When I watch movies like The Big Heat (1953), I feel I am doing my mentor at Loyola University Chicago, Dr. Lewis Erenberg, proud. His course on Twentieth Century America on Film was one of the first I took when I started my Ph.D. program, and was formative for the rest of my career. Indeed, I can at least partially credit his influence for the existence of The Legionnaire. As for today’s film, it is an example of film noir,…

Once again, I am surprised by a Woody Allen movie. Whatever it is that you think about his personal life, which is best left unmentioned, he makes some great films. I have enjoyed the last three I have seen, including Midnight in Paris(2011), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), and now today’s, Café Society (2016). He also did Anything Else (2003), which is another personal favorite. Not all of them, though, are of the same quality. Annie Hall (1977) is…

Before you read this review of Inspector Gadget (1999), ask yourself: is there a single property from the line-up of 1980s Saturday morning cartoons that has not been made into a movie in some form, be it animated or live-action? None come to mind, though I have not Googled the subject. I bring this up because, while hunting today for something to watch, I stumbled upon today’s film. As an aficionado of those shows, the one that inspired today’s choice…

My head was crowded while walking out of the cinema after watching Cabrini. While viewing it, I had so many thoughts as to what I wanted to write about it. You probably would not be surprised by the number of notes I took. It is the latest from Angel Studios, famous for their Faith-based productions, though this does not tell the whole story. God is bigger, and St. Francis Xavier Cabrini (Cristiana Dell’Anna), known more familiarly as Mother Cabrini, thought…