It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
The 8 rating is honest evaluation. It's a Wonderful Life is the gold standard for American Christmas filmmaking.
Tag: Grief and Loss (Page 9)
2000sUp (2009) Review
Docter and Bob Peterson wrote the screenplay. The aggregate Docter filmography represents one of the most accomplished contemporary directorial bodies of work in American animation.
2010sThe Foreigner (2017) Review
The Foreigner is one of the substantial action-thriller productions of the late 2010s and one of Jackie Chan's most substantively dramatic Hollywood productions. Martin Campbell had directed GoldenEye in 1995, The Mask of Zorro in 1998, Vertical Limit in 2000,…
2000sTaken (2008) Review
Taken is the best pure action film of the twenty-first century. Pierre Morel directed it in thirty-six days in Paris on a twenty-five million dollar budget.
1980sPlanes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) Review
John Hughes had directed Sixteen Candles in 1984, The Breakfast Club in 1985, Weird Science in 1985 and Ferris Bueller's Day Off in 1986, and written Pretty in Pink in 1986 and Some Kind of Wonderful in 1987 for director…
ChildhoodInside Out (2015) and Inside Out 2 (2024) Review
The film is basically a story about the psychological. Pete Docter built the premise from his own experience watching his daughter Elie change as she entered adolescence.
2000sFinding Nemo (2003) Review
Finding Nemo is one of the foundational documents of Pixar's golden era and one of the great American animated films of the early twenty-first century. Stanton would subsequently direct WALL-E in 2008, Finding Dory in 2016, and various other major…
1940sBambi (1942) Review
Bambi is one of the great American animated films and one of Walt Disney's most personal achievements. The film runs seventy minutes.
1990sSleepless in Seattle (1993) Review
Nora Ephron's foundational early-1990s romantic comedy. An Affair to Remember homage.
2020sWrath of Man (2021) Review
Guy Ritchie's late-career crime action masterpiece. Jason Statham's career-defining controlled-rage performance.
2000sLetters from Iwo Jima (2006) Review
Clint Eastwood's Japanese-language masterpiece. Ken Watanabe as General Kuribayashi.
Grief and LossFrank Hoeffer II
A tribute to my grandfather, Frank Hoeffer, Navy cook and WWII prisoner of war for three years and four months. He came home and never let anyone leave hungry again.