The Devil Girl from Mars, directed by David MacDonald. (U.K., 1954) What do you know of power? The power that comes from MARS?! I can control power beyond your wildest dreams! –Nyah, the Devil Girl from Mars I really enjoyed this gem! It starts off like an Agatha Christie house-party mystery, with a cast of […]
Although Rain is from a play (inspired by the Somerset Maugham story), it doesn’t feel stagey or immobile. The camera and dialog keep it moving. And what a surprise! It’s the bold story of a prostitute (Sadie/Joan Crawford) and a religious reformer (Mr. Davidson/Walter Huston) battling over lifestyle choices on the rainy island of Pago […]
There was also a 1979 film directed by Otto Preminger, starring Richard Attenborough, Iman (married to David Bowie), Derek Jacobi, John Gielgud and Nicol Williamson. Published in 1978, The Human Factor is the last major work by one of the 20th century’s most celebrated novelists. It’s a brilliantly understated Cold War story of love coming […]
The Magnetic Monster (1953), produced by nature and science lover Ivan Tors; directed by early TV veteran Herbert L. Strock and Curt Siodmak, who majored in mathematics in Germany before WWII. It’s a wonderful piece of Fifties technical science fiction, told with a voiceover in the serious tones of a police documentary. A hardware store in […]
A Depression-era combination of troubled-youth film, road movie and straight-up adventure. Like the Little Rascals films, it has a racially mixed cast. But unlike them, it’s got a social message, so it can’t be a straight-up comedy. And in case you were wondering, there are even some surprise hip-hop dance moves. The film tells of […]
NEW YORK, January 19, 2016 – I saw “The Revenant” last night. The movie has been the victim of its own hyped success. The famous bear scene was prolonged, but it wasn’t explicit. It was part of the film’s overall emphasis on the primordiality of nature. The film depicts nature in a stark, uncanny, mystical […]