Films featuring
Peter Falk

Murder by Death (1976)

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

No pulse, no heartbeat. If condition does not change, this man is dead.

This is Neil Simon’s attempt to do a Mel Brooks number of the genre of detective fiction and it’s probably for the best that he tackle it, because I think that the director of Blazing Saddles and High Anxiety would have wielded too blunt an instrument to make it work. Even with Simon’s slightly more sophisticated touch, Murder by Death is comedy in broad strokes, but even if you’re not a fan of murder mysteries, enough jokes score to make it a diverting 90 minutes.

Murder by Death

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Director:  | Released:  | 94 min. | Rated:  | Genres: 

The Great Race (1965)

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Push the button, Max.

This big-budget, globe-trotting comedy is almost exactly as old as I am and I’ve always held a warm place in my affections for it. It’s not quiet or subtle, but it is spirited, like a Clydesdale that thinks it’s a quarter horse.

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Director:  | Released:  | 160 min. | Rated:  | Genres: 

The Princess Bride (1987)

Monday, November 7th, 2005

There’s a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. It would be a pity to damage yours.

There are very few movies that, after 18 years, I react to the same way I did when I first saw it. The Princess Bride is definitely one of those movies. I get exactly the same feeling of giddy delight from watching this that I did back in 1987. As a fantasy, it takes its fairy-tale elements just serious enough that it doesn’t feel condescending while still managing a knowing wink at a normally cynical modern audience.

The Princess Bride

Rob Reiner‘s fourth movie is as different from the three that came before it as they are from each other and nothing much like the many he has directed since. He obviously brings a great deal of love and respect to William Goldman‘s original novel and successfully communicated his enthusiasm to a talented cast.

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Director:  | Released:  | 98 min. | Rated:  | Genres: