TCM Pick O’ The Day: Sunday, February 8th

5pm PST – Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A (1945) – A girl in the slums tries to find her way with the help of her devoted mother and alcoholic father. Cast: Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, James Dunn, Lloyd Nolan Dir: Elia Kazan BW-129 mins, TV-G

Watch in awe as you realize this lyrical, timeless family drama was Elia Kazan’s feature film directorial debut. There was nothing this extraordinary explorer of the human condition couldn’t do and his work will survive as long as there’s a civilization, and much longer than anything made by those who refused to stand when the 89 year-old was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1999. Of course, that’s me being generous and assuming we haven’t already forgotten the classic canon of Nick Nolte and Amy Madigan. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: amy madigan, Elia Kazan, honorary oscar, nick nolte
Posted Feb 7th 2009 at 4:00 pm in Today's Pick | 4483414 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/02/07/tcm-pick-o-the-day-sunday-february-8th/TCM+Pick+O%27+The+Day%3A+Sunday%2C+February+8th2009-02-08+00%3A00%3A02John+Nolte

My First Assignment: “Gone Baby Gone”

I promised in my earlier post that I would watch more movies.

Well, tonight I watched a doozie on Starz, and I must say, I have to give Benjamin Geza Affleck props. I have made fun of him publicly (it’s easy!) but this guy picked good material and directed it wonderfully. His brother Casey is phenomenal.

It’s like nothing I expected with a name like “Gone Baby Gone.” I thought Susie had me watching a chick flick. It was anything but. Ed Harris and his wife Amy Madigan, the douchebags that crossed their arms when Elia Kazan was awarded a lifetime Oscar, co-starred. So does Morgan Freeman who was injured in a mysterious car crash in Mississippi last year. But Casey Affleck really emerges the savior of this creepy and gritty missing child crime mystery tale.

Whoever cast the Boston grotesques that littered the film, my hat’s off to you. These profoundly ugly people really created a backdrop that made you want to root for the kid not to be found and brought back to her natural origins.

If Ben is willing to rethink his love of Marxism and former neighbor, pal and history revisionist Howard Zinn, perhaps there is redemption for him. After seeing this film, I can’t help thinking he’s gotten a bum steer in this impossible town. He certainly has talent.

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: amy madigan, ben affleck, casey affleck, ed o'neill, gone baby gone
Posted Jan 11th 2009 at 12:08 am in Entertainment, Reviews, Uncategorized | 1524535 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/abreitbart/2009/01/11/my-first-assignment-gone-baby-gone/My+First+Assignment%3A+%22Gone+Baby+Gone%222009-01-11+08%3A08%3A56Andrew+Breitbart