‘Topaz’: Romance in a Violent World

People fall in love everywhere, all the time. They fall for fellow workers and comrades. They flirt in dirty bomb shelters in much the same way they meet in beautiful marketplaces. Naked, both emotionally and physically, we are all quite similar and circumstances just make us more or less creative about finding ways into one …

‘Marnie’: The Complexities of a ” Sex Mystery”

"One might call 'Marnie' a 'sex mystery', if one used such words." - Alfred Hitchcock 'Marnie' is by far the most extreme vision of frigidity Hitchcock ever explored. Adapted by Jay Presson Allen from Winston Graham's novel of the same name, it serves as an oddly seductive screen commentary about the origins of psychosis in …

The Most Classic Horror Film: ‘Psycho’

All my life I've heard people name Hitchcock's "Psycho" as the scariest movie they've ever seen. I heard the music from Janet Leigh's murder scene played as a spoof on TV and saw clips of Leigh screaming bloody murder in the shower. I understood that this movie was an icon of horror, but couldn't get …

‘20 Feet from Stardom’ Review

From the first moment, '20 Feet from Stardom' inhale-exhales devotion. Devotion to a group of mega-talented performers who held up (and still do) the music industry during the come one come all simultaneous golden eras of soul, rock n’ roll, blues, jazz, funk, r&b- decades of human soul blessed vocal support by extraordinary professionals trained …