The Long Goodbye (1973) – review 2011

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Bill Wren

Directed by Robert Altman Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye is a bit like a fast food hamburger. It has beef in it but also has so many other things, and it has been altered to such a degree, that while … Read more →

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The Americanization of Emily (1964)

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Bill Wren

Directed by Arthur Hiller This movie leaves me feeling “conflicted,” as the expression goes. I very much want to like it. I’d like to like it a lot but … I can’t. Not quite. It’s a good movie but not … Read more →

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20 Movies: The Truman Show (1998)

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Bill Wren

An innocent abroad in a less-than-innocent world is a standard story template. It has been used over and over. Decades ago I read Robert Heinlein’s A Stranger in a Strange Land. That was one take on the innocent story. Kurt … Read more →

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This cockeyed caravan: Preston Sturges defends fluff

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Bill Wren

I watched Sullivan’s Travels (1941) yet again last night because, as the main character John L. Lloyd ‘Sully’ Sullivan (Joel McCrea) says: “There’s a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that’s all some people have? … Read more →

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Havana so-so time

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Bill Wren

I ordered and received two of Sony’s Martini Movies, a series of films they’re releasing with a retro design, ones with sort of an Ultra-Lounge-ish look and feel. The movies were Our Man in Havana and Affair in Trinidad. So … Read more →

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The Weather Man (2005)

Posted on January 14, 2007 by Bill Wren

Directed by Gore Verbinski “Always fast food. Fast food. Things that people would rather throw out than finish. It’s easy, it tastes all right, but it doesn’t really provide you any nourishment. I’m fast food.” I don’t know how to … Read more →

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The Frank Oz comedies

Posted on October 10, 2005 by Bill Wren

I’ve always liked the comedies of Frank Oz. In fact, I would say that of the films I watch repeatedly, Frank Oz comedies are among the ones I most watch over and over. In a sense, they are a kind … Read more →

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