Recommended by Robin Starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven If you haven’t seen this movie in a while, it is time to watch it with the kids. Charming, joyous, and full of holiday magic and Cary Grant–what more can you wish for?
Read MoreScrooge (1970) – Recommended by Robin A wonderful yet oft-overlooked musical version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”. It is my belief that when you film a classic of any kind casting is EVERYTHING. Albert Finney stars as Scrooge along with a cast of fabulous British screen and stage actors. Finney won a Golden Globe [...]
Read MoreThis is the first in an occasional series of lists from our esteemed Video Station employees. Shown here are the films that made store owner Bruce’s list of the “Best Films of the Decade” (in no particular order) — with links to IMDB or our own staff reviews where available. What are your favorite films [...]
Read MoreOur Man Havana (1959) Finally available in the U.S., after years of being out of print, Alec Guinness’s portrayal of a vacuum salesman recruited as a spy by British Secret Service was a welcome reunion of director Carol Reed and writer Graham Greene (after the great The Third Man). Part comedy, part espionage, Our Man [...]
Read MoreBrief Encounter (England/1945) Before David Lean started making “David Lean” movies (i.e. Lawrence of Arabia & Dr. Zhivago) he made lovely, intimate dramas like this one. A bittersweet, troubled love story set in postwar London. It has influenced great directors for decades and it deserves a look from you today. – [imdb]
Read MoreTHE MANHATTAN PROJECT (1986) This is a nifty, intelligent and not-too-serious thriller from 1986 about a bright teenager (Christopher Collett) who builds his own atomic bomb. It was directed and co-written by Marshall Brickman, who co-wrote Annie Hall and, coincidentally, Manhattan.
Read MoreThe King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) Even if you have never played a video game in your life, you’ll be surprised how much you might get drawn into this entertaining real-life underdog story. It’s a depiction of the peculiar competitive arcade-game subculture and its smug patriarch, Billy Mitchell, who is amusing and [...]
Read MoreHigh and Low 1963 – Japan The great Akira Kurosawa is mostly famous for his epics set in medieval Japan, but my favorite Kurosawa film is set in modern-day Yokohama Harbor. High and Low (or by its alternate translation “Heaven and Hell”) is staged like a three-act play, beginning with a besieged businessman (Toshiro Mifune) [...]
Read More Akira Kurosawa, High And Low, Toshiro MifuneBilly Liar (1963) A light-hearted fable about a shy dreamer held down by his own reticence and the usual class struggles of 1950’s England. Tom Courtenay is the titular character, lost in his own dim fate, and Julie Christie is the girl who tries to help him break free. Definitely in line with the kitchen [...]
Read MoreThe Best of Youth (2003-Italy) First thing’s first: this movie is six hours long. But a good movie is never “too long” as far as I’m concerned, and when you finish with The Best of Youth, you’ll wish there was more. It’s like reading a good, satisfying novel. – [imdb]
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