The Directors: John Huston

We're starting a series on movie directors.  Most are not as well known as actors but many will be known to you... at least their names.  Movies are said to be a director's medium.  You usually do not see them on screen but they're right there in the midst of most scenes.  (There are second-unit directors who go off and film scenes usually not involving actors.)  The director is essential to the overall artistic vision of the film.  He is the one who guides the actors and the crew; some do it with a strong hand, others more loosely.  The director decides how the film will look.  Once it is completed, he is involved in post-production work.  Whether you like or dislike a film, it is chiefly due to the director.  Let's get you acquainted with some of them.  

Rant

The only thing that is truly fun about the Golden Globes is gawking at the glittering folks.  (The awards themselves are never to be taken seriously.)  This fun includes the red carpet, watching the table-hopping before  commercials and seeing who are paired up as presenters. 

REVIEW: Broken City

Directed by Allen Hughes
2013 Crime Drama
1 hour 49 minutes
From 20th Century Fox

Starring
Mark Wahlberg
Russell Crowe
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Jeffrey Wright
Alona Tal
Barry Pepper
Natalie Martinez
Kyle Chandler
Michael Beach
Griffin Dunne

The Mudge Boy: Favorite Movie #17

2003 Drama
From Showtime Pictures
Directed by Michael Burke

Starring
Emile Hirsch
Thomas Guiry
Richard Jenkins
Pablo Schreiber
Zachary Knighton
Ryan Donowho

Joan Crawford in the 1950s

As an avid watcher of TCM and its usually glorious films, I noticed they were featuring something called Joan Crawford in the 1950s.  It got me to thinking a lot about her during that decade, my favorite.  She was not an actress I especially admired, but I didn't dislike her either.  I have been aware that she can clearly be defined decade by decade and I was not at all surprised to find that TCM decided to focus on her work in the 50s.

REVIEW: Gangster Squad

Directed by Ruben Fleischer
2013 Drama
1 hour 53 minutes
From Warner Bros. and
Village Roadshow

Starring
Josh Brolin
Ryan Gosling
Sean Penn
Emma Stone
Nick Nolte
Giovanni Ribisi
Anthony Mackie
Mirelle Enos
Michael Peña
Robert Patrick
Troy Garity

REVIEW: Zero Dark Thirty

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
2012 Historical Drama
2 hours 37 minutes
From Columbia Pictures

Starring
Jessica Chastain
Jason Clarke
Joel Edgerton
Kyle Chandler
Mark Strong
Jennifer Ehle
Harold Perrineau

Glomming the Noms

Well, finally gun control, Congressional shenanigans, immigration issues, climate change dramas, the Supreme Court taking on gay togetherness and the war in Afghanistan have been put on the back burner so we can get to something monumentally unimportant... the Oscar nominations.  What is important is that it has given me a reason to write a new post.  I both love and hate the Oscars.  When they do the right thing and honor films and folks who are truly deserving, my panties get all bunched up with excitement.  When they honor junk or don't nominate the worthy or nominate something or someone to make some point that has nothing to do with movies, they annoy the hell out of me.  Let's look over some of this year's nominations.

REVIEW: Promised Land

Directed by Gus Van Sant
2012 Drama
1 hour 46 minutes 
From Focus Features

Starring
Matt Damon
John Krasinski
Frances McDormand
Rosemarie DeWitt
Hal Holbrook
Titus Welliver

REVIEW: The Impossible

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona
2012 Action Drama
1 hour 54 minutes
From Summit Entertainment

Starring
Naomi Watts
Ewan McGregor
Tom Holland
Samuel Joslin
Oaklee Pendergast

REVIEW: Les Misérables

Directed by Tom Hooper
2012 Musical
2 hours 37 minutes
From Universal Studios

Starring
Hugh Jackman
Russell Crowe
Anne Hathaway
Amanda Seyfried
Eddie Redmayne
Helena Bonham Carter
Sacha Baron Cohen
Aaron Tveit
Samantha Barks

RIP Harry Carey Jr.

A great and very familiar western character actor, Harry Carey Jr., died last week.  He was the last of that troup that worked constantly with director John Ford.  His parents, Harry Sr. and Olive, were both actors (also often a part of the Ford group) and his father-in-law was character actor Paul Fix.  Movies were in his blood.