Video Review: Gone Girl

Movie genres come with expectations. We expect to see magic and mythical beasts in fantasy movies. Monsters in horror films. Car chases in action flicks. The western that doesn’t end in a gunfight is something other than a western. It’s a period piece. With suspense thrillers, we expect rising tensions, twists and turns, and the… Continue reading Video Review: Gone Girl

Movie Journal: The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Hollywood find source ideas from several directions: from novels, short stories, and even  comic books, from historical events or biographies of remarkable people, from social crises and political unrest, and from old movies that they want to update for a modern audience. One favorite source are foreign movies that they want to translate for an… Continue reading Movie Journal: The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Movie Journal: The Harry Potter Movies

  Perhaps the last thing the Harry Potter franchise needs is for me to sing its praises. Successful with both box office revenue and critical appreciation, these eight movies, based on seven books, have achieved a popularity that makes it doubtful that anyone reading this review has not already seen the movies. I imagine there… Continue reading Movie Journal: The Harry Potter Movies

Movie Journal: Howl (2010)

In 1955, the American poet Allen Ginsberg published Howl and Other Poems. He published it with City Lights Books in San Francisco. In 1957, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the publisher, faced obscenity charges for publishing and distributing the book. The title poem, “Howl,” in particular was considered obscene. But it has since become a classic America poem,… Continue reading Movie Journal: Howl (2010)