Year: 2022

‘Compartment No. 6’ offers a winning cinematic journey

Jeff Mitchell

“Compartment No. 6” (2021) – “No spitting on the floor.” A train conductor warns Laura (Seidi Haarla) – a Finnish woman studying in Moscow – about this spewing statute as she boards a train.  Good to know because Laura was about to reach for a pinch of chewing tobacco. No, not really.  However, this 30-something is heading on a 1,200-mile journey almost due north from Moscow to Murmansk.  By car, the trip would take 23 ½ hours straight, but this railway carriage makes stops along the way, including an overnight…

‘This Is Spinal Tap’: The Top 11 Quotes

Jeff Mitchell

Rob Reiner just celebrated his 75th birthday on March 6, 2022, and prior to 1984, he was best known as Carl Reiner’s son and Michael ‘Meathead’ Stivic from Norman Lear’s all-time classic sitcom “All in the Family” (1971 – 1979). However, in 1984, Rob spread his comic-thespian wings, flew to the big screen, and directed his first theatrical film, “This Is Spinal Tap”, a fabulously funny and fake documentary about a fictional British heavy metal band and their disastrous U.S. tour.  Yes, Reiner created an all-time classic comedy of his…

Chances are that you’ll say: I admire ‘Lucy and Desi’

Jeff Mitchell

“Lucy and Desi” (2022) –  What’s your favorite “I Love Lucy” (1951 – 1957) episode?  Vitameatavegamin?  The grape stomping/food fight?  The chocolate factory? Officially, these timeless, classic moments are “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (S1E30), “Lucy’s Italian Movie” (S5E23), and “Job Switching” (S2E1), respectively.  For this critic, the insane, maddening conveyor belt with an endless and frightening supply of candy is my number one! “Listen, Ethel.  I think we’re fighting a losing game,” Lucy (Lucille Ball) claims with traces of despair and terror in her voice. Lucille Ball wasn’t the…