Author Archives: robchristopher

3 Things

The Whales of August [1987] 1. Lillian Gish brushing Bette Davis’ hair. 2. A plate of broiled fish, delicately covered in slices of lemon and onion. 3. Vincent Price bends over to pick up something. A tall man.

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3 Things

Let the Right One In [2008] 1. He carefully positions the funnel beneath the boy’s head to catch the blood. 2. For a brief moment, she is an old woman. 3. The severed arm gently drifts toward the bottom of … Continue reading →

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14 Great Movies I Watched This Year

(This is an adaptation of a post which originally appeared on Chicagoist.) The precise year a movie was “made” is in many ways becoming less and less relevant. First off, theatrical distribution can be glacial. Just look at Francois Ozon’s … Continue reading →

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3 Things

Side Street [1950] 1. He bursts into the room, sees the dead body in the chair, flings the door closed. The music cue cuts out so fast it’s like someone swatted away the needle from the record. 2. Her pillbox … Continue reading →

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3 things about Nicholas Ray’s THEY LIVE BY NIGHT

They Live by Night [1948] 1. One dead eye, milky white. He lights up his cigar. 2. “I can rent you a ring for a dollar or sell you one for five.” 3. He flicks the Christmas ornaments with his … Continue reading →

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3 things about W.S. Van Dyke’s THE THIN MAN

The Thin Man [1934] 1. She pours him a drink. He picks up the bottle instead. 2. “Send up a whole flock of sandwiches.” 3. He ditches the cigarette, pulls his sport coat around himself tighter to ward off the … Continue reading →

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3 Things

Circle of Deceit [1981] 1. Scarred, towering Holiday Inn. No man’s land. 2. A burned-out car. What was once a human being has its head thrown back. 3. “Don’t worry. I never write what I think.”

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3 Things

Sayonara [1957] 1. Ricardo Montalban’s fishy accent: Kobe by way of Mexico City. 2. A pamphlet falls out of her purse. 3. The two puppets lie down together and die as the curtain slowly descends.

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3 Things

The Machinist [2004] 1. As he bends over we can see the knobs of his spine. 2. He is confronted by a menacing hallway. 3. A pile of bloody fish heads.

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3 things about Tom Ford’s A SINGLE MAN

A Single Man [2009] 1. He parks the car. Janet Leigh’s enormous eyes. A billboard for Psycho. 2. Fuzzy sweater. White jeans. 3. The hammer of the gun has left marks on his skin.

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