5 QUESTIONS FROM LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE

In the February 2009 issue of Los Angeles Magazine there was a series of questions asked of six film critics. I thought it might be interesting to explore... 

Here are my answers:

1. The first movie I fell in love with: 

"King Kong" (1933). I used to live in northern New Jersey as a kid and I remember this movie on WOR Channel 9. I loved the "monster" as he ran amok in New York City and finally plunged to his death from the top of the Empire State Building. Even as a child I understood that Kong was a victim and that "Man" had done him wrong (not Fay Wray). Plus this movie has a great curtain line: "Twas beauty that killed the beast." 

2. The movie I will watch again and again:

"Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948). It may not be a high-brow choice, but this movie satisfies me on all levels: Bud and Lou were my favorites as a kid, as were all of the classic Universal horror movies. This movie had A&C and Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man and Glenn Strange as the Monster! Wow. The production values were great (especially for a 1948 B-picture from Universal-International), the movie is both hilarious and scary and Frank Skinner's music score was perfect. I'm eight years old all over again. 

3. The movie star I will see in anything:

Jack Lemmon. No actor made it look easier. Comedy, drama, and especially that range of real-life in between: he was the best. 

4. The movie that stops me in my tracks when I'm channel surfing:

"The Hunt for Red October" (1990). Great movie based on an equally great book. I love Alec Baldwin, James Earl Jones, Sam Neil and especially Sean Connery in this movie. Part of my love of this movie is my own background serving in the intelligence field while in the Army. This Cold War thriller brings back a lot of memories. I always mean to watch a few scenes, then, next thing I know, I'm watching the whole thing! "The Godfather" is a close second, by the way.

5. The movie that made me want to be a critic: 

In my case, replace "critic" with "filmmaker." For me, it was "Citizen Kane" (1941). I first saw it in college on the big screen. I was entranced. From the camera angles, to the dialogue and non-linear narrative structure, I was acutely aware that there was the hand of a great master at work. And Orson Welles was a man of great things: great talent, great appetites, great vision, great ego, great failings and great successes. The passion and drive that permeates "Citizen Kane" inspires me and fills me with my own personal great expectations that I may yet achieve.

So that's how I answered these questions. What are your answers?