The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 13, 2010

Unfortunately, Eliz Kazan’s America, America is missing from Netflix and all the other outlets I find these films from.  Pretty disappointing considering the film’s award for Art Direction and how much I’ve enjoyed Kazan’s work so far.  As always, I’ll keep looking for   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 12, 2010

An entire clear sky afternoon was wasted on this four hour flop, but that’s my job right now.  By the third hour I was literally yelling horrible things at the film, trying to get it to hurry up.  I knew my history and it ended just like I knew it...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 11, 2010

Do kids still play Cowboys and Indians today?  I’m guessing that game was at it’s peak around the early sixties with the abundance of Westerns in theaters throughout the fifties.  From what I remember, the game was basically the Indians making a bunch of noise and throwing pretend arrows or...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 10, 2010

Right here, it’s snowing outside.  The sky is a dull white, matching the snow covering the ground.  To get from town to town around here, you have to take the vacant country roads with sprawling white fields at each side.  Add in just a touch of fog or snow, the...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 9, 2010

In the film, we are first shown David Helfgott as an adult (Geoffrey Rush), running in the rain with a futile cigarette hanging from his lips.  His speech seems like sporadic sentence fragments jumbled together that never stop flowing from his mouth once he starts to talk.   His smile never...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 7, 2010

Grab some tissues and pop extra corn.  The English Patient is definitely two things: sad and long. Many people may remember the Seinfeld episode where Elaine intensely hates The English Patient. Consequently, that episode has created two groups of movie-goers: those who loved the film and those who   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 6, 2010

On the surface, Secrets and Lies tells the story of a young woman, Hortence (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) seeking out her biological mother, Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn).  As we look deeper into the film, we see how unhappy and alone each member of Cynthia’s family is.  Her crass, foul-mouthed daughter, Roxa   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 5, 2010

Around the time Jerry Maguire was released to theaters, I had turned to my little radio-alarm clock nearly every night to listen to the local pop music station.  Honestly, I didn’t care for the music, Macarena still makes my teeth itch, but I had a different agenda for tuning in....   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 4, 2010

Before the film begins, the screen is black and music plays, just as David Lean intended.  I know it’s tempting to skip the Overture, but don’t do it.  Relax.  Close your eyes.  Unless you’ve already seen the film, what you imagine is nothing to the expansive natural imagery you’re about...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 3, 2010

Most American high schools require their students to read Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, at some point.  Unfortunately, forcing literature onto a teenager doesn’t always encourage them to open their mind to it’s ideas.  Thankfully, I had Mrs. Essex that semester.  She led us into   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 2, 2010

This is a remake of the 1935 Best Picture winner, which I have yet to see.  Why it would need to be remade is beyond me, perhaps I’ll have an answer for that in a few months. In 1787 the Bounty is on a mission from England to Tahiti to...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 1, 2010

Around Indianapolis, we can take our marching bands pretty seriously.  For the past ten years my family has had a kid in the band, starting with me. Through the years we’ve been to countless competitions, a few parades, won and lost some big titles.  Sometimes I forget what a sweet...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on November 30, 2010

Many of my generation have grandfathers who served in WWII.  Each have their individual stories, whether they were in the Pacific, Europe or just waiting.  My Papa never talked about it, but he was one of the thousands of men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.  Knowing that...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on November 29, 2010

Today our elders may tell stories from WWII or The Great Depression; it’s rare to find anyone alive to tell us about the first World War.  Children of the 1930’s could hear stories of the old west from their grandparents.  Tales of covered wagons across the plains and the wild...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on November 28, 2010

Sadly, many films from the early 1930′s are lost or hardly available to the public.  I will keep looking for East Lynne and Trader Horn.  As always, any helpful advice on where to find these two, or any of the missing films, is greatly appreciated.   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on November 27, 2010

In The Front Page, accused killer Earl Williams (George E. Stone) is about to be hanged, and all the newspaper reporters are hanging around next to the prison waiting for the story to drop. Those are horrible puns, but the film likes to use them. Anyway Hildebrand ‘HIldy’ Johnson (Pat...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on November 26, 2010

Based on the comic strip, Skippy (Jackie Cooper) is a cheeky, good hearted boy who loves to find loop holes in his parents’ rules.  He whines and acts lazily with his mother, but when his father calls, Skippy shapes up.  His father is the local health supervisor and provides well...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on November 23, 2010

Have you ever followed someone before?  I don’t mean following a friend as you drive across town so you don’t get lost.  I mean a complete stranger, or someone who would not welcome you keeping an eye on them.  It’s a creepy question to answer yes to.  The experience is...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on November 21, 2010

Let’s return back to Russia, to a rural Jewish village deeply rooted in tradition.  In this lively musical based off the musical play, Tevye (Topal) is a poor milkman with five daughters, three of which are quickly approaching marrying age.  Traditionally, the town matchmaker finds suitable husbands   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on November 20, 2010

In one of the film classes I took in college, A Clockwork Orange was screened for us.  I had a friend who decided to skip this film, he just shrugged it off.  At the time it surprised me, just deciding to skip one of the topics that would surely show...   read more