Straight Time (1977)

Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) gets out of prison, and decides to go straight. All he wants is a cheap room, a decent job, a shot at freedom. … [read more]

by Eel

I had two main problems in life: I was fifty pounds overweight and my next-door neighbor beat me at Scrabble every time.

Actually over the years I did beat her once, by one, and we tied once.

Rope (1948)

One of Hitchcock’s masterpieces, and arguably his best, this opens on John Dall and Farley Granger as they’re finishing the murder of a friend. … [read more]

“It takes about four weeks to get the results back,” said the guy at the fingerprint and background check office on Tuesday, but on Thursday someone from the US Postal Service called, and said I’d passed scrutiny. … [read more]

Two BIG YESes today. Don’t think I’ve ever reviewed two simply great movies on the same page before. Plus there’s a bonus review of Tom Hanks at the end, at no extra charge! … [read more]

by Bruce Anderson

Out of pure desperation, I’d taken a job as a long-term substitute teacher at San Luis Obispo Junior High School, as a hurry-up replacement for the regular teacher who’d wigged out one day, locking the door to her classroom from the inside, removing all her clothes and dancing nude on top of her desk as she swigged from a bottle of whiskey, until the fire department beat down the door to rescue her. … [read more]

My ten tedious days of COVID lockdown are over. Almost three years into the pandemic, the disease hasn’t gotten me yet, which is of course an advantage of being a hermit. … [read more]

Yes, God, Yes (2020)

Alice is a teenage girl who’s having certain urges. This is normal, and it would be weird if she didn’t, but she’s a Christian, part of her church youth group, and goes to a Christian school, so such feelings can’t be allowed. … [read more]

Silent Running (1972)

Earth has been polluted to ruin, but trees, plants, and smaller animals survive in a series of giant greenhouses in outer space. Most of the crewmen tending these living museums think of themselves as astronauts on an easy assignment, but one of them (Bruce Dern) is passionate about the work, and the woods and fruits and vegetables he’s growing. … [read more]

For an upcoming movie review, I needed to check the IMDB page for Raiders of the Lost Ark. You might remember, it was action movie about an archaeologist? … [read more]