4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 15, 2016

Inspired directors oftentimes do not make themselves known in grandiose flourishes but in the smallest of touches, and in his debut, Polish newcomer Roman Polanski does something interesting with the opening of Knife in the Water. Perhaps it’s not that unusual, but it’s also hard to reme   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 13, 2016

It’s only 40 minutes — hardly a feature film and more of a featurette, but Jean Renoir’s truncated work, A Day in the Country, is nonetheless still worth the time. Admittedly, I still have yet to venture to France and I hope to do that someday soon, but this film propagates marvelo   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 13, 2016

It’s only 40 minutes — hardly a feature film and more of a featurette, but Jean Renoir’s truncated work, A Day in the Country, is nonetheless still worth the time. Admittedly, I still have yet to venture to France and I hope to do that someday soon, but this film propagates marvelo   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 11, 2016

“He spat on Balzac!” Jean Renoir always had a preoccupation with class divides and Boudu showcases that same blatant juxtaposition of class, or more precisely, the lifestyles of the middle class versus a lowly tramp. Except in this specific instance, the tramp (the indelible Michel Simon   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 11, 2016

“He spat on Balzac!” Jean Renoir always had a preoccupation with class divides and Boudu showcases that same blatant juxtaposition of class, or more precisely, the lifestyles of the middle class versus a lowly tramp. Except in this specific instance, the tramp (the indelible Michel Simon   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 8, 2016

Two hallmarks of the political film genre are Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and All the President’s Men. The latter starred The Candidates’s lead Robert Redford. However, in this case, the candidate, Billy McKay, is perhaps a more tempered version of Jefferson Smith. He’s a young la   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 8, 2016

Two hallmarks of the political film genre are Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and All the President’s Men. The latter starred The Candidate’s lead, Robert Redford. However, in this case, the candidate, Billy McKay, is perhaps a more tempered version of Jefferson Smith. He’s a young la   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 4, 2016

Yogi Berra famously once said, If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be. And to go even further still, in As You Like It Shakespeare wrote, the world is a stage and all the men and women are merely players. They have their exits and entrances.” So it goes with...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 4, 2016

Yogi Berra famously once said, If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be. And to go even further still, in As You Like It Shakespeare wrote, the world is a stage and all the men and women are merely players. They have their exits and entrances.” So it goes with...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 2, 2016

Dashiell Hammet’s “blonde satan” Sam Spade is an icon of not only 20th-century literature but also 20th-century cinema, thanks in part to Humphrey  Bogart and John Huston. He’s the cynical, hard-nosed, unsentimental P.I. whose general unpredictability sometimes leads to angry   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 2, 2016

Dashiell Hammet’s “blonde satan” Sam Spade is an icon of not only 20th-century literature but also 20th-century cinema, thanks in part to Humphrey  Bogart and John Huston. He’s the cynical, hard-nosed, unsentimental P.I. whose general unpredictability sometimes leads to angry   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 1, 2016

Someone posits the following question: Are you interested in critical film theory? My first response is what even is “critical film theory?” And I know in academic terms they are probably talking about film theory or film studies and the many strands of thought and analysis that have c   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on November 1, 2016

Someone posits the following question: Are you interested in critical film theory? My first response is what even is “critical film theory?” And I know in academic terms they are probably talking about film theory or film studies and the many strands of thought and analysis that have c   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on October 30, 2016

I said awhile back that I wanted to acknowledge a few living legends who are still with us in a series of short posts and I’ve finally gotten around to it. Enjoy! Olivia De Havilland (1916 – ): One of the famed sisters who starred in numerous Hollywood especially in...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on October 30, 2016

I said awhile back that I wanted to acknowledge a few living legends who are still with us in a series of short posts and I’ve finally gotten around to it. Enjoy! Olivia De Havilland (1916 – ): One of the famed sisters who starred in numerous Hollywood especially in...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on October 28, 2016

As I’ve grown older and, dare I say, more mature, I like to think that I’ve gained a greater appreciation for those moments when I don’t understand, can’t comprehend, and am generally ignorant. Now I am less apt to want to beat myself up and more likely to marvel and try...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on October 28, 2016

As I’ve grown older and, dare I say, more mature, I like to think that I’ve gained a greater appreciation for those moments when I don’t understand, can’t comprehend, and am generally ignorant. Now I am less apt to want to beat myself up and more likely to marvel and try...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on October 26, 2016

It’s the bane of my literary existence, but I must admit that I have never read Joseph Heller’s seminal novel Catch-22. Please refrain from berating me right now, perhaps deservedly so, because at least I have acknowledged my ignorance. True, I can only take Mike Nichol’s adaptatio   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on October 26, 2016

It’s the bane of my literary existence, but I must admit that I have never read Joseph Heller’s seminal novel Catch-22. Please refrain from berating me right now, perhaps deservedly so, because at least I have acknowledged my ignorance. True, I can only take Mike Nichol’s adaptatio   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on October 24, 2016

We are met with a deluge of drums, explosions, and the unmistakable voice of Bono murmuring over the credits. The year is 1974 in Guilford England, the Irish Republic Army is as belligerent as ever, and right from the beginning director Jim Sheridan’s In the Name of the Father grabs...   read more