Christopher Saunders

LATEST ARTICLES ( 667 )

• 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

• 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