‘So Long at the Fair’ (1950) a delightful riff on ‘Lady Vanishes’
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): In this film drawn from the same urban legend, a brother vanishes and a sympathetic leading lady carries us through the mystery.
History
‘The Book Thief’ (2005) is a beautiful novel about death and Nazis
Book club book report: Despite being narrated by Death during a very busy time, Markus Zusak’s YA novel is miraculously life-affirming.
Preston & Child hop dimensions in ‘Angel of Vengeance’
Book review: The authors intriguingly wrap up their time-travel saga as their long-running protagonists and antagonists meet.
‘Under Capricorn’ (1949) rightly buried under Hitchcock’s suspensers
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): Being a costume drama, this slice of Australian history is rare among his catalog. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it good.
‘Waltzes from Vienna’ (1934) a light but important Hitchcock film
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): Though hurt by a lack of a vibrant print, this music-driven film has historical and even some romantic value.
‘Beloved’ (1987) makes brutal U.S. history achingly personal
Book club book report: The evils of Slavery become less abstract in Morrison’s psychologically rich Great American Novel.
Fall movie preview 2024: 10 films I wouldn’t mind seeing
Fall movie preview: Fans of horror, superheroes and biopics especially have a lot to look forward to this autumn.
‘Last Bookshop in London’ (2021) blends love of books with WWII
Book club book report: In a young-adult style, Madeline Martin communicates the horrors of the Blitz to folks who’d rather curl up with a good novel.
‘All the President’s Men’ (1976) grandly caps Pakula’s ‘paranoia trilogy’
The ‘paranoia trilogy’ (Movie review): But it’s not paranoia if it really happened, and that’s the case in one of the all-time best non-fictional accounts of newspaper reporting.
‘Man in the Attic’ (1953) not quite ready to be psych-horror
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): Still, this Jack Palance-starrer takes enough of a different angle from Hitchcock’s “The Lodger” to be worth a peek.