Reel Reviews - Official Site

Reel Classics

Details: Created: 11 July 2021; Published: 11 July 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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"I've got my head. I've lost my leopard!" As far as screwball comedies go, the pairing of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn was probably seen as an odd choice in 1938. She didn’t have a hit film and Grant, hitting his comedic stride, was just coming off of The Awful Truth to ...

Details: Created: 23 May 2021; Published: 23 May 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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The comedic timing. The charisma of all involved. The breaking of the fourth wall. Hollywood’s definitive leading man! What’s not to love about Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House as Cary Grant takes his physical comedy and his mannerisms from the office to home construction woes ...

Details: Created: 13 May 2021; Published: 13 May 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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A psychological thriller in which Boris Karloff does NOT play a creature of the night? Say it ain’t so?! But it’s true. Isle of the Dead, produced by the legendary Val Lewton, concerns itself with that which haunts Greek nightmares: the Vrykolakas and this female vampire is certainly NOT ...

Details: Created: 05 May 2021; Published: 05 May 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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Madness. Mayhem. And, of course, MURDER. This is what follows the anti-archetype characters of M. It is a thriller that is meant to unsettle the viewer with its hunt for a serial killer, making it an unforgettable REEL CLASSIC ...

Details: Created: 07 March 2021; Published: 07 March 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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The new comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson called The Hustle is an almost identical remake of the 1988 classic comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels which starred Michael Caine and Steve Martin - itself a remake of Marlon Brando’s Bedtime Story. I say “almost” because ...

Details: Created: 13 February 2021; Published: 13 February 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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Suspicions! Accusations! It’s all on the screen in this minor film noir classic. The Suspect arrives on blu-ray thanks to Kino Lorber and I, as a fan of Laughton’s performances, couldn’t be happier ...

Details: Created: 30 January 2021; Published: 30 January 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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One wouldn’t normally equate Cary Grant with a family movie about adoption and the drama which lies therein, but perhaps that’s why Room for One More (also known as The Easy Way) lingers with viewers. Grant, playing one half of The Roses, never gets time alone as his house is filled ...

Details: Created: 10 January 2021; Published: 10 January 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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“She’s afraid of the big bad wolf. Tra la la la laaaaaa.” It Happened One Night remains a phenomenal romantic comedy. After all these years, this pre-code American film - which was made when being a reporter was idolized and the screwball comedy was only just hitting its stride - still hits all the perfect notes as ...

Details: Created: 03 January 2021; Published: 03 January 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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The Marx Brothers are coming! The Marx Brothers are coming! Well, after a bit of exposition that is as Casablanca (and others like that film) get a big kiss-off thanks to the parody on display throughout the 86-minutes that make up A Night in Casablanca. This REEL CLASSIC might not be the ...

Details: Created: 29 December 2020; Published: 29 December 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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It’s hard to conceive in this era of remakes that some redos in the history of cinema go on to become classics in their own right. For genre fans, John Carpenter’s The Thing is often cited as a prime example. For comedy, however, Billy Wilder’s beloved cross-dressing romp, Some Like It ...