Movie thoughts and fiction updates.
#4 in my ranking of John Ford's filmography. This is one of the most delightful and effortlessly entertaining film romances. It also might be the ultimate John Ford film, bringing together almost everything that made his films his own in one package. There's Ireland, male bonding, horse racing, and John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, along… Continue reading The Quiet Man
#5 in my ranking of John Carpenter's films. In order to further prove himself to Hollywood, Carpenter took on this project, a script that had been in consideration for production by Columbia at the same time that Spielberg made E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, as an effort to prove that he could work outside of horror. The… Continue reading Starman
#27 in my ranking of Howard Hawks' filmography. This is a surprisingly toothless historical drama that carries my interest through the entire film, but leaves me feeling unfulfilled. Reading up on it afterwards, Barbary Coast was adapted from a novel by Herbert Asbury that was far more lurid in its depiction of life in San… Continue reading Barbary Coast
#25 in my ranking of Howard Hawks' filmography. This is a fine little movie from the 1930s. Anchored by a rather outrageous performance from Edward G. Robinson, it's the story of two men in love with the same woman set to the backdrop of the tuna fishing industry out of San Diego. It's perhaps too… Continue reading Tiger Shark
#10 in my definitive ranking of David Lynch's films. This is probably the most extreme example of the combination of wildly variant tones that David Lynch revels in. Adapted from the novel by Barry Gifford, Wild at Heart is a combination of Badlands, The Wizard of Oz, and Blue Velvet thrown into a blender and… Continue reading Wild at Heart
David Vining, Author 