What I Watched for the Holidays

The past week+ has been filled with family reunions, overeating, and glorious downtime filled with films. Did I watch some on a plane? Did family time make me insane? Did I watch and expect less? Were some a fun and...

Children in Film Noir

All movies express social values, or the erosion of those values, through the ways in which they depict both institutions and relations between people. -Sylvia Harvey The style and content of the original US film noir cycle (1940s-50s) emerged at...

Hitler for the Holidays

For those of us who are already sick to death of Christmas -- the music, the consumerism, the tacky decorations, the holiday movies, the artificial cheer -- I present my gift to you: four fantastic comedy titles from 2011-present, made around...

Why I Will Never Have a Top List

So many people love writing and sharing their Top (10, 100, etc.) Movies list(s). Whether it's "Best Films Evar," "Favorite Actresses," "Supreme Auteurs," or "Stuff I Love," many of us get pleasure or feel obliged at some point to rank...