Author Archives: Adam Call Roberts
My 2011 Razzies Ballot
The big loser is Sucker Punch. I’m shocked it wasn’t nominated. I wrote it in at least once in every category.
Death in Venice
Death in Venice (1971) dir. Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti was an Italian communist who started his career as a pioneer of neorealism. La terra trema follows the story of a working class fishing village on the Sicilian coast. It is … Continue reading
Film Canon’s Boomer Bias
A Hard Day’s Night (1964) dir. Richard Lester A Hard Day’s Night made me like the Beatles less. They come across as asshole who don’t like their fans, don’t like their jobs and act like 14-year-olds at age 24. The … Continue reading
Heaven Can Wait (1943)
Heaven Can Wait (1943) dir. Ernst Lubitsch Don Ameche goes to Hell. Or, at least he thinks he does. Ameche plays Henry van Cleve, who assures the devil that he has lived a life of sin, and can’t imagine being … Continue reading
Cul-de-sac (1966)
Cul-de-sac (1966) dir. Roman Polanski I feel a bit out of my depth trying to evaluate Cul-de-sac, because a) I’ve never seen a production of absurdist theater and b) I didn’t enjoy Cul-de-sac very much at all, aside from Donald … Continue reading
Zelig
Zelig (1983) dir. Woody Allen As a Woody Allen film, it stands out more for being unusual than for being particularly funny. Zelig is a mockumentary about Leonard Zelig, the “human chameleon.” He has sort of a Quantum Leap type … Continue reading
The Man in the White Suit
The Man in the White Suit (1951) dir. Alexander Mackendrick The early parts of The Man in the White Suit could have been written by Ayn Rand. Alec Guiness is a genius inventor who cares only for his work. He … Continue reading
The Asphalt Jungle
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) dir. John Huston The real fun heist movies are the ones that let you think “I could do that.” You can look around at your friends and pick out which one would be the heavy, which … Continue reading
Scarlet Street
Scarlet Street (1945) dir. Fritz Lang After seeing The Woman in the Window – made with the same director and lead cast the year before – I was much more sympathetic to Joan Bennett’s character in Scarlet Street than I … Continue reading
The Navigator
The Navigator (1924) dir. Buster Keaton and Donald Crisp The Navigator has a bit of a Frat Pack plot. Our hapless protagonist wins over the initially disinterested woman by goofing around. We like him because he is a doofus, but … Continue reading
