‘People on Sunday’ (1930) explores human nature, cinema’s potential
Wilder Wednesday (Movie review): At the time, it was an experiment in using non-actors; today, it’s a time capsule of peaceful, pre-Hitler Germany.
Romance
‘People on Sunday’ (1930) explores human nature, cinema’s potential
‘Kiss Me, Stupid’ (1964) is a stupid thing to watch if you dislike farces
Wilder Wednesday (Movie review): Hitting that dead spot between zany and predictable, “Kiss Me, Stupid” is another unfunny sex comedy from the Hays Code era.
I kinda love how ‘Heart Eyes’ mixes rom-com with slasher
Movie review: Though mainstream in many ways, the film boasts cleverness and subversiveness along with the always reliable Olivia Holt.
‘Love in the Afternoon’s’ (1957) May-December romance feels 8 months long
Wilder Wednesday (Movie review): The age gap is a talking point, but the real issue is this rom-com isn’t romantic or funny enough.
Be very suspicious of the 1988 remake of ‘Suspicion’
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): It’s Curtin’s for us if we try to get any pleasure from an adaptation that doesn’t feature Grant and Fontaine.
It’s hard to break away from ‘Severance’ Season 2
TV review: Despite a couple slow episodes, Dan Erickson’s show succeeds by being a character-driven puzzle box.
‘Fortune Cookie’ (1966) crumbles under its length, predictability
Wilder Wednesday (Movie review): This supposed satire of dishonest lawyering misfires by running the ball right up the middle.
‘Oxford Inheritance’ (2016) is cozy but too generic
Book club book report: Ann A. McDonald creates an invitingly mysterious campus, but does nothing remarkable with plot or characters.
‘Double Indemnity’ (1944) a deliberate classic of film noir
Wilder Wednesday (Movie review): Stiffer than Wilder’s later masterpieces, his adaptation of Cain’s novel helps stamp a genre into public consciousness.
‘Hunter and Other Stories’ (2013) cleans out Hammett’s files
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Unpublished and under-published tales are rounded up from the author’s archives, but this is for serious fans only.