Category Archives: Movies and film

The White Sea, Parted

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Katherine Wikoff

The view of our front walk this week. Doesn’t that wall of snow look a bit like the wall of water left by the parting of the Red Sea in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 version of The Ten Commandments? DeMille … Continue reading →

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Inspiring article on Reese Witherspoon to get you unstuck

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Katherine Wikoff

Truly enjoyed this fascinating and substantial Hollywood Reporter profile of Reese Witherspoon, especially how she took charge of her career when the entertainment industry’s existing system offered limited opportunity. You can find the article here.

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“Not so much costumes as a bit of plumbing and general automobile engineering”

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Katherine Wikoff

So said John Mollo in his acceptance speech at the Oscars after winning the Academy Award for Costume Design in 1978 for his work on Star Wars. What reminded me of this marvelous quote was a vehicle I walked past … Continue reading →

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Fave Movie Moments – “Do you know why this is my favorite tree?”

Posted on March 30, 2019 by Katherine Wikoff

I showed The Florida Project last week in my honors film studies class, where the honors program’s theme, “The Power of Place,” is the central unifying subject of our course. I really love this film and could not believe it … Continue reading →

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Michael Caine on life as a never-ending audition

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

While doing some background research for the academic article on movie trailers that I’m writing with a psychology professor in my department, I stumbled across a book by Michael Caine titled Acting in Film: An Actor’s Take on Movie Making … Continue reading →

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Warped Time

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

It’s fascinating to notice those weird moments when historical eras overlap. My husband, who is 10+ years older than I am, can remember seeing milk being delivered to homes in his neighborhood via horse-drawn wagons in the 1950s. Here is … Continue reading →

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Wham! “Freedom” in China

Posted on July 25, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

I heard Wham!’s “Freedom” on the radio while driving yesterday. I’ve always liked this song, but what I’ve especially always remembered about it was its official video, which details the 1980s duo’s groundbreaking trip to China. Wham! was the first Western … Continue reading →

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Homage in The Shape of Water – Monsters who like candy

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

Colonel Strickland, the cruel government agent who pulled the amphibious fish/man out of the river muck in South America, continually crunches on green (lime?) hard candy throughout The Shape of Water. Strickland isn’t cinema’s only early-’60s  antagonist with a sweet … Continue reading →

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Homage in The Shape of Water – Odessa Steps

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

The last movie we watch in my film studies class every spring is always whatever has won the Academy Award for Best Picture that year. This year we’re watching The Shape of Water. This is a really brilliant movie, and I … Continue reading →

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Mesmerizing music visualization

Posted on May 12, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

I’m reading paper drafts from students in my film studies course, and one of them is writing about baptism/assassination montage in The Godfather. I was pretty sure the music playing through that scene is Bach, but I looked it up … Continue reading →

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