Everything that follows is older than Harry Styles: A look back at 1993

In 1993, Eritrea became an independent nation, and Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia; Bill Clinton became the 42nd President of the United States of America; Ramzi Yousef, Mahmud Abouhalima, Mohammad Salameh, Nidal A. Ayyad, Abdul Rahman Yasin, and Ahmed Ajaj attempted to blow up the World Trade Center; Janet Reno became the first… Continue reading Everything that follows is older than Harry Styles: A look back at 1993

Best of the 1990s

  Dreams (1990) Nearing the end of his life, legendary director Akira Kurosawa reflects on his childhood and finds inspiration for several beautiful vignettes. After a child stumbles upon a fox wedding during a sunshower, his furious mother demands he apologize. Their surviving commander orders the ghosts of Japanese soldiers returning from the second World War… Continue reading Best of the 1990s

Get off my little plane

  My Little Chickadee (1940) The thin plot about a masked coach-robbing bandit is merely an excuse to bring two aging vaudeville stars, W.C. Fields and Mae West, together for the first time on the big screen. I like the idea of W.C. Fields; a witty misanthrope who says what everyone else is too polite to… Continue reading Get off my little plane

Be kind to the women

  Be Kind Rewind (2008) For some inexplicable reason, Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) refuses to upgrade his video rental store to DVDs and continues to rent exclusively VHS tapes. When Mr. Fletcher goes out-of-town, he leaves Mike (Mos Def) in charge, and local weirdo Jerry (Jack Back) magnetizes himself erasing every tape in the store. Mr.… Continue reading Be kind to the women

Coppola’s children of the night

  Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) This film was woefully miscast. Gary Oldman is so compelling as Count Dracula it’s hard not to root for him, while Keanu Reeves is so wooden as Jonathan Harker it’s difficult to believe he’s the hero of the film.  Outclassed by the actors around him, he’s unable to generate any interest in his… Continue reading Coppola’s children of the night