2017 Blind Spots: Frankenstein (1931)

To celebrate Halloween, my blind spot for the month is the James Whale Universal horror classic, Frankenstein.     Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) is mad with one singular purpose: to create a man with his own hands, to play God essentially. He has built a man with assorted dead body parts and the brain …

Advertisement

2017 Blind Spots: Malcolm X (1992)

Spike Lee's biopic of the legendary black leader is a magnum opus. Malcolm X is one of the most arresting figures in American history. He is not just black history. He preached black unity and black self love, but his condemnations of white people and white supremacy were swift and harsh. How can one possibly …

2017 Blind Spots: Wings (1927)

Two young men from a small town, both in love with the same girl, enlist in the army during WWI. The two train as fighter pilots, eventually gaining much recognition and fame for their exploits and skills. Yet the specter of death is ever looming. Wings, directed by William Wellman and the first film to …

2017 Blind Spots: Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

During World War II, three children are evacuated to the English countryside. A priest arranges for them to live with an eccentric guardian. Her name is Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury) and unbeknownst to the priest and villagers, she's a witch in training. Eglantine is rather clumsy and hasn't yet mastered any spells but she is …

2017 Blind Spots: The Birds (1963)

Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) travels to the fishing town of Bodega Bay to deliver a pair of lovebirds to Mitch Brenner. The two only met each other the day before in a bird store, and right away there was friction. But Melanie arrives by boat, and is immediately attacked by a seagull, deliberately, Mitch observes. …

2017 blind spots: The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

John Frankenheimer's political thriller based on the 1959 Richard Condon novel hinges on two things - solitaire and an international communist conspiracy. The Korean War has just ended. Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) has returned home to a hero's welcome and been awarded the Medal of Honor for his acts of bravery. But Shaw is not …

2017 Blind Spots: Kansas City Confidential (1952)

On the surface, Phil Karlson's Kansas City Confidential appears to be a standard noir. Three criminals are blackmailed into a heist job by a burly and considerably aged Preston Foster. They're each instructed to wear masks during the robbery. Without knowing each other's identities, the police won't either. It truly is the perfect crime, executed …

2017 Blind Spots: The Last Unicorn (1982)

There is a forest of perpetual spring. A unicorn (Mia Farrow) resides in it, and this is why the forest is so pure and untouched by the outside world. The unicorn overhears two hunters call her the last of her kind. She cannot believe that she is really the last one in all the world. …

2017 Blind Spots: In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Virgil Tibbs was only waiting for a train to take him back home from Sparta, Mississippi when he found himself involved in a murder investigation. A homicide expert from Pennsylvania, he clashes with Sparta's police chief Bill Gillespie. The two begrudgingly partner despite their animosity in order to find the person responsible for the murder of …