The Last Picture Show (1971)
The Last Picture Show primarily follows the exploits of two small-town Texas high school buddies on the cusp of graduation during the early 1950s, Sonny (Bottoms) and Duane (Bridges). Duane is currently dating the...
Tagged: set in the 1950s
More Than Friends (1978)
Over ten years before Rob Reiner would direct the great romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally, he wrote this very similar piece for ABC television, which featured a very similar premise of two best friends...
Grease (1978)
“Grease” is the word, if you want a fun and vibrant time at the movies. Based on the hit Broadway play, Grease would be a bigger hit than anyone could ever imagine, setting a box...
Back to the Future (1985)
Back to the Future is pure entertainment, and very successful at that. Wholly inspired and brilliantly executed, this brainchild of co-screenwriter Bob Gale and director Robert Zemeckis is chock-full of in-jokes and sight gags...
Secondhand Lions (2003)
Although I’m giving Secondhand Lions a marginally negative review, I will admit, I did like many parts of the film quite a bit. In fact, I was quite entertained throughout most of it, confident that I’d be...
The Hours (2002)
The Hours is the kind of film that either has resonance with you or it doesn’t. It didn’t really for me, but being a young(ish) male, I doubt that it was necessarily meant to. ...
Far from Heaven (2002)
In 1955, Douglas Sirk directed another of his sudsy romances, the now classic, ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS. As of this writing, I haven’t seen this film, but have read that it provided much of the...
8 Women (2002)
Based on the play by Robert Thomas, 8 Women transcends the stage by becoming an homage to 1950s Hollywood films and the female archetypes within them, combining the glamour and conventions of that decade with the...
Chocolat (2000)
Director Lasse Hallstrom has the distinguished honor of being the director of my pick for the least deserving Best Picture nominee for the last two years (including Cider House Rules). There’s no question of...
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Fittingly enough, this Hitchcockian suspenser was based on a book by Patricia Highsmith, who also wrote the book a Hitchcock classic was based on, STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. Somewhat similar in themes, this one...