Mr. Holland smoked some locusts in the park with Adaline; now he’s departed

  Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) Musician Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfus) takes a temporary job as a music teacher, but, as his idol John Lennon once sang, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” After thirty years in this temporary job, Mr. Dreyfus is forced to retire. On his last day of school, a… Continue reading Mr. Holland smoked some locusts in the park with Adaline; now he’s departed

The Quest – Episode 35

  In honor of tomorrow, in this episode, Ben and I discuss once again, the greatest movie of all time, Groundhog Day. We’ll get back on track in our discussion of biopics next time.

On the western front, the Cuban makes mistakes

  I am Cuba (1964) Split into four separate stories joined only by a female narrator known as the “Voice of Cuba,” this film offers a dizzying portrait of Cuba during the Castro Revolution. In the first story, Maria works as a dancer in a Havana bar and lives an idyllic existence with her boyfriend, Rene,… Continue reading On the western front, the Cuban makes mistakes

Best of the 2010s

  Incendies (2010) When Nawal Marwan dies, she leaves instructions for her twin children, Jeanne and Simon, to find their father and half-brother. Retracing their mother’s steps, they discover their elder half-brother was born out-of-wedlock to their Christian mother and a Muslim. To minimize the family’s shame, he was hidden in a local orphanage, but Nawal… Continue reading Best of the 2010s

The fourteenth year of the reign of the second Queen Elizabeth: A look back at 1966

In 1966: Indira Gandhi was elected Prime Minister of India; John Lennon told a reporter for the London Evening Standard the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus;” The Cultural Revolution began in China; It’s a Small World opened in Disneyland; The US Supreme Court ruled suspects must be informed of their rights before they can be questioned; England won… Continue reading The fourteenth year of the reign of the second Queen Elizabeth: A look back at 1966