Harvey Has Big Rabbit Energy

MASSIVE SPOILERS ABOUT HARVEY AHEAD

In a Lonely Place and its Humphery Bogart Performance Constantly and Brilliantly Subvert Viewer Expectations

SPOILERS FOR IN A LONELY PLACE FOLLOW 

By the time the 1950s began, American moviegoers were more than a touch familiar with the most well-worn routines of the genre that would be later known as film noir. So In a Lonely Place, a Nicholas Ray directorial effort, decided to play on this familiarity in a clever manner. This brilliant feature lulls the viewer into thinking they know every step of its story by, at first, playing itself as a straightforward film noir, right down to casting film noir legend Humphery Bogart in the lead role. But around the midpoint in the story, In a Lonely Place pulls the rug out of from under the viewer and subverts expectations over who and what this movie is really about. A traditional film noir, this is not, and In a Lonely Place is all the better for that!

The Third Man Is A Constantly Riveting Feature That Brilliant Subverts Norms of the Noir Genre

SPOILERS AHEAD! 

One of the many wonderful things about watching The Third Man for the first time was discovering it belong to one of my favorite subgenres of world cinema, post-World War II movies. I am utterly fascinated by non-American features that explore life directly in the wake of World War II, it's a perspective that was never covered in my public education experience and getting to explore the various perspectives of foreign countries in the wake of this worldwide conflict through the lens of cinema has been eye-opening. Bicycle Thieves, Tokyo Story, Drunken Angel, so many good stories have been told about people trying to move on with their lives in the wake of all the events of World War II and The Third Man is one of the most thrilling entries in this subgenre.

Great Performances And Amazing Writing Abound In The Excellent All About Eve

Just like last month's excellent Boots Riley directed feature Sorry To Bother You, the 1950 motion picture All About Eve is all about the price one pays when ascending the ladder of American success, with both examining how disenfranchised members of American society tend to have to sacrifice their own individual personalities in order to fit a narrow definition of what constitutes "successful" as defined by powerful white men. For All About Eve specifically, screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz, adapting a short story by Mary Orr, examines this phenomenon by looking at how all sorts of gender-related double standards for fame impact a trio of women, one of whom is the titular Eve, an acclaimed actor getting a prestigious award as the movie begins.

Rashomon Review (Classic Write-Up)

Similar to his endlessly remade 1954 work Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa's 1950 feature film Rashomon became so well-known and influential that its unique story structure (various individuals give their own retelling of a murder) was aped by countless movies and TV shows for decades to come. The first time I can recollect that I saw that specific narrative utilized was in an episode of Garfield & Friends and, of course, it wouldn't be the last time that style of storytelling would pop up again in the media I consumed. Watching Rashomon for the first time, it's easy to see why such an entertaining movie would spawn so many imitators, even if, for reasons I'll detail shortly, it doesn't quite stack up to the other Kurosawa pictures I've seen.

65 Years Ago Today, Peanuts Debuted And Changed Both Comic Strips And The World Forever

Growing up, I absolutely loved pop culture (shocking, right?), but it was hard to discover pieces of media that really spoke to me, that really understood what I was going through. Being bestowed with Asperger's Syndrome from birth seemed to leave me at a disadvantage at every turn, especially in the realm of social activities. Looking for refugee in films, TV shows and books, it was near impossible to find something that resonated with what I was going for. Oh, it was typical to see characters experience bullying, but most of the time, there was a neat & conclusion involving either competence for the antagonistic characters, or more likely, the bully and the bullied character becoming friends.

Trailer For Live-Action Cinderella Takes Classic Tale And...Doesn't Update It

Aside from a little teaser trailer that didn't show any footage from this past summer, Kenneth Branagh's take on Cinderella for Disney has been really quiet. That changes now, as a new trailer popped up this morning, just in time to be shown on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One this weekend. Check out the new trailer below.