"68"

Even though much of the appeal of horror movies lies in their power to tap into primal fears, I’d like to think our cerebral cortexes have evolved to the point where we want our thrills to test our minds as well as our nerves. After all, horror movies often leave the greatest, and most lasting, chill when they hinge on psychological, rather than fantastical, terrors.  The higher the intelligence of the piece, the harder it is to dispel that chill, and the more elegant the premise, the more likely it is to stay lodged in our psyches. Smarter scary movies just seem more believable, even when they are set in space, or when ghosts crawl out of the television. Not surprisingly, a large percentage of such titles are adapted from works of fiction. The “interior” aspect of fiction reminds us that the worst nightmares are often conjured not by reality but by our own imaginations.

 Life is full of weird coincidences: The first time Brad Pitt’s star power really hit me was in a film directed by...Robert Redford. The movie, of course, was Brad’s big breakthrough, 1992’s “A River Runs Through It”, in which Brad plays the more rebellious of two brothers growing up in 1920’s Montana. Watching it over twenty years ago, I vividly remember thinking that Redford was directing a younger version of himself. Think about it: they look alike, they talk alike, and a generation apart, each would be considered for the same kind of roles. Each in their younger days had the fair, clean-cut quality commonly referred to as “All-American”.

As director Richard Linklater’s "Boyhood" accumulates critics’ raves and commandeers (deservedly) tons of media attention, it seems like some equal-opportunity cinematic praise is in order.  So, let’s review some of the best “girlhood” movies of recent times.    One of the great joys of watching a quintessential girlhood movie is getting to see a young unknown actress—like Michelle Rodriguez in "Girlfight," Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter’s Bone," or Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild"—strut her stuff in a way that announces, “I’m going to be a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.”   

In preparation for this, the anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, I re-visited what I feel are the two finest cinematic representations of this pivotal confrontation in the Second World War. Both moving tributes to the heroic men who fought and died on the critical day that turned the tide in the Allies’ favor, these films are…(drumroll)... “The Longest Day” (1962) and “Saving Private Ryan” (1998).    

Forbidden love, more common in human experience than one might think, is torturous, unusually passionate, and freighted with risk. The heightened drama — or melodrama — it generates makes it a natural and desirable ingredient for film.

It’s a bit of a mystery why lines like  “Do I feel lucky?” (“Dirty Harry,” 1971)  and “I’ll be back!” (“The Terminator,” 1984) enter the popular zeitgeist, but there’s no denying they do. And there’s more than a bit of magic to that.

With the 91st Academy Awards upon us, the time feels right to recognize the crucial role that movies have played in our lives, particularly in troubled times.

Today - if you mention the name Josephine Baker - most people will remember her vaguely as “some singer way back when”. But how many are left who can picture her in all her glory, with her sassy, sexy, breathtaking charisma on full display? Damned few, I’d guess. And that’s a shame, considering she’s right at your fingertips, forever preserved on celluloid.     One of the first black stars, Josephine had a flamboyant personality, with a singular grace and a confident style — unusual indeed for a performer of color in those days, much less a female one. Though not conventionally beautiful – her face a little too round, perhaps, her chin receding a tiny bit — her star-power was undeniable. And those eyes!  Born in 1906 to humble circumstances in St. Louis, over time, Josephine rose from being the poor daughter of a laundress in Missouri to steady work dancing in New York City. However, despite gaining some notoriety, by 1924 she had been relegated to perform in a musical called “Chocolate Dandies”, as well as joining the floorshow in a place called… I kid you not… The Plantation Club – gulp.   

In theatre they call it “breaking the fourth wall” - that “wall” being the one we sit behind as popcorn-chewing observers. When used sparingly, this technique can be hilarious (or really creepy).