Sort by
Listing Movies
Display Movies
Any Old Port (1932)
In port -- Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were just home from a whaling voyage -- Oliver Hardy shipped as head harpooner; Stan Laurel went along as bait.
Filmmaker(s): James W. Horne

Stan and Ollie check into a seedy hotel and help a young girl escape the clutches of the landlord. They are forced to flee the hotel with no money and Ollie arranges for Stan to fight at a local boxing hall for $50. Stan's opponent turns out to be Musgy who uses a loaded glove. During the fight the glove is swapped and Stan triumphs only to find that Ollie has bet their fee that he would lose.

Boxing If you watch enough movies you can start to see interesting comparisons. One really interesting kind is when a series or sequel sequence is done by a different creative team. Same general idea but completely different movies. There are other comparisons, but the one that is...


Published April 5, 2023
| |
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
| Categorised as IMDB Comments, Twos |
Tagged: , ,
After the Thin Man (1936)
Continuing the fun in their NEW hit!
Filmmaker(s): W.S. Van Dyke

Nick and Nora Charles investigate when Nora's cousin reports her disreputable husband is missing, and find themselves in a mystery involving the shady owners of a popular nightclub, a singer and her dark brother, the cousin's forsaken true love, and Nora's bombastic and controlling aunt.

Walk this Way The conventional wisdom is that a classic is something that is so well formed initially that it serves well for a long time. So classic films, for instance, are seen like classic car engines, well engineered things that still work. But I think with...


Published April 4, 2023
| Categorised as IMDB Comments, Threes |
Tagged: , ,
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
| Categorised as IMDB Comments, Twos |
Tagged: , ,
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
| Categorised as IMDB Comments, Twos |
Tagged: , ,
Animal Crackers (1930)
The maddest comics of them all!
Filmmaker(s): Victor Heerman

The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse when a valuable painting goes missing. The intrepid Captain Spaulding attempts to solve the crime with the help of his silly secretary Horatio Jamison, while sparring with the anarchic Signor Emanuel Ravelli and his nutty sidekick The Professor.

Missed Marks I periodically revisit the Marx films to recharge my own desire for creative anarchy. This time around, I became more aware of how unclever this is as film, and how clever they got later in the medium as fast learners. Its not anarchy yet. This...


Published April 4, 2023
| Categorised as IMDB Comments, Threes |
Tagged: , ,
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
| Categorised as IMDB Comments, Twos |
Tagged: , ,
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
| Categorised as IMDB Comments, Twos |
Tagged: , ,
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
| Categorised as IMDB Comments, Twos |
Tagged: , ,
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
| Categorised as IMDB Comments, Twos |
Tagged: , ,
preloader image