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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Category:Michael DiMilo
The Long Goodbye
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter This past weekend, I attended a memorial service to commemorate the passing of a very old and very dear friend of mine. Because he died eighteen months ago, during the height of the pandemic—while we under quarantine—his family was unable to hold services at that time. Because this …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Katherine Hepburn
Unknown author Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio publicity photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Katherine Hepburn was not just an actress; she was a force of nature. Hepburn was a spirited, outspoken, intelligent, and assertive woman who just happened to be one of the most distinctive actresses of her generation. According to Sheridan Morley, one …
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Pulling Off the Band-Aid
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter In chaotic news footage reminiscent of the (to say the least) undignified and disorganized American exit from Saigon in 1975, the U.S. military, diplomatic corps, and translators have been attempting to flee Afghanistan after the seemingly unexpected and lightning-fast Taliban military takeover of the Afghan government. Fearful for …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda in 12 Angry MenUnited Artists, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Over the course of five decades on the stage and screen, Henry Fonda evolved from playing innocent, usually countrified characters like Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath into strong paternal types like the titular role of Mr. Roberts, the unnamed president striving …
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Lost in the Funhouse
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Why can’t we get off this merry-go-round? Despite the availability of safe and effective Covid19 vaccines, the nation is experiencing a new spike in cases—the worse since last winter—especially among children and young adults, in populations that refuse to get vaccinated. Despite seemingly overwhelming evidence that he sought …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Audrey Hepburn
Paramount-photo by Bud Fraker, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Only a few actresses had the ability to exude the easy elegance, charm, and vulnerability of Audrey Hepburn. Grace Kelly could at times, but she didn’t quite match Hepburn’s otherworldly onscreen presence. Hepburn radiated natural uncontrived beauty and flawless grace, and she seemed …
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That Sinking Feeling
Artwork by Michael DiMilo Article by Geoff Carter “The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always surfaces above lies, as oil floats on water.” — Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote de La Mancha (Modern Library (Hardcover)) Shit floats. —Popular adage We’re treading water in a cesspool of information. Flooded with theories, …
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Passing the Smell Test
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter While we were recently visiting the family cabin recently—which is shared by three extended families—my wife started poking through the refrigerator. It contained a variety of half-used bottles of salad dressing, hot sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and various other sundries. She was—of course—checking expiration dates. Some of the …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of James Stewart
Liberty Films, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter I was flipping around the TV dial a couple Saturdays ago, and there wasn’t much on—more ubiquitous reruns of Law & Order, even more overbearing chatter on MSNBC, and an endless line of banal reality shows. Then I happened to flip to TCM and caught the …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the Best of the Best: The Films of Martin Scorsese
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Siebbi, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons His films are deeply embedded into the fabric or our culture. From the grittiness of Mean Streets, Raging Bull, and Taxi Driver to the gentility of The Age of Innocence, the black humor of The King of Comedy, or the epic scope of The Last Waltz, Martin Scorsese has left a …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the Best of the Best: The Films of the Coen Brothers
Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter From their very first production, the quirky genre-bending thriller, Blood Simple, to their latest film, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, an anthology of short films simultaneously deifying and lampooning the Western genre, the Coen Brothers have made films that are—to say the very least—unpredictable. Their stories have …
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