Category Archives: Movie Reviews

Kanchenjungha, the third highest mountain in the world, is the highest mountain in India. It’s a fitting analogy for the heights the characters strive for in Satyajit Ray’s 1962 film of the same name. They labor to understand their relationships … Continue reading →

In an attempt to blend film noir with the Western, Anthony Mann made a 1950 movie called “The Furies,” which stars Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Houston, Gilbert Roland and Wendell Corey. While I would have preferred the movie to be more brightly … Continue reading →

Sometimes I see movies that seem so far out of place, that a fascination strikes me that things can happen by accident. The director hopes to cast actors he thinks perfect for the roles, but gets presented with a different … Continue reading →

In Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” released in 2014, Bill Murray does a cameo as a hotel concierge. That funny concept is one of the many delights of the film, which gives us a unique and thoroughly entertaining take … Continue reading →

Even though many people know Joel McCrea from all the westerns he appears in, I remember him mostly from “Sullivan’s Travels (1941)” and “The Palm Beach Story (1942),” films in which he’s most definitely a city guy. However, he makes … Continue reading →

I found “The Scarlet Empress,” the lavish 1934 Paramount Pictures production directed by Josef Von Sternberg, to be thoroughly satisfying and intriguing as a historical portrait of the enigmatic Catherine the Great of Russia. After visiting Catherine’s palace outside of … Continue reading →

Before Preston Sturges started directing films, he established himself as an excellent screenwriter who penned, contributed or added dialogue to over 20 films including “The Invisible Man (1933), “Twentieth Century (1934),” “Imitation of Life (1934),” and “Diamond Jim (1935).” One … Continue reading →

“Devdas,” a 2002 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, tells the story of the title character (Shah Rukh Khan), a man so desperately in love with the girl next door that he becomes an alcoholic wretch when things don’t … Continue reading →

If Wes Anderson made “Those Callaways,” a 1965 Walt Disney film starring Brian Keith (as Cam Callaway) and Vera Miles, he’d probably make the Callaways far more eccentric than they’re portrayed by director Norman Tokar. The Calloway son (Brandon de … Continue reading →