FAREWELL TO DAN TALBOT, MY ORIGINAL MOVIE PROGRAMMER
I grew up at the New Yorker Theater. As I succumbed to the lure of film history in my teens I spent countless days, nights and weekends at this venerable movie house at Broadway and 88th Street. I also attended…
THE MAN WHO DIRECTED BOGART, JOHN WAYNE, AND ELVIS
Casablanca is my all-time favorite film but its director, Michael Curtiz, rarely gets much credit for its success. His reputation is that of a journeyman with a good eye. In the impressive and entertaining new book Michael Curtiz: A Life in…
MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU: RARE SHOTS OF LUCY, BOGART, AND MORE
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love movie stills. I can’t get enough of them, and if you feel the same way I hope you’ll enjoy this random assortment of rarities from the Golden Age…
‘MOLLY’S GAME’ COMES UP SHORT
Molly’s Game is an explosive true story with Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba and a script by first-time director Aaron Sorkin. What could possibly go wrong? Sorkin’s screenplay is based on the memoir of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier with a…
‘DOWNSIZING’ OFFERS BIG REWARDS
Downsizing is one of my favorite films this year. I am an unabashed admirer of Alexander Payne and his writing partner Jim Taylor, because they deal in a commodity that’s all too rare: social satire. They have taken a bold…
PHANTOM THREAD: AN ODD PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR
This is a very strange movie, as one might intuit from its odd title. Paul Thomas Anderson is nothing if not unpredictable, and his latest effort bears no obvious resemblance to his other work except for his keen interest…
THE POST: START THE PRESSES!
There is never a bad time to be reminded of the importance of a free press, but Steven Spielberg has seized this moment and made it count in The Post. Older moviegoers will remember the saga of the notorious Pentagon…
