Saturday, December 24, 2016
First Lines: Paul Fussell - The Great War and Modern Memory
By mid-December, 1914, British troops had been fighting on the Continent for over five months.
Friday, December 23, 2016
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
First Lines: Greil Marcus - Mystery Train
In 1951 Sam Phillips was the owner of a shoestring operation that cut records by young black blues singers in Memphis, Tennessee.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Resurrezione (2001)
At the end of the XIX century in Russia, a young prince is called as a jury-man in a trial, recognizes the defendant, a girl he seduced many years before, and decides to save her.
Epic Tolstoy adaptation for TV, delicately directed with much love to period details and with a competent cast, emphasizes the more melodramatic aspects of the novel.
I Love Trouble (1994)
Two competing newspaper reporters who join forces to unravel the mystery behind a train derailment.
Haphazard attempt of recreating and modernizing the screwball comedy is quite unfunny and unoriginal, despite even stealing some of the old jokes, and Roberts and Nolte simply don't fit as a romantic couple.
Halliwell (no star): "A romantic comedy that misses out on the romance and the wit."
Maltin**1/2: "Likable homage to vintage Hollywood bickering/bantering romantic comedies with a touch of adventure and suspense: there are even old-fashioned "wipes" between shots. Unfortunately, overlength hampers its cuteness, and reveals the degree of contrivance at work."
