Holiday Classics: “Scrooge” (1951)

The 1951 British film “Scrooge” (released under the title “A Christmas Carol” in the U.S.) is one of the best versions of Charles Dickens’ story ever to be put on screen. It embodies everything the story is supposed to be about. Alastair Sim plays the miserable Ebenezer Scrooge, as he is visited by the ghost […]

Holiday Classics: “Holiday Inn” (1942)

Don’t get me wrong, I love “White Christmas”. But there’s something special about “Holiday Inn”, the 1942 film that 1954’s “White Christmas” was a loose remake of. “Holiday Inn” follows song and dance team Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) and Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire). Jim plans to retire to his farm and marry the other member […]

Holiday Classics: “Love Finds Andy Hardy” (1938)

“Love Finds Andy Hardy” is the fourth of sixteen “Andy Hardy” movies, and the best, in no small part due to the addition of Judy Garland to the cast. This film marked the second time the soon-to-be-popular duo of Mickey Rooney and Garland appeared on screen together, and their chemistry is nothing short of perfect. This […]

Holiday Classics: “Fitzwilly” (1967)

“Fitzwilly” is a silly story told with a sophisticated sense of humor, largely thanks to Dick Van Dyke’s portrayal of classy, intelligent butler Claude Fitzwilliam, nicknamed Fitzwilly. Fitzwilly is the head of the staff working for elderly heiress Victoria Woodworth (Edith Evans). Miss Woodworth believes she is rich, her father having left her a large inheritance. […]

Holiday Classics: “The Shop Around the Corner” (1940)

Soon after he wrapped filming his romantic comedy “The Shop Around the Corner”, director Ernst Lubitsch told a newspaper regarding the movie, “It’s not a big picture, just a quiet little story that seemed to have some charm….I hope it has some charm.” The film is, in fact, overwhelmingly charming, and is Lubitsch’s best work. […]

Review: “Wander Darkly”

What was, what is, and what could have been—these things and more are explored in the metaphysical wanderings of Adrienne (Sienna Miller) following a traumatic accident. A new mother whose relationship with her boyfriend and daughter’s father Matteo (Diego Luna) is on the rocks, Adrienne re-experiences their love story—its high points, low points, and everything […]

Review: “Antebellum”

The ending of “Antebellum” hits you over the head with its messaging: that there are many people in American, particularly in the South, who would like to see the country return to the “good old days”—the good old days to them being the days of slavery and plantations. It even more so hits you over […]

Holiday Classics: “Holiday Affair” (1949)

“Holiday Affair” was not successful when it was released in 1949, and as a result remained largely forgotten, until annual airings on TCM led to the growth of a fan base for the movie. It’s now a bit of a holiday classic, and rightfully so. “Holiday Affair” is a sweet if generic romantic comedy set […]

Holiday Classics: “It Happened on 5th Avenue” (1947)

Some movies just make you happy, and “It Happened on 5th Avenue” is one of those. The comedy was the first film produced by Allied Artists Pictures, and was directed by Roy Del Ruth. Many viewers will likely notice, however, how Capra-esque the story is. Frank Capra actually did option the story to direct, but ended up […]

Review: “Ammonite”

From the get-go, comparisons of “Ammonite” to last year’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” were inevitable. A lesbian period romance between a working woman and the woman she is caring for, set at the seaside? There aren’t too many of those. But the comparison really isn’t all that fair, as “Ammonite”—which no, is not […]