Fritz Lang's THE BIG HEAT

Fritz Lang's THE BIG HEAT

Dennis D. McDonald
Crime
Forget the happy view of post-WWII America as fresh faced kids running around green lawns in mass produced split level suburbs fed by newly minted commuter highways and GI Bill educations. Metropolis director's Fitz Lang's 1953 film The Big Heat is a reminder of a darker time when brave film makers occasionally veered into crime, sex, and darkness, barely skittering around a Film Production Code that enforced moral views that did not include crime, sex, and darkness.

J.J. Abrams' MISSION IMPOSSIBLE III

Dennis D. McDonald
Action, Cruise
OK, let me put my cards on the table: 1. Sometimes I like big, dumb action movies. 2. I like Tom Cruise (War of the Worlds). 3. I don’t watch Oprah. That said, I enjoyed Mission Impossible III a great deal. I’d put it right up there with other big, dumb action movies I actually enjoy, films like Independence Day and Armageddon.

My Current List of "Spouse Approved" Movies

Dennis D. McDonald
Back in the day I despaired of finding movies that my wife and I both enjoy. These days with the ubiquitous nature of DVD and a well performing Netflix “recommendations” system, it’s easier to come up with films that interest us both. Here’s my current list as of “spuse approved films” as of April 24, 2006:

It Happened Here

Dennis D. McDonald
This is probably the best example of "alternate history" I've seen on film: what would England have been like had Hitler invaded and won WWII? We follow an apolitical Irish nurse who moves to a bombed out London only to find that the only way she can practice her trade is to joint the Party and become a cog in the Nazi pacification machine.
Richard Donner's 16 BLOCKS

Richard Donner's 16 BLOCKS

Dennis D. McDonald
Action, Cops
It is fascinating to see how a top notch crew and ensemble of actors transforms a plot composed of overly-familar elements into high quality story telling. 16 Blocks is a prime example of this and turns out to be a superb piece of entertainment.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack

Dennis D. McDonald
Japanese, Science Fiction, Kaiju
This 2001 movie is wonderfully entertaining. Classic Japanese monster movie elements have been updated to a quality level unknown to Toho and Inoshiro Honda’s early output such as The Mysterians. The basic story is simple: 50 years after his initial rampage, Godzilla returns to stomp Japan, but this time he is opposed by a trio of mythical monsters who awaken from their eons-old slumber just in time.
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