All in Cinematters

Movie Morsel: Clue — A Board Game Becomes a Movie

Clue is a board game where the players must guess who committed a murder, in what room, and with what murder weapon. From a list of suspects that include Miss Scarlet, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, and Professor Plum, they must divine whether the culprit used a wrench, a lead pipe, a revolver, a knife, a candlestick, or a length of rope to kill a guest in a sprawling estate. Almost everyone has played some form of this game, as it has been around since 1947 when it was developed in Birmingham, England by Anthony E. Pratt. It was known as “Cluedo” at the time, but when it came to America in 1949, Parker Brothers shortened the title to “Clue”.

Movie Morsel: Double Feature (Ghostbusters and The Goonies)

I was thinking back to my childhood and how much fun it was to go to the local Colonia Movie Theatre and see movie with friends. We lived in the country, so going to the movie with friends was a rare occurrence for us, usually having to wait for our parents to drive us to see movies at night. There were, however, a few summers where we spent the weeks in town at a babysitter while my parent were at work. One summer, I believe it must have been the summer of 1985, we went to what we referred to as “The Double G Double Feature.” The movie theatre was showing, back to back, Ghostbusters and The Goonies. Could there be a better way for a kid in the 80s to spend their afternoon than watching these two films?

Movie Morsel: My Man Godfrey

Classic comedy of the early Silver Screen. There is nothing quite like it. Whether it is Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night, or William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man, there is a style and charm to how these classics were made. For my money, though, the one that grabs my heart with every viewing is the 1936 film My Man Godfrey. Starring William Powell and Carole Lombard, every moment in this film brims with wit and wackiness.

Oscar Predictions: How Wrong Can I Be?

So, the Oscar are this Sunday and I, of course, feel the need to try to predict the future. I’m notoriously bad at it, I’m afraid, letting my personal feelings about films cloud my judgment where the general population’s opinions are concerned. It’s vanity, pride, and hope, all balled up into one overly-invested moviegoer. Regardless, I’ve done my best to set aside personal biases and have done my best to try to predict the Oscars in nine categories. Let’s see how many I can get wrong this year!