Gene Autry Rides Again—On Youtube
Gene Autry Rides Again—On Youtube
JAY KELLY
Watching the latest film from Noah Baumbach, which he wrote with the gifted actress Emily Mortimer, I couldn’t help…
Joe Dante and John Landis Remember Christopher Lee
Joe Dante and John Landis Remember Christopher Lee
Joe Dante and John Landis Remember Christopher Lee
JOE DANTE on CHRISTOPHER LEE LM: What was your first impression of Christopher Lee, and what struck you about him? DANTE: Well, the first Christopher Lee movie I ever saw, before which I was unaware of his existence, was The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957, which was sold by Warner Bros. as a big expensive (which it wasn’t—you know), first-time-in-color Frankenstein movie. And also, it was period. This was before the Shock Theater package was released to television, so I had never seen the original Frankenstein. This was my first encounter with Frankenstein. LM: How old were you? JD: I was eleven…and I wouldn’t be gilding the lily to say that it terrified me. I had nightmares of Christopher Lee in his mummy wrappings with…
Heart and Humor: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Just when you think you’ve seen all the variations on young love, teenage misfits, and off-kilter relationships, along comes a film that’s fresh, original and touching. No wonder Me and Earl and the Dying Girl earned both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Jesse Andrews adapted his own novel for the screen, which has been brought to life with equal parts empathy and whimsy by director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. (Is it coincidental that this empathetic film about young people is set in Pittsburgh, which also inspired Stephen Chbosky’s novel and film Perks of Being a Wallflower?) From the opening first-person narration—illustrated with clay animation—to a parade of movie parodies made by the protagonist and his “co-worker” Earl, Me…
Heart and Humor: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Heart and Humor: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Testament of Youth: The ‘Great War’ from a Woman’s Angle
The tragedy of World War One and how it robbed England of a generation of bright young men is recreated from a woman’s point of view in The Testament of Youth. Based on a best-selling memoir by Vera Brittain, published in 1933 and dramatized for British television in 1979, it’s fresh fodder for an American audience and presented in a manner that is forthright without ever lapsing into cliché. Some cynics may dismiss it as Masterpiece Theatre fodder, but Brittain’s story offers substance and surprise, as interpreted by screenwriter Juliette Towhidi and director James Kent. And if there is nothing particularly revolutionary in their approach, the story is solid and especially well cast. Girl-of-the-moment Alicia Vikander (currently onscreen in Ex Machina) is an earnest and…
Melissa McCarthy scores a hit in “Spy”
At last, Melissa McCarthy has a vehicle worthy of her prodigious comic talent:Spy is her funniest film to date. Like any good parody, this one effectively emulates its source material. Writer-director Paul Feig has fashioned a lavish, globe-trotting production that—with a few twists—could pass muster as a bona fide espionage thriller. This provides a solid foundation for comedy, no matter how outlandish it becomes. McCarthy plays a CIA agent who works behind a desk in Langley, Virginia, using cutting-edge technology to serve as the eyes and ears of a dashing James Bond-like operative (Jude Law). She’s lovesick over him and he takes full advantage of that, having her pick up his dry cleaning and deal with his gardener at home…but McCarthy is no dope, which…
