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It's been a busy couple of weeks, including attending the D23 Expo , so I'm only now reviewing SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (2026), which I saw earlier this month. BRAND NEW DAY is the fourth of Tom Holland's Spider-Man films of the past decade, following SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017), SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (2019), and SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (2021). It's hard to believe it's been half a decade…
...is taking the weekend off while I attend Disney's D23 Expo . The Expo is taking place this year from August 14th through 16th, and I'll be attending all three days. The column will return next weekend, on August 22nd. For recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my August 8th column. Post
Somehow two years have rolled by since the 2024 D23 Expo, and here we are again! Incredibly, it's time for the 2026 Expo . We had a wonderful time earlier today at the second-ever D23 Day at Disneyland. We especially loved the "Legends Cavalcade," a brief parade featuring a number of Disney Legends. I was excited to see Ming-Na Wen for the first time! It was very special to have the chance to meet…
There are several Forest Lawn cemetery locations in Southern California, including the beautifully maintained Forest Lawn Cypress , in North Orange County. Unlike the Forest Lawn locations in Los Angeles County, there are only a few entertainment-related personages buried in Cypress, but they are of significant interest. Cowboy star Ken Maynard is buried there, as I also noted in a 2025 Western…
One of my all-time favorite films, CRIME WAVE (1954), has just been released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection. I first reviewed CRIME WAVE here in 2013 . I have rewatched it regularly over the years, most recently at the 2024 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival . I love everything about this film, which centers on a reformed ex-con named Steve Lacey (Gene Nelson). Lacey now has a pretty…
Thanks to everyone who participated in my Blog Anniversary Celebration Giveaway ! Several entries answered all five MAVERICK questions correctly. My husband printed out the email addresses of the entrants who got all answers correct, and I drew the winning email address out of a bowl. The winner, Devan, has been notified and responded with her address, so the prize will be headed her way this…
Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet... ...We have a winner for my bloggiversary celebration giveaway ! She has been notified. I'll be posting the MAVERICK quiz answers on Sunday. ( Update : Here are the answers !) ...August 8th is the birthday of Esther Williams, Rory Calhoun, and Richard Anderson. Please visit my photo-filled tributes to Calhoun here ,Williams here ,…
MACAO (1952), just released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection, is, as the saying goes, "more fun than a barrel of monkeys." MACAO has always struck me as a bit in the shadow of HIS KIND OF WOMAN (1951), the first RKO film starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell . HIS KIND OF WOMAN is a wildly entertaining ride, but the final act is frankly quite disturbing at times, mixed in with fun…
The colorful Randolph Scott Western COLT .45 (1950) was just released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection. I reviewed this film in 2010 and really enjoyed returning to it via this beautiful new Blu-ray. It's not one of Scott's very best Westerns, but it's an entertaining and fast-moving 74 minutes with some interesting angles. Scott plays Steve Farrell, a Colt gun salesman who's attempting…
A few days ago I finally caught up with THE PELICAN BRIEF (1993), starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. I've always liked Roberts a great deal, and I enjoy Washington as well, but this film came out during a period in my life when I had young children and saw very few new-to-me films. Consequently there are still many films from that era which I'm only now seeing for the first time.…
