Almost There: Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally..."

by Cláudio Alves

Last week, we examined a Christmas movie performance that came close to Oscar glory to celebrate the holidays. Now that we're coming to the end of this cursed 2020, it seems appropriate to choose a New Year's Eve film. When it came time to pick such a picture, my mind immediately went to f Rob Reiner's 1989 When Harry Met Sally…, a perfect rom-com whose Nora Ephron-penned screenplay earned a much-deserved Academy Award nomination. Our focus shall be on the Sally of the title, Meg Ryan giving a comedienne's masterclass…

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One Score and Five Years Ago: Revisiting "The American President" at 25

by Josh Bierman

As we are only 62 days away from a new, brighter era in the White House, now is the perfect time to revisit the Rob Reiner/Aaron Sorkin classic, The American President which is celebrating its 25th birthday this week. Back when it was released, Joe Biden was still a senator from Delaware and Tronald Dump had declared a loss of $915.7 million on his tax returns. I don’t want to make this piece a reflection on the Dump years through the lens of The American President, but as we’ve found in the years since Dump took that fateful ride down a golden escalator, it’s hard to avoid him when watching something overtly political. Or is that just me?

Let’s take it back a little bit. If you haven’t seen The American President since Hillary was just a First Lady, allow me to give a refresher. President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) is in his first term with high approval ratings, poised to cruise to a reelection victory. Enter Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), an environmental lobbyist, who catches the widowed president’s eye. But the president’s popularity and reelection chances begin to wane due to their courtship...

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Ryan Murphy's "Hollywood" Episodes 3 and 4

by Eric Blume

I think we're getting ahead of ourselves, it's just a screen test.

We’ll wrap up our coverage of Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood very soon.  Before I turn it over to Claudio for a wrap on the last three episodes, let’s do our Good/Bad/Ugly look at Episodes 3 and "Outlaws" and four "(Screen) Tests" after the jump...

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Yes No Maybe So: LBJ

 by Seán McGovern

Debuting at TIFF on September 9th and primed for a theatrical release on November 3rd, Rob Reiner's LBJ brings to life the story of the man who immediately succeeded John F. Kennedy, following his assassination.

Lyndon B. Johnson appeared on our screens twice last year, with Bryan Cranston in All The Way and John Carroll Lynch in a supporting role in Jackie. Reiner's film looks set to follow the Vice President as he navigates his way from tragedy to the Oval Office. For this LBJ we get Woody Harrelson at his brusque best, with what looks to me like a... prosthetic chin? And when actors get out the heavy make-up you know they mean busines...

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TCMFF Day 2: Carl & Rob Reiner Honored at Handprint Ceremony

by Anne Marie

While Turner Classic Movies is typically known for celebrating film history, today TCM made history. Carl Reiner and Rob Reiner, writer/director/actor/producer quadruple threats whose career includes Sid Caesar's Show of Shows, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Russians are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, The Princess Bride and This Is Spinal Tap, were the first father/son duo to be immortalized in the Chinese Theater handprint ceremony. Before the two cemented their legacy next to Marilyn Monroe, Al Pacino, and Trigger the Horse, friends and colleagues from their cumulative 135 year long careers paid tribute to two of the funniest men in Hollywood...

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