Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) After seven months with no arrests for the violent rape and murder of her daughter, Angela, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) rents three billboards chastising the police for their lack of progress. This sets off a firestorm of controversy in her small town where people revere the local sheriff… Continue reading The check for all three is in the blackmail
Tag: Alfred Hitchcock
Little Donnie Trump turned two: A look back at 1948
In 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated; The Kinsey Report was released; Sri Lanka and Israel became independent nations; NASCAR was founded; The US Supreme Court ruled religious instruction in public schools was unconstitutional; ABC began broadcasting; William Shockley filed a patent for the first transistor; Alger Hiss was accused of being a Communist spy; Harry… Continue reading Little Donnie Trump turned two: A look back at 1948
When Elvis was king: A look back at 1956
In 1956: Elvis Presley made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show; Pakistan became the first Islamic republic; The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over five hundred for the first time; As the World Turns debuted on CBS; Rocky Marciano retired from boxing with a career record of forty-nine wins and zero losses; Dean Martin and Jerry… Continue reading When Elvis was king: A look back at 1956
Welcome to the Atomic Age: A look back at 1945
In 1945: Harry Truman became the 33rd US President; Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima was published; The Arab League was formed; Sylvester the Cat debuted; The United Nations Charter was signed; The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Ebony debuted; The world’s first general purpose electronic computer, ENIAC went online, Pippi Longstocking was… Continue reading Welcome to the Atomic Age: A look back at 1945
A royal resume
Despite her retirement from Hollywood at age 26 to become the Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly was ranked the 13th greatest female film star by the American Film Institute. Because she retired so young, her public image was frozen as a young, beautiful woman and her marriage into royalty created a unique mystique among American celebrities. Add… Continue reading A royal resume
Best of the 1950s
Sunset Boulevard (1950) Faded silent screen star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) steadfastly believes she will regain her former glory and hires writer Joe Gillis (William Holden) to help with her planned comeback, but as the project drags on their relationship becomes dangerously complicated. William Holden brings a weary everyman quality to Joe Gillis while Gloria… Continue reading Best of the 1950s
Secrets don’t make friends at home or abroad
Topaz (1969) After the successful premiere of the first James Bond film, many people wanted Alfred Hitchcock to direct an entry in the series. He had a history in the spy genre with films like Foreign Correspondent (1940), Suspicion (1941), and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), he had a dark and subtle sense of humor, and his film’s… Continue reading Secrets don’t make friends at home or abroad
The myth of the farmer’s big wedding
The Big Wedding (2013) Alejandro convinces his divorced, adoptive parents Don (Robert Deniro) and Ellie (Diane Keaton) to pretend they’re still married to appease his birth mother’s Catholic faith when she comes to his wedding. During their pretend reunion, Don and Ellie rekindle their relationship with a sexual liaison which forces long-buried family secrets into… Continue reading The myth of the farmer’s big wedding