Signs

I totally, absolutely loathed this movie. From the whole crop circle idiocy (it has been conclusively disproved, but that’s not enough for some morons), to the mindless absurdity of finding out that throwing water on the invading aliens will kill them (and I hope, if you haven’t seen it, that I’ve just ruined ... Read more »

Silence

This was a passion project for Martin Scorsese, something he worked twenty-five years to make. It concerns the awful trials of three Catholic missionaries in Japan in the 1630s. I’ll admit that I had no idea that there were any Catholics in Japan that far back. But there were, and they were not welcome. They and their faithful followers were tortured and killed for refusing to renounce ... Read more »

The Silence of the Lambs

One of the all-time great adaptations of a book. And it was the sequel to an excellent movie in its own right: Manhunter, originally titled Red Dragon, which itself was remade to cash in on Anthony Hopkins’ incredible creation of Hannibal Lector. Don’t even ask me about Hannibal. Okay, ask me …

Silk Stockings

Take the best male dancer ever to hoof it in Hollywood (Fred Astaire) and my personal favorite female dancer (Cyd Charisse), add in the music of the best writer of popular songs (Cole Porter) and the choreography of Hermes Pan (and don’t you just love that name?—real last name, Panagiotopoulos), and how can you go wrong? Well, you can’t, though it isn’t quite as good as the film it is a ... Read more »

Silkwood

There’s absolutely no way I can be unbiased about this movie. It deals with the gradual awakening of a young woman, Karen Silkwood, to the sloppy and downright dangerous practices at the Kerr-McGee plutonium processing facility in Oklahoma, her fight against the company, and her eventual murder by agents of Kerr-McGee. That’s right, I said murder. Traveling alone with a file of papers that ... Read more »

Silver City

A few weeks ago I did what I hope was a humorous riff about Robots, where I drew parallels with the Bush administration. I was goofing that time, but in Silver City it really could not be more obvious who director John Sayles and star Chris Cooper are skewering. Cooper plays little Dickie Pilager (cute), son of the Governor of Colorado, ... Read more »

The Silver Horde

The title refers to salmon runs in Alaska, not the metal silver. This was filmed on location in Ketchikan, which is why the snow heaped on the roofs looks so real, I guess. I TiVoed this because it starred Joel McCrea in only his second leading role, and Jean Arthur, who was not yet a big star despite having been in fifty films, including many silent ones. She got fifth billing. They are ... Read more »

Silver Linings Playbook

The credits began to roll, and I found myself thinking, What was the big deal? I mean, it’s a perfectly fine little romantic comedy, about as light as cotton candy, and just as sweet. I had a good time, except for the first half hour when I wasn’t expected to. And this qualifies for a Best Picture nomination?

Bradley Cooper is bipolar, just getting out of an institution after ... Read more »

A Simple Favor

Every once in a while an actress comes along that you just like instantly, who is just adorable. Diane Keaton was one. Ellen Page was another. And Abigail Breslin makes three. From the first time I saw Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air, I fell in love. She stole the picture from George Clooney, which ain’t easy. She does shy, awkward, tongue-tied, yet likeable as if ... Read more »

Sin City

Say you’ve got a great big pile of steaming horseshit. You’ve heard that there are a lot of people out there who like great big piles of steaming horseshit, or maybe you’re a horseshit aficionado yourself. So you hire the very best photographer in the world. Cartier-Bresson, or Ansel Adams, or Dorothea Lange, if they weren’t all dead. The photographer lights it wonderfully, with that ... Read more »