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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Category:Movies
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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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old/New Hollywood: The Legacy of Diane Keaton
Firooz Zahedi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Probably best-known for her “La-di-da, la-di-da” refrain in her portrayal of the ditzy titular character in Annie Hall, that particular Diane Keaton role is nothing like her intense performances as the desperately promiscuous schoolteacher in Looking for Mr. Goodbar or the angry and frustrated wife and mother in Shoot the Moon. …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Spencer Tracy
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (work for hire), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Spencer Tracy was known as an actor’s actor, a man so skilled in the craft that everyone–critics, directors, other thespians, and even producers, stood in awe of him. His singular talent was in the fact that his craft was very nearly transparent; you …
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“Just Like the Ones I Used to Know”: The Couch Potato’s Guide to Vintage Christmas Movies
Photo by Geoffrey Carter 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, however, is going to be …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Tony Curtis
United Pictures Corporation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Tony Curtis had it all: good looks, a charming smile, and a disarming glibness he used to portray wheeler-dealers like Corporal Jake Leibowitz in Captain Newman, M.D., con men like Lt. JG Nicholas Holden in Operation Petticoat, or opportunistic manipulators like Sidney Falco in The Sweet Smell …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Humphrey Bogart
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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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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