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blue_sock_monkey
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I like my Scotch neat, my fashions retro, and my noir dark, drawing me into a world that follows its own dreamy logic. The movies should have a flawed hero whose integrity will be tested & found wanting, a beautiful dame with a secret, an intriguing plot with a MacGuffin or two, a gritty urban landscape that itself becomes a character--plus actors and a director who know what depth & ambiguity are.
This list includes my personal ratings & pocket-size reviews. Come with me for a walk on the noir side.
Dozens of ways to make your pulse race! Turn out the lights, roll the film--and be afraid. Be very afraid. I've listed these movies (plus a select few tv shows) chronologically, complete with my highly opinionated pocket reviews. Please note that I am stingy with stars, and try to rate based on criteria more objective than simply "I loved it/hated it"--a movie has to be really outstanding to earn an 8 or higher from me. The lower I've rated a film, the later at night you should watch it.
These are films that, for me, fell short in some fundamental way. Some of them are technically excellent, and yet... Please note that I am stingy with stars, and try to rate based on criteria more objective than simply "I loved/hated it"--a movie has to be really outstanding to earn an 8 or higher from me.
I've seen more than 40 films directed by Hitch, and have a special fondness for the under-appreciated British period. My favorite tends to be whichever one I've watched most recently.
Please note that I am stingy with stars, and try to rate based on criteria more objective than simply "I loved/hated it"--a movie has to be really outstanding to earn an 8 or higher from me.
All of us have gone to at least one movie we expected to hate--maybe it's been praised so much, we assume it will fall short; or it's a genre we don't much cotton to; or the story sounds silly. And then as we watch, despite our preconceptions, something wonderful happens... Please note that I am stingy with stars, and try to rate based on criteria more objective than simply "I loved/hated it"--a movie has to be really outstanding to earn an 8 or higher from me.
Please note that I am stingy with stars, and try to rate based on criteria more objective than simply "I loved/hated it"--a movie has to be really outstanding to earn an 8 or higher from me.
I love the plays in a variety of guises--traditional, modernized, surreal, abstract, animated, parody; in ballet and opera; I even like Silent Shakespeare (there's an entire DVD of films made 1899-1911--look for it at Amazon). I've grouped these alphabetically by Shakespeare's title, and tried to include at least two versions of each one (plus a few derivative works). Please note that I do not care if a production is "critically acclaimed" or "innovative" or "transgressive" or even if Richard Burbage himself rose from the grave to star in it; I don't care if it's performed in the nude on the dark side of the moon and incorporates every obscure literary theory proposed in the past three decades. I only care if it works.
We all know that many of the best opera recordings are only available on CD, rather than DVD. But sometimes, even if I can't get to an opera house, I want a fuller experience--costumes, staging, lights. Here are 30+ productions, all available on home video. Some of my ratings may look wrong (sometimes very wrong) to you. But I've tried to consider each production as a whole, not just the singing and orchestra. Unless the cinematography is really wonderful or really awful, I've mostly ignored it. I've included a few recommendations for CDs, just for fun.
A Christmas Carol is the perfect way to celebrate the holidays! Here are more than 20 film, animated & radio versions to choose from. Please note that I am stingy with stars, and try to rate based on criteria more objective than simply "I loved it/hated it"--a movie has to be really outstanding to earn an 8 or higher from me. May your days be merry and bright:
http://stripgenerator.com/strip/456867/thin-man-christmas-eve/