“The Great Man Votes” is a simple little film from 1939 starring the late, great John Barrymore in one of his last film roles. There’s nothing particularly deep about this film but I...
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2 Minutes
2 Minutes
B.J.’s Quickies | “The Devils”
Ken Russell’s “The Devils” (1971) is…well, it’s a fucking Ken Russell film, which means all subtlety and nuance go flying out the window before the movie even starts. Acting powerhouses Oliver Reed and Vanessa...
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3 Minutes
B.J.’s Quickies | “Saint Frances”
Female bodily functions are on full display in “Saint Frances,” the 2019 film from very talented writer/star Kelly O’Sullivan and director Alex Thompson. Unexpected menstruation, unplanned pregnancy, abortion, breastfeeding, post-partum incontinence and depression...
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2 Minutes
B.J.’s Quickies | “The Pawnbroker”
Tonight I watched Sidney Lumet’s 1964 film “The Pawnbroker.” I’d be curious to know if anyone else has seen this movie…it’s not Lumet’s best but it’s remarkable in several ways. Rod Steiger stars...
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2 Minutes
B.J.’s Quickies | “The Iron Triangle”
Just finished a Vietnam war movie from 1989 called “The Iron Triangle.” It was highly recommended by a fellow member of the Chicago Film Scene, based on the fact that the film is...
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2 Minutes
B.J.’s Quickies | “Society”
In the “body horror” genre, there’s the good (the first Re-Animator movie, and pretty much anything by David Cronenberg), and there’s the bad. Squarely in the latter category is “Society,” directed by one of...
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2 Minutes
B.J.’s Quickies | “White Dog”
My exploration into Paul Bartel‘s body of work led me to “White Dog,” the 1981 film directed by famed war film auteur Samuel Fuller. (Bartel appears in one scene as a nameless camera...
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2 Minutes
B.J.’s Quickies | “Eating Raoul”
“Eating Raoul” is a movie I had never seen before last night, but I remember seeing the box on the shelves of pretty much every video store I ever visited or worked at...
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1 Minute
B.J.’s Quickies | “Attack the Block”
If you’ve seen every other Edgar Wright film (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, all 14 episodes of SPACED, etc.), I highly recommend Joe Cornish‘s “Attack the Block”...
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1 Minute
B.J.’s Quickies | “The Inglorious Bastards” (not the one you’re thinking of)
Yesterday I watched “The Inglorious Bastards,” the 1978 “spaghetti WW2” film that Tarantino stole the name from for his own 2009 epic. It stars Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson, who was the actual reason...
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