Brassed Off

The finest experience of my high school life was being in the Nederland High School Band, the Golden Pride of the Golden Triangle …

… that would be Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange, Texas. Nederland is right in the middle of that triangle, and as I write this, the whole area is still mostly underwater from Hurricane Harvey. It’s not only Houston that is drowning, and in fact some ... Read more »

Brats

This Laurel and Hardy two-reeler is different in several respects. For one, though there are four characters, there are only two actors: L&H. No bit players. The idea is that Stan and Ollie are in a house playing checkers, and their little sons are across the room playing with their toys. This was done by making all three sets—a living room, and bedroom, and a bathroom—twice, once at ... Read more »

Brave

Here we have a superb, beautiful, well-written and well-acted, exciting Walt Disney animated feature. The only trouble is, it’s supposed to be a Pixar film. Yes, of course Pixar is now owned by Disney, it said so right up at the front of the movie. But it still should be the Pixar brand, and this isn’t. What Pixar has been good at—splendidly good at—right from the git-go—is things that are ... Read more »

The Brave One

I don’t understand the title. I guess it’s brave to come out of your apartment after a brutal mugging that leaves you near death and your fiancée dead, when you’re having panic attacks the moment you reach for the doorknob … but having a gun helps a lot. There’s really nothing brave about putting a gun in the face of a worthless piece of shit and pulling the trigger. Satisfying, sure, but ... Read more »

Braveheart

Mel Gibson gets the shit kicked out of him while painted blue and wearing a kilt. The worst Best Picture ever.

Brazil

Terry Gilliam’s best film, and that’s saying a lot. I totally loved it.

Breach

Robert Hanssen has been described as the most damaging spy in our country’s history. He worked for the FBI for 25 years, and for 15 of those he passed information to the Soviets, then the Russians. Several people died when he exposed them. He was very canny, very paranoid, and at one point was put in charge of the investigation to find the mole … himself. The exposure of Aldrich Ames ... Read more »

The Break

Lately we have been enjoying European TV series like this one more than most American shows. I’m not sure why this is. It’s certainly not because nothing good is being made in the USA. But there is a certain sensibility that just seems to speak to us. This is a good one, a complex story full of twists and turns as a disgraced policeman with amnesia tries to remember his actions in ... Read more »

Breakdown

Begins well, with a spooky atmosphere reminiscent of the classic Duel. Tension builds as Kurt Russell’s wife vanishes, as ransom demands seem to leave him no options. But it loses its way at the end, as so many films do, going for the cheap car chase instead of remaining as hard-headed as it began. There is a scene where Russell is confronting the kidnappers who ... Read more »

Breakfast of Champions

In 1981 Kurt Vonnegut rated his own novels in his book Palm Sunday. He gave this book a C. I’d rate it lower. The crazy thing is that it came right after one of his very best books, Slaughterhouse-Five. (I can’t resist throwing in the full title here: Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children’s Crusade: A Duty Dance with ... Read more »