I tend to think that the ambiguity of the top reinforces Cobb's notion to accept the final scene as reality by making the audience realize how limited our own perception of time is.  Besides, I don't see the investment of having all of the action take place in a dream having a significant payoff.

I think that this article does a great job of identifying the difficulty of appreciating Lewis despite the creative energy and technical proficiency of his performances.  As stated, manic mugging, no matter how innovative and well timed, doesn't necessarily get yucks.  The aggressive artificiality of the Lewis/Tashlin…

Very touching observation.  My brother and I have been growing apart over the years, but we always have our liturgy of BLAZING SADDLES quotes to talk in code around my mom.

Someone should do a longer piece, perhaps for Secret Cinema, on the wacky world of 16mm educational films.  It's about time that Sid Davis, the Ed Wood of California suburban noir, gets his due

In light of last week's articles on the disappearance of certain entertainment platforms, it should be noted that the conditions surrounding this show's original circulation no longer exist, specifically the airing of cartoons in syndication to a wide enough audience over a sustained number of years that would make…

My favorite aspect of the film is that its moral isn't predicated on the defendant's guilt or innocence, but on the integrity of the legal process being maintained despite some slightly shady legal maneuvers (practiced not only by the prosecution but the defense as well).  It sentimentalizes the law, but the story has…

This one is an excellent gateway, as it sustains quite a bit of suspense for a rather long (about 2 1/2 hour) running time with a lot of droll humor for good measure.  Some of the earlier noirs are also good, and really make fine use of long takes.

I remember hearing a portion of the Abbey Players doing an  unabraidged version of ULYSSES back in the 80s that was terrific.

This review summed up the movie nicely:  It's a big film where all the creative decisions hit their mark, and the importance of the subject seems to bring out the imagination and creativity of the filmmakers.  Epic biopics haven't been as good since.

When I started getting into Springsteen in the late 70s the fact that he didn't have a higher profile on television, or fully join in the video revolution until the mid 80s, was kind of frustrating.  Over the years he treats publicity like aging country singers treat performing in Branson—namely, using the most…

I read a review of EUREKA a year or so before its release that indicated that the original cut was in the non-chronological order of BAD TIMING.  I'd love to see it reconstructed.

A WEDDING was among my first Altmans as well, and as I got more exposure to his work this film's initial novelty (its expanse, subversive dark comedy and multi-character format) kind of wore off in my memory.  Upon re-seeing it around 2004 I thought that the film was minor, but the premise of having a wedding be the…

It seems that Jackson's reliance on close-ups and medium shots in LOTR was necessitated by the logistics of shooting the movie.  You can't block effectively in long shots or long takes when you can't guarantee that you will digitally animate the background in post.  Close-ups also allow you to shoot footage while…

THE HELP is quite trite and loaded with sitcom elements, but it refrains  from moments of reconciliation between the maids and their employers—no cathartic "Can't we all get along" finale. It may pander to the lowest common denominator while congratulating the viewers for their tolerance, but there is a bitter honesty…

Upon re-reading I think the language is rather specific, but the concept is probably obscure.  In the popular imagination, Southern racism is just that, and we lose the context of how dealing with the "Negro" problem defined social standing among whites.  Atticus and his cohorts insist that their social privilege gave…

Good review Noel.  Upon revisiting the film a few years ago it struck me that Lee's novel, emerging as it did during the mid point of the Civil Rights struggle, was a overly romanticized look at the ideology of Southern liberal paternalism that nevertheless acknowledged the ineffectiveness of that ideology in…

Nope, you've got it right Mr. Gorch

And yet—-Back in 1949, King Vidor managed to wed Rand's hysterical, bombastic tone to a Speerian aesthetic that suited THE FOUNTAINHEAD quite appropriately—In short, you can understand how to respectfully dramatize the material, but there's no accounting for taste.

I wonder if any material related to Nolte or Mike was reshuffled into another episode.  I really enjoyed this episode but part of this show 's appeal lies in the fact that the big picture with Gus seems deliberately obscurantist—There was lots of humor, suspense and heart but no mystery.

My guess is that Mike will sexually violate Pint of Plain and, in a case of post traumatic stress, escape from his cell and run over Leon.  Escelante and the vet will blackmail Mike with this information, an arrangement that will drive Escalante to suicide.  Mike will get kicked in the head by Getin Up morning, and…