The “Movies of the Century – Year by Year” can be found here. Happy New Year, maybe. It feels strange that we are entering the 25th year of the 21st century, so I guess there should be 24 movies here, but it’s too late now and it’s my list. Continuing last year’s tradition, this is the […]
The tradition continues. What began in the previous year continues through 2023. And if we’re all still alive and able to comprehend the insanity of global and domestic events next year, it will continue again. You will notice some changes to this list, as well as the next one. That’s part of the fun of continuity. As time accrues, […]
★★ In his elder years, Steven Spielberg, my favorite filmmaker, has outsourced his creative instincts to an inferior. Now that inferior has both politicized and trivialized his own life story, and Spielberg can only play to its hits like a copycat. The Fabelmans is perhaps the least affecting film Spielberg has ever made. So disjointed […]
★★★★ Schindler’s List should be remembered for more than just being a Holocaust movie. It takes more than simply depicting a violent historical subject to make a film as magnificent as Schindler’s List is. Steven Spielberg may have been personally drawn to the subject, but the story he actually told with his 1993 black & […]
The “Movies of the Century – Year by Year” can be found here. And now the second list to end the year 2022; Merry Christmas to all! This is the list of the century’s best and most significant films, separate from my own list of subjective preferences, but perhaps not entirely so. This list will […]
The Best of the Century List can be found here. So begins a new tradition on V for Verbatim. Lists are fun. They’re what movie writing is all about; they’re instant conversation starters, useful catalogues that remind people “hey, this movie exists too.” But cinema has had something of a problem lately that goes beyond […]
I probably should have written this list at the very beginning of the year. 2021 wasn’t a great year in cinema, nor was the year before it. In fact, the last couple of decades have not been particularly great for cinema as an art medium nor a positive force for shaping popular culture. But since […]
★★ Steven Spielberg (without Tony Kushner) already made a musical. It was called Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In that film, anything went. In West Side Story (2021), nothing did. When the two leads aren’t there, the picture is occasionally tolerable. Like the original, the two leads are the least interesting pieces of […]
★★★★ “Dear Madam, I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement . . . that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from […]
This article was originally published on the Cinematic Katzenjammer in May 2019 for the 35th Anniversary of this film’s original release. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a masterpiece. It is a glorious fun-house roller coaster made by disturbed geniuses in perfect harmony with each other. Their goal – anything goes. That opening […]
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published on the Cinematic Katzenjammer in May, 2018. The following article is subjective, deeply personal, and politically charged in ways that are sure to upset at least one person. It is that way perhaps for no other reason than because I will begin my celebration of Steven Spielberg by […]
These are my projections for the Big 8. Best Motion Picture of the Year Nominees My Preference My Projection Amour: Margaret Ménégoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Michael Katz Argo: Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney Argo: Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Cloony Beasts of the Southern Wild: Dan Janvey, Josh Penn, Michael Gottwald Django Unchained: Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone Django Unchained: Stacy Sher, Reginald Hudlin, Pilar […]
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