Best Pictures #94: 2022 (95th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: The Fabelmans

 by A.J. 

Best Pictures #94: 2022 (95th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

The Fabelmans

“Movies are dreams, doll, that you never forget.”

It might seem odd to say that Steven Spielberg has never made a movie like The Fabelmans before. Yet, there are no aliens or dinosaurs or anything supernatural or futuristic, it is a period piece but not about a major historical event, nor is it an adaptation of a prestigious work. It is a family drama and a coming-of-age story. It is as though those superb, intimate moments of family life at the beginnings of JAWS, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Poltergeist (co-written and produced by Spielberg), or Catch Me If You Can get to play out in full. This is not precisely a biopic but it is a dramatization of Spielberg’s childhood and teenage years. Spielberg, of course, embraces sentiment but avoids schmaltz and solipsism and self-indulgence in both story and style to the betterment of his picture. Most importantly he also avoids false humility. Autobiographical aspects notwithstanding, only a master filmmaker like Spielberg could have made a movie as good as The Fabelmans, his best film in twenty years.

This story begins in 1952 in New Jersey as Burt and Mitzi Fabelman take their young son, Sammy, to the movies for the first time to see The Greatest Show on Earth (winner of the Best Picture Oscar that year). It is a life changing experience for Sammy. He is so affected by that movie’s incredible train crash scene that he has to recreate the moment, with the help of his understanding mother, with his toy train set and father’s home movie camera. Thus begins Sammy Fabelman’s life making movies, not as a hobby but because he has to. As time passes and the family moves first to Arizona then to California and Sammy becomes a teenager, and prefers to be called Sam, making movies allows him to see his family and his world in unexpected ways.

Michelle Williams receives top billing as Mitzi Fabelman, whose life is thrown off by the moves the family must make from one state to the next because of her husband Burt’s career. Williams is eccentric but not exactly over the top—a full blown over the top mother would feel too much like a Hollywood contrivance—though she seems to be channeling Liza Minnelli even in her less frantic moments. This is not a fault against her or the movie; her character carries the emotional burden that drives most of the story. Sam’s inner conflict comes in part from learning about his mother’s secret while editing a home movie. The Academy likes performances that it can “see,” so it is no surprise that she earned a Best Actress nomination. Paul Dano is cast perfectly as Burt Fabelman, an engineer working in the new field of computers who connects best with his loved ones when he is talking about technical things. He is a kind, gentle father and there is something of Christopher Walken as Frank Abagnale, Sr. from Catch Me If You Can in Dano’s performance. As lovable “Uncle” Benny, Burt’s best friend and colleague, Seth Rogan gives a career best performance, though he is still playing a comic relief character. Benny is not just Burt’s best friend but also Mitzi’s best friend and confidant and perhaps the audience, like Grandma Fabelman (Jeannie Berlin), will pick up on what only Sammy’s camera sees.

Like a whirlwind, Judd Hirsch, funny, exciting, a little frightening, and unforgettable, enters the movie as Uncle Boris only to exit as unexpectedly as he arrived. He talks to Sammy about being an artist, about having to choose art over family, about how Sammy loves that (the editing machine and film) a little more than his family. Hirsch’s screen time is limited, but memorable enough to have earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Of course, the real star of the movie is Gabriel LaBelle as teenage Sam Fabelman. He does a great job as a teenager who feels out of place in his new home and at his new school. He also has to deal with two kinds of bullies: Logan, the blond “all-American” boy who singles him out because he is new, and Chad, who singles him out because he is Jewish. The antisemitism he experiences in the early 1960’s southern California feels like a real threat (Logan really is no better than Chad); at best his Judaism makes him a fetish object for Monica, his Jesus obsessed high school girlfriend. The final confrontation between Sam and Logan is one of the most interesting bully-victim interactions I’ve seen on film. In a different film, this antisemitism would be the focus of the movie; here co-writers Spielberg and, recent favorite collaborator Tony Kushner, present it as an unsettling part of everyday life.

Composer John Williams, Spielberg’s favorite collaborator for 50 years now, turns in his most memorable score since Catch Me If You Can. Williams has long favored big brass focused scores composed in the key of G, like his themes for Superman or Raiders of the Lost Ark, but his score for The Fabelmans is piano based and gentle. Janusz Kaminski, Spielberg’s favorite cinematographer for decades, tones down his ostentatious style from last year’s West Side Story remake to create a memorable but not distracting visual style.   

At times The Fabelmans feels episodic, as any life story or memoir would, but it does not feel disjointed. It is a long movie but I do not think I would want anything cut. The small idiosyncratic moments that seem disposable are what create an authenticity that turn these characters into people.

This is not a love letter to movies, though it is filled with an unparalleled appreciation for the craft of making movies. I must admit that watching Sam figure out filming techniques reminded me of my own time at film school. I remember the excitement that Sam felt being able to film for six minutes without changing reels or the possibility of using a 16mm Arriflex camera, which I never got to do. For these reasons, the movie hit me in a certain way that I know will not work for everyone else. However, the emotions and themes at play throughout the story of the Fabelman family are universal and what really make it a great movie; it allows for a personal connection. In the final shot, Spielberg shows a playfulness and sense of humor that I have not seen in any of his other movies and that has endeared him to me most unexpectedly. Previous Spielberg movies have played with my heartstrings to great effect, but none have felt as close to my own heart as The Fabelmans. 

Nominees: Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner, producers

Director: Steven Spielberg

Screenplay: Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner

Cast: Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Gabriel LaBelle, Seth Rogan

Production Companies:Amblin Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Release Date: November 11th, 2022

Total Nominations: 7, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Actress-Michelle Williams; Supporting Actor-Judd Hirsch; Director-Steven Spielberg; Original Screenplay-Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner; Production Design-Rick Carter, Karen O'Hara; Original Score-John Williams

13 Nights of Shocktober: Poltergeist (1982)

by A. J. 

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. So, for the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some horror movie recommendations to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 4: Haunted House Night Redux

“They’re here.”

Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist is the rarest kind of horror movie: a non-R-rated horror movie that is truly terrifying. It also proves that a glossy mainstream studio movie can be as scary and disturbing as any indie or underground horror movie. Steven Spielberg produced and co-wrote the screenplay and it feels very much like a Spielberg movie that picked the wrong path through the forest. The dark, at times gruesome, nature of the scares can be attributed to director Tobe Hooper, most famous for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). There is controversy over who actually directed the movie, with claims that Spielberg either filled in for Hooper or micromanaged every detail of the production (the reason why depends on the source). Of course, this is all background and regardless of any behind the scenes controversy the final film is a horror movie that doesn’t pull any punches but is still widely appealing. 

Poltergeist is about a reasonably content average American family who lives in an idyllic suburb. A good portion of the movie is spent just getting to know the family on an emotional level. We don’t get much background about the parents, Steve (Craig T. Nelson) and Diane (JoBeth Williams), but thanks to the intimate moments we see and their performances, we feel as though we know them very well. Then, out of nowhere strange things start happening in their home. Their youngest daughter Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) starts talking to voices only she can hear coming through the static of the television. In one of the best non-monster scares in the movie, or maybe any movie, Diane looks away for a brief moment and when she looks back all of the dining room chairs have stacked themselves on top of the table. Things escalate quickly to terrifying levels when one night, again seemingly out of nowhere, an old spooky looking tree reaches into the son’s bedroom and takes him and tries to swallow him. Meanwhile, Carol Anne is sucked into another plane of existence by a vortex in her closet. Steven and Diane reach out to paranormal investigators at a university to try to figure out how to get Carol Ann back.  

From low key creepy touches like the flickering blue glow of the static on the television with its roar like a storm to a screaming demonic monster face to being tapped in a muddy swimming pool with corpses, there are all kinds of scares in Poltergeist. Perhaps one of the most memorable scenes involves an oversized clown doll that is already creepy to begin with before any paranormal activity starts. There are scares that involve only practical effects and makeup effects and scares that involve optical effects and composite shots. It’s no surprise that Poltergeist received Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects. They hold up very, very well and still pack tremendous shock value. It’s hard to pin down any one moment or scene as the scariest. There’s a good scare for everyone in Poltergeist and that is what makes it a great and lasting horror movie. 

As much as the special effects take center stage, the cast is great and what really grounds the film and makes all the scary moments so affecting. JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson are cast perfectly as the parents and they have a great casual chemistry. Maybe my favorite scene in the whole movie happens after they first experience the seemingly benign paranormal activity and go to a neighbor’s house to ask if they have experienced anything similar. In the middle of their question Steve and Diane become awkwardly giddy as they realize the strangeness of what they want to ask, all the while mosquitoes buzz around them. Child performances are always tricky as they can make or break an entire movie and O’Rourke does a great job as Carol Anne, too young and innocent to be suspicious of the voices she hears. A perfect example of the “there are no small parts” adage is Zelda Rubinstein as Tangina, a psychic the paranormal investigators turn to after they are totally overwhelmed. Emanating her own spooky atmosphere, she enters the film late, doesn't have much screen time and still manages to be one of the most memorable things about the movie, even along with the special effects.  

Poltergeist is a movie that a lot of kids end up watching because it is rated PG. At the time the PG-13 rating did not exist but it's still hard to believe that this movie is only PG and airs on television unedited. This was always a popular rental at Vulcan Video around Halloween in part because parents were renting it to watch with their kids or for their kids to watch on their own. It should be remembered, however, that this is a movie where, in one of the most impressive and grossest use of practical effects, a man hallucinates ripping his face apart and it’s not even the scariest thing in the movie. Horror movies that are just as scary 40 years after their first release are a rare thing indeed. It’s not a stretch to call Poltergeist a classic horror movie. 

Poltergeist airs on TCM on Friday, October 28th at 7PM CST and is streaming on HBOmax.

Best Pictures #77: 2021 (94th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: West Side Story (2021)

 by A.J.

Best Pictures #77: 2021 (94th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

West Side Story (2021)

“Life can be bright in America/If you can fight in America/Life is all right in America/If you're all white in America.”

Nearly every remake is unnecessary. The first exceptions that come to mind are John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon, John Carpenter’s The Thing, and Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. Each of these remakes found an approach that made the source material more effective on film, or expanded or modernized the story, or approached it from a different angle. Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, nominated for a total of 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director, makes slight changes here and there to the original and none of them help in any way. The 1957 Broadway musical and 1961 movie version updated the story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to the present day (at the time), moved the setting to a then blue collar, multiracial neighborhood in Manhattan, and injected the story with a youthful, lively energy by making it a musical and casting young people as the leads (the first film version of Romeo and Juliet to cast young people in the title roles wouldn't happen until 1968). It may feel dated or classic now, but it also feels very of its moment.

This version keeps the story in late 1950’s Manhattan with the only real update being smoothing over the more uncomfortable racial aspects of the original. Actual Latin actors play the Latin characters and are given more screen time and background. The Upper West Side is shown in the process of being demolished to make way for Lincoln Center (the opening scene of the original movie was filmed where my alma mater, Fordham University Lincoln Center, now stands). The white gang, the Jets, and the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks, are both the victims of gentrification, but this isn’t really explored beyond signs for demolition and new construction and a protest against evictions in the background.  

One night, Maria (Rachel Zegler) sees Tony (Ansel Elgort) across the dance floor and they meet behind behind the bleachers where he happens to be, seemingly lurking. They kiss and their fates are sealed. Unfortunately Zegler and Elgort don’t have much chemistry which is not good for a Romeo and Juliet adaptation. Scenes with Tony and Maria, even the balcony number, aren’t very compelling and that is when my focus began to wander. The less time between when the lovers meet and when they are married, symbolically or actually, the better. Otherwise, they might go on a boring date to the Cloisters museum and you would wonder why Maria wants to even be around this incredibly dull young man. Ansel Elgort is stiff as a board (I totally unintentionally spelled that “bored'' the first time) in nearly every scene. His lack of charm and charisma nearly sink the whole film, but everything else works well enough to keep the movie afloat. It helps that the real stars of the movie are the songs and dancing. 

Rachel Zegler gives a good performance as Maria but is overshadowed by the more interesting characters: Bernardo (David Alvarez), her brother and leader of the Sharks, and her best friend, Anita (Ariana DeBose, in a standout, Oscar nominated performance). Tony’s hotheaded friend, Riff , is not a very complex character but he is an exciting one thanks to a great performance by Mike Faist. Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for playing Anita in the original, is cast as the owner of the store where Tony works. Her presence is always welcome (whether she was in the original version of something or not) and she can’t help but be good, but the film seems to rely on her to lend it credibility.  

The cinematography by Janusz Kaminski is dazzling and uses lens flair and faux spotlights with great frequency but also to great effect. The production design and costumes are also great and eye catching, as you might expect. All have received Oscar nominations. The “rumble” scene in a salt warehouse is an exciting scene from start to finish that makes great use of all three elements. 

It took me a while to catch on that the order of songs had been changed and also who sings them. In the original, Riff and the Jets sing “Gee, Officer Krupke”, a song mocking the policeman always harassing them, directly to Officer Krupke, which is a pretty daring and defiant thing to do to a cop. Here, the Jets, sans Riff, sing it while waiting around in lock up after Officer Krupke has left. Tony is given more songs to sing which is a mistake. After the "rumble" scene there are only two songs, both of which are downbeat, and the movie really loses steam. These changes feel arbitrary and detrimental to the songs’ effectiveness and the flow of the story. It turns out that the creators of the original West Side Story thought out which order would make the songs most effective and found the best way. 

Is this version of West Side Story bad? No. Is it good? I suppose. I guess changing the order of the songs was one of the only ways this version could distinguish itself from the original. The sensibilities about race and gender and the acting styles have changed, but nothing else is really different. This is still the same story from 1957 that spoke to that era. A version of the story from Bernardo or Anita’s perspective or more directly dealing with gentrification or modern racial dynamics would mean the story would change. New songs would be required. If the plot or time period or setting were significantly changed then it wouldn’t be West Side Story. Spielberg and company set out to do West Side Story and that’s what they did.

P.S.

There is another movie musical from 2021 based on a Broadway show about a Hispanic/Latin neighborhood in Manhattan undergoing changes like gentrification with charming, lively characters dealing with these changes while also trying to live their idea of the American dream...and none of the characters are even in a gang or wield a knife. It is In the Heights, relatable and moving no matter your background or location, and it is the best movie of 2021. 

Nominees: Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, producers

Director: Steven Speilberg

Screenplay: Tony Kushner; based on the stage play, book by Arthur Laurents

Cast: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, Rita Moreno

Release Date: December 10, 2021

Production Companies: Amblin Entertainment, TSG Entertainment

Distributor: 20th Century Studios

Total Nominations: 7, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Supporting Actress-Ariana DeBose; Director-Steven Spielberg; Cinematography-Janusz Kaminski; Costume Design-Paul Tazewell; Production Design-Adam Stockhausen (production design), Rena DeAngelo (set decoration); Sound-Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson, Shawn Murphy

Best Pictures #14: 2015 (88th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee, Bridge of Spies (2015)

by A.J.

2015 (88^th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge of Spies, like fellow 2015 Best Picture nominee Spotlight, is the most difficult kind of thriller to execute: a true story to which you already know the ending. Spotlight had the advantage of being a detective story in addition to being a procedural to draw the audience into the plot. Bridge of Spies is also a procedural except the main character doesn’t know what the procedure is and has to figure it out along the way. That may be shaky material to start with, but in the skilled hands at work both on and off screen the result is an excellent low-key but suspenseful Cold War thriller.  

Bridge of Spies has two distinct settings each occupying a half of the film and presenting a different challenge for our hero, insurance lawyer James Donovan, played by Tom Hanks. In New York in 1957, where the film begins, Donovan is selected by his law firm for the task of defending recently arrested Soviet spy Rudolph Abel, played by Mark Rylance. It is a thankless task since Abel certainly is a spy, but the courts and Justice Department feel it is important that Abel appear to receive a fair trial and competent defense. They want someone to give the minimum effort required. They found the wrong man for that with Donovan. Abel’s trial is just for show, but Donovan takes the case seriously saying that every person matters and everyone deserves a defense. He gives Abel a more than competent defense much to the chagrin and disdain of the judge, his firm, and anyone that recognizes him on the street. I couldn’t help but be reminded of John Adams defending British soldiers after the Boston Massacre of 1770 to prove that American justice is truly fair and impartial. I think it is safe to assume both men share the belief that everyone deserves a fair trial and capable defense.  

Hanks fits into the role of James Donovan with convincing ease and brings his everyman persona to a character that is a low key, quiet badass. In scene after scene we him doing what he does best, which is not just practicing law, but also negotiating for “his guy,” unintimidated by whoever the other person in the room is. Donovan is going to do not just what is asked of him; he is going to do what he knows is right and fair. Hanks is great at playing Donovan with believable confidence and conviction and without condescension or any hint of self-righteousness.

The second half of the film gives Donovan an even bigger, more complicated challenge and sends him to Berlin, just as final stones of the wall dividing West and East Berlin are being set in place. He is asked by the CIA, unofficially, to travel to Berlin and negotiate a trade with the Soviets: Abel for recently captured U2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers, who was shot down over Soviet airspace. Making things even more complicated, the East Germans have arrested an American student that was caught on the wrong side of the wall. Donovan becomes determined to get both Americans back even though he has only one Soviet spy to trade, the U.S. doesn’t acknowledge the existence of the German Democratic Republic, and the CIA has no interest in getting the student back.

Both halves of Bridge of Spies are interesting and engaging but the film feels like it really takes off once Donovan is sent to Berlin. The people and bureaucrats that he encounters, East German and Soviet alike, range from suspicious to bizarre. He has a particularly amusing encounter with the dramatically expressive East German Attorney General, and Abel’s supposed family is an odd bunch, too. Joel and Ethan Coen co-wrote the screenplay and, unintentionally or not, the Berlin scenes have the eccentric Coen Brothers feel to them. 

Tom Hanks owns every scene he has in this movie, except for those he shares with Mark Rylance. They do not have many scenes together, but are immensely entertaining to watch. Rylance, nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar, is a quiet, unassuming presence on screen and provides some unexpected wry humor. Whether we are watching Jim Donovan negotiating an impossible exchange or watching Hanks and Rylance show us more by doing less, it is always interesting to watching someone do something very well.

This may be a story about spies and the Cold War but it is much more in line with the slow burn character heavy spy stories of John le Carrè, author of the novel that was adapted into the excellent Oscar nominated film, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). Most of the action in this movie comes from people talking in rooms sizing each other up, trying to find out what the other person knows while revealing as little as possible of what they know. The tension of those interesting, suspenseful, and entertaining scenes comes from the well-written and well played characters. Human lives, more so than government secrets, are at risk, and the only person aware of that in Bridge of Spies is Donovan. He tells a Soviet representative, “We need to have the conversation that our governments can’t.”

There are several things that have to be done well for a movie like Bridge of Spies to work and, fortunately, they are all done very well. The screenplay by Matt Charman and Joel & Ethan Coen, which is deservedly Oscar nominated for Original Screenplay, provides the actors with great material to work with. The cinematography by Janusz Kaminski gives Bridge of Spies the look and feel of a noir film. The dull, muted color palette of the costumes and production design makes the New York and Berlin of the past feel genuine and real and not like an exaggerated memory.

It has been a long time since I’ve been excited to see a movie directed by Steven Spielberg, or been excited by a movie by him. Spielberg’s movies over the past ten years have been good but uneven (Lincoln, 2012, Munich, 2005) or well-made but unremarkable (War Horse, 2011). I admit that I was not excited when I saw Spielberg’s name as director for this movie, but having seen it, I’m very glad with the result. It feels clichéd but accurate to say that Bridge of Spies is a “return to form” for Spielberg; this is the kind of quality I expect from a master filmmaker like him. This is a tough story for any filmmaker to tackle, but Spielberg has shown that he is still a skilled craftsman and was the right man for the job. Bridge of Spies, the last Spielberg movie I enjoyed completely from beginning to end was The Terminal, released in 2004. That film was also the last time he worked with Tom Hanks, so I can’t help but think that they bring out the best in each other.

Nominees: Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers

Director: Steven Spielberg

Screenplay: Matt Charman and Joel & Ethan Coen

Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan

Production Companies: DreamWorks Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, Participant Media, TSG Entertainment, Afterworks Limited, Studio Babelsberg, Amblin Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions

Distributor: Walt Disney Studios, 20^th Century Fox

Release Date: October 16^th, 2015

Total Nominations: 6, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Supporting Actor in a Supporting-Mark Rylance, Original Screenplay-Matt Charman and Joel & Ethan Coen, Production Design-Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo, Bernhard Henrich, Original Score-Thomas Newman, Sound Mixing-Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Drew Kunin   

Classic Movie Picks: November 2014

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

11/17, 8 PM - The Last Command (1928)
TCM's November Star of the Month is technically many stars -- the notable names of the silent film era. Emil Jannings, the star of my pick for tonight, was a popular silent film actor and even won the first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1928. However, his thick German accent made the transition to talkies problematic and his Hollywood career ended soon after the advent of sound. Starring alongside Jannings in The Last Command is an actor who was not held back by the change over to sound, and would become a huge star in the decades to come: William Powell. Jannings plays a former Russian Imperial general who, 10 years after the Russian revolution, is scraping by a living in Los Angeles as a movie extra. Powell is a famous film director, and former Russian revolutionary, who recognizes Jannings as a bully from the old country and casts him in a film as an act of revenge.


11/21, 8 PM - Duel (1971)
This month, TCM's Friday Night Spotlight features "Road Trip" movies hosted by comedian Bill Hader. The featured movies run the gamut from romantic comedy (It Happened One Night) to crime drama (Detour). I'm especially interested in this thriller starring Dennis Weaver as a lone motorist menaced by a mysterious truck driver. Though it was originally made for television, an extended version of Duel was released in theaters overseas, making it director Steven Spielberg's first major motion picture. I've always heard that it's a fun and suspenseful film which marked Spielberg's debut as a filmmaker to watch, so I'm looking forward to finally seeing Duel!

11/23, 8 PM - Plymouth Adventure (1952)
MGM gave the epic treatment to the Pilgrims' journey from England to America with this film centering on the captain of the Mayflower, played by Spencer Tracy. The Captain must deal with sea storms and a forbidden romance with Dorothy Bradford (Gene Tierney), wife of the Pilgrim's leader William Bradford. The film won an Oscar for its special effects, but ultimately was not a big hit. There aren't many movies with a Thanksgiving theme (granted, this one doesn't even really about the first Thanksgiving, just the Pilgrims), so I'm willing to give this one a try for the sake of getting in the holiday spirit.
If you are looking for some movie picks to build up your appetite in anticipation of the turkey dinner, check out my previous blog "A Filmable Feast."


11/25, 8 PM & 11:15 PM - A Night at the Movies: George Lucas and the World of Fantasy Cinema (2014)
9:15 PM - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
This installment of TCM's "classic film 101" documentary series, A Night at the Movies, looks at the broad category of fantasy film, featuring an interview with filmmaker George Lucas and clips of films through the decades, from King Kong and The Wizard of Oz in the 30s to Back to the Future and Labyrinth in the 80s, and of course a discussion of Lucas' Star Wars series.
The evening's (and next day's) line-up includes notable films from the fantasy genre, starting off with a favorite of mine, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty starring Danny Kaye as an average man with a better than average imagination.


11/26: Art Thefts
8 PM - Arsene Lupin (1932)
9:30 PM - Gambit (1966)
11:30 PM - The Fake (1953)
1 AM - The Happy Thieves (1962)
2:45 AM - The Light Touch (1952)
4:30 AM - Crack Up (1946)
I'm glad that this line-up of films about art thefts comes the night before Thanksgiving -- since I'm not going to work the next day, I'm free to stay up all night and watch movies! As a former art student and lover of a good heist, these films are right up my alley. Gambit, starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine, is a favorite of mine which takes a fresh approach to the story of a meticulously planned heist; however, the other films are new to me. The line-up features stars John Barrymore, Rex Harrison, Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger, George Sanders, and Claire Trevor (just to name a few) and the stories include stolen sculptures, forgery rings, fake daVincis, and even murder - should be an exciting evening!