Roman Polanski was born August 18, 1933 in Paris. The sordid details of his flight from the United States in 1978 have often overshadowed discussion of the director’s work, which at the age of 77, includes one of the best films of 2010. Is he a world class filmmaker? In the month of August, I [...]

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Bird (1988)
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Written by Joel Oliansky
Produced by Clint Eastwood
161 minutes
A tone poem on the life and times of jazz innovator Charlie Parker makes such a valiant effort at authenticity, at not being a bad movie, that what’s left feels like virtually no movie at all. A script by actor, playwright and jazz [...]

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Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
Directed by James Fargo
Written by Jeremy Joe Kronsberg
Produced by Robert Daley
110 minutes
You’d think that at the very least, Every Which Way But Loose would rank as the best beer drinkin’, bareknuckle brawlin’ flick with an orangutan ever made, but actually, its 1980 sequel Any Which Way You Can holds [...]

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Honkytonk Man (1982)
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Screenplay by Clancy Carlile, based on his novel
Produced by Clint Eastwood
122 minutes
The star attractions in Honkytonk Man are the roadhouses that chew up and spit out an endless cycle of musicians. The film was a rare — but in retrospect not really surprising — commercial letdown from Clint Eastwood [...]

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