Tag Archives: film

January 15, 2018

Happy Birthday Steven Soderbergh

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Born on January 14, 1963, in Atlanta, Steven Soderbergh found filmmaking in his teens. His Hollywood apprenticeship included work as a cue card holder and a director of concert films. In 1986, his film Sex, Lies, and Videotape helped launch the surge … Continue reading →

December 11, 2017

Happy Birthday Frank Sinatra

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One hundred-and-one years ago, Francis Albert Sinatra entered the world in Hoboken, New Jersey. He proceeded to live one of the more completely lived lives this side of Casanova. Though foiled by television, Sinatra otherwise thrived across mass media, earning love … Continue reading →

September 29, 2016

Throwbacklist Thursday: I Learned Law at the Movies

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Courtroom dramas and filmed jury rooms have left an indelible impression on Americans. That impression? The law is so straightforward you can wrap up any case in a maximum of two hours. Unless you’re trying to win an Oscar. Then … Continue reading →

July 8, 2016

You the Mancini

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Successful beyond belief in his chosen trade of making soundtrack music, Henry Mancini also enjoyed good fortune (made one, too) with forays into the pop charts. When he hit, he hit big. His Theme from Peter Gunn not only sold … Continue reading →

March 4, 2016

Bubbly with Success

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Pixar is on a winning streak, to say the least. Its animated films not only rack up large box office, they hit the cultural zeitgeist gong in a way that other studios and creators can only dream about. Last year’s Inside … Continue reading →

March 1, 2016

Serve It Up with Oscar!

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Sunday night, Mexican filmmaker and auteur Alejandro González Iñárritu took home the Academy Award for Best Director, for his film The Revenant. The Revenant first went into production in 2001. Like many films, it took a long journey through the Hollywood sausage factory … Continue reading →

February 25, 2016

Throwbacklist Thursday

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From Beyoncé to Shonda Rhimes to Laverne Cox, African American women have a higher profile up and down our pop culture than at any time in the past. Of course, the past was not exactly rife with opportunity for women … Continue reading →

February 12, 2016

Ain’t Valentine’s Day

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Love can be hard in real life. It’s always hard in film noir. As the essays in the starry-eyed UIP release Kiss the Blood Off My Hands show, getting involved with guys and/or dames only leads to trouble, and quite often to murder, … Continue reading →

October 29, 2015

Throwbacklist Thursday

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You can’t spell “books” without “boo” and UIP publishes many tomes of knowledge eldritch and/or arcane. Can you use these books and journals to cast spells? To revive octopus-faced gods in their undersea cities? To conjure the beefalo tacos you crave? Frankly, … Continue reading →

July 30, 2015

Bigger than life: Sinatra’s image at 100

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Today our 1915: Whatta Year! series turns to pop culture colossus Frank Sinatra, born on December 12 of that storied year in Hoboken, New Jersey. “Ol Blue Eyes” made his name with his voice, but he was a fixture on the silver screen beginning … Continue reading →