Author Archives: Sax von Stroheim

“Pain & Gain” and Michael Bay

Posted on May 24, 2013

Sax von Stroheim writes: Pain & Gain, the new true crime caper movie from Michael Bay: Uncouth Reflections Movie of the Year? Movie of the Decade? Movie of All Time? Its subject is excess, and it’s catching, so forgive the … Continue reading →

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Not quite up to par

Posted on January 18, 2013

Sax von Stroheim writes: Night Train to Munich (Carol Reed, 1940) This isn’t a bad movie, but it suffers a bit because it isn’t a great movie, either, and it brings to mind too many other movies that are great … Continue reading →

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David Chase’s small movie for the big screen

Posted on January 15, 2013

Sax von Stroheim writes: Not Fade Away (David Chase, 2012) A few different ways into talking about this movie: As you probably notice, I pay a bit of attention to current movies, but, even so, I completely missed that this … Continue reading →

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Some Oscar counterprogramming

Posted on January 11, 2013

Sax von Stroheim writes: I was thinking of writing up a snarky take on the Academy Award nominations, but then decided I didn’t really want to participate in that even as a joke. (I believe the official Uncouth Reflections editorial … Continue reading →

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Not my favorite horse racing movie

Posted on January 11, 2013

Sax von Stroheim writes: Dead Cert (Tony Richardson, 1974) Something the Brits do pretty well: take their decent-to-classic mystery novels and turn them into solid-to-great TV programmes and movies. It’s rare to come across one that doesn’t have at least … Continue reading →

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Fear of movies

Posted on January 10, 2013

Sax von Stroheim writes: Two new movies, both good, by any reasonable objective standard, in that they seem to successfully achieve what they set out to achieve. But one betrays a fear of commitment, a fear of failure, while the … Continue reading →

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Lesser Dante is still Dante

Posted on January 9, 2013

Sax von Stroheim writes: The Hole (Joe Dante, 2009) I watched this in 2D off of Netflix streaming, but it seems like it would have been a fun thing to see in 3D at the movies. Flattened out, it’s enjoyable enough, … Continue reading →

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End of the Road (Aram Avakian, 1970)

Posted on January 8, 2013

Sax von Stroheim writes: My list of “Films that Belong to an American New Wave that Didn’t Really Exist” includes De Palma’s Greetings and Hi, Mom!; Norman Mailer’s Maidstone; Robert Downey, Sr.’s oeuvre; Shadows, Faces, and Opening Night; Robert Kramer’s Milestones; Mickey One, The Connection, Dusty and Sweets McGee, The Swimmer, and David Holzman’s … Continue reading →

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Two Sports Movies From The 1970’s

Posted on January 6, 2013

Sax von Stroheim writes: One’s a masterpiece, one’s an interesting-if-not-exactly-good little movie. First the masterpiece:  Slap Shot (George Roy Hill, 1977) A vulgar, American comedy from one of the 70’s most underrated filmmakers. (Considering the “classic” status of Butch Cassidy and … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Joss Whedon’s Disney’s “Marvel’s The Avengers”

Posted on December 1, 2012

Sax von Stroheim writes: I finally caught up with the year’s biggest hit. I’m a longtime reader of super-hero comics, and while the Avengers comics by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, et al. aren’t my favorites from Marvel’s Silver Age, I … Continue reading →

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