Thornhill at the Movies

Who is thornhill?

The moment I first saw Hitchcock’s “North By Northwest” on a large screen in Berkeley, California, I fell in love with the magic of film.

As I continued to study the medium throughout my life and in college, I broadened my spectrum to encompass more filmmakers, techniques and cultures. This has led me to develop a list of favorite films that many people probably wouldn’t recognize, and to appreciate how great some films can be. Of course, this also often leads to disappointment.

A friend once commented “I think it’s a shame that you can’t appreciate films”. This isn’t true. I am very critical of films, but I appreciate good films even more. Yes, I am frequently disappointed. But to sit in a theater and watch Hillary Swank’s great performance in “Million Dollar Baby”, to watch the cinematography of Sacha Vierny for “The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover”, to listen to Michael Mann’s phenomenal dialogue of  “Heat”, or to watch the outstanding craftsmanship of “The Incredibles” leaves me frequently overjoyed.

What are my qualifications for writing a film review for you? I studied film in college, I see an average of two films every week in the theater, and I watch countless other films on DVD every year. In other words, I watch a lot of films. Sometimes, it seems like I sleep, eat and drink film. I see plenty of bad films and some very good films. These are basically the same qualifications of most other film reviewers you will read.

All of my friends and family ask me about the films they are interested in, because they know I have probably already seen them. If I discover a great film, I love to tell everyone about it, to get them to see it and hopefully have a similar experience. If I see a bad film, I also like to tell everyone and hopefully prevent them from watching the sludge.

A few years ago, I decided to launch this website. The website is now a reality.

My internet moniker, thornhill, is borrowed from the film “North By Northwest”. It is the last name of Cary Grant’s character. As this is my favorite film, it seems a natural fit.

My pledge to you is that I will go to as many films as humanly possible. I will go to all types of films: Mainstream to art house, foreign to documentary. If it’s playing in a theater, I will try to see it. Hopefully, I will be able to share some great discoveries with you and to help you stay away from some awful crap.

I hope you will find this website useful, fun and a great resource for your movie watching experiences. Hopefully, together we will discover some great new films.

Under the “Contact” link, you’ll find an area where you can sign up to receive an e-mail notice every time I post a new review. Please sign up for this. It is an easy way for you to get a reminder and then read all of the content I will be posting to this new website.

The reviews will be grouped into three main areas. Under “Now Playing”, you’ll find my opinions on the latest movies playing in theaters. In the “Now on DVD” section, you’ll find reviews of films that have just been released on DVD. This is also where I will put reviews on films that I have just discovered or rediscovered on DVD. I particularly like my reviews of “North By Northwest” and “The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover”. Under "Theaters”, you’ll find reviews of movie theaters. Hopefully, this will help enhance your experience. I am of the firm belief that the theater you are watching a film in informs your opinion of the film. You could be watching the best film ever made, but if you are sitting in the AMC Broadway Cinema, you will probably dislike the experience and therefore the film. Eventually, I will have a guide directing you to the best screens at theaters and multiplexes throughout the Westside of Los Angeles and screens in the Bay Area. Next time you visit one of these theaters, make sure the film is playing on the best screen there before you plunk down $10 or $11 dollars and waste your time.

There are also some links to Amazon. In the future, I may add a couple of more links. Please use these links! When you would like to purchase something (anything) from one of these services. I will earn a small percentage for the referral and that will help me keep this website running.

Also, under the “Contact” link, you have the ability to e-mail me. If you have questions, comments, criticisms, let me know. I may post some of them for everyone to read.