make you feel good about your self. And among those, most do so by showing you values you admire. Characters inhabit those values so we admire them as well. But the whole thing is engineered to parade Hallmark...


Published April 5, 2023
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Another Thin Man (1939)
Their Merriest Hit! Mr. and Mrs. Thin Man Have a B-A-B-Y!
Filmmaker(s): W.S. Van Dyke

Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a murder on a Long Island estate.

Another Side of Thin With the third of the series, the producers decided to move a little more into the world of Hammett and nudge away from the cutesy cute banter. It is only a little in that direction, but noticeable with the fairly complex plot. Hammett...


Published April 4, 2023
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Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
Biggest musical under the sun!
Filmmaker(s): George Sidney

Gunslinger Annie Oakley romances fellow sharpshooter Frank Butler as they travel with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

Missing This could have been a miracle. It could have featured Judy Garland who in her prime was the most committed performer (with talent) in movies. She prepared the way for Brando. It could have been arranged by Busby Berkeley, who in his prime invented the notion...


Published April 4, 2023
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Anger Management (2003)
Feel the love.
Filmmaker(s): Peter Segal

After a small misunderstanding aboard an airplane escalates out of control, timid businessman Dave Buznik is ordered by the court to undergo anger management therapy at the hands of specialist Dr. Buddy Rydell. But when Buddy steps up his aggressive treatment by moving in, Dave goes from mild to wild as the unorthodox treatment wreaks havoc with his life.

The Game I can’t tell you whether you will like this movie. But I can tell you what they did in putting it together to make you like it. For a long time, professional screenwriters have been leveraging the effects of “folded narrative.” That’s where there is...


Published April 4, 2023
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Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
The saga of America’s dirty faced kids... and the breaks that life won’t give them!
Filmmaker(s): Michael Curtiz

Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.

Shoulder Driving This movie works, and it interests me why. Regular readers of my comments know that I am on a grand quest to map all the introspective and complex folding tricks used to ensnare viewers. I’m convinced they are important. But along comes something like this that...


Published April 4, 2023
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Angels One Five (1952)
A Story of Some of "The Few"...
Filmmaker(s): George More O'Ferrall

The year is 1940 and Pilot Officer T.B. Baird arrives straight out of flight school to join a front line RAF squadron at the height of the Battle of Britain. After an unfortunate start and a drumming down from his commanding officer, Baird must balance the struggle to impress his Group Captain, regain his pride, fit in with his fellow pilots, and survive one of the most intense air battles in history.

Definitions I’m watching this right after the terrorist attacks on London. Immediately, the Brits snapped back to this period, the so-called Battle of Britain where a few outnumbered airmen held off that bad guys. They’ve since forgotten that the bad guys were the Germans (not the...


Published April 4, 2023
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Angels and Demons (2008)
The holiest event of our time. Perfect for their return.
Filmmaker(s): Ron Howard

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is recruited by the Vatican to investigate the apparent return of the Illuminati - a secret, underground organization - after four cardinals are kidnapped on the night of the papal conclave.

The Simplest Professor, Antimatters Pointing out that Ron Howard is incapable of making a good film is too ordinary and obvious a thing to say. This time he got a cinematographer that at least frames things well. You don’t have to read me to learn that this...


Published April 4, 2023
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