By John H. Foote Lean was, before Spielberg, the great visual storyteller working in movies. It is no surprise the modern masters like Scorsese and Spielberg revere him, have paid homage to his work in their own, and been active in preserving his films. David Lean began his career in film as an editor,…
By John H. Foote He was one of the greatest character actors in movies, his immense talent crossing over to leading status. Honest, real, truthful in every performance he ever gave, I am not sure one could ever catch him “acting”. He burrowed under the skin of each character he brought to the screen, bringing…
By John H. Foote Skyscraper is like a piece of cotton candy, tasty, even exciting, but it melts fast and you forget about it until the next time. Kind of a merging of Die Hard (1988) with The Towering Inferno (1975) it is, surprise an action thriller loaded with huge action sequences, great visual effects,…
By John H. Foote (****) Two nominations? Sure, one of them was for Best Picture, but just two? The Post (2017) was acclaimed by most film critics and thought to be a major contender for Best Picture and Director, but when the nominations were announced the film, easily one of last year’s finest and most…
By John H. Foote He was broke, he could not get work, his wife was pregnant, he was desperate, and he was scared. The idea came to him watching the Ali vs. Werner fight, when a virtually unknown boxer went fifteen rounds with the champion, Muhammad Ali. In three days he hammered out a screenplay and with…
By John H. Foote (****) Released in March, this exceptionally original horror film did very well at the box office and with film critics who praised the taut, tight direction of actor John Krasinski, and the performances of the entire cast. The opening moments invite us into this world, earth, but something has happened. The…
By John H. Foote There was a sense for many years that there were no great, even good films emerging out of Canada, and our actors and directors bolted for the U.S. the moment they could. No good films in this country? Baloney! Or should I say poutine! Some of the films emerging from Canada…
By John H. Foote (****) The first film Sofia Coppola directed after her brilliant, career altering Lost in Translation (2003) was her dream project on the young queen, Marie Antoinette. Armed with an Oscar for her Screenplay, and a nomination for Best Director for Lost in Translation (2003), The first American woman to be so…
HEAVEN’S GATE – A LOOK BACK; A LOOK TODAY By John H. Foote It was never as bad as the critics made it out to be. They were out for blood, after being lied too and betrayed by director-writer Michael Cimino and blood they got. Cimino made it easy for them given his irresponsible behaviour…
TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (****) By John H. Foote My wife was very close with her mother. Best friends. They could spend an entire day together, then call each other at night to chat some more. Ellie often went with us to various events, movies, plays, fairs, to hear the folk group Tanglefoot, and of course…