Christopher Saunders

LATEST ARTICLES ( 659 )

• Rocky II

  

  "Was ya ever punched in the face 500 times a night? It stings after a while, ya know."Rocky (1976) proved incredibly successful, winning Best Picture (among... Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rocky

  

  Depending who you ask, Rocky's (1976) backstory is either a real-life Cinderella tale or a studio con job. Sylvester Stallone, struggling actor-filmmaker, sold ... Read more

  Posted on 15 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Bridge of Spies

  

  Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies (2015) suffers from both distended dramaturgy and a compromised Cold War liberalism not seen since Hubert Humphrey. Read more

  Posted on 15 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• France

  

  As everyone likely knows, yesterday saw a horrible wave of terrorist attacks in Paris, France. Seven attacks, most notably a massacre at the Bataclan concert... Read more

  Posted on 14 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Comanche Station

  

  "A man can cross over anytime he has the mind."Budd Boetticher closed out his Ranown cycle with Comanche Station (1960), another chamber Western starring... Read more

  Posted on 14 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Raging Bull

  

  (1980) is Martin Scorsese's most challenging film - no mean feat, considering his filmography. Like Taxi Driver, it studies a malcontent, but Jake LaMotta... Read more

  Posted on 01 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Cat O'Nine Tails

  

  Dario Argento all but disowned his second feature, The Cat O'Nine Tails (1970). More detective story than horror flick, it's a sloppy show that's entertaining... Read more

  Posted on 30 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Power and the Glory (1933)

  

  "You can't judge him by ordinary standards. They wouldn't fit him. He was too big."William K. Howard's The Power and the Glory (1933) was lost for decades,... Read more

  Posted on 27 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rancho Notorious

  

  "He might be a joy, but don't send a boy to do the work of a man!"Fritz Lang's first two Westerns, The Return of Frank James (1940) and Western Union (1941), ar... Read more

  Posted on 25 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• RIP Maureen O'Hara

  

  Maureen O'Hara, John Ford's favorite leading lady, passed away at age 95. Best-known for her pairings with John Wayne in The Quiet Man and several other... Read more

  Posted on 25 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Steve Jobs

  

  (2015) isn't your average biopic. Danny Boyle tries an episodic look at Jobs' life and achievements, probing his personality through high-pressure situations.... Read more

  Posted on 25 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Goosebumps

  

  Like most of my generation, I grew up reading R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books. Since reading Cuckoo Clock of Doom at age ten, they've been a not-so-guilty... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Isle of the Dead

  

  "The Greek gods are more powerful than my science."Most moviegoers dismiss Isle of the Dead (1945) as lesser Val Lewton. Indeed it's rough around the edges,... Read more

  Posted on 18 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Ghost Ship (1943)

  

  "There are some captains who would hold this against you!"For decades, The Ghost Ship (1943) became Val Lewton's most obscure film. Two writers sued RKO for... Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Seventh Victim

  

  Val Lewton scored his biggest artistic success with ;The Seventh Victim (1943). Freshman director Mark Robson replaces Jacques Tourneur for a Lewton film even... Read more

  Posted on 13 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Lawrence of Arabia (and Val Lewton) Updates

  

  The LA Times reports that the remarkable editor Anne V. Coates will receive a career achievement award from the LA Film Critics. Ms. Read more

  Posted on 11 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Leopard Man

  

  After two masterful horror films (Cat People and I Walked With a Zombie), Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur's last collaboration is an underwhelming thriller. Read more

  Posted on 09 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Black Mass

  

  Whitey Bulger's Boston criminal empire, alliance with the FBI, decades-long disappearance and dramatic arrest are tailor-made for Hollywood. Read more

  Posted on 04 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• October

  

  As my readers know, blogging's slowed to a trickle in 2015. More than anything else, some inner ailment - stress, depression, malaise, whatever - is afflicting... Read more

  Posted on 01 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Ugly American

  

  "The only thing that is clear is that there's no clarity at all."The Ugly American (1962) is an earnest but tin-eared drama. Director George Englund boils Eugen... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES