Print John Nolte Follow Read Full Bio 'Red Dust' (1932) Review: Sizzling Morality Tale Packed with Starpower Thanks to director Victor Fleming and three exceptional performances from Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and Mary Astor, 1932's under-appreciated "Red Dust" sizzles even more than its more-famous 1953 big-budget color remake "Mogambo," which was directed by John Ford and cast Gable in the same role he played in the original. Never before available on home video, "Red Dust" is now thanks to the national treasure that is the Warner Archives. 12 Nov 2012 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' Blu-ray Review: The Greatest Thanksgiving Movie Ever But like he did with all his best films, Hughes infuses "Planes" with a big bursting heart. Neal and Del just want to get home to their loved ones. That's their only goal, and Hughes makes sure you're just as invested in that goal as they are. But the real emotional pay-off comes from the friendship that slowly and awkwardly develops between the two men -- two polar opposites brought together by bad weather and the worst kind of luck. As though it were a romantic comedy, you really want to see Neal and Del find a way to be together. 12 Nov 2012 'The Campaign' Bluray Review: Smug, Superior, Hypocritical, Cold and Crude Other than an overwrought and hysterical attack on the Koch Brothers, the politics of "The Campaign" are surprisingly even-handed. The real problem is the non-stop crudeness, a total lack of warmth, and this utterly bizarre trend where so much of comedy today now comes from its creator's smug sense of superiority over the rest of us. 10 Nov 2012 'Magic Mike' Bluray Review: Well-Crafted But Sleazy Director Steven Soderbergh's R-rated character study (and surprise box office hit) takes us behind-the scenes and deep into the subculture of male strippers. The film is objectively impressive in the areas of acting, writing, and directing. There's no question about that. It's just too sleazy and sexualized for my taste. 10 Nov 2012 'Brave' Bluray Review: Kids Will Love It, Adults Not So Much Politically correct critics crybabied for a Pixar film with a female protagonist and with "Brave" they finally have one. What the rest of us got, though, is a pretty weak entry in the Pixar canon; an original fairy tale sure to delight the kids while leaving adults out in the cold. We've pretty much seen it all before. Like the rest of us, these politically correct crybaby critics deserved better. 10 Nov 2012 'Sunset Boulevard' Bluray Review: Billy Wilder's Brilliant Cautionary Tale Believe it or not, unlike what we see so much of today, there was a time when Hollywood made films about Hollywood that didn't wallow in narcissism or attempt to fool us into believing a real heart beats behind all of that "moral" depravity. Director, co-writer Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard" doesn't exactly bite the hand of an industry that made him a wealthy prince, but his cautionary tale is stripped completely of any of the romanticism or sentiment in showing us the dark underbelly of Tinseltown. 10 Nov 2012 Bluray Reviews: 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,' 'Dark Shadows,' 'Chernobyl Diaries,' More... These reviews are unforgivably late, but the election ended up swamping all of my time -- you know, because I thought I was living in a country that wanted to be saved and not one that chooses free stuff over freedom. My bad. 9 Nov 2012 'Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection' Review: A Fan's Wish Come True With the possible exception of John Ford, no director is responsible for such a consistent output of objectively timeless films, which means that even his misfires were never the product of a lack of ambition, great moments, or a back story (covered in the extras) that doesn’t fascinate. For fans like myself who want to lose themselves in Hitchcock's career as much as the films themselves, this collection is a dream come true. 9 Nov 2012 The Polls Were Right, We Were Wrong, and That's the Good News And that's the bad news; not that we were wrong, but that what seemed inconceivable isn't: the 2008 electorate wasn't an anomaly. The electorate (at least with a Democrat presidential candidate at the top of the ticket) has shifted. That doesn’t mean our ideas are wrong or that the GOP must change its core convictions. But it does mean that tactically we have to wrap our heads around the fact that Democrats have the ability to summon enough voters required to eke out victory. 8 Nov 2012 Barack Obama Wins a Second Term 6 Nov 2012 Previous 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 Next
'Red Dust' (1932) Review: Sizzling Morality Tale Packed with Starpower Thanks to director Victor Fleming and three exceptional performances from Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and Mary Astor, 1932's under-appreciated "Red Dust" sizzles even more than its more-famous 1953 big-budget color remake "Mogambo," which was directed by John Ford and cast Gable in the same role he played in the original. Never before available on home video, "Red Dust" is now thanks to the national treasure that is the Warner Archives. 12 Nov 2012
'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' Blu-ray Review: The Greatest Thanksgiving Movie Ever But like he did with all his best films, Hughes infuses "Planes" with a big bursting heart. Neal and Del just want to get home to their loved ones. That's their only goal, and Hughes makes sure you're just as invested in that goal as they are. But the real emotional pay-off comes from the friendship that slowly and awkwardly develops between the two men -- two polar opposites brought together by bad weather and the worst kind of luck. As though it were a romantic comedy, you really want to see Neal and Del find a way to be together. 12 Nov 2012
'The Campaign' Bluray Review: Smug, Superior, Hypocritical, Cold and Crude Other than an overwrought and hysterical attack on the Koch Brothers, the politics of "The Campaign" are surprisingly even-handed. The real problem is the non-stop crudeness, a total lack of warmth, and this utterly bizarre trend where so much of comedy today now comes from its creator's smug sense of superiority over the rest of us. 10 Nov 2012
'Magic Mike' Bluray Review: Well-Crafted But Sleazy Director Steven Soderbergh's R-rated character study (and surprise box office hit) takes us behind-the scenes and deep into the subculture of male strippers. The film is objectively impressive in the areas of acting, writing, and directing. There's no question about that. It's just too sleazy and sexualized for my taste. 10 Nov 2012
'Brave' Bluray Review: Kids Will Love It, Adults Not So Much Politically correct critics crybabied for a Pixar film with a female protagonist and with "Brave" they finally have one. What the rest of us got, though, is a pretty weak entry in the Pixar canon; an original fairy tale sure to delight the kids while leaving adults out in the cold. We've pretty much seen it all before. Like the rest of us, these politically correct crybaby critics deserved better. 10 Nov 2012
'Sunset Boulevard' Bluray Review: Billy Wilder's Brilliant Cautionary Tale Believe it or not, unlike what we see so much of today, there was a time when Hollywood made films about Hollywood that didn't wallow in narcissism or attempt to fool us into believing a real heart beats behind all of that "moral" depravity. Director, co-writer Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard" doesn't exactly bite the hand of an industry that made him a wealthy prince, but his cautionary tale is stripped completely of any of the romanticism or sentiment in showing us the dark underbelly of Tinseltown. 10 Nov 2012
Bluray Reviews: 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,' 'Dark Shadows,' 'Chernobyl Diaries,' More... These reviews are unforgivably late, but the election ended up swamping all of my time -- you know, because I thought I was living in a country that wanted to be saved and not one that chooses free stuff over freedom. My bad. 9 Nov 2012
'Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection' Review: A Fan's Wish Come True With the possible exception of John Ford, no director is responsible for such a consistent output of objectively timeless films, which means that even his misfires were never the product of a lack of ambition, great moments, or a back story (covered in the extras) that doesn’t fascinate. For fans like myself who want to lose themselves in Hitchcock's career as much as the films themselves, this collection is a dream come true. 9 Nov 2012
The Polls Were Right, We Were Wrong, and That's the Good News And that's the bad news; not that we were wrong, but that what seemed inconceivable isn't: the 2008 electorate wasn't an anomaly. The electorate (at least with a Democrat presidential candidate at the top of the ticket) has shifted. That doesn’t mean our ideas are wrong or that the GOP must change its core convictions. But it does mean that tactically we have to wrap our heads around the fact that Democrats have the ability to summon enough voters required to eke out victory. 8 Nov 2012
Watchdog report says DOJ official retaliated against ‘Furious’ whistle-blower, lied about it20 May 2013
Watchdog report says DOJ official retaliated against ‘Furious’ whistle-blower, lied about it20 May 2013
NASCAR Nationwide Series veteran Justin Allgaier thriving despite major overhaul to team21 May 2013, 12:08 AM PDT