Peter Schilling The Third Man, 1949. Directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene (with uncredited help from Alexander Korda and Orson Welles). Starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee, Paul Horbiger, Ernst Deutsch, Siegfried Breuer, Erich Ponto, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Hedwig Bleibtreu, and Orson Welles. With the person of Holly Martins, Graham Greene created a … Read more
A long weekend and I’m still tired. Guests on the horizon–four adults, two children, and a pair of eight-month old twins–and I haven’t yet mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, or etc. Had the movies I sat through this weekend warranted discussion, you’d have a pair of reviews. However, they stank, so I’ll spare you … Read more
The Proposition, 2005. Directed by John Hillcoat, written by Nick Cave. Starring Guy Pierce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, Danny Huston, the foppish David Wenham, Richard Wilson, and the woefully underutilized John Hurt, and two of Australia’s greatest aboriginal actors: David Gulpilil (famous for Walkabout) and Tommy Lewis (from The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith). Now playing … Read more
For those of you who are still reeling from Matt Barney’s Drawing Restraint 9, I have just the thing for you: tonight at the Walker Art Center they’re showing the documentary Matthew Barney: No Restraint at 8:00–and it’s free (provided you get there on time–tix available at 7). Quite frankly, this documentary is, in my … Read more
The Maggie (High and Dry), 1954. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, written by William Rose. Starring Paul Douglas, Alex Mackenzie, Tommy Kearins, Hubert Gregg, James Copeland, Abe Barker, Andrew Keir, and Meg Buchanan. Quite possible the only place to get this remarkable movie is at Netflix. Did I ever tell you the story of when I … Read more
The Da Vinci Code, 2006. Directed by Ron Howard, written by another embarrassing Academy Award winner, Akiva Goldsman. Starring Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina, Jurgen Prochnow, Jean Reno and Etienne Chicot. If there’s one thing I never would have guessed, it’s that Ron Howard had such a preposterous sense of … Read more
There is probably no more beleaguered building in all of Minnesota than the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. If there’s one thing both sides of the stadium debate can agree on, it’s how hideous the place is for baseball. Nevertheless, in its twenty-four years, Minneapolis’ “Rec Room” has become surrounded by a nebula of strange little … Read more
Though it now seems long ago, it’s only been a few weeks since a brace of bona fide Hollywood stars descended on downtown St. Paul. The city was abuzz with famous people and the regular folks who admire them, but nothing rivaled the enthusiasm of the international, domestic, and local press. Since this was, after … Read more
To wit: the Heights Theatre is giving everyone another opportunity to check out Christopher R. Mihm’s local B-Movie homage Monster of Phantom Lake. This time, the film will be even better than it was back in early March, only because we’re going to have the great early summer weather that these frightfests deserve. I use … Read more
Le Proces (The Trial), 1962. Written and directed by Orson Welles. Starring Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, Elsa Martinelli, Madeleine Robinson, Anoldo Foa and Billy Kearns as the inspectors, Suzanne Flon, Carl Studer, the lovely character actor (and Welles stalwart) Akim Tamiroff, the madman William Chappell, and Orson Welles himself, as the magistrate. Where … Read more