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You Were Never Lovelier

“Plenty of romantic musical comedies are built upon the flimsiest baubles, putting all of their strengths in movie star personas, high-energy choreography, top-notch production values, and a strong score. You Were Never Lovelier is built upon this formula, and it’s an utterly charming and beguiling” read more

Pal Joey

“I have a very large soft spot in my heart for Frank Sinatra. I find his trajectory from teen idol crooner, to movie musical superstar, to well-respected dramatic actor to be an awe-inspiring run of high-quality artistry. Here in Pal Joey all of those various elements, along with Sinatra’s innate s” read more

Middle of the Night

“To hear Kim Novak tell it, Harry Cohn didn’t want her anywhere near this low-key story of a May-December romance. Cohn didn’t want Novak’s glamorous, icy sex goddess persona compromised by playing a character so vulnerable, damaged, and needy. But Novak was a shrewd mind, and she knew Middle o” read more

Bell Book and Candle

“In the right role, Kim Novak’s detached glamour and chilly braininess could be used to great effect. In 1958, two of the best films to utilize her strengths as an actress and screen presence allowed for her to play roles that mirror each other in unique and strange ways. Vertigo is the more lauded” read more

Jeanne Eagels

“Has any sequence better symbolized the treatment of Kim Novak than the opening of Jeanne Eagels? A wide-eyed beauty with dreams of performing, she’s paraded around with the empty promise of a crown, before cruelly being thrown to the sidelines. The parallels to Novak practically write themselves. ” read more

Picnic

“Even in 1955, I find it hard to believe that this was wild, transgressive, erotically charged cinema. Not in a decade that gave us Nicholas Ray’s subterfuge of teenage ennui (Rebel Without a Cause), two of Billy Wilder’s naughtiest comedies (The Seven Year Itch, Some Like It Hot), and numerous T” read more

X-Men: Apocalypse

“After very smart, adventurous entries in the X-Men franchise in First Class and Days of Future Past, Apocalypse cannot help but feel limp and perfunctory at best. The major problem is that the franchise has committed for so long to sticking us with heroes and villains that blur those lines, with act” read more