CATCHING UP WITH FILM - FILM CRITICISM WITH AN EYE ON A PERSONAL CANON

Christmas movies are a pretty big blind spot for me, so here’s to a whole month of getting smothered with the Christmas spirit with some of the best in the genre. Way before the likes of Lacey Chabert and the disgraced Lori Loughlin, Barbara Stanwyck was the queen of Christmas movies. If this wasn’t official then it should be. Christmas in Connecticut is probably the purest comedy out of the three movies I have seen so far in this marathon with her in it, and she is delightfu

Christmas movies are a pretty big blind spot for me, so here’s to a whole month of getting smothered with the Christmas spirit with some of the best in the genre. Seeing an actor as esteemed as Ingrid Bergman in a sincere, borderline maudlin movie like Bells of St. Mary’s is like seeing someone like Meryl Streep in a Hallmark movie. Not that I’m complaining. Bergman really commits to her role as Sister Superior Mary Benedict. She is able to play the lightness that is needed f

Christmas movies are a pretty big blind spot for me, so here’s to a whole month of getting smothered with the Christmas spirit with some of the best in the genre. The legacy of the song “White Christmas” almost overshadows everything about this movie. Almost. Before I get to the part that doesn’t escape the overwhelming cultural impact “White Christmas,” I should talk about the movie itself. Holiday Inn’s plot is basically an excuse to give both Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire p

Christmas movies are a pretty big blind spot for me, so here’s to a whole month of getting smothered with the Christmas spirit with some of the best in the genre. Frank Capra’s Meet John Doe examines some of the same themes as his previous Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. In fact, it seems Capra is one of the directors during this time who was really able to tap into the anxieties and concerns of society. In this case, it was the lack of faith in humanity that the fictional John Doe,

Christmas movies are a pretty big blind spot for me, so here’s to a whole month of getting smothered with the Christmas spirit with some of the best in the genre. The duo of Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray have their first collaboration (of four!) in Remember the Night, directed by Mitchell Leisen from a story and screenplay by Preston Sturges. It’s really that last name that got me excited because while Leisen was crucial for taming Sturges' long script and making it wat

The three most prominent American horror franchises (Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street) have influenced American cinema even beyond the horror genre. As of 2021, there are exactly 31 movies across all three franchises, and I am going to attempt to watch all of them, for this Halloween, one per day. It has been one hell of a journey, but I am finally at the end of my month-long marathon through three horror franchises. It’s been quite illuminating and (