“Just Like the Ones I Used to Know”: The Pen in Hand’s Guide to Vintage Christmas Movies

Photo by Geoffrey Carter (Originally published, December 10, 2021) By Geoff Carter Well, the Christmas season is upon us in full force. The commercials are everywhere. We’ve seen that ad for the car—or Energizer Bunny, wrapped in a bow and sitting in the driveway on Christmas morning at least one hundred times. Getting ready for this holiday season, …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Hollywood: The Legacy of Matt Damon

nicolas genin from Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter He is a brilliant actor, writer, and producer whose charming manner and boyish good looks have cemented him as one of the most likable actors working in the cinema today, but that engaging smile and affable manner are often the tools this …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Burt Lancaster

Hal Wallis Productions, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Burt Lancaster started his show business career as a young circus performer in the acrobatic duo of Lang and Cravat, but soon graduated to theater and, finally, the movies. His dominating screen presence landed him in tough-guy roles in films like The Killers and Brute Force where his …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Robert Redford

NBC Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter During his storied career, Robert Redford was not only known as one of the great leading men of his generation, but also as a gifted director, producer, and outspoken advocate of independent film. Founder of the now internationally renowned Sundance Film Festival, Redford has been …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to New Hollywood: The Legacy of Al Pacino

Al Pacino in Serpico Paramount Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter He’s been a major icon of American cinematic landscape for decades, known mainly for his seminal portrayal of crime boss Michael Corleone in The Godfather, a performance some have called the best in movie history, but Al Pacino has demonstrated a range in …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the New Hollywood: The Legacy of Johnny Depp

nicogenin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Most of us first saw Johnny Depp as a fresh-faced recruit in Platoon or as the geeky lovelorn teenager in Nightmare on Elm Street. At that time, he seemed to be just another Hollywood pretty boy, but since then, he’s created unique iconic performances as the soft-spoken and kindly …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to New Hollywood: The Legacy of Jeff Bridges

Thomas Attila Lewis, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Over a career that’s spanned four decades, we’ve seen Jeff Bridges portray fresh-faced and hopeful young men like Duane Jackson in The Last Picture Show or Lightfoot in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and then grow into cynical middle-aged curmudgeons like Rooster Cogburn in True Grit, or Otis “Bad” Blake …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Bette Davis

Alexander Kahle (1886–1968) for RKO Radio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Bette Davis is—still, to this day—the grand dame of American cinema. Her screen presence has been like no other, before, or since. The gravelly and distinctively clipped voice, beautiful eyes, and brimming self-assurance that filled the frame every time the camera …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the New Hollywood: The Legacy of Anthony Hopkins

John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Anthony Hopkins, one of the finest classical actors of his generation, is a master of depicting the contradictions and dualities of the human condition. Many of his roles demand a carefully refined and civilized exterior (at which he …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the New Hollywood: The Legacy of Leonardo DiCaprio

See Li, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter He has been called one of the greatest movie stars of his generation, which he is, but more that, Leonardo DiCaprio is an artist who has chosen to be more than just a pretty face. From his early work, including his spectacular portrayal of the …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to New Hollywood: The Legacy of Denzel Washington

Falkenauge, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter In the three and one-half decades since he’s been a screen actor, Denzel Washington has pretty much done it all. He’s known as one of the film industry’s most charismatic leading men, which is exceedingly evident in works like the titular role in Malcolm X or as the …
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