Welcome to my blog. I write about film. Just remember - there's no fighting in the war room!
This Top 5’s topic is Movies We Can’t Believe We’ve Never Seen and is a chance to reflect upon movies that are perpetually on “the list,” but ones I have never quite dedicated the time to do a viewing.
The first Top 5 subject (way back in 2005) was Movies About Movies. Fairly self-explanatory, so few caveats are necessary; I define this topic as movies that are about making movies, whether in Hollywood or independently, either in the subject matter or form.
Shadow of the Vampire (2000) poses the question - what if a real vampire played the part of Nosferatu in F.W. Murnau’s 1922 film.
Nosferatu (1922) has made its mark on history, not only as the first vampire film, but also as a telling artifact from a turbulent socio-political time, a prominent example of the German Expressionism artistic movement, and an achievement in early filmmaking, especially for special effects.
High Noon (1952) tells the tale of a retiring marshall about to leave with his new bride to live the simple life, when a man he put away years ago returns to exact vengeance.
While it has been some time since I’ve seen Citizen Kane, the film lauded by critics as the greatest film of all time, I am certain that RKO 281 (1999) is not a fitting tribute to the classic. With a wooden script riddled with cliches, a camera that attempts grand shots only to fall into banality, and actors not up to the task of elevating a mediocre script, this is a film about Hollywood that falls far short of the subject’s best output.
The Western is a genre with stories set in the American Old West, featuring cowboys, Indians, outlaws, parlor women, frontier folks and their trusty steads.
Inside Llewyn Davis, a film by the Coen brothers and released in 2013, is a portrait of a specific man in a specific time, playing music that is timeless.
