Movie thoughts and fiction updates.
#47 in my ranking of John Ford's filmography. I saw this movie once about fifteen years ago and was underwhelmed. Much like revisiting Doctor Zhivago much later in life, I went in prepared to see the heartwarming crowd pleaser that everyone else seems to see in John Ford's sole Best Picture winning film, and once… Continue reading How Green Was My Valley
#10 in my ranking of Martin Scorsese's films. This is kind of the ideal remake. It takes a concept with great potential that the original didn't fully realize, deepens it, does more with it, and transplants it to a completely different setting. This isn't just Infernal Affairs in America, this is Infernal Affairs in Boston.… Continue reading The Departed
A quick break from the Fellini circus. This is a stripped down bare version of the crime thriller. Characters exist purely as archetypes with little to no life outside of the job at hand. The movie is purely about the crime and ensuing investigation. The movie is told in a handheld, cinema verité style that… Continue reading The French Connection
I've never loved this movie. Upon it's original release I liked it fine, but I simply could not understand why it won Best Picture over The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It was partially pique on my part at the time, but revisiting this film for the first time in over… Continue reading A Beautiful Mind
#12 in my ranking of Robert Zemeckis films. Gosh, some people really love this movie, and there's no way to convince me that a lot of that isn't due to nostalgia on the part of the audience. The main character's journey functions as a survey of the 60s, prime material for Baby Boomers to relive… Continue reading Forrest Gump
David Vining, Author 