Film Review of Summer of Soul Gind2005, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons August 15, 1969, marked a number of turning points in American culture. It was a watershed moment for the youth counterculture. The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival began near the tiny town of Bethel, New York. Over the next four days, more than …
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Category:Movies
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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Kickass as a Movie Critic
Photo by Geoffrey Moffett on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that the keeper’s movie-critic qualifications should limit him to commenting on spaghetti westerns, especially when the rancher’s daughter exchanges her dad for some “all hat” bronc rider. This dearth of qualifications is ignored, however, after the keeper and Phyllis watched 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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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the New Hollywood: The Legacy of Robert DeNiro
John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Like Meryl Streep, his name is synonymous with excellence in the craft of acting. He has appeared in films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Godfather II that have become (due in no small part to his involvement in them) cultural …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Ringing in the New Year
Maasaak, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Originally posted in December, 2020) By Geoff Carter We thought we had it made after getting out of 2020, but this has been another hard year—remembering everything that happened is painful—but we have to; if we do not remember, we’ll be doomed to repeat the same mistakes yet again. …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Elizabeth Taylor
MGM publicity still, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Elizabeth Taylor may not have been born a movie star, but she came as close to it as anyone could. Audiences watched her grow from a precocious child into one of the most skilled and well-rounded movie actresses in the business. First appearing at …
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