Farewell to Paul Sorvino, David Warner

The recent deaths of character actors Paul Sorvino and David Warner conjure up very different memories for me. Warner was a fixture of my early movie-watching, with three of his memorable roles haunting my childhood: Henry Niles in Straw Dogs (1971), Jennings in The Omen (1976) and Evil Genuis in Time Bandits. His prolific career […]

Catching up on some classics

Thanks to Netflix discs and Turner Classic Movies (both of which I highly recommend), I’ve been catching up on some classics that I’m ashamed to admit I had never seen: Here Comes Mr. Jordan, (1941, 4 ¼ stars on my 0-5 scale); Rachel, Rachel (1968, 3 ¾ stars); Paris Blues (1961, 3 ¾ stars); and […]

7K

While most people are talking about 2K, 4K or 8K, I’m more concerned with 7K. Specifically, I’m celebrating the rating of my 7,000th movie. That total includes 4,234 features and 2,766 shorts. So, what was the 7,000th? The 1958 Chuck Jones cartoon Robin Hood Daffy. As is the case with a lot of classic shorts, […]

Last call, Joe

I learned today of the passing of the world’s favorite movie bartender, Joe Turkel, who departed this realm on June 27 (Somewhere in Time day), at age 94. Known principally for his performances as Lloyd the drink slinger in The Shining and Dr. Eldon Tyrell in Blade Runner, Turkel has the distinction of being one […]