Christopher Saunders

LATEST ARTICLES ( 659 )

• X-Men: Days of Future Past

  

  Bryan Singer returns to helm X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), a disappointing follow-up to First Class (2011). Having averted the Cuban Missile Crisis, any... Read more

  Posted on 19 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• X-Men: First Class

  

  Bryan Singer's X-Men films kick-started the 2000's superhero trend, only to crash with an abysmal third film and an abominable origins reboot. Read more

  Posted on 19 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Book Reviews: The Sad, Sorry World of Watergate Memoirs

  

  There is no literary subgenre sadder than Watergate memoirs. It was bad enough that Richard Nixon and his cronies inflicted Watergate and its ancillary crimes... Read more

  Posted on 16 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Hustler

  

  Robert Rossen's penultimate film, The Hustler (1961) makes an excellent drama. Featuring one of Paul Newman's best performances, it's a stone-cold classic. Read more

  Posted on 29 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History Buffs: Lawrence of Arabia Review

  

  Last week, the History Buffs YouTube channel (devoted to analyzing historical accuracy of movies) uploaded a detailed and worthwhile review of Lawrence of... Read more

  Posted on 28 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Cincinnati Kid

  

  (1967) started as a Sam Peckinpah project, until that director's antics on Major Dundee led to his firing. Norman Jewison took over, helming this slick but... Read more

  Posted on 28 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Falling Down

  

  "Feels good to exercise your rights, doesn't it?"Joel Schumacher isn't associated with scintillating satire or trenchant commentary: see his tone-deaf racial... Read more

  Posted on 25 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Jungle Book (2016)

  

  Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book (2016) marks Disney's third stab at Rudyard Kipling's stories. The first was a 1967 animated effort, well-liked but rarely ranked... Read more

  Posted on 24 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Last American Hero

  

  (1973) started as a euphoric Tom Wolfe profile of NASCAR driver Junior Johnson. Lamont Johnson adapted it into a fine film, critically acclaimed but shunned by... Read more

  Posted on 23 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History: Eugene McCarthy Versus The Democratic Party, 1968

  

  Eugene McCarthy (1916-2005) made an unlikely insurgent. An alumnus of St. John's University, he was a devout Catholic who'd considered becoming a priest. Read more

  Posted on 19 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History: Spiro Agnew Grooves On

  

  Forty-three years after resigning, Spiro Agnew (1918-1996) remains one of America's most controversial Vice Presidents. He was Richard Nixon's point man for... Read more

  Posted on 18 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History: George Wallace Stands Up For America, 1968

  

  History records George Wallace (1918-1998) as the villain of America's greatest morality play, the Civil Rights Movement. While Wallace earned his reputation... Read more

  Posted on 15 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History: William Scranton for President 1964, Part Two

  

  William Scranton: Showdown in San Francisco Part OneOn June 12th, 1964, William Scranton announced his candidacy in Baltimore, Maryland. Like the Republican... Read more

  Posted on 09 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History: William Scranton for President, 1964

  

  William Warren ScrantonLike most politicians, William Warren Scranton (1917-2013) disclaimed interest in politics. "I never intended to make public political... Read more

  Posted on 07 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Blog News: Fewer but Better Posts

  

  Groggy, I've been fascinated by your Five Year Plan for the last eight years!I hope you've enjoyed my last two long form articles, on The Wind and the Lion and... Read more

  Posted on 06 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History: Nelson Rockefeller and the Demise of the Liberal Republican

  

  Nelson A. RockefellerNelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908-1979), longtime Governor of New York and Vice President, looms over America's political landscape. Read more

  Posted on 05 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Let's Look Ferocious: The Wind and the Lion, the Mayaguez Incident and...

  

  The Milius Doctrine: Steve Kanaly as Captain JeromeIn May 1975, Americans witnessed two swashbuckling spectacles affirming American military might. Read more

  Posted on 02 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Divergent and The Divergent Series: Insurgent

  

  Despite my soft spot for YA adaptations, bad reviews and apathy kept me away from Divergent (2014) and its sequel. Still, with a new installment in theaters... Read more

  Posted on 02 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rage (1972)

  

  George C. Scott tried directing with Rage (1972), a conspiracy thriller reedited, then buried by the studio. Whether due to Warner Bros. meddling or Scott's... Read more

  Posted on 31 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Night Moves (1975)

  

  One of Arthur Penn's least memorable movies, Night Moves (1975) seems like a feature length TV episode. Gene Hackman's dependable performance anchors an... Read more

  Posted on 30 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES