Christopher Saunders

LATEST ARTICLES ( 659 )

• Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

  

  "You stick with me kid, you're gonna live forever!"Michael Cimino got his start directing Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974). An ambling, engaging thriller, it's... Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Room (2015)

  

  was the odd film out at this year's Oscars, a heart-wrenching chamber drama lost amidst topical true stories, bloody frontier epics and overwrought Spielberg... Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Great Man

  

  Jose Ferrer directs and stars in The Great Man (1956), which isn't a great movie. Based on Arthur Godfrey, the same television personality who inspired Elia... Read more

  Posted on 03 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Gabriel Over the White House

  

  What happens when you blend anger at the Great Depression, New Deal idealism and William Randolph Hearst's politics? You get Gabriel Over the White House (1933)... Read more

  Posted on 02 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Candidate (1972)

  

  "Vote once, vote twice for Bill McKay, you middle-class honkies!"Michael Ritchie's The Candidate (1972) provides a cynical twist on a familiar story. Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Obligatory Oscar Commentary

  

  The Oscars were last night. I didn't watch the telecast, so no deep thoughts on Chris Rock's performance or the inevitable interminable musical numbers. I... Read more

  Posted on 29 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• A Face in the Crowd

  

  "I'm not just an entertainer. I'm an influence, a wielder of opinion, a force!"Few films are as prescient as A Face in the Crowd (1957). Read more

  Posted on 29 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Network

  

  "You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale!"Sidney Lumet's Network (1976) is a "classic" that leaves me cold. Read more

  Posted on 28 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• All the King's Men (1949)

  

  "Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption!"Modern political dramas owe a debt to All the King's Men (1949). Robert Rossen's classic plays as an epic... Read more

  Posted on 27 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Where the Sidewalk Ends

  

  "Your job is to detect criminals, not to punish them." Six years after Laura (1944), Otto Preminger reteamed Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney for Where the Sidewal... Read more

  Posted on 26 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Lost Weekend

  

  "I'm not a drinker; I'm a drunk."Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend (1945) still packs a punch. This grim portrayal of a man's descent into alcoholism won Best... Read more

  Posted on 25 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• No Way Out (1950)

  

  "You ain't gonna change the world; you've got work to do."Classic Hollywood handled racism with kid gloves; films that bothered allowed their message to outweig... Read more

  Posted on 24 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• God's Not Dead

  

  (2014) was an unexpected blockbuster, striking a chord with Christian evangelicals who decry Starbucks cups and halal-certified turkeys as landmarks in our... Read more

  Posted on 22 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Heavenly Creatures

  

  Peter Jackson scored an early success with Heavenly Creatures (1994). It's based on a bizarre true story, a New Zealand murder by two disturbed teens (one of... Read more

  Posted on 20 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Passion of Ayn Rand

  

  Ayn Rand is an intriguing subject. Her life - her escape from Soviet Russia and integrating into American society, her ideology, her bizarre personality cult -... Read more

  Posted on 19 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• More Marvel Miscellanea: Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy

  

  For better or worse, the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows no signs of stopping. It behooves all sentient beings to follow Marvel's cinematic hegemony, which now... Read more

  Posted on 13 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• In the Line of Fire

  

  Clint Eastwood scores one of his best roles with In the Line of Fire (1993). Wolfgang Petersen's thriller does an excellent job matching Clint's persona with a... Read more

  Posted on 13 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Game Change

  

  What a strange, memorable election 2008 was: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's brutal primary fight, John McCain and Sarah Palin's dysfunctional campaign,... Read more

  Posted on 12 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Sons and Lovers

  

  Jack Cardiff's Sons and Lovers (1960) is an affecting melodrama, adapted from D.H. Lawrence. While simplifying Lawrence's complex, morbid novel, Cardiff capture... Read more

  Posted on 10 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Tightrope

  

  One of Clint Eastwood's darkest vehicles, Tightrope (1984) gives an edge to his usual police roles. Sloppy and uneven, it gets by on atmosphere and Eastwood's... Read more

  Posted on 06 February 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES