Christopher Saunders

LATEST ARTICLES ( 667 )

• Reflections in a Golden Eye

  

  Some movies are hard to swallow, but Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) is truly indigestible. John Huston's overheated flop is Tennessee Williams by way of Pie... Read more

  Posted on 28 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Sergeant

  

  Rod Steiger is Classic Hollywood's most frustrating star. With the right role and capable direction, Steiger can be brilliant: On the Waterfront, Doctor Zhivago... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• RIP Richard Attenborough

  

  Today Richard Attenborough, legendary actor-director, died at age 90. A great loss to all of us cinephiles, whether we remember him as Big X, John Hammond or th... Read more

  Posted on 25 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Tea and Sympathy

  

  Let's mark Tea and Sympathy (1956) as Exhibit A of Hayes Code squeamishness. Robert Anderson's play wrestled frankly with sexual identity, a verboten subject... Read more

  Posted on 23 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• 12 Angry Men

  

  "Do you think you were born with a monopoly on the truth?"Sidney Lumet was a provocative filmmaker, mixing edgy artistry with liberal outrage. Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

  

  John Huston had a flare for dynamic pairings in unlikely locations. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) isn't one of his best films, but its beautiful scenery and... Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Giver

  

  Lois Lowry's The Giver was a staple of childhood English classes and reading competition lists. With the recent glut of young adult films, it naturally... Read more

  Posted on 17 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Stalag 17

  

  "How do you expect to win the war with an army of clowns?"Billy Wilder's films often navigate a tightrope between comedy and drama. Stalag 17 (1953) is an... Read more

  Posted on 15 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• RIP Lauren Bacall

  

  More sad news: RIP to Lauren Bacall, the long-lived, classy star of The Big Sleep, Key Largo, North West Frontier and The Shootist, among many others.Back to... Read more

  Posted on 13 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• RIP Robin Williams

  

  Robin Williams, the legendary actor-comedian, died at age 63. Early sources are suggesting he committed suicide, which is a horrible shame. Read more

  Posted on 12 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Kissinger and Nixon

  

  TNT produced Kissinger and Nixon (1995) to capitalize on Oliver Stone's Nixon. Drawing on Walter Isaacson's biography of Henry Kissinger, it focuses on the... Read more

  Posted on 09 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Secret Honor

  

  Richard Nixon's had some strange cinematic incarnations, but Robert Altman's Secret Honor (1984) takes the cake. Many consider this one-man show - 90 minutes... Read more

  Posted on 07 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• In Which Groggy Kicks Dick Nixon Around and Charges with Lord Cardigan

  

  Today, I've had two pieces published on two separate websites! Please forgive me a few paragraphs of self-promotion.First, to mark the upcoming 40th... Read more

  Posted on 06 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• King Rat

  

  (1965) provides a grisly antidote to prisoner-of-war films. Even sober POW flicks like Grand Illusion and Bridge on the River Kwai inject escape attempts or... Read more

  Posted on 03 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Ghosts of Mississippi

  

  Rob Reiner's Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) probes a sensational real-life murder case with the wit and insight of an NBC movie-of-the-week. Stanley Kramer would... Read more

  Posted on 01 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Groggy's Latest Project: Twilight of the Clods

  

  "You will answer for everything you post on here. Remember that!"Over the past few months, I've started a few fiction projects which flamed out unceremoniously. Read more

  Posted on 30 July 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

  

  Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) was much better than expected. Admittedly it got more mileage from its awesome effects than the story, but it entertained... Read more

  Posted on 27 July 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Scalphunters

  

  Sydney Pollack's The Scalphunters (1968) is lightweight entertainment. At heart it's a counterfeit Spaghetti Western, retaining the double-crosses and coarse... Read more

  Posted on 26 July 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Groggy on Moviepilot: Western Ruminations

  

  Every few months Groggy gets enough stamina to sit down and write something for Moviepilot. Tonight's feature is Where Have All the Westerns Gone?, a brief... Read more

  Posted on 25 July 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

  

  I confess that The Mysteries of Pittsburgh's charms elude me: Michael Chabon's debut novel is a convoluted coming-of-age story crammed with snotty characters an... Read more

  Posted on 24 July 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES