The Movies I Watched in January

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 1974  7 

Being the Ricardos 2021  6 

The Big Street 1942  6

El bruto  1953  7

Casbah 1948  6

Dog Eat Dog 2016  6 

Exit Through the Gift Shop 2010  7

Exposed 1947  6

Five Minutes to Live 1961  5

Game of Thrones, Season 1 - 5  6 

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night 2014  7

 

The Glass Key 1942  7 

La grande illusion 1937  8

I Want to Live! 1958  7

Johnny Cool 1963  6 

Licorice Pizza 2021  7

Le livre d'image 2018  6

The Lodger 1944  6 

Phantom Lady 1944   7 

The Power of the Dog 2021  8 

Prince of Darkness 1987  6

A Quiet Place Part II 2020  6 

Stowaway 2021  6

Violet & Daisy 2011  7

Whispering Footsteps 1943  6

New Stuff: Johnny Cash

ReMastered: Tricky Dick and the Man in Black (2018)

Concerned by a rising rock-n-roll influence on a growing liberal fanbase, President Nixon invited Johnny Cash to the White House to solidify his base in the traditionally more conservative genre of country music.

A singular historic episode is competently analyzed within the times' contact and biographical details and gives  a good impression of the artist's personality - and his courageousness and integrity.

Stagecoach (1986)

A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.

Competent and loyal TV remake of the Western classic from 1939 is well-intentioned, but adds nothing to justify why it was done.

New Stuff: Johnny Cash

With shock I recently discovered that for some reason i so far hadn't purchased this second album of the American Recordings series yet.

Rarely Heard: Johnny Cash - I See a Darkness

In the 1980s Columbia Records dropped Johny Cash, and it was only until 1994 that his career was rejuvenated by his work with the rock and rap producer Rick Rubin and the American Recordings series of albums. The concept was to record his own songs together with cover versions of more contemporary songs. The albums received great critical acclaim and were commercially successful. I was asked why I'd put his version of Bonnie Prince Billy's I See a Darkness (a favourite of mine in the original and in Cash's version) on my Rarely Heard list. Although his famous cover of Hurt has 28 million views at YouTube, his I See a Darkness has 28 thousand. Hurt has been heard 1,000 times more often, although in my opinion his interpretation of I See of Darkness is equally successful and deserves much more attention. By the way, Bonnie Prince Billy himself joins in on the refrain.

Walk the Line (2005)

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

Exemplary Hollywood biopic with some great performances and some tasteful use of Johnny Cash's songs.

New Stuff: Johnny Cash

To my surprise there is now a 6th volume to this great series. It is not just because I'm a completist, moreover I do expect some good music on this latest edition.