Author:   Scott Douglas

Showing 589-609 of 712 results
Starring: Vincent Price Carol Ohmart Richard Long Alan Marshal Carolyn Craig Elisha Cook Jr

House on Haunted Hill

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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William Castle's 1959 Vincent Price-vehicle, House on Haunted Hill, may well be my favorite of the director's pictures. It's got the right mix of Castle camp and general creepiness to satisfy the schlock-seekers that Castle catered to, but it also coheres better than many of his other films. It's well constructed, dynamically paced and thoroughly unashamed…
Starring: Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest, Hank Azaria, Christine Baranski, Calista Flockhart

The Birdcage

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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In Brief: A faithful Americanization of La Cage Aux Folles, The Birdcage (1996) may lack some of the outlandish charm of the original, but it doesn't miss the mark by much. Written by Elaine May and directed by Mike Nichols, the reunion of this former standup comedy duo after some 30 years paid significant dividends with this film's…

Locally published book analyzes Donald Trump in a context of societal narcissism

Posted on by Scott Douglas

As November quickly approaches, discussion surrounding one of the most polarizing presidential elections in decades has intensified, from fervent whispers to a cacophonous roar of partisan rhetoric and armchair philosophizing. While voters differ passionately on the candidates’ respective platforms and personalities, there is one topic on which they all seem to agree: Donald Trump is […]

Screenings of Ken Russell’s Tommy will honor movie-critic Ken Hanke’s life

Posted on by Scott Douglas

When long-time Mountain Xpress movie critic Ken Hanke passed away in late June, the Asheville film community lost an irreplaceable asset. In honor of Ken and his contributions to cinematic culture and criticism, his favorite film, Ken Russell’s Tommy, will be screened three times at the Fine Arts Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Shows start […]

Starring: Burghart Klaussner, Ronald Zehrfeld, Robert Atzorn, Lilith Stangenberg, Jörg Schüttauf

The People vs. Fritz Bauer

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: German prosecutor Fritz Bauer hunts high-ranking Nazis in defiance of a government that would rather see their crimes forgotten. The Lowdown: One of the most cogent and entertaining films to deal with Nazi ratlines since 1978's The Boys from Brazil, The People vs. Fritz Bauer probably tops that movie in my estimation. Not to be missed.
Starring: Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, Mike Birbiglia, Kate Micucci, Chris Gethard, Tami Sagher

Don’t Think Twice

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: A New York improv comedy troupe is thrown into turmoil when one of its members gets a shot at success. The Lowdown: A poignant take on a perennial problem, Don't Think Twice doesn't shy away from difficult issues like jealousy and existential doubt while still retaining a sly sense of humor.
Starring: Edgar Ramírez, Robert De Niro, Usher Raymond, Ana de Armas, Rubén Blades

Hands of Stone

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: Biopic covering the life and 34-year career of legendary boxer Roberto Durán. The Lowdown: A flat-footed attempt to lionize a worthy subject, Hands of Stone falters under the weight of its own inconsistencies.
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown

The Light Between Oceans

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: After a lighthouse keeper and his young bride suffer two miscarriages, they think their prayers have been answered when a rowboat carrying a dead man and his decidedly living infant daughter miraculously washes ashore on their remote Australian island. But then the child's biological mother turns up. The Lowdown: A three-tissue, period-melodrama awash in a sea of grandiose…
Starring: Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michelle Yeoh, Toby Jones

Morgan

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: A risk assessor for a shadowy corporation is taken to a remote location where an experiment in creating an artificial humanoid has gone horribly awry. Once there, she must decide if the subject of the experiments needs to be terminated. But will she be able to pull it off? The Lowdown: You can probably figure out…
Starring: Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight

The Terror

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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In conjunction with the Hendersonville Film Society’s Sept. 11 screening of Peter Bogdanovich's Targets, the Thursday Horror Picture Show will feature the film from which Targets borrowed much of its Boris Karloff footage, Roger Corman’s The Terror, on Sept. 8. Like much of Corman’s canon, The Terror (1963) is often uneven, but never uninteresting. This…
Starring: Harold Lloyd, Frances Ramsden, Jimmy Conlin, Rudy Vallee, Margaret Hamilton

The Sin of Harold Diddlebock

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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Director Preston Sturges drew silent-comedy star Harold Lloyd out of retirement for this 1947 sequel to The Freshman (possibly Lloyd’s best-known feature), picking up over 20 years after that film left off. The Sin of Harold Diddlebock may not be Lloyd’s funniest work, and it certainly doesn’t represent a career zenith for Sturges either. But…
Starring: Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto, Stephen Lang

Don’t Breathe

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: Three young thieves attempt to go out on one last big score by robbing a blind Iraq War vet of $300,000 dollars stashed in his Detroit home. What they find within is far more insidious than they could ever have expected. The Lowdown: A nerve-wracking psychological thriller that hits all the right notes, Don't Breathe delivers chills without…
Starring: Markees Christmas, Craig Robinson, Carla Juri, Lina Keller

Morris from America

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: A black teenager from the Bronx must navigate adolescence and ill-advised love in unfamiliar territory when his soccer-coach dad relocates the family to Germany. The Lowdown: A genuinely moving film with heart to spare, Morris from America avoids coming-of-age clichés to deliver a unique and compelling story.
Starring: Michael Barbieri, Theo Taplitz, Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle, Paulina García

Little Men

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: Two artsy New York teens form a fast friendship, but when their parents enter into a property dispute, their bond is threatened. The Lowdown: A moving human drama with implications that far outstrip its simple premise, Little Men speaks to broader social issues through an appealingly low-key story.
Starring: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake

Detour

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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Some have called Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour (1945) the ultimate example of film noir. While I wouldn’t necessarily go that far, it is unquestionably a tour de force and a nigh-unassailable classic of the genre. A Poverty Row cheapie shot in six days on a practically nonexistent budget, Detour bears all the hallmarks of classic film…
Starring: William Genovese, Shannon Beeby, Kitty Genovese

The Witness

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: 50 years after the horrific murder of his sister, a man reexamines everything he thought he knew about the tragic event.  The Lowdown: Equally as frustrating as it is compelling, The Witness is a brutal examination of loss, memory, and the social contract that inextricably binds together total strangers.
Starring: Tika Sumpter, Parker Sawyers, Vanessa Bell Calloway

Southside with You

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: Future President Barack Obama and Future First Lady Michelle (née Robinson) go on their first date. The Lowdown: A toothless exercise in premature mythologization, Southside is likely to feel contrived to all but the most ardent Obama fans.
Starring: Jack Huston, Morgan Freeman, Toby Kebbell, Nazanin Boniadi, Haluk Bilginer, Rodrigo Santoro

Ben Hur

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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The Story: A Jewish prince in Roman-occupied Jerusalem seeks revenge after he is betrayed by his adoptive brother, but his heart is softened by encounters with Jesus Christ. The Lowdown: Failing to function on both cinematic and evangelistic levels, Ben Hur is a disappointing and redundant take on a story that's been told often — and better.
Starring: Christopher Lee, Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, Roy Boyd

The Wicker Man

Reviewed by Scott Douglas on
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One of only three films directed by Robin Hardy, much of what makes The Wicker Man (1973) so special can likely be attributed to recently deceased writer Anthony Shaffer, who also wrote Hitchcock's Frenzy and both the stage and screen versions of Sleuth. This film is unquestionably a definitive cult classic, due largely to its low-budget location shooting…