Christopher Saunders

LATEST ARTICLES ( 659 )

• Hardcore

  

  Paul Schrader's Hardcore (1979) is a scalding experience. As in Taxi Driver, Schrader sets a self-proclaimed moralist loose in a depraved urban environment. Read more

  Posted on 30 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Tail Gunner Joe

  

  Peter Boyle achieved stardom as a bigoted hardhat in Joe (1970). It's appropriate that, seven years later, Boyle played an even bigger reactionary tribune:... Read more

  Posted on 28 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Friends of Eddie Coyle

  

  "Life is hard ... but it's harder if you're stupid!"Peter Yates's The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) is a unique caper movie. Stripped of thrills, sentiment and... Read more

  Posted on 27 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Ant-Man

  

  (2015) presented Marvel's cinematic juggernaut with a rare speedbump. The film spent years in development hell, with disputes between Disney, Edgar Wright and... Read more

  Posted on 27 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Brooklyn

  

  John Crowley's Brooklyn (2015) is a charming sleeper. It's a sweet, sincere romance with a winning turn by Saoirse Ronan. In the early '50s, Ellis Lacey (Saoirs... Read more

  Posted on 25 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• L.A. Confidential

  

  Time has treated L.A. Confidential (1997) well. Though modestly successful, it was overshadowed by Titanic's colossal success. Read more

  Posted on 25 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• 25th Hour

  

  After Bamboozled's divisive reception, Spike Lee moved into more conventional territory. Based on David Benioff's novel, 25th Hour (2002) is a slow-burn drama,... Read more

  Posted on 23 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Heaven's Gate

  

  "You can't force salvation on people Jim, it doesn't work."Michael Cimino's Heaven Gate (1980) is Hollywood's most infamous flop. Read more

  Posted on 21 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Born Again

  

  Irving Rapper's Born Again (1978) is a biopic of Chuck Colson, Watergate conspirator-turned-evangelical Christian. Intended as an uplifting religious drama, Bor... Read more

  Posted on 20 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• An Evening With Spike Lee

  

  Spike Lee at Carnegie Mellon (source)Last night, Spike Lee visited Pittsburgh. He hosted a screening of his latest film, Chi-Raq, for Carnegie Mellon's... Read more

  Posted on 20 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Chi-Raq

  

  Spike Lee's Chi-Raq (2015) is a sprawling, high-energy mess. One of Lee's most ambitious films, it's a theatrical display of neon-sign preachments more loud tha... Read more

  Posted on 20 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• He Got Game

  

  Spike Lee's always evinced a fascination with sports' contradictory role in American culture. He tackles the topic head-on in He Got Game (1998), a contrived... Read more

  Posted on 19 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• She's Gotta Have It

  

  Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It (1986) has the raw, unpolished feel of a great director's first movie. It's an energetic, engaging rough draft for Do the Right... Read more

  Posted on 18 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Play Misty for Me

  

  "The thing I hate the most in the whole world is a jealous female!"Clint Eastwood's directorial debut came with Play Misty for Me (1971). Read more

  Posted on 17 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Morning Glory (2010)

  

  Rachel McAdams has danced around stardom for the past decade. Despite appearing in hits like Mean Girls, The Notebook and Sherlock Holmes, she's never landed... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Path to War

  

  "What do you want me to do, kill everyone's grandmother in that place?" Lyndon Johnson remains one of America's most controversial, complex Presidents: a... Read more

  Posted on 14 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Foxcatcher

  

  Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher (2014) is a slow-burn psychodrama. Miller uses a real-life crime for an oppressive, eerie drama that's gripping, yet elusive. Read more

  Posted on 11 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Glory Guys

  

  Early in his career, Sam Peckinpah adapted Hoffman Birney's Custer-inspired novel The Dice of God into a screenplay. The project lingered in development hell fo... Read more

  Posted on 09 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Martian

  

  Last year's entry in the space exploration genre, Ridley Scott's The Martian (2015) underwhelms. Like most of Scott's work, it has a worthy premise, nice visual... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Truth (2015)

  

  Last year saw Spotlight, a well-made paean to investigative journalism, win Best Picture. A far messier reporting drama also appeared to middling reviews and... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES