Even Tolstoy, the great Russian author, understood the power of cinema. He was jealous of its limitless possibilities, compared with the written word, for combining editing, sound and image, and thought that film would be the artistic medium of the…
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They don’t call it “fall” for nothing. There’s a definite unfriendly chill in the air. Leaves are turning riotous colors somewhere, but not near you. (To be honest I always thought old dead leaves colorfully camouflaging their demise to be…
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In the new film Boy Erased, Lucas Hedges plays a young man sent to a gay conversion therapist by his Baptist preacher father (Russell Crowe) and mother (Nicole Kidman). What director Joel Edgerton does so well, adapting the autobiographical book…
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Maybe there should be a test that audiences take for the privilege of seeing a movie. Why not? You have to take lessons to get a driver’s license. Adopting a pet means submitting to a rigorous screening process. Something has…
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When people ask what I do for a living, as a film critic my response is always: “I sit in the dark.” Which sometimes begs the reply: “Oh, like a vampire?” Well, not exactly. But I do feel a real…
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Contrary to popular belief your life does not flash before your eyes at the moment of death. I discovered this the hard way while standing on a step ladder to check out my VHS copy of The Night God Screamed…
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In a beloved episode of the Twilight Zone called “Living Doll,” a girl’s baby doll threatens her hateful stepdad, played by Telly Savalas, icily declaring “my name is Talky Tina and I am going to kill you” before sending him…
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What happens to old film critics? Where do they go? Do they slink off to some elephant graveyard? Or do they all end up teaching at crappy colleges, having countless affairs with their students, and dying bitter alcoholics? These questions…
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Sex has always been an undercurrent in vampire movies. When Christopher Lee (as Dracula) chowed down on a new victim on screen there was always a hint of orgasmic pleasure. And when censorship relaxed, filmmakers exploited the breasts and blood…
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Now if you have a child, or take care of one, or just plain kidnapped one, eventually you have to take them to a movie. Movies geared for children fall into many categories. Disney represents safe family fare for most…
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