No Way Out: Kevin Costner caught in a deadly ‘ménage à trois’ with Sean Young and Gene Hackman in this thrilling, Neo-Noir take on ‘The Big Clock’

No Way Out(1987) is director, Roger Donaldson's adaptation of Kenneth’s Fearing’s suspense novel, The Big Clock. The film set amidst the political intrigue of Washington features Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young and Will Patton in pivotal roles I love movies which has unique opening sequences; i love movies which sets up its plot economically and … Continue reading No Way Out: Kevin Costner caught in a deadly ‘ménage à trois’ with Sean Young and Gene Hackman in this thrilling, Neo-Noir take on ‘The Big Clock’ →

Kelly’s Heroes: Clint Eastwood reteams with his ‘Where Eagles Dare’ director to put an irreverent, satirical spin to the ‘Men on a mission’ WWII adventure

Kelly's Heroes(1971), directed by Brian G. Hutton, and starring Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles and Telly Savalas is a satirical take on wartime heroism, with Eastwood leading a band of soldiers on a private mission behind enemy lines to steal Nazi gold. In 1968, Clint Eastwood teamed up with director Brian G. Hutton to … Continue reading Kelly’s Heroes: Clint Eastwood reteams with his ‘Where Eagles Dare’ director to put an irreverent, satirical spin to the ‘Men on a mission’ WWII adventure →

Dirty Harry: Clint Eastwood created one of the most seminal and iconic characters in American film history

Dirty Harry(1971), directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood as SFPD Inspector Harry Callahan, is a terrific police-procedural\crime thriller, with Clint Eastwood updating his revisionist Western hero persona for the modern times to create one of the most iconic characters in films. It's a hot, sunny afternoon in San Francisco. SFPD Inspector, Harry Callahan, … Continue reading Dirty Harry: Clint Eastwood created one of the most seminal and iconic characters in American film history →

The Appaloosa: Marlon Brando is driven by atonement, pride and revenge to reclaim the eponymous equine from John Saxon in this baroque, eccentric Western

The Appaloosa(1966), starring Marlon Brando, Anjanette Comer and John Saxon, and directed by Sidney J. Furie, is a visually innovative, psychological Western that details the physical and psychological duel between two men, an American and a Mexican, to possess the titular stallion. Matt Fletcher: I'm having a little trouble getting started, Father. Priest: You are … Continue reading The Appaloosa: Marlon Brando is driven by atonement, pride and revenge to reclaim the eponymous equine from John Saxon in this baroque, eccentric Western →

The French Connection: Gene Hackman’s dynamic, star-making performance powers William Friedkin’s avant-garde Policier

The French Connection(1971), starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider and Fernando Rey, and directed by William Friedkin from Robin Moore's book, is a brilliant cop thriller set in New York city, which pushed the boundaries of mainstream filmmaking. In the 1960s, two New York cops, Eddie Eagan and Sonny Grosso, busted a cocaine shipment worth $32 … Continue reading The French Connection: Gene Hackman’s dynamic, star-making performance powers William Friedkin’s avant-garde Policier →

Silverado: Lawrence Kasdan’s exuberant tribute to traditional Westerns gave Kevin Costner his breakout role

Silverado(1985), co-written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan, and starring Scott Glenn, Kevin Kline, Danny Glover and Kevin Costner, was an attempt to reinvigorate the 'Western' that was considered dead by the mid 1980s. In his attempt to create the ultimate Western tribute, Kasdan throws every genre trope and cliché into the pot, but the result … Continue reading Silverado: Lawrence Kasdan’s exuberant tribute to traditional Westerns gave Kevin Costner his breakout role →

Big Jake: The ‘Dirty Harry’ writers spins a ripping, turn-of-the-century adventure yarn for Duke that’s perhaps the last of the great archetypal ‘John Wayne Westerns’

Big Jake(1971), directed by George Sherman and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara and Richard Boone, is a deliciously entertaining Western adventure that adds some modern elements to the standard 'John Wayne Western' template. John Fain(Richard Boone): Who are you?Jake(John Wayne): Jacob McCandles.John Fain(Richard Boone): I thought you were dead.Jake(John Wayne): Not hardly.from Big Jake(1971) You … Continue reading Big Jake: The ‘Dirty Harry’ writers spins a ripping, turn-of-the-century adventure yarn for Duke that’s perhaps the last of the great archetypal ‘John Wayne Westerns’ →

Marathon Man: Method-maestro Dustin Hoffman battles the great thespian Laurence Olivier in this pulse-pounding thriller that’s basically a ‘coming of age’ story and tackles deeper themes like anti-Semitism

Marathon Man(1976), Directed by John Schlesinger from a novel by William Goldman, and starring Dustin Hoffman, Roy Scheider and Laurence Olivier, is a superbly crafted thriller that tackles deeper themes of Nazism, anti-Semitism and the rites of passage to adulthood. One of the most famous, real-life Hollywood stories of generational clash between actors, which was … Continue reading Marathon Man: Method-maestro Dustin Hoffman battles the great thespian Laurence Olivier in this pulse-pounding thriller that’s basically a ‘coming of age’ story and tackles deeper themes like anti-Semitism →

A Bridge too Far: Richard Attenborough’s spectacular, authoritative, all-star cast WWII epic is exhausting but audacious in its depiction of the Allies’ biggest military fiasco

A Bridge too far(1977), directed by Richard Attenborough from Cornelius Ryan's book, is an all-star cast, historically accurate, and spectacularly mounted war epic that truthfully tries to delve into the reasons behind one of the biggest Allied military failures in World War II. Major General Urquhart: I took 10,000 of our finest troops to Arnhem; … Continue reading A Bridge too Far: Richard Attenborough’s spectacular, authoritative, all-star cast WWII epic is exhausting but audacious in its depiction of the Allies’ biggest military fiasco →

Friendly Persuasion: Gary Cooper is a non-violent hero in William Wyler’s big, warm, colorful and charming slice of Americana that takes a sensitive look at war and religion

Friendly Persuasion(1956), directed by William Wyler and starring Gary Cooper, Anthony Perkins and Dorothy McGuire is a wholesome family entertainer set during the American civil war and tells the story of a pacifist Quaker family, and how their religious beliefs are tested by the onset of war. Gary Cooper started out in the movies in … Continue reading Friendly Persuasion: Gary Cooper is a non-violent hero in William Wyler’s big, warm, colorful and charming slice of Americana that takes a sensitive look at war and religion →

Donnie Brasco: Al Pacino and Johnny Depp’s soulful performances elevates this gangster drama to a deeply moving Father-son Tragedy

Donnie Brasco(1997), directed by Mike Newell and starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp is a poignant gangster drama that details the true story of working class mafia foot-soldiers in New York as well as the attempts by undercover FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone to infiltrate their organization. In the 1972 gangster epic, The Godfather, director … Continue reading Donnie Brasco: Al Pacino and Johnny Depp’s soulful performances elevates this gangster drama to a deeply moving Father-son Tragedy →

The Horse Soldiers: John Ford’s lone stab at a Civil War Western is consistently entertaining and features strong performances from John Wayne and William Holden

Though Director John Ford has been the pre-eminent chronicler of American history, he has never made a film set during the American civil war. The Horse Soldiers (1959), starring John Wayne and William Holden, which came pretty much at the end of his illustrious career was the only film set during that period. Though not … Continue reading The Horse Soldiers: John Ford’s lone stab at a Civil War Western is consistently entertaining and features strong performances from John Wayne and William Holden →

Heat: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro came face to face for the first time in Michael Mann’s epic crime Drama

After starring together in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II, where they didn't have any scenes together, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro reunited for Michael Mann's brilliant Crime drama, Heat(1995), where they shared scenes together for the first time. While watching Michael Mann's Heat, one is tempted to think that making a great … Continue reading Heat: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro came face to face for the first time in Michael Mann’s epic crime Drama →

The Godfather Part III\Coda: Coppola’s tweaks to his flawed yet fascinating epilogue to the classic Godfather duology is trivial, self-serving and unnecessary

Francis Ford Coppola's recut version of The Godfather Part III(1990) has an overlong title, Mario Puzo's The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, but his ambitions are limited to that of a petulant child (or a parent), who wants to foist his originally conceived title on the film and to enhance his daughter's performance. … Continue reading The Godfather Part III\Coda: Coppola’s tweaks to his flawed yet fascinating epilogue to the classic Godfather duology is trivial, self-serving and unnecessary →

The Bravados: A taut, brooding Revenge-Western that puts a dark spin on Gregory Peck’s heroic persona

The Bravados(1958), starring Gregory Peck and Directed by Henry King, is an intense, brooding Western that finds Peck taking revenge against the outlaws who killed his wife. When one thinks of the great actor-director combos from the golden age of Hollywood, the names that come immediately to mind would be John Wayne and John Ford, … Continue reading The Bravados: A taut, brooding Revenge-Western that puts a dark spin on Gregory Peck’s heroic persona →

Rio Grande: John Ford brought John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara together for the first time in this final film in his ‘Cavalry’ trilogy

“Wayne’s greatest achievement may have been creating John Wayne. The character he played, the character he invented, was the American persona of the man who is hard and believes in doing right and will do it against all the odds.”Charlton Heston on John Wayne Rio Grande (1950), the third and final film in John Ford's … Continue reading Rio Grande: John Ford brought John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara together for the first time in this final film in his ‘Cavalry’ trilogy →

The Big Heat: Fritz Lang inverts gender archetypes to create the first ‘Homme fatale’ in this great film noir

The Big Heat(1953), Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang and starring Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame in lead roles is a great film noir that both expands and inverts a lot of Noir tropes and archetypes. "In the city of "Kenport", a police sergeant, Tom Duncan. commits suicide. Investigating the incident, fellow detective Sgt. Dave … Continue reading The Big Heat: Fritz Lang inverts gender archetypes to create the first ‘Homme fatale’ in this great film noir →

Fort Apache: John Wayne and Henry Fonda represents the two sides of the American soldier in this magnificent first film in John Ford’s ‘Cavalry’ trilogy

Fort Apache starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda is the first film in what became John Ford's 'Cavalry' trilogy. It's one of John Ford's most balanced, racially sensitive westerns that tries to understand the Native American issue even as it pays homage to the Army Who better than an Irishman can understand the Indians, while … Continue reading Fort Apache: John Wayne and Henry Fonda represents the two sides of the American soldier in this magnificent first film in John Ford’s ‘Cavalry’ trilogy →

Chisum: John Wayne stars as a powerful frontier patriarch who knows his time’s at an end

Chisum(1970), starring John Wayne in the title role and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, is a typical 'John Wayne' Western from the final phase of Wayne's career, and like its legendary star, the film tries to reconcile the traditional with the modern. "Weary, saddle-worn. Can you still keep goin' on?" As William Conrad's deep baritone … Continue reading Chisum: John Wayne stars as a powerful frontier patriarch who knows his time’s at an end →

The Stalking Moon: Gregory Peck rides again as the noble, stoic hero in this chilling Western that plays more like a supernatural thriller

The Stalking Moon(1968) reteamed Gregory Peck with his "To Kill a Mockingbird" producer-director duo of Alan J. Pakula and Robert Mulligan. The film, also starring Eva Marie Saint and Robert Forster, is an off-beat Western that plays more like a supernatural thriller I sometimes wonder about the destiny of certain movies. Some good films are … Continue reading The Stalking Moon: Gregory Peck rides again as the noble, stoic hero in this chilling Western that plays more like a supernatural thriller →