We’ll Probably Never Know Jimmy Hoffa’s True Horrible Fate

Today is July 30. While that might not be a popular date, it was the day that 50 years ago in 1975 that Jimmy Hoffa Sr. disappeared near the Machaus Red Fox in the Detroit suburban community of Bloomfield Township, Mich. Eyewitnesses saw him and even chatted with him. Yet, little did Hoffa and anyoneContinue reading “We’ll Probably Never Know Jimmy Hoffa’s True Horrible Fate”

‘The King Of Comedy’ Really Is Nothing To Laugh About

The King of Comedy is the epitome of the idiom “Never meet your heroes.” It walks the line between a black comedy and a thriller. The only difference is its lighter tone in some scenes and a musical score that isn’t too ominous. Rupert Pupkin (Robert DeNiro) is the type of person you’d cross theContinue reading “‘The King Of Comedy’ Really Is Nothing To Laugh About”

Donald Sutherland Was A Versatile But Prolific Actor

Upon hearing news of the death of Donald Sutherland, I decided to watch Ordinary People. It had been the first time in over a decade since I saw it. But I always thought his performance as Chicago-area lawyer Calvin Jarrett was one of the best of his career, quite possibly the best. And for that,Continue reading “Donald Sutherland Was A Versatile But Prolific Actor”

‘Once Upon A Time In America’ At 40, Still A Conflicted Masterpiece

Sergio Leone is mostly remember for his western. He was basically the John Ford of the Spaghetti Western genre, a somewhat misleading term for some good movies. Spaghetti Westerns were known for being filmed in the Iberian Peninsula or Mediterranean area and featured mostly Italian and other European actors. The most famous one is TheContinue reading “‘Once Upon A Time In America’ At 40, Still A Conflicted Masterpiece”

Roger Corman Was The John The Baptist Of American Cinema

In the mid-1970s, Ron Howard was attempting to make a name for himself as a movie director after he had grown up over the years as a child actor. For a man who had appeared on two popular TV shows, been in the Oscar-nominated American Graffiti and even co-starred alongside The Duke himself John WayneContinue reading “Roger Corman Was The John The Baptist Of American Cinema”

‘Oppenheimer’ To Win Big, I Predict

With the Oscars being held on Sunday, March 10, I predict Oppenheimer to be the big movie to win. I’ve been watching the Oscars since the late 1980s and you begin to notice a few things. A lot of times, it’s a combination of excellence, critical favorites, popularity, a touch of how movies performed atContinue reading “‘Oppenheimer’ To Win Big, I Predict”