Movies, classic movies, books and other blather
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I can think of no better place to start my list of twenty movies than with one of my favourite kinds of movies, the western, and specifically one of my favourite westerns, Tombstone from 1993. If you want something to watch this summer, try this one. While there are many aspects to the movie that [...]
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After having it on my computer for about two months in a half-finished state, I’ve finally posted my take on A Lady Takes a Chance (1943). It stars Jean Arthur and John Wayne and, yes, it’s a romantic comedy. It’s not, however, the best romantic comedy. It’s pretty mediocre. However, both Arthur and Wayne are [...]
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The few references and reviews you’ll find online about A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) tend to make the same observation: a pretty good romantic comedy that few people today have seen. The movie did pretty well in 1943 – I believe it was the third highest grosser that year. It’s also seldom referred to, [...]
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I took a shot at assessing another John Wayne movie (since I’d been doing quite a few of those lately). Here’s what I came up with: Donovan’s Reef (1963) This is a difficult film to defend, much less recommend, for many reasons, most of which have to do with director John Ford. Still, if I [...]
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Directed by John Ford This is a difficult film to defend, much less recommend, for many reasons, most of which have to do with director John Ford. Still, if I may refer to Glenn Erickson who, in his review, refers to Andrew Sarris in The American Cinema, “…Donovan’s Reef was like some kind of heaven [...]
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Having come across 3 Godfathers in a number of “top Christmas movies” lists, I decided to watch it. A second time. I had watched it about two years ago but I couldn’t recall it, and definitely didn’t recall the Christmas aspect. Now, having seen it again, I see the Christmas angle but I don’t personally [...]
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Directed by John Ford The 1948 John Ford movie 3 Godfathers is, if nothing else, damn odd. And, to be honest, I’d have to say it’s ill-considered. It’s a western as Christmas-tale where three outlaws become something akin to the three wise men of the New Testament, but not really, and in the process reveal [...]
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This movie, North to Alaska, is a difficult one to account for. I really like it a lot. But I can’t think of a single cinematic merit it has going for it. Essentially, if you don’t like John Wayne’s later movies, especially the comic ones, you won’t likely take to this film. In fact, you [...]
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Directed by Michael Curtiz The few reviews found online of Trouble Along the Way, a 1953 movie starring John Wayne and Donna Reed, generally agree: fans of the Duke will likely enjoy it but its saccharine quality will probably be off-putting for anyone else. They also all seem to grade the movie as so-so, at [...]
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Directed by Don Siegel For me, The Shootist (1976) is a funny movie. Not funny “ha-ha” but funny in the oddball sense. I really enjoyed it. It’s a good, maybe even close to great movie. But at the same time, there are aspects of it that don’t quite work for me. I think what I [...]
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I'm Bill Wren, a writer-editor, social media and movie enthusiast in Fredericton, New Brunswick (Canada). My other blog is Writelife.
