I'm not a particularly spiritual person, which is an understatement. Statistics tell us that a high percentage of Americans supposedly identify themselves as Christians, but I haven't defined myself as anything remotely approaching religious since my freshman year in college. At age 19 I enlisted…
Longtime Spokane Public Radio film reviewer Bob Glatzer died on Oct. 15. Following is a rememberance of Glatzer that I wrote for the station, which broadcast it this morning: Bob Glatzer came to Spokane in 1973 as part of that phenomenon called Expo 74. It's…
The Magic Lantern saga continues. I just received another e-mail from theater owner Joe Davis. An edited version of the message, which went out to several recipients, follows: Hello everyone. I just want to give a brief explanation as to why you're getting this email.…
If you had told me in, 1976 say, that in 2010 Clint Eastwood was going to be a more important filmmaker than Woody Allen, I would have laughed in your face. Or, if I were in one of my more polite moods, behind your back.…
My friend, the poet Dennis Held, sent me the following e-mail: "I just received a call from my friend in Gonzaga's English department, Tod Marshall, to whit: the afternoon session with poet Jimmy Santiago Baca has been moved up to 12:15 to accomodate his schedule.…
Oh, and regarding the Spokane International Film Festival (see below)? Don't forget the special showing of the French zombie film "La Horde," which screens at midnight Friday at The Garland. For more information, click here. Below: The trailer for "La Horde."
In the post immediately below, we've got a pretty good discussion going regarding the latest closing of the Magic Lantern. Feel free to join in. Here, though, I want to point out that while the theater is no longer showing its regular weekly schedule, the…
Just received an e-mail from Joe Davis, the owner of the Magic Lantern. The news, as you will see, isn't good:Hello everyone,The Magic Lantern has experienced a major downturn in sales over the past 2 months and this has prompted me to decide to close…
There are kids' films, and then there are films about kids. All too often, in Hollywood at least, the two are interchangeable, which may be good for box-office sales but is hardly fair to the real-life issues that troubled children in particular face on a…
The word is spreading: Bob Glatzer died this morning. If that name means nothing to you, then you either never listened to Spokane Public Radio or you just didn't care about movie reviews. Bob was the station's film reviewer, and he was my partner on…
Beware of movies that begin with quotes from the Book of Job. Not that "Secretariat" is something you should avoid. It's just good to know what you're getting into.And what "Secretariat" presents is the story not of a horse but of that horse's owner, a…
Speaking of great lines of dialogue, lines with high cheesy factor, it's hard to beat the line that Michael Ironsides mutters in "Starship Troopers." Holding the corpse of a soldier whose skull sports a hole big enough to accommodate a grapefruit, he turns to his…
My brother and I used to, on occasion, haunt the drive-in theaters in and around San Diego. In the process, we saw more than our share of of early-'70s horror/slasher films. So when it came time for us to go and see a film yesterday,…
Anyone who's likely to check out Movies & More probably already knows about the the Film and Video Enthusiasts of Spokane, a group that likes to go by the acronym FAVES. Still, if you aren't familiar with the organization, click here. You'll find a lot…
As I type this, I'm watching "The Holcroft Covenant," John Frankenheimer's 1985 spy film starring the ubiquitous Michael Caine. Once again, I'm reminded of just how good Caine is when he's cast in the right project. In the final scene, when all the mysteries are…
Some of the best times I've had at the movies have come during retrospectives. Of course, when I first began watching foreign films in the early '70s, most film sceeenings, to me, were virtual retrospectives in and of themselves. Even when the films had been…
To prepare those who plan on attending "The Sound of Music Sing-Along," which will be held Oct. 19 and 26 at the NorthTown and Spokane Valley Cinemas, I've included some of the film's best lines. These were, by the way, penned by screenwriter Ernest Lehman,…
Of the many questions that a movie fan could ask about "The Social Network," the most obvious probably concerns accuracy. As in, how real is the the portrayal as defined by screen writer Aaron Sorkin? Sorkin has had his say, both in the movie and…
American movies don't generally -- check that -- hardly ever capture the feel of European movies. It's like the difference between, say, classic "Law & Order" and the new "Law & Order: Los Angeles." The former is darker, grainier and reminiscent in tone of the…
One of my first big dates with the first girl I ever loved took place circa 1965 (maybe '66). We drove from Virginia Beach to downtown Norfolk, Va., to see "The Sound of Music." Not a stage production, mind you, but Robert Wise's multiple-Oscar-winning (five…
Bad week for Old Hollywood last week. Eddie Fisher, whose specialty was marrying movies stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Debbie Reynolds. Tony Curtis. And, of course, Arthur Penn. My favorite Curtis movie? "The Sweet Smell of Success," of course. I didn't care for it…
As I pointed out below, the bad news about this week in Spokae moviegoing is that Thursday will be the last day for "Animal Kingdom," the tough-as-Vegemite Australian noir about police corruption and a family of armed robbers. But then there's good news, too. For…
Just got word that "Animal Kingdom" is leaving AMC's River Park Square Theatres after its short stay. My advice: Before it plays a final time on Thursday, go and see a film that's a strong contender for my Top 10 list for 2010.
Just got back from seeing "Animal Kingdom," an Australian film that I knew nothing about beforehand. In fact, from its title, I thought the film was some sort of documentary. Wrong. Couldn't be wronger. Turns out "Animal Kingdom" is one of the tensest, hardest hitting,…
Anyone who has ever labored over dozens, or maybe hundreds, of student papers at a time will recognize the humor -- and the horror -- involved in this little YouTube embed. After spending a year trying to teach 140-plus university business students the fine art…
