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Marilyn Monroe didn’t want to appear in River of No Return, nor did Otto Preminger want to direct it, especially if Marilyn was to star. Studio contracts forced them into it and we’re all the better for it today. River of No Return is a fine mid-Fifties Western, with surprising Italian root…
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Marilyn sings: Let it wash over you.
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In Old California is a simpleminded recreation of Old Sacramento in 1848 and then 1849, made in 1942. A quasi-historical tale, it mostly exists to showcase John Wayne looking quite-the-dandy, from Boston even. The settings are the thing now: pre-49er San Francisco and then up the river to Old…
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John Wayne, the Boston Dandy
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Frank Sinatra won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical as the womanizing nightclub singer in Pal Joey. Sandwiched between the glamorous Rita Hayworth and the luscious Kim Novak, he’s at his lounge-lizard best in this mid-century paean to pre-liberation sexual politics. It’s a wh…
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The Lady is a Tramp - Sinatra simmers
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Iconic rapper Eminem achieved pop culture immortality in this loose recreation of his emergence from the Detroit hip-hop scene. It’s been said that 8 Mile plays like a rap version of Saturday Night Fever. True enough, though it achieves greater resonance by profiling its own star and memo…
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Eminem's Lose Yourself set to 8 Mile ...
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The pop art perfection of A Hard Day’s Night captures the greatest band ever in their greatest movie. They’d make other movies and more transcendent music, but Richard Lester’s revolutionary film first revealed the Beatles to be as smart as they were sexy. And they were super sexy. Mockumenta…
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John plays with Patty Boyd and Pru Bury
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A Late Quartet is a pleasant surprise, a little movie getting its main airplay nowadays at 30,000 feet. Tune in when it comes on if you appreciate intelligent interpersonal drama, with relatable adults working through the consequences of a lifetime of decisions, mistakes and challenges. Four …
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Colleagues, Family, Lovers: Complicated
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Hollywood perfection, thy name is Singin’ in the Rain. Forget the singing, forget the dancing, see it for the sparkling comedy. It’s simply studded with LOLs. Though many of us have seen outtakes, especially Gene Kelly’s Singing’ in the Rain number, every movie fan should see the entir…
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Dancing with the Stars? Stars dancing.
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The Commitments retains its charm some 25 years after it premiered, even as Ireland and the music world have changed dramatically in the intervening quarter-century. That charm stems from a can’t-miss combination of sweet soul music, quirky characters coming together in a band, and some real se…
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Irish take on sweet soul music
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Nowhere Boy is a portrait of the artist as a very young man. Which artist? John of Nowhere Man fame, of John, Paul, George and Ringo fame. That makes it essential viewing for Beatle fans; optional for squares. Raised by an aunt who took him in, tempted and betrayed by the mother who g…
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The real John -- aspiring British Elvis
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Michael Jackson – like Elvis – left the building at a shockingly young age, inadvertently bestowing this rehearsal documentary to posterity. It’s quite the confection, demonstrating the singular brilliance of an otherworldly showbiz creature while leaving us wanting more. The movie makes clea…
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This - in long form - Is It.
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