A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn’t back down. Screenplay by Sidney Buchman, directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Claude Rains, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is still as relevant today as it was in 1939. Honestly, it’s probably more relevant now than … Continue reading 26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Regina King came out guns blazing with her directorial debut, One Night in Miami, based on the play by the same name. Written by Kemp Powers (who also wrote the stage play), One Night in Miami follows a fictitious meeting between Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) on the night of February 25, 1964, … Continue reading One Night in Miami (2020)
A man rises to power by appealing to middle America only to become corrupt by corporations and politicians, and behind closed doors, badmouths all those that support him. Sound familiar? Surprisingly, no, this is not about our current political situation here in the United States. A Face in the Crowd is a film from 1957, written by Budd Schulberg and directed by Elia Kazan, and stars … Continue reading A Face in the Crowd (1957): Why This Film is Still Painfully Relevant 63 Years Later
An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a War Room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop. Stanley Kubrick brilliantly satirized the Cold War tensions between the US and Russia in Dr. Strangelove, a black comedy that he wrote, directed, and produced. Even more brilliant, he criticized the ridiculous idea of mutually assured destruction. The concept of mutually assured destruction, or … Continue reading 39. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
“The Washington Post” reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. All the President’s Men is a political thriller about the two reporters for the Washington Post, Woodward and Bernstein, who blew the Watergate Scandal wide open. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, the film stars Robert Redford as Bob Woodward and Dustin Hoffman … Continue reading 77. All the President’s Men (1976)
