Movie Review: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Dr. Caligari has little patience for government bureaucracy.

Movie Review: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) directed by Robert Wiene The frame story begins with Franciz (Friedrich Feher) having just been told by another man (Hans Lanser-Ludloff) about the supernatural events that drove him from his home. Franciz replies that the events he and his fiancée Jane Olsen (Lil Dagover) experienced were even more… Continue reading Movie Review: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Movie Review: Parasite (2019)

The Kim family is so destitute they welcome poison gas.

Movie Review: Parasite (2019) directed by Bong Joon-ho When we first meet the Kim family of Seoul, South Korea, they’re living in a cramped, insect-infested basement apartment. No one currently has a paying job, so they’re having to steal wi-fi from the neighbors to try to get any quick temp assignments they can, like folding pizza… Continue reading Movie Review: Parasite (2019)

Movie Review: Gone With the Wind

Scarlett is breaking under the stress of working with war wounded.

Movie Review: Gone With the Wind (1939) directed by Victor Fleming Gerald O’Hara (Thomas Mitchell) is an Irish immigrant who got lucky in a card game many years ago, winning a substantial tract of farmland in Georgia. He married a woman of French extraction named Ellen (Barbara O’Neil) and by hard work and being a decent… Continue reading Movie Review: Gone With the Wind

Movie Review: The Life of Emile Zola

Young Emile learns he will not freeze to death today.

Movie Review: The Life of Emile Zola (1937) directed by William Dieterle We first meet Emile Zola (Paul Muni) when he is a penniless writer sharing a freezing garret with his friend, starving artist Paul Cezanne (Vladimir Sokoloff). They favor the “realist” schools of their respective crafts, which is not only unpopular with the buying public,… Continue reading Movie Review: The Life of Emile Zola

Movie Review: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian have a tense relationship from the start.

Movie Review: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) directed by Frank Lloyd Midshipman Roger Byam (Franchot Tone) is excited for his first Royal Navy assignment, sailing aboard the Bounty under Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton) to Tahiti to secure breadfruit trees and in Mr. Byam’s case, compile a dictionary of the local language. Bligh is a brilliant navigator and… Continue reading Movie Review: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

Movie Review: Creatures the World Forgot

The Crone leads the way.

Creatures the World Forgot (1971) dir. Don Chaffey The Dark-Haired Tribe hunters have had a successful day, bringing down an antelope while only losing one of their number to its mate. But as the tribe is divvying up the meat, The Crone (Rosalie Crutchley) directs their attention to the nearby twin mountains–which turn out to be… Continue reading Movie Review: Creatures the World Forgot

Movie Review: Three on a Ticket

Movie Review: Three on a Ticket (1947) directed by Sam Newfield Private investigator Michael “Mike” Shayne (Hugh Beaumont) has just arrived at his office when his secretary Phyllis “Phil” Hamilton (Cheryl Walker) tells him he has an appointment with a prospective client, Jim Lacy (Brooks Benedict). Lacy is a private eye from the East Coast that… Continue reading Movie Review: Three on a Ticket

Movie Review: Batman vs. Two-Face

Two-Face in a biplane!

Movie Review: Batman vs. Two-Face (2017) directed by Rick Morales It is night at Gotham Penitentiary, and a small group of people have gathered to witness a bizarre experiment. Doctor Hugo Strange wants to use his new Evil Extractor to remove the criminal impulses from Gotham City’s super-criminals in order to make them not evil anymore.… Continue reading Movie Review: Batman vs. Two-Face

Movie Review: 984: Prisoner of the Future

984 rests up after the latest interrogation.

Movie Review: 984: Prisoner of the Future (1982) directed by Tibor Takacs It is the indefinite near future, and 984 is a prisoner…somewhere. Previously, he’d been Tom Weston (Stephen Markle), a slightly smarmy corporate executive. It’s not clear what his corporation did, as the flashbacks are maddeningly vague, but they were somehow either involved with or… Continue reading Movie Review: 984: Prisoner of the Future

Movie Review: The Case of the Velvet Claws

Perry attempts to negotiate with a hostile witness.

Movie Review: The Case of the Velvet Claws (1936) directed by William Clemens Perry Mason (Warren Williams) invades the night court of Judge Mary F O’Daugherty (Clara Blandick) with an urgent matter–marrying his secretary, Della Street (Claire Dodd)! As the happy couple pose for the press photographers, Perry announces his retirement from criminal law. From now… Continue reading Movie Review: The Case of the Velvet Claws