I never quite got all the love people have for the TOM & JERRY franchise.

Most of the other classic cartoon theatrical shorts I tend to love and respect for their role in cinema’s history. Most of the Looney Tunes shorts or any of Tex Avery’s work with MGM still hold up today as funny short films with humor that is sometimes absurdist and sometimes poignant.

But I never quite felt this way towards TOM & JERRY. I mean they aired the…

My God, this was awful.

This claims to be a loose adaptation of THE MALTESE FALCON, but reimagined into a screwball comedy. The problem is it's not particularly funny. Ted Shane, this story's version of Sam Spade, is a very bland character and doesn't come off as all that smart of a detective when he never seems to care about anything happening to him. He's always making witty banter in every scene and never acts like he's in any danger,…

"In a character-study movie, it's only interesting if you're actually willing to study the character."
-Jenny Nicholson

Watching this movie projected in glorious 70mm, even though I know it wasn't shot that way, is a charming experience. That wonderful texture of celluloid that succeeds in making this feel like an '80's period piece, the feeling of the projected image, the cigarette burns in the top right corner. This is such a key part of what makes cinema what it is,…

This is a REALLY good movie!

Trance-like pace, haunting camerawork and set design, one of the few films where you really notice lighting. Initially I thought this would be a style-over-substance film, but to my surprise, I actually got invested in the story and cared about the characters. Jessica Harper is really good. Considering how little depth the script gives her as well as some bad dialog, she's able to become a charismatic lead you care about with just her…