billkerwin
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| 91 86% |  |
Midnight (1939) - Rated 19 Jul 2012
"This movie is an elegant, near perfect romantic comedy. Brackett and Wilder's screenplay is witty, Leisen's direction is sophisticated and smooth, and Ameche and Colbert--both underrated experts in light comedy--are very cute together. Astor and Barrymore are cute together too, and Barrymore (who reportedly could barely read his cue-cards) gives one of the greatest--and most subdued--performances of his career."
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| 75 27% |  |
Carnegie Hall (1947) - Rated 28 Oct 2014
"Much better than it has any right to be, due to the vision of a fine "B" movie director gifted with a big budget for a change. The instrumentals filmed at Carnegie--particularly the Rubinstein sequence--are expertly lit and edited, and Marsha Hunt lends her gentle beauty to a lead role which might have been infuriating if acted by someone of less charm. It shows us an immigrant experience united to a passion for music, and, without the phony, sentimental ending, it might have been a fine film."
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| 81 48% |  |
The French Connection (1971) - Rated 21 Dec 2009
"Doesn't look that unusual anymore, for we have become accustomed to disagreeable heroes in a harsh world. Still, it is gritty, realistic, with a good performance from Hackman. The film is essentially heartless, however, and leaves you little reason to care about anybody. Like a Brian De Palma film without the elegance."
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| 92 89% |  |
The Merry Widow (1934) - Rated 30 Mar 2010
"The music is tuneful, the direction is elegant, the script is witty, and the leads are charming. Chevalier--although Hollywood gossips reports he never liked her--brings out the sexy woman in MacDonald in a way that Nelson Eddy. or even Clark Gable, never could."
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| 75 27% |  |
Escape in the Fog (1945) - Rated 30 Jan 2010
"Good grade B spy thriller by Oscar Boetticher 5 years before he became "Budd." Nina Foch and Otto Kruger add class to the noir atmosphere"
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| 90 83% |  |
Gone Girl (2014) - Rated 26 Oct 2014
"Many of the effects--like the still-blood-drenched Amy being interviewed by law enforcement--strain credulity, but the performances are nuanced, and the direction maintains tension and audience involvement without sacrificing ambiguity, which is no small thing. Another good Fincher film about the prison of the ego and the impossibility of fulfilling relationships."
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| 92 89% |  |
King of New York (1990) - Rated 28 Jan 2010
"The dialogue ain't much, and it is more than a little weird (a crime boss who starts killing off mobsters because they won't help him bankroll a children's hospital?), but it is one of the most elegant, visually stunning crime films I've seen--expertly edited and superbly paced.. And Walken is good. And he dances a little too!"
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| 88 78% |  |
Meet John Doe (1941) - Rated 29 Dec 2012
"The most baroque, extreme example of Capra-corn, demonstrating how homespun populism just might be a corporatist form of fascism in disguise. (Particularly relevant in these days of the Tea Party and the Koch brothers). Cooper, Stanwyck, Brennan and Arnold are all very good, and the scene where Regis Toomey tells us how the John Doe clubs got started always brings a tear to my eye. But the movie cops out at the end: everything points to Cooper's suicide, and its happy ending is a betrayal."
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| 96 96% |  |
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) - Rated 25 Dec 2009
"A wonderful nostalgic comedy. No other movie evokes the feel of the early years of the last century like this one. The songs are great,Judy is at her best (which is of course very, very good), and Margaret O'Brien will make you laugh and break your heart in what still may be the best performance given by a child in an American film. (The Halloween and Christmas sequences are detachable delights, and should be viewed--if possible--every holiday season.)"
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| 96 96% |  |
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) - Rated 22 Nov 2014
"Altman subjects the Western to the sort of radical genre criticism he would apply to the private eye film two years later in "The Long Goodbye." This film is a study in contrasts: poetic and atmospheric, yet dirty and downbeat too, tied together by the haunting music of Leonard Cohen. Beatty and Christie both deliver superb performances, creating deeply flawed people worth rooting for even though we never really like them. Auberjonois and Keith Carradine give stand-out performances too."
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