Smartly structured ‘Challengers’ breaks at love
Movie review: The plot is that of a soap opera, but the structure, style and psychological honesty put it on the short list of tennis-movie GOATs.
Romance
Smartly structured ‘Challengers’ breaks at love
‘The Immortalists’ (2018) examines life through lens of death
Book club book report: Come for the hook (a fortune teller predicts death dates) but stay for the four siblings’ journeys through life.
‘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.
‘Three Days of the Condor’ (1975) provides holiday-season conspiracy chill
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Other than an infamously bad romance subplot, this is another top-shelf Seventies paranoia thriller.
Old Hollywood meets film noir in ‘Paradine Case’ (1947)
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): The director closes out his pre-color period with a moody courtroom drama that’s not as strong as it could’ve been as a mystery.
‘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.
Country life is an unfunny slog in ‘The Farmer’s Wife’ (1928)
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): This comedy is bad in several ways, but the most basic is that it’s twice as long as what the breezy story calls for.
‘My Old Ass’ is low-key one of the year’s best movies
Movie review: Actress Maisy Stella bursts onto the scene in this delicately beautiful piece of filmic poetry that mulls the passing of time.
Nick and Nora are stars in ‘After the Thin Man’ (1936), ‘Another Thin Man’ (1939)
Sleuthing Sunday (Movie reviews): Likewise moving up in the world, Dashiell Hammett delivers the screen stories for the first two sequels.
Raise a glass to Hitchcock’s bubbly ‘Champagne’ (1928)
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): Neither deeply serious nor hilarious, this silent-era entry is easy to watch thanks to Betty Balfour.