Starring: Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts, Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott Director: Herbert Ross A beautiful ensemble film, with an absolutely incredible cast, Steel Magnolias opens with an awkward and lost looking Annelle (Hannah) shuffling into a small Louisiana town and getting a job at Truvy's (Parton) beauty shop.… Continue reading Dolly Month: Steel Magnolias (1989)
I love doing podcast appearances and working with Damien Riley is always really fun. This time we thought we would watch and talk about Grey Gardens, the 1975 documentary about a mother and daughter who were the black sheeps of Jackie Kennedy's family, and who lived in poverty in their crumbling East Hamptons mansion called… Continue reading Podcast: Grey Gardens on The DR Podcast
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Anne Shirley Director: King Vidor Based on a well known novel that was already made into a silent film in 1925, this version of Stella Dallas is powerful and dramatic without ever being overly sentimental or emotional. It's the story of a working class woman (Stanwyck) who marries a man… Continue reading Classic Movie Of The Week: Stella Dallas (1937)
Starring: Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid Director: Frank Perry Joan Crawford was a huge star, starting in the 1930's and managing to have a respected career for decades, garnering Oscars and huge salaries. She was the queen of Hollywood. But in 1978, her adopted daughter Christina published a book called Mommie Dearest, which exposed the horror… Continue reading Classic Movie Of The Week: Mommie Dearest (1981)
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Beanie Feldstein, Lucas Hedges Director: Greta Gerwig In 2002, a teen (Ronan) who prefers to be called Lady Bird is in the last year of High School, and struggling with her identity and her future. While she is highly creative and intelligent, she doesn't have the best grades,… Continue reading Lady Bird (2017)
Starring: Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott Director: Michael Curtiz As the film opens, we witness a murder. Mildred (Crawford) wanders around partly in a daze, and muddies the waters of the investigation, before being picked up by the police. Her first husband is accused of the murder, and she starts to explain… Continue reading Classic Movie Of The Week: Mildred Pierce (1945)
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Chiwetel Ejiofor Director: Billy Ray In any given year there are many thrillers that come out and largely, they're not very thrilling. I heard good things about this one, but it also partly seemed to go under the radar with me, so I was glad to come across it and… Continue reading Secret In Their Eyes (2015)
Starring: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains Director: Irving Rapper In this sparkling melodrama, Bette Davis is Charlotte Vale, youngest daughter of a Boston matriarch who rules with an iron fist. Never allowed to blossom, Charlotte lives at home as a spinster, serving her mother til the strain causes a depression. Taken to stay in… Continue reading 105 Must See Films: Now, Voyager (1942)
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels Director: James L Brooks It's all about the mother-daughter relationship in this delightfully funny tear jerker. Aurora (MacLaine) is the most picky, difficult person. When her adult daughter Emma (Winger) gets married, she finds it hard to let go, but over time she finds herself starting… Continue reading 105 Must See Films: Terms Of Endearment (1983)
Wildfire Movies 