Category: Film Reviews

Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Boyhood’ Gives New Meaning to Coming-of-Age Genre

Boyhood” is to coming-of-age movies what “Act of Valor” is to war movies.


Film Review: ‘The Last Duel’: Director Ridley Scott Recounts a True Medieval Scandal

R | 2h 32min | Action, Drama, History | 15 October 2021 (USA) Based on the 2004 novel “The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France” by Eric Jager, “The Last Duel” is overflowing with virtually every filmmaking tool found in director Ridley Scott’s formidable creative wheelhouse.  You’ll notice nods to his debut effort “The Duellists,” as…


Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘I Origins’: Sci-Fi Reimagining of a Reincarnation Ritual

January 18, 2014 | | R | 1h 46min Tibetan monks go on searches for reincarnated lamas. They have a method. They track them via word of mouth, cosmic hints, visions, and dreams, to remote villages, hauling lama accouterments of previous incarnations. They then display said accouterments before the suspected reincarnated infant lama, inquiring, “Which was your…


Film Review: “No Time to Die”: A Wimpy and Half-Hearted End of an Era

PG-13 | 2h 43min | Action, Drama, | 8 October 2021 (USA) After 15 years and five films, Daniel Craig has retired from the role that brought him international fame and considerable treasure. Almost certainly unwittingly, Craig will also be associated with the demise of James Bond as we knew him and—if we take the ending of the movie at face value—there…


Inspiration and Popcorn: ‘The Fugitive’: A Historical Drama About the Perseverance of Faith

Approved | 1h 44min | Drama, History | 1947 In the last few years, I’ve come to appreciate the work of celebrated director John Ford. Although, as a child, I’d watched some of his more famous films, such as 1939’s “Stagecoach” and 1948’s “Fort Apache,” I didn’t really appreciate them at the time. Widely known…


Rewind, Review, and Re-Rate: ‘Fort Apache’: An Action-Packed Start to John Ford’s Cavalry Trilogy

Passed | 2h 8min | Action, Adventure, Western | 1948 I began my viewing of director John Ford’s Cavalry Trilogy out of order—having watched 1949’s “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” the series’ second film, first. So, I thought it only natural to go back to 1948’s “Fort Apache,” the movie considered by many critics to…


Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘The Station Agent’: Director Tom McCarthy’s Low-Key Debut Masterwork

R | 1h 30min | Comedy, Drama | 3 October 2003 (USA) After well over a decade showing up as an extra in TV shows such as “Spin City,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Ally McBeal,” and “Boston Public,” actor Tom McCarthy (without any prior experience doing so) was given a shot to write and direct his first feature film. Given the success…


Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Meet the Patels’: A Traditional Quest to Find an Indian Wife (In America)

Alanis Morrisette was thanking India for its Patels, because there’s an insane amount of them, and they’re all very nice.


Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Scent of a Woman’: A Must-See Lesson in Integrity for High-School Boys

December 23, 1992 | R | 2h 36min “Scent of a Woman” is an inspiring high school movie about a boy becoming a man by showing his integrity and character when the chips are down, and a bitter old man becoming a boy again, when hope springs eternal and destiny brings him a lovely female companion….


Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘How Green Was My Valley’: Director John Ford’s Ode to Faith and Family

Although I’d heard about the 1941 film “How Green Was My Valley,” I’d never gotten around to watching it. But ever since I’ve embarked on my recent one-man “John Ford Cinematic Appreciation Tour” (yes, I just made that up) adventure, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would be pulled into…