Warner Bros., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter If some actors (think Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart, or John Wayne) are screen icons, then Humphrey Bogart is an institution. Like those other actors, Bogart brought his unique screen persona to every role. His distinctive icy stare, self-assured presence, soft-spoken but gravelly voice, …
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Category:Couch Potato
The Couch Potato’s Guide to News of the World
Film Review of The French Dispatch By Geoff Carter Photo by Geoffrey Moffett on Unsplash As one of the most eclectic filmmakers of his—or any other—generation, Wes Anderson’s work is covered with his beautifully designed fingerprints. His meticulously styled color palettes, the free and interchangeable use of animation within a traditional narrative framework, a playfulness bordering on giddiness …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Jack Nicholson
AP Wire press photo – from eBay auction ebay (auction archive), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter He is a Hollywood icon whose career stretches back to the early days of American International Pictures, where he appeared in the original version of Roger Corman’s Little Shop of Horrors. Cinematic milestones like Easy Rider, Tim Burton’s Batman, The …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Steve McQueen
Ryangrigg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter In the early 1960s, in the age of cool, he was the “King of Cool”. He was sexy, handsome, smart, fearless, bold, and unflappable. He played heroes and anti-heroes alike: gunfighters, soldiers, cops, criminals, convicts, and even the occasional sophisticate. Being a motorcycle and car enthusiast, …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Living the High Life
Greg Hume, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Review of The White Lotus on HBO In the Buddhist religion, a white lotus is a symbol of mental purity found in the state of bodhi, or awakening. It is also linked to a state of enlightenment and strength. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the lotus-eaters were a society of …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the Swamps of Jersey
Not the Way it Used to Be: Review of The Many Saints of Newark Stephen Hanafin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter After watching The Many Saints of Newark, HBO’s celebrated prequel to its blockbuster series, The Sopranos, I can only imagine how much more disappointed the average fan is with this production than with …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Jack Lemmon
Wire photo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Jack Lemmon really wasn’t one of your cool, macho sort of leading man actors. Instead, he typically played the everyday, normal, and, well, goofy kind of guy. Even though he was sometimes impatient, sometimes short-tempered (sort of a human Daffy Duck), he was usually a …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the Perfectly Strange
Film Review of Nine Perfect Strangers Photo by Papaioannou Kostas on Unsplash By Geoff Carter The opening sequence of Hulu’s Nine Complete Strangers is reminiscent of classic murder mysteries like And Then There Were None or Clue. A varied assortment of characters, including a dysfunctional family, a disillusioned writer, an alienated couple, an irrepressibly cheerful middle-aged woman, a wise-cracking misanthrope, and a secretive …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old and New Hollywood: The Legacy of Clint Eastwood
English: “Copyright © by Warner Bros. Inc.” Photographer unknown., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Clint Eastwood has been a screen icon for the past sixty-six years. He’s acted in over seventy-two films, directed forty-five, and produced more than fifty, sometimes wearing all three hats during a single project. He has been responsible …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to New Hollywood: The Legacy of Meryl Streep
Jack Mitchell , CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Meryl Streep is nearly universally acclaimed as the finest actress working in cinema or on the stage today—or any other day. Her name is synonymous with the absolute gold standard of acting, and she has appeared in some of the most outstanding and unusual films …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the New Hollywood: The Legacy of Tom Hanks
Yeoman 1st Class Donna Lou Morgan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons In the last few weeks, the Couch Potato has looked at some of old-time Hollywood’s greatest actors, discussing the best films of James Stewart, Paul Newman, Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn, and John Wayne. Even though this survey has barely scratched the surface …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of John Wayne
20th Century Fox, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter That languorous drawl, that odd rolling gait, the quick draw, and that look of steely determination comprised the essence of probably one of the most famous of all American cinematic heroes. He starred in countless Westerns, private eye flicks, war movies, and even dabbled …
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