2025 NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY

The Library of Congress has finally revealed their selections of the twenty-five movies added this year to the National Film Registry. Usually announced in December, which recognizes their artistic significance while helping to ensure their preservation for generations to come. These films, which must be at least ten years old, have been named because of their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance and with these selections brings the number of films in the registry to 925.

Some of the films selected include an animated adventure involving a family of super-heroes from Pixar, "The Incredibles"; two musicals that starred Bing Crosby, the holiday classic, "White Christmas" and "High Society", the musical remake of "The Philadelphia Story" with songs by Cole Porter and co-stars, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly; "The Big Chill", the comedy-drama about the reunion of college friends after the death of a classmate brings them together; an early silent film with an all-black cast, "Ten Nights in a Barroom"; two films that featured Denzel Washington: the Civil War drama, "Glory" which earned the actor his first Academy Award and "Philadelphia" which teamed him with Tom Hanks in a legal drama about an attorney suing his former law firm for discrimination over firing him for being a gay man with HIV; Amy Heckerling's quintessential coming-of-age comedy, "Clueless", loosely based on Jane Austen's novel, "Emma"; "Sparrows", a silent drama that starred one of the first movie stars, Mary Pickford that had become even more powerful at this point by moving into producing her films and "Inception", Christopher Nolan's twisty, sci-fi thriller that featured an all-star cast lead by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Turner Classic Movies will screen a selection of these inductees on March 19th with TCM host and film historian, Jacqueline Stewart, who also happens to be chair of the National Film Preservation Board, will introduce the films.

Here is the complete list of the recent entries into the 2025 National Film Registry:

"The Tramp and the Dog" (1896)
"The Oath of the Sword" (1914)
"The Maid of McMillan" (1916)
"The Lady" (1925)
"Sparrows" (1926)



"Ten Nights in a Barroom" (1926)



"White Christmas" (1954)
"High Society" (1956)



"Brooklyn Bridge" (1981)
"Say Amen, Somebody" (1982)



"The Thing" (1982)
"The Big Chill" (1983)



"The Karate Kid" (1984)



"Glory" (1989)
"Philadelphia" (1993)
"Before Sunrise" (1995)



"Clueless" (1995)
"The Truman Show" (1998)
"Frida" (2002)



"The Hours" (2002)



"The Incredibles" (2004)
"The Wrecking Crew" (2008)
"Inception" (2010)
"The Loving Story" (2011)



"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2014)

2024 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

The 2024 Cannes Film Festival is on the way, a celebration of new, exciting works of cinema from across the globe running from May 14th to 25th. The poster for the 77th edition of this fest features a screen image from Akira Kurosawa's 1991 feature, "Rhapsody in August" to honor the legendary Japanese filmmaker. A 4K restoration of Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai" will be screened during the festival to celebrate the 70th anniversary of his illustrious classic.

Cannes will open this year with Quentin Dupieux‘s French-language comedy, "Le Deuxième Acte (The Second Act)",  which stars Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel and Raphaël Quenard, making it's world premiere out of competition.



Greta Gerwig, the director of last year's box-office phenomenon, "Barbie", will be the President of the Main Competition Jury that will select the winners of prizes. The American actress/filmmaker will be joined by fellow jurors Turkish screenwriter, Ebru Ceylan; American actress Lily Gladstone; French actress Eva Green; Lebanese director/screenwriter Nadine Labaki; Spanish director J.A. Bayona; Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino; Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and French actor Omar Sy.

Some of the films selected for the Main Competition include new feature films by acclaimed international creators Ali Abbasi ("The Apprentice"), Karim Aïnouz ("Motel Destino"), Andrea Arnold ("Bird"), Jacques Audiard ("Emilia Perez"), Sean Baker ("Anora"), David Cronenberg ("The Shrouds"), Michel Hazanavicius ("The Most Precious of Cargoes"), Christophe Honoré ("Marcello Mio"), Jia Zhang-Ke ("Feng Liu Yi Dai (Caught by the Tides)"), Yorgos Lanthimos ("Kinds of Kindness"), Paul Schrader ("Oh, Canada"), Paolo Sorrentino ("Parthenope") and Francis Ford Coppola with his first film in fourteen years, the self-financed, one hundred million dollar, sci-fi drama, "Megalopolis".









New this year, Cannes will be looking into the future by launching a competitive immersive section featuring works of virtual and augmented reality. In the Cannes Classics section, there is an impressive line-up of restored films. In addition to "The Seven Samurai", we have a 4K restoration of Wim Wenders' 1984 Palme d'Or winner, "Paris, Texas"; the 1964 Palme d'Or winner, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", the enchanting musical by Jacques Demy who will be featured in a new documentary, "Jacques Demy: Le Rose et Le Noir" by Florence Platarets that will make it's premiere during the fest; "Gilda", the classic 1946 film starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, which this 4K restoration will help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures and "The Sugarland Express", Steven Spielberg's early breakthrough will have a 50th anniversary restoration screening.

"Napoleon", the groundbreaking, seven hour silent film by French filmmaker, Abel Gance, will finally be screened again after sixteen years of extensive restoration work. After premiering at the Paris Opera on April 27, 1927, the film was hacked-up by various entities over the years with twenty-two different known versions appearing to date and has not been seen in it's proper, original form since the premiere. "Napoleon" will be screened first in two parts before being shown in it's entirety with a 250 piece, live orchestra before heading to Netflix in France.









New, intriguing documentaries on celebrated actors, Faye Dunaway and Elizabeth Taylor (which utilizes newly discovered recordings); French filmmaker, François Truffaut, music composer, Michel Legrand and "Muppets" creator Jim Henson (in a film directed by Ron Howard) will be presented. And "Scénario", a 18-minute film by Jean-Luc Godard, will be the final new project by the iconic French filmmaker to be screened at the fest, completed the day before his voluntary death in 2022 at the age of ninety-one.

THE PROM (2020)

Written by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin



Directed by Ryan Murphy



Available to stream now on Netflix



Actors have famously used their fame as clout to bring attention to serious and important causes, believing that their endorsement will help make this matter take on greater significance to a large number of people. One example was an incident in 2010 involving a teenage girl who wanted to take her girlfriend to their senior prom in Mississippi but where denied by school board. The girls pushed back and the board decided to cancel the prom instead of allowing them to attend. A lawsuit was filed and a Federal Court found the couple's First Amendment rights had been violated. However, the judge did not force the school to reinstate the prom. Some celebrities heard this story and jumped in to sponsor a fund-raiser so that the girls could attend an inclusive prom event.

This was the inspiration for the stage musical, "The Prom", created in 2016 by Bob Martin, Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin which would end up on Broadway two years later, winning critical praise and award recognition. Ryan Murphy, who almost single-handedly reinvigorated television by inventively bringing progressive stories and marginalized characters to the small screen, returns to feature films to direct a version of the musical with a cast of impressive major stars on board to spice up the production. But Murphy has taken a relatively small scale story and pumped it up in to a colossal explosion of overbearing sights, unremarkable sounds and gaudy colors. It is a politically-minded, musical spectacle that demands you pay attention yet in an obnoxious, "look at me! look at me!" sort of way.

During opening night on Broadway of the new musical, "Eleanor!: The Eleanor Roosevelt Story", stars, Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep), a two-time Tony Award winner and Barry Glickman (James Corden) are waiting for the reviews to come in for the play. With a rave from a critic in New Jersey, the team is convinced they have a winner on their hands and begin to celebrate. However, the review from the New York Times is ugly and brutal, effectively killing the show.

Depressed and wallowing in self-pity, Dee Dee and Barry drown their sorrows at a local bar where Julliard graduate, Trent Oliver (Andrew Rannells) works only between theater jobs which has been few and far between of late. Joining in to commiserate with them is Angie Dickinson (Nicole Kidman), a long-time chorus girl who has just quit her job in "Chicago", frustrated by never getting a chance to play one of the leads. They decide to find a cause that will make them appear to be caring people and deliver them plenty of much-needed publicity. Angie finds the perfect case happening in a small town in Indiana, leading them to quickly head out to save the day.

Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman) is at the center of the dilemma at her high school. As an open lesbian, the teen wants to bring her female date to the prom but the head of the school PTA, Mrs. Greene (Kerry Washington) announces she will cancel the dance instead of allowing that to happen. The only one on Emma's side is the principal, Mr. Hawkins (Keegan-Michael Key) yet he's unable to stop the board about the prom.

Our four stage actors burst into the PTA meeting, outraged by the decision and demand justice for the lesbians. No one in town really knows what to make of these frivolous, self-involved performers but they won't leave. The actors befriend Emma, determined to help her so that will help them in their goal of getting some great press. Meanwhile, there is a little sexual tension simmering between Principal Hawkins (who is a big fan of the actress) and Dee Dee. And Emma's date is secretly the popular cheerleader, Alyssa (Ariana DeBose), the daughter of Mrs. Greene, who had decided to use the prom to publicly come out of the closet.

The major problem with "The Prom" is that it's not nearly as much fun as it thinks it is. You can see all the effort put in to this whirling, hyper-colored fantasia yet the payoff is minor and extremely disappointing, It's clear Murphy had difficulty figuring out how to merge the lives of wacky, over-the-top, self-indulgent theater actors with the more somber political statements involving inclusivity and tolerance. And the film suffers under the weight of trying to make the story bigger and louder than it really needed to be.

The staging of the musical numbers are hampered by poor blocking and odd location settings. The dance sequences are far too slick and robotic to make any impact. The key to any successful musical, obviously, are the songs. And while the songs in "The Prom" (with music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics from Chad Beguelin) certainly moves our story forward, they felt only serviceable, leaving no lasting memory beyond the film. It doesn't help that many of the actors deliver these tunes loudly, without much subtilty or emotional investment.

It's no real surprise that Ms Streep is the best thing here. Looking an awful lot like a bedazzled Shirley MacLaine, it's always fun watching La Streep mugging while kicking up her heels and belting out a song. Ms Kidman is another one breaking out of her dramatic comfort zone and joyfully delivering her big solo number, "Zazz", full of jazz hands and Fosse-styled dance moves. They are clearly enjoying themselves yet we are left only mildly satisfied. I was less offended by Mr. Corden's performance than by the fact that he always seemed like he was delivering a performance. The popular late-night television host never for a moment comes across convincingly as a narcissistic gay actor. You can actually see him at times struggling to figure out how big he should go. And I'm gonna repeat what I've heard a few people say which is Mr. Cordon was in a role that seemed tailor-made for Nathan Lane who could have brought an effortless charm and outrageousness that was sadly lacking here.

"The Prom" seemed like a movie that would be right up my alley, featuring an inventive director, a positive story involving love and tolerance and a cast of some of my favorite actors singing and dancing. I really, really wanted to find comfort and enjoyment from this timely musical yet all I was left feeling was numb and brutalized.

COMING SOON

The critically-acclaimed Broadway musical, "The Prom" is getting the Hollywood treatment by way of Ryan Murphy and Netflix. The powerhouse television and film producer has managed to lure such glittering stars as James Corden, Keegan-Michael Key, Andrew Rannells, Kerry Washington, Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep to sing and dance for the movie version in which he also directs. "The Prom" tells the story of four New York stage actors whose careers are on the decline and hear about a high school student in a conservative Indiana town not being allowed to take her girlfriend to the prom. Realizing this could help bring them great publicity, the actors head to Indiana to save the day. However, these self-absorbed performers wind up actually causing more harm than good for these high-school lovers. "The Prom" looks like it could be a lot of fun which is something we are in desperate need right now.

"The Prom" is due in select U.S. theaters in November and Netflix on December 11, 2020

MY VIEWING DIARY

The only good thing that has come from being forced to stay-in-place during this pandemic is the opportunity to actually stay at home and watch movies I had been saving to see in my streaming queues (on Netflix or Amazon) or re-watch films that I haven't seen in many years. Finding time had prevented me from doing either one of these activities and now that I find that I have nothing but endless time, I might as well take advantage.

Here is the first in a series of some of the films I have watched in no particular order:

"Coma" (1978)

I thought I had previously seen "Coma", the sci-fi-mystery thriller from novelist and filmmaker, Michael Crichton, but I realize that I must have only watched part of this film. 

Based on the book by Robin Cook, Geneviève Bujold stars as Susan Wheeler, a surgeon at Boston Memorial Hospital, who is devastated after a friend (Lois Chiles) that had come in for a routine procedure (an abortion!) ends up brain-dead and in a coma. After this happens again to another young, healthy patient (played by Tom Selleck in this brief, early film role displaying the easy charm and swagger he would bring to his future television series, "Magnum P.I."), Wheeler becomes suspicious and brings her concerns to the hospital's chief of surgery, Dr. George Harris (Richard Widmark). She is reassured that these were only unfortunate accidents yet she's not convinced. Wheeler begins her own investigation, eventually discovering the shocking truth. 

"Coma" is one of several popular suspense dramas that came out in the '70's that featured women as the central figure in the plot. Now that I've seen the entire film, I can say with complete certainty that "Coma" is thoroughly entertaining with great performances and the science actually holds up fairly well. Michael Douglas, fresh off of his TV success on "The Streets of San Francisco", appears in a supporting role as Wheeler's fellow doctor and boyfriend and look out for a baby-faced Ed Harris in his very first screen appearance.



"Earthquake Bird" (2019)

"Earthquake Bird", a Netflix feature film from Wash Westmoreland, the writer/director behind "Quinceañera", "Still Alice" and "Colette", starts off promising yet deteriorates in to a dull and confusing psychological drama. 

Set in 1989 Tokyo, Lucy Fly (Alicia Vikander), an introverted Swedish citizen who speaks fluent Japanese and works as a translator of manuals, meets a handsome local photographer, Teji (Naoki Kobayashi). They begin an intense relationship but because each of them have mysterious and troubled pasts, this complicates their potential romance. And when Lily Bridges (Riley Keough), an American tourist who befriends Lucy after deciding to move to Japan (and not concerned with learning the language), becomes entangled in their lives, the connection between this trio becomes very strange with deadly consequences. 

Much like it's title, "Earthquake Bird" is a disconnected mystery with the muddled conclusion delivering more questions than answers.



"Heartburn" (1986)

Based on Nora Ephron's Roman à clef novel (which she also wrote the screenplay), "Heartburn" features Meryl Streep as the stand-in for the writer, Rachel Samstat, a New York food columnist who meets a Washington DC political journalist, Mark Forman, played by Jack Nicholson (coasting on his charm) and who represents Ephron's former husband, Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post reporter behind the investigation of the Watergate scandal. The couple begin a whirlwind romance; quickly getting married, moving into a dilapidated Georgetown townhouse with plans to refurbish and awaiting the arrival of their first baby. Since giving up her job and life in NYC to become a full-time wife and mother, Rachel struggles to fit in to insular DC society scene. When the rumor of a married socialite having an affair with someone in town reaches the pregnant Rachel with her second child, the news hits very close to home.

I had seen "Heartburn" in the theaters when it was released in my mid-twenties and with this second viewing, I think I enjoyed this romantic-dramedy even more as a mature adult with some life experience. With Mike Nichols' expert direction, Ms Ephron's razor-sharp wit, Carly Simon's lovely theme song, "Coming Around Again" and appearances by many wonderful actors in supporting roles including Jeff Daniels, Stockard Channing, Catherine O'Hara, Maureen Stapleton, Joanna Gleason, the late film director, Miloš Forman and future Oscar-winners, Mercedes Ruehl and Kevin Spacey, "Heartburn" is an engaging, must-see film.

MERYL STREEP MOVIE PERFORMANCES: FROM WORST TO BEST

With the recent release of "Florence Foster Jenkins", New York magazine has decided to go back and rank all of the feature film work of one of the screen's greatest performers, Meryl Streep. While some may feel she is highly overrated and over-praised, there is no denying that when this talented actress is in the right role and paired with the right director, the results are a breathtaking and magical cinematic experience.

It's hard to say that Ms Streep has ever given a truly bad performance as she remains fully committed and always fascinating to watch no matter how difficult the film might be to sit through. But not all are of her acting performances are created equal with some clearly better than others.

Take a look at this run-through of all of her appearances to date and remember it's ranking is based strictly upon her work, not the film as a whole.  As I went over this list, I'm amazed that I've seen forty-one of these forty-three films (and it will be forty-two once I get out to see "Florence"). Some of these movies I had forgotten about (most for a good reason) and I probably would have rearranged the order of a few of these but overall, this is a fascinating examination of the film career of this gifted acting chameleon.

Click below to read:

All 43 Meryl Streep Movie Performances Ranked Worst To Best

WELL DESERVED OR JUST BECAUSE IT'S MERYL STREEP?

Now that Meryl Streep has received her eighteenth (!) Academy Award nomination, the question is asked: "How many of those given are either actually well-earned, a weak year for female actors or simply because she's Meryl Streep?" New York Magazine has taken a look and given their opinion on which films were Meryl at her very best or were given because of a lack of better choices.

Click below to read the article:

Well Deserved, or Just Because It’s Her? Meryl Streep and Her Many, Many Oscar Noms

THE IRON LADY (2011)

Written by Abi Morgan


Directed  by Phyllida Lloyd


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. January 9, 2012 5:15PM 


It would be completely redundant to once again state what a great actress Meryl Streep is but the fact is that in her latest film, "The Iron Lady", in which she plays Margaret Thatcher, the first female British Prime Minister, she has gone well beyond expectations by delivering a mesmerizing performance that effectively embodies the spirit of this controversial figure. After all these many years of fine work in cinema, it is still truly pleasurable to witness her amazing gift as an actress.

When we first see Thatcher, it has been many years after she's left office and now suffering from the early stages of senility. A staff is assigned to watch after her, to keep her safe and out of the public glare. Mrs. Thatcher manages to have moments of clarity but then she is soon lost in a hazy fog of confusion. Her husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent) has past away a few years ago but Margaret still sees him quite clearly, having discussions, disagreements and reliving moments from their past.

She first drifts back to where she came from; a working-class family in Grantham where her father, Alfred Roberts owned a grocery shop, in which Margaret worked as a young woman (Alexandra Roach). He was politically active and that certainly influenced his daughter's core beliefs. After she graduated from Oxford (with a Bachelor's degree in chemistry), she met Denis Thatcher (the younger version is played by Harry Lloyd) who became smitten by Miss Roberts and soon were married but only after Margaret made it perfectly understood that she would never be a traditional housewife.

She meant what she said and despite having two young children, Margaret aggressively campaigned until she became elected as a member of Parliament as part of the Conservative Party in 1959. During this time, Thatcher carefully prepares for her next challenge as she is groomed, taught how to properly use her voice to command authority and twenty years later, Margaret Thatcher would become Prime Minister of Britain.

So begins the era of "Thatcherism" where her strong conservative policies on nationalism, economics and labor as well as her uncompromising approach to achieving her political goals took hold of the country which was parallel to what was happening in America with Ronald Reagan as President. We see some key highlights during her time in office which include going to war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, her near brush with death by the hands of the IRA at the bombing of the Brighton Hotel and being challenged for leadership of the Conservative Party which ultimately lead to her resignation as Prime Minister in 1990.

Ms Lloyd began her career in the theater with her feature debut being the hugely successful adaption of the musical, "Mamma Mia" (that also starred Streep), has crafted a seemingly fair and balanced portrayal of the British leader but how accurate will largely depend on which side of the political spectrum you stand on. The "Thatcher" depicted is a passionate, no-nonsense woman who will not allow anything to stand in the way of her goals or ambition which included, most notably, her family. Although "The Iron Lady" does attempt to humanize the woman but offers no real opinion of her. It simply just presents the facts and surmises possible motivations for many of her actions.

The film is aided by a strong script by Ms Morgan (who is responsible for another fine screenplay of a film also currently out in theaters, "Shame") which cleverly uses Mrs Thatcher's current declining health as a basis for her struggling to remember her past but it still ultimately ends up like many biopics focusing on the mistakes and regrets of her life while rattling off a short list of some of her major accomplishments.

Since I am an U. S. citizen, I don't have a strong reaction either way of Mrs. Thatcher (unlike my opinion of her evil American counterpart, President Reagan) but regardless of your opinion, "The Iron lady" is still a fascinating, unbiased look at this polarizing figure who was both admired and reviled while, in many ways, changed the course of her country for better and for worse.

JULIE & JULIA (2009)

Written & Directed by Nora Ephron


Where & When: Century Theaters, Palm Springs, CA August 13, 2009 12:25PM



My partner, Dean & I made a two day escape to Palm Springs for rest and relaxation. Dean is fair skinned so he can only lay out in the sun in the early morning and the late afternoon.

So during the hottest part of the day, we went to the wonderful air conditioned local movie theater and saw "Julie & Julia". My idea of a great way to spend an afternoon. I really liked it. Dean... not so much but we both had a good time.

The film is based on two separate true stories. The first is from the book, "My Life In France" by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme (He's Paul Child's great nephew) and it tells us the story of Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and her husband, Paul (Stanley Tucci) who arrive in Paris in the 1950's.

They are there because Paul is starting his new post as a diplomat. Julia feels she should do something while they are in France. She tries millinery and bridge but she soon realizes what she is interested in is eating. The Child's first meal in Paris is what sets her off to discover all about French cuisine. She eventually goes to the Cordon Bleu School of Cooking to learn. Child meets Simone "Simca" Beck and Louisette Bertholle who are in the middle of struggling to write a French cookbook for Americans. This leads to a collaboration with Mrs. Child which in turn leads to the classic cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".

The second book is a memoir, "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell. Amy Adams plays Julie and she works for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. She fields calls in her tiny cubicle with people complaining all day and she is frustrated. Her friends are successful and she feels she hasn't fulfilled her promise as a writer because she hasn't finished her book. Discussing this with her husband (Chris Messina) they come up with the idea for her to write a blog. The blog would be about her making all 524 recipes in Julia Child's cook book in one year.

I liked the idea of combining the two books to make one film because it clearly shows how Mrs. Child found herself through cooking and also how her contributions and innovations still inspire people today. Although I found the Julia Child part a little more interesting, it could be simply be because of Ms Streep who you can't wait to see again. She gives another brilliant performance that is in a class by itself and I am sure you will see her name once again during the Oscar nominations. Not to short change Ms Adams and the rest of the cast who are all wonderful but let's face it, when Ms Streep is in a film, most people have to sit in the back seat.

Ms Ephron is back with a great film after a few lackluster works like"Bewitched" and "Hanging Up" but I have always been a fan of hers and I am sure this film really worked because she was inspired and is very passionate about food and cooking. After seeing "Julia & Julia", it will leave you with a very warm feeling and a big craving to eat a really great meal.