It’s not often that I critique documentaries on this blog. In fact, I’m hardly an expert on that style or type of film making, but Harold & Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story holds a special place in my heart. Lillian Michelson has been both a professional mentor to me as well as a close, personal …
Category: BSsentials
BSsentials – Jaws
Oh, my god, this film is so fucking good. It’s impossible to overstate how excellent of a film Jaws is, and how important it was in the history of cinema. Rarely is there such a confluence of such greatness and such historical importance in a single film, and Jaws hits all the right notes. It’s ranked #48 on …
BSsentials – Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is one of my favorite films, and actually feels terrifyingly apropos as to what’s happening in the world today. Call it what you will: a dark comedy, a political satire, a macabre Cold War masterpiece. Any of those apply, but there are …
BSsentials – Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction changed the way I watched movies. I was 23-years old when it came out, and I was about 2 years away from moving to Los Angeles. At the time I thought that I was pretty learned in the ways of cinema. That’s the beauty and curse of youth; you’re not yet old enough …
BSsentials – It’s a Wonderful Life
I’m sure this must seem like it’s a few days late, but please bear with me. I went dark for the two weeks leading up to Christmas doing lots of Christmas stuff and my intention was to get this blog up leading up to the holidays. When it became clear that I just wouldn’t have …
BSsentials – Witness
Harrison Ford showed his versatility in this marvelous 80’s film that is deep and rich in thematic elements. Whether you look at this as a fish-out-of-water story, or as a story about the clashing of cultures, or as a story about one honest cop in a world of corruption, or even as a story about …
BSsentials – Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
In what might be the most self-aware film that I’ve ever seen, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World provides enough visual and audio stimulation to push people close to sensory overload. However, it walks the line in a very fine manner and provides high entertainment value through its rapier wit and its eloquent charm. This is …
BSsentials – All the President’s Men
I’ve been thinking about this movie for the past couple of days for obvious reasons, and I actually sat down and re-watched it today. This movie is 40 years old. It was nominated for Best Picture in a year when Rocky won and two of the other nominees were AFI top 100 films in Network …
BSsentials – Being There
For people who are not familiar with the brilliant comedic work of Peter Sellers, those of us who are familiar with it might suggest that they acquaint themselves with his work in such iconic films as Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (which garnered him his first of 2 …
BSsentials – Double Indemnity
This truly is a wonderful film that I can’t recommend highly enough. It is the prototypical Film noir, and many film historians rate it among the greatest of all Film noir. For storytelling and screenwriting aficionados this is an expertly crafted story, the development of which shows that the best stories in film are told …