It’s an argument I hear every year: What qualifies a movie as a Christmas movie? I’ve stayed silent, year after year. But, I cannot stay silent any longer. That Old Picture Show’s definitive definition of what makes a Christmas movie: A movie that has a plot that is dependent on the holiday season, can be considered a holiday movie. A movie can have a scene … Continue reading What Makes A Christmas Movie
One of my all-time favorite films is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. NO. Not the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp one. That one is called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.. I’m talking about Gene Wilder in all his screaming glory Willy Wonka. Now, just because I love a film, does not mean that I am blind to any flaws that it may have. Or, in this … Continue reading The Villainy of Grandpa Joe and Willy Wonka
I have been feeling very disheartened for the past couple of months with the state of the Film Industry in the United States. It’s why I didn’t write about Barbie, even though I saw it twice in theaters. It’s why I didn’t write about Oppenheimer. It’s why I didn’t write about my experience with a Barbenheimer double feature (so much fun. Was correct: Oppenheimer first, Barbie second). … Continue reading Disheartened With Hollywood
They did what I thought was impossible: figure out how to carry on the Scream franchise without Sidney Prescott. And, in a shocking turn of events, I’m happy about it. Like most fans of the heavily self-aware franchise, I saw the film as close to premiere day as I could. Scream is one of those series that is near and dear to my heart, as I’m … Continue reading Scream VI (2023): A Bloody Hell of a Good Time
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty in postwar New York City transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant youngest son. It is crystal clear why The Godfather is so high up on the AFI list. It’s the “be all, end all” of movies for many. It’s a masterclass on filmmaking, honestly. And there’s so many components that director Francis Ford Coppola … Continue reading 2. The Godfather (1972)
On December 3rd, 2022, I had the pleasure of sitting in on a panel at Los Angeles Comic Con. The panel, hosted by the podcast Geekscape, was a Q&A with Gremlins director Joe Dante and one of the Executive Producers of the upcoming Gremlins project at HBO: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Brendan Hay. The nerd in me was super excited about this. Gremlins played a crucial part … Continue reading A Brief Discussion with Joe Dante
Before I can go any further, I need to tell you a bit of my own family history. I grew up with an amazing, loving father. He discovered he had a brain aneurysm in his temporal lobe, behind his eye when I was twelve and my brother eight years old. My father was only forty-four years old when he had his first stroke. One of … Continue reading The Whale (2022)
A cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco. I’m going to be honest: I have tried to start this article four times now. All because I have no idea what I want to say about the film Casablanca. It’s a film that I own. It’s a film … Continue reading 3. Casablanca (1942)
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it. Raging Bull is a film that is often synonymous with 1980s American culture. Directed by Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull oozes a particular brand of masculine energy. The film, starring Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, and Joe Pesci, introduces the audience … Continue reading 4. Raging Bull (1980)
A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood. I firmly believe that this film has stood the test of time and remains on this list because it is a near perfect look and commentary on what happened during the transition from silent … Continue reading 5. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
