Author Archives: Grain&Noise
Gravity
Gravity (dir. Alfonso Cuarón, 2013) “I did three 3D films and every one of them was directed by a one eyed director. Now figure that out. Is that Hollywood?” – Lee Marvin “Where is everybody?” – Enrico Fermi Gravity is not a perfect story, nor are it’s character’s perfectly drawn, hell, even it’s rules of space […]
Curtis and Lancaster in Sweet Smell of Success
Sweet Smell of Success (dir. Alexander Mackendrick, 1957) It’s hard to write a positive review. But it’s doubly hard to write a positive review on the internet. Not only do you have a shroud of anonymity which compels you toward negativity, it’s also tough to put the right inflection into text. So when I write […]
Class Act
Class of 1984 (dir. Mark Lester, 1982) “Last year there were 280,000 incidents of violence by students against their teachers and classmates in our high schools. Unfortunately, this film is based on true events. Fortunately, very few schools are like Lincoln High…yet.” (I feel like this last bit should be followed by a spooky laugh) – […]
For Every Car, There Is Dirt
(This poster is not a good representation of the style or tone of Scarecrow, but it was was too cool to pass up. Watch the trailer instead and you’ll get a better idea) Scarecrow (Dir. Jerry Schatzberg, 1973) “What is the source of our first suffering? It lies in the fact that we hesitated to speak. […]
Parallax View
(Isn’t this poster awesome!? A little Mad Men-esque right? I found it online but I don’t think it’s legitimate.) The Parallax View (Dir. Alan J. Paukula, 1975) “That’s awful. I don’t care what your politics are, this is America. You don’t just shoot the president.” – Trudy Campbell “You’ve gotta feel it man, otherwise it’s […]
A Chance to Reflect
Reflections In A Golden Eye (Dir. John Huston, 1967) “You love me for me, could you be more phony?” – Kanye West When someone mentions the year 1967 it immediately calls to mind a very specific set of images. 1967 was, after all, the “Summer of Love” so naturally I think of hippies, Jimi Hendrix, long hair, bright […]
Tickle Me Elmo
St. Elmo’s Fire (Dir. Joel Schumacher, 1985) “Sometimes I think that the one thing I love most about being an adult is the right to buy candy whenever and wherever I want” – Ryan Gosling Is it too obvious to point out that the first twenty years or so of a middle class American’s life […]
Get Smart
Street Smart (dir. Jerry Schatzberg, 1987) “But you don’t love me, that’s news to me” – Foxygen So, the Super Bowl is this Sunday and while I don’t really have a dog in the fight (bad analogy I know given…), it did make me realize that this post does have some connection to the big […]
Looking for Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Looking for Mr. Goodbar (Dir. Richard Brooks 1977) “The joy of discovery is certainly the liveliest that the mind of man can ever feel.” – Claude Bernard So I mentioned last month that a lot of our film history has been completely lost due to lack of resources and poor preservation. But what I failed to explore in […]
A Man, A Plan, and A Baby
Hard Boiled (dir. John Woo, 1992) “Baby, I wish you were my baby” – Dudez A Plenti’ (one of the best Late Night sketches ever) The history of cinema is littered with spectacular on screen pairings. Whether it’s the wry chemistry of Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, the wary partnership of Robert Redford and Paul […]
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