Lost Weekend: Life in a Bottle

Ray Milland. Photo: Paramount The story of The Lost Weekend didn’t start out too well. Audiences laughed during the first preview in Santa Barbara, and some wrote on their cards…

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 

One of the most influential horror movies ever made was inspired by the story of notorious serial killer Ed Gein. In spite of a short running time, the story may…

Braveheart: Creating a New Wallace

Mel Gibson. Photo: Paramount As the story goes, American writer Randall Wallace made a trip to Scotland and came upon a statue at the entrance of Edinburgh Castle. Since the…

Monsters University

This prequel to Monsters, Inc (2001) takes us back to school; the story has our two monstrous heroes meeting for the first time as students attending Monsters University. They take…

White Christmas

When two entertainers and WWII veterans (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye) help a couple of charming sisters (Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen) out of a pickle, they all end up at a rural…

Penguins of Madagascar 

The four penguins from the Madagascar movies break into Fort Knox and face an enemy from the past whose name they can’t for the life of them remember. The wonderfully…

A Christmas Story

In the 1940s, nine-year-old Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) desperately wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, but every adult in his life tells him “you’ll shoot your eye out”.…

Birdman: A Box-Office Lion in Winter

Michael Keaton. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures Director Alejandro González Iñárritu reportedly sat down with the legendary Mike Nichols for dinner to discuss his next project, a comedy that would be…

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 

The dragon Smaug flies to Esgaroth to destroy the town, but greater challenges await in the shape of a coming battle for Lonely Mountain. The final part of this trilogy…

Holiday Inn: Where the Treetops Glisten

Marjorie Reynolds, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Photo: Paramount Contemporary viewers might find it curious to see the Fourth of July segment of this musical turn into a full-blown salute…