“Whether we attack or stay, there is only death” – Lt. General Yoshitsugu Saito, commander of the Japanese forces on Saipan. He took his own life during the final battle for control of the island. What really happened: On July 7, 1944, the Japanese Imperial Army was pinned down on the island of Saipan with…
Films that focus on food, whether it be on the preparation of the food, or the joyful consumption of it; have been around for a long time. With the release of 2022’s The Menu we thought this a propitious moment to promulgate a list of our favorite food preparation movies. Here they are, in no…
“You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food” – Paul Prudhomme In The Menu, from director Mark Mylod, you actually need to be able to afford a gold fork in order to dine at Hawthorne. The cost of the prix fixe meal at this exclusive establishment, located on a private island is $1,250…
“Prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy. And the thoughtless frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own for the children and the children yet unborn.…” – Mamie Till-Mobley In the summer of 1955, Mamie Till-Bradley (Danielle Deadwyler) was a war widow and the single mother of 14-year-old Emmett Lewis Till…
As I write this, AMC cable channel, Sundance channel and other cable channels that recycle the same “war” movies every Veteran’s Day do not appear to have scheduled those same old movies. Midway, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Berets and Pearl Harbor are among their usual programming for the day where we honor all veterans,…
James Caan, best remembered for his portrayal of the mercurial “Sonny Corleone” in 1972’s The Godfather has passed away. He was 82. His publicist confirmed his passing and said no further details would be forthcoming. He was born in the Bronx in 1940. He spent two years attending Michigan State and then transferred to Hofstra…
“That was some of the best flying I’ve seen yet. Right up to the part where you got killed. You never, never leave your wing man” – Michael Ironside as Jester in the original Top Gun The fact that over 35 years went by between the release of 1986’s Top Gun makes it difficult to…
“What is even more baffling than allowing a franchise to run on too long is not allowing one to reach its full potential.” – Justin Bruce Before watching this film, I made a pact with myself that if they killed off a certain character, I’d be giving the movie a thumbs down. Sure enough, that…
“Do you expect me to talk?” No Mister Bond, I expect you to die.” – an exchange between Sean Connery as James Bond and Gert Fröbe in 1964’s Goldfinger. No Time to Die is the 25th movie from Eon Productions. The others with the word “die” in the title were Live and Let Die, Tomorrow…
Films anchored by female villains are still not too commonplace, even less so are ones garnering major awards. But with Promising Young Woman and I Care a Lot, we have two concurrent examples. Darkly comic yet deadly serious, each features a British lead actress combined with a British writer/director, but is set in the United States. One…
