“I’m Walken Here!”
Sean MurphyThe Christopher Walken imitation is its own industry. Some are good, most are mediocre, some are awful. Some are simply interesting, like the one below; some are perfection, like the…
Celebrating Robert Shaw: Quint, Killer Scene and…Killer Beer
I don't have much to add to that picture, above. Except that I saw it, at a bar at Martha's Vineyard (quite appropriate, since as most folks know, Amity Island,…
A History of Violence
When you think about the distinctive ingredients of Americana, the elements that comprise what we think about when we think of what makes America so...American, it's easy to recite the…
The Strange Case of Dr. Dennis and Mr. Miller
Dennis Miller: The HBO Comedy Specials: Review from PopMatters 3/31/09: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/71771-the-strange-case-of-dr.-dennis-and-mr.-miller/ At issue is not whether Dennis Miller, after 9/11, lost his mind and starting cheerleading for Bush, Cheney and…
1973: The Things They Carried
From NYT: On March 29, 1973, the last United States troops left South Vietnam, ending America's direct military involvement in the Vietnam War. I can't recall the last time I watched…
The Insider: Ten Years Later
Toward the end of Sydney Lumet's '70s classic Serpico there is an unnerving scene that encapsulates the conundrum faced by the eponymous cop: already persona non grata within the law…
Perfection Turns 35
Thanks to AMC, I'm reminded that The Godfather Part II turns 35 this year. (And they should know, they show it on a bi-weekly loop.) I'm not especially interested in adding…
Bottle Rocket (from popmatters.com)
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/67085-bottle-rocket/ The perfection of Wes Anderson’s first film Bottle Rocket might lie in the fact that is isn’t, and wasn’t necessarily intended to be, a perfect film. Anderson tried to…
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The only thing more impressive than the acting is the direction. The only thing more astonishing than the direction is the story. The only thing more miraculous than the…
Chinatown (from Popmatters.com Cinema Qua Non)
Chinatown Director: Roman Polanski 1974 Chinatown does not usually make the short list of best American films. In fairness, it probably shouldn’t. It will have to settle for merely being…