To Have and Have Not

"You must do the thinking for both of us" this is not. No man can do any thinking in the presence of this 19 year old first time actress, especially not Bogey, who seems to be in awe of Howard Hawks' discovery.

This is the moment when Howard Hawks' female leads changed from the feisty fast talking banterers of Bringing up Baby and His Girl Friday to the laser-eyed man-killers of Red River and Rio Bravo, trying their best to match Bacall who is unmatchable. Joanne Dru is no Angie Dickenson and Angie Dickenson, even with feathers, can't match Lauren Bacall with a cigarette. To Have and Have Not is Warner's Casablanca copycat without the story, though cowritten by William Faulkner, but if I had seen it earlier I would have known that I recently met the single greatest living female American movie legend. And my awe would have been more appropriately like Bogart's.

Frozen River (blu ray)

…let Frozen River wash over you; let its bracing drama and the intensity of its acting restore your spirits as well as your faith in American independent film.
-Ken Turan

The winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2008, "Frozen River" is one of those rare independent films that knows precisely what it intends, and what the meaning of the story is.
-Ebert

This is a debut feature, though you'd never know it from the filmmaker's commandingly confident style, or from the heartbreaking beauty…
-Joe Morgenstern

Ms. Hunt’s eye for detail has the precision of a short story writer’s. She misses nothing…
-Stephen Holden

(pause)

If we're going to be honest, we need to look inside and ask ourselves: Do we really want to see a listless movie about a woman whose dream is to move into a double-wide trailer?
-Mick LaSalle, usually the worst movie critic in the business writes best review of his career.

Frozen River is my pick for Worst Movie of 2008
And biggest waste of a great Melissa Leo performance.
Shot on HD, likely using the iphone. Watch it on blu ray so you can see every detail of its terribleness.

Cardiff

Not too long ago, I read a story that described how Jack Cardiff invented a new type of light during the filming of The Red Shoes - a light that was so powerful that it had to be housed in a water-cooling unit, the first of its kind in cinematography. Sharp guy.

But more importantly, looking over his filmography, it became apparent to me that nobody understands the business and work and life of making movies better than DPs. How great would it be to work as peripatetically as this - to be the man who shot this



And this



1914-2009.

Apocalypse Now

Heaven's Gate

Hell's Angels

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

Fitzcarraldo

Blood Loss

Blood Loss

Blood Loss

Top 2 Movies Of The Year That Begin With The Letter G

Gomorra - The Godfather. Goodfellas. Yes, those are great movies, they are gangster movies, and they begin with the letter G. Gomorra can claim two of those distinctions.
Gooby - If you have your heart set on a family film that begins with the syllable goo, might I suggest The Goonies or any number of films about the lovable character Goofy, avoid Gooby at all costs.

For No Particular Reason

10 characters.


Noriko Hirayama


Haven Hamilton


Sally


Hans Gruber


Kathie Moffat


Oharu


Lionel Mandrake


Boris Lermontov


Jean Harrington


Fredo Corleone