4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on August 6, 2016

High and Low (or Heaven and Hell in the original Japanese) is a yin and yang film about the polarity of man in many ways. Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) is an affluent executive in the National Shoe Company. He worked his way up the corporate ladder from the age 16, because of...   read more

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

Madrid–when the Spanish Empire encompassed the globe and young blades were taught the fine and fashionable art of killing… The mythology of Zorro most certainly starts with the swashbuckling silents of Douglas Fairbanks, but the characters legacy would be carried forward into the 1940s.   read more

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

Madrid–when the Spanish Empire encompassed the globe and young blades were taught the fine and fashionable art of killing… The mythology of Zorro most certainly starts with the swashbuckling silents of Douglas Fairbanks, but the character’s legacy would be carried forward into the   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on August 3, 2016

A famed philosopher of the MTV age once sang “video killed the radio star,” and John Carney’s Sing Street is a tribute to that unequivocal truth. Certainly, it’s what some might call a return to form for the director, landing closer  to his previous work in Once, and staging the...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on August 3, 2016

A famed philosopher of the MTV age once sang “video killed the radio star,” and John Carney’s Sing Street is a tribute to that unequivocal truth. Certainly, it’s what some might call a return to form for the director, landing closer to his previous work in Once, and staging the...   read more

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

In the beginning, this Dumas adaptation, was to be the next zany live action vehicle for the Beatles following the success of A Hard Day’s Night and Help. In fact, they even were ready to work with the same director. Well, Richard Lester stayed and the Beatles were disbanded for...   read more

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

In the beginning, this Dumas adaptation was to be the next zany live-action vehicle for the Beatles following the success of A Hard Day’s Night and Help. In fact, they even were ready to work with the same director. Well, Richard Lester stayed and the Beatles were disbanded for several...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on July 31, 2016

I did a double take when I saw an article indicating the passings of the Classic Hollywood musical starlet Gloria DeHaven. She was 91. I could have sworn I just was thinking about her recently and I was. Just last week I came across her in a publicity still with...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on July 31, 2016

“This affair like a Racine tragedy will be over in 24 hours” Elevator to the Gallows was the debut of Louis Malle, a man who found success in both his native France and the United States. In truth, it’s an easy bit of delectable icy noir to enjoy, because it goes...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on July 31, 2016

“This affair like a Racine tragedy will be over in 24 hours” Elevator to the Gallows was the debut of Louis Malle, a man who found success in both his native France and the United States. In truth, it’s an easy bit of delectable icy noir to enjoy, because it goes...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on July 31, 2016

I did a double take when I saw an article indicating the passings of the Classic Hollywood musical starlet Gloria DeHaven. She was 91. I could have sworn I just was thinking about her recently and I was. Just last week I came across her in a publicity still with...   read more

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

Yasujiro Ozu has the esteem of being christened “The Most Japanese Filmmaker.” It’s certainly a high honor, but at first, it can feel rather counter-intuitive because after all, such a great master of cinema cannot be considered average or a composite in the scheme of Japanese film   read more

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

Yasujiro Ozu has the esteem of being christened “The Most Japanese Filmmaker.” It’s certainly a high honor, but at first it can feel rather counter-intuitive, because after all, such a great master of cinema cannot be considered average or a composite in the scheme of Japanese film   read more

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

Recently I was thinking about who I would characterize as favorite directors versus directors that I simply respect. In the latter category I would stick the likes of Quentin Tarantino, The Coen Brothers, and Wes Anderson. Because, truth be told, I do not always like or even enjoy all their...   read more

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

Recently I was thinking about who I would characterize as favorite directors versus directors that I simply respect. In the latter category, I would stick the likes of Quentin Tarantino, The Coen Brothers, and Wes Anderson. Because truth be told, I do not always like or even enjoy all their...   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on July 23, 2016

“God, he was gorgeous” When the waitress looks at the image in the obituary, she’s talking about Maurice Russell, but for all intent and purposes she might as well be talking about Peter O’Toole. In some ways, they’re one in the same. He certainly was a ruggedly handsom   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on July 23, 2016

“God, he was gorgeous.” When the waitress looks at the image in the obituary, she’s talking about Maurice Russell, but for all intent and purposes, she might as well be talking about Peter O’Toole. In some ways, they’re one in the same. He certainly was a ruggedly hands   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on July 21, 2016

“You don’t get tired, you don’t get hungry, you don’t get thirsty. Are you real?” – Jessie “More or less” – John Russell  How to function within Western culture. That’s what John Russell must figure out as a man who was raised by Apache and   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on July 21, 2016

“You don’t get tired, you don’t get hungry, you don’t get thirsty. Are you real?” – Jessie “More or less” – John Russell  How to function within Western culture. That’s what John Russell must figure out as a man who was raised by Apache and   read more

4 Star Films Posted by 4 Star Film Fan on July 18, 2016

It’s certainly not a news flash that I often have immense troubles dealing with black, satirical comedy. I think the difficulty for me lies in the dividing line between comedy and tragedy. Oftentimes, although I’m not always fond of violence or profanity, I can make a concession if there   read more