Holiday Classics: “Black Christmas” (1974)

Director Bob Clark is likely most remembered for helming the nostalgic 1983 comedy “A Christmas Story,” which has become an annual holiday staple, a tradition for families and the subject of a 24/7 television marathon. But in 1974, nearly a decade before adapting Jean Shepherd’s novel, Clark directed a very different kind of movie set […]

Holiday Classics: “Cover Up” (1949)

Small towns make ideal settings for all manner of stories. They’re the perfect picturesque location for light-hearted holiday affair, with charming homes and storefronts all aglow. They’re also the perfect spot to situate a murder mystery, the friendly facades and the fact that everyone knows everyone giving way to suspicion and doubt. The 1949 noir […]

Review: “Strange World”

It stings when a movie with nothing but pure intentions stumbles and falls on its face. But positive messaging does not automatically a good movie make, and it’s difficult to recall the last time a film from Disney Animation arrived with so little fanfare as “Strange World.” Perhaps the studio’s 61st feature never really stood […]

Holiday Classics: “Lady on a Train” (1945)

From the late 1930s through the early 1940s, Deanna Durbin was one of the silver screen’s most popular young stars. After an appearance in a 1936 short subject titled “Every Sunday” showcased her stunningly mature operatic voice (opposite the more pop-oriented but equally impressive sounds of another young star in the making, Judy Garland), the […]

Review: “Bones and All”

“Let’s be people.” Those simple words, uttered by Maren (Taylor Russell) to her partner Lee (Timothée Chalamet) toward the end of director Luca Guadagnino’s “Bones and All” carry added weight because we know, by this point, that neither of them are what you might call normal people. Maren and Lee are lovers on the run, […]

Holiday Classics: “Repeat Performance” (1947)

Have you ever reached the end of the year and wished you could go back and do it all over again? That wish is granted to Joan Leslie’s Sheila Page in “Repeat Performance,” a 1947 film noir with a unique supernatural bent that might best be described as “It’s a Wonderful Life” meets “The Twilight […]

Review: “Please Baby Please”

As young men clad in leather jackets leap and twirl down a dark street, the opening scene of “Please Baby Please” immediately draws a visual parallel to the classic romantic musical “West Side Story,” which begins with rival gang members dancing around the city until they meet and conflict ensues. But Amanda Kramer’s “Please Baby […]

Review: “She Said”

It goes without saying that the New York Times’ October 2017 breaking of their investigation into sexual misconduct by influential Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein is the single most influential piece of journalism of the last decade. Investigated by Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the story’s publication resulted in 82 women coming forward […]

SLIFF 2022 First Time Female Filmmakers Roundup

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the 31st annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival, which was held in person from November 3-13 in venues across the St. Louis area as well as online. Among the films I got to watch in person were Nikyatu Jusu’s stunning debut feature “Nanny” […]

Review: “The Menu”

Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that director Mark Mylod’s first feature film in over 10 years (his previous one was the 2011 Chris Evans/Anna Faris romantic comedy “What’s Your Number?” a movie I forgot even existed until I looked that up) is a skewering of upper class vapidity. Mylod’s extensive television credits include, […]