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Don’t Look Down, by Tyler Smith

22 Feb

VERTIGO (1958)
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Written by: Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor
Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak

There are precious few films that I have a hard time getting an analytical handle on, but still love all the same. The fact is, there are just some movies out there that defy you to interpret them. Once you think you’ve got them all figured out, you see something different that completely obliterates your previous thought. As strange as it may sound, talking about these films is like trying to grab the wind. The harder you try to harness it, the more frustrated you’ll become. It’s bigger than you; you’ll never be able to hold onto it. Instead, it’s better to simply let yourself feel it and experience it, making peace with the fact that it will never belong to you.

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Good Grief, by Tyler Smith

21 Feb

IN THE BEDROOM (2001)
Written and Directed by: Todd Field
Starring: Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Marisa Tomei, Nick Stahl

It’s refreshing to see a film that so fully gets its subject. Todd Field’s In the Bedroomis about grief and the need for revenge, and Field shows such a thorough understanding of these two impulses, that it’s hard to imagine that this is his directorial debut.

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Be Cool, by Tyler Smith

20 Feb

OUT OF SIGHT (1998)

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Written by: Scott Frank
Starring: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle, Ving Rhames

Okay, so I’ve mentioned the famous crime writers Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain. So, it’s about time I mentioned Elmore Leonard. Leonard is one of the most prolific writers of the last thirty years. It seems as though he is always putting out a new book; probably in the area of one a year. His stories, while never incredibly deep, are always very entertaining. This is primarily because he always manages to create vivid characters that we, the readers, enjoy spending time with. These characters are usually criminals or cops. It doesn’t really matter, as they’re always very cool.

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Making It Up As He Goes, by Tyler Smith

19 Feb

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies

I feel as though I shouldn’t even talk about this movie, as most everybody in the United States has already seen it several times. That said, I’ll be keeping this short.There’s not a great deal of deep meaning to the Indiana Jones films, nor should there be. The whole point of Raiders of the Lost Ark was to evoke those old Saturday matinees, which, of course, many of us are too young to have attended. So, okay, the initial intention of the film is lost on my generation.

So, why the appeal?

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Private Eyes, by Tyler Smith

18 Feb

REAR WINDOW (1954)
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Written by: John Michael Hayes
Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr, Thelma Ritter

What can I say about this movie that hasn’t already been said? And by much more knowledgeable people, no less.Well, I guess the first thing to say is that I haven’t seen this film in quite a while. Considering the relative frequency with which I watch the other movies on my list, one may wonder how this film, which I’ve seen only once, managed to find its way onto my list.

Well, the answer is very simple: it’s a remarkable film.

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A Nice Sleepy Town, by Tyler Smith

17 Feb

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971)

Directed by: Peter Bogdanovich
Written by: Larry McMurtry and Peter Bogdanovich
Starring: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman

I love a nice, long highway drive. Eight hours is always a nice number for me. It means that you’re probably going to have to stop for food or gas at least once. And, when you do, it’s a pretty good bet that you’ll be stopping in a small highway town; one of those towns where the entire economy is built around people stopping on their way to somewhere else.
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Home For The Holidays, by Tyler Smith

16 Feb

PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES (1987)

Written and Directed by: John Hughes
Starring: Steve Martin, John Candy, Michael McKean, Kevin Bacon

Among the smaller tragedies for modern film audiences is the fact that younger generations will not really remember just how great John Candy was. By all accounts, he was a big man with an even bigger heart. This translated to the screen as well. Candy played some of the nicest, most endearing characters I can remember. That may not sound very interesting, but he often managed to take these characters and make them hilarious. And, no character better exemplifies the treasure that was John Candy than Del Griffith from Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
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Post Show Recaps: RoboCop (2014)

16 Feb

A Family Matter, by Tyler Smith

15 Feb

SECRETS & LIES (1996)
Written and Directed by: Mike Leigh
Starring: Brenda Blethyn, Timothy Spall, Marianne Jean-Baptiste

I love Seinfeld. It is easily one of my five favorite shows of all time. It is absolutely hilarious. Invariably, the comedy comes from the main characters trying to maneuver their way through a constantly-changing social standard. As the characters dealt with this frustration, we, the audience, would have a hearty laugh, often as a function of their discomfort.

However, there were episodes of Seinfeld that I used to find a refreshing break from the unrelenting awkwardness. These were the episodes where the characters would deal with their respective families. Somehow, no matter how difficult these situations would get, it never really bothered me. Because, hey, it’s family. No matter what happens, they’ll still love you, right? They have to; it’s a rule. So, truly, how bad could it be?

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Accept No Substitutes, by Tyler Smith

14 Feb

JACKIE BROWN (1997)

Written and Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Robert DeNiro

There’s no question that Quentin Tarantino is a talented writer and director. However, as his half of Grindhouse shows us, when accountable only to oneself, sometimes a director can put out a grating, self-indulgent work. I think that what Tarantino needs right now is to bring his directorial flair to someone else’s work.

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