From the Film Vault
New On the DVD Shelves: Meek's Cutoff (2010)
Set in the 1840s, Meek’s Cutoff follows a tiny wagon train winding its way westward toward the lush Pacific Northwest. In the hands of minimalist filmmaker Kelly Reichart the usual elements of the classic oater are either not present or subverted into something entirely new.
In Praise of the Undead
Okay, I get it. Vampires are sexy. Smart. Tormented. No wonder they’re now a staple of chick lit. But when it comes to the dead arising and going forth to do mayhem, give me a flesh-chomping zombie horde any day.
Movie Quiz: The Duke Speaks
John Wayne may have played more memorable characters and uttered more quoteworthy lines than any other actor in American film. For today’s quiz, match the movie title with the Duke’s character and a line of dialogue he spoke in that film. Pilgrim.
Program Notes: The Golden Door (2006)
On one level The Golden Door is a grittily realistic tale of one Sicilian family’s emigration to the United States. On another level, it's a near-hallucinogenic explosion of religious surrealism in which amazing fantasies are made flesh.
New on the DVD Shelves: Everything Must Go (2010)
It’s a funny thing about funny men...at some point they’ve got to show us they can act, too. Everything Must Go finds Will Ferrell examining his stock character not through the lens of comic excess but of compassion.
