by Richard Subber | May 5, 2026 | Human Nature, Theater and play reviews
they figured it out…
Movie review:
An Officer and a Gentleman
This is a girl-gets-boy, boy-gets-girl kind of movie, with bells on.
Don’t waste a lot of time being thrilled and appalled by the harsh antics of basic military training—Louis Gossett Jr. won an Oscar for being the tough guy Sgt. Foley, but he is really background for Richard Gere slowly becoming an adult as the wannabe Navy pilot, Zack.
Zack almost without knowing it falls in love with Paula (Debra Winger), a townie who comes to need Zack in her life.
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982, rated R, 124 minutes) is a love story hiding in a coming-of-age movie about a boy and girl who finally figure out how to walk off together.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: “The Gentle Boy”
The Puritans had a dark side…
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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As with another eye: Poems of exactitude with 55 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Apr 4, 2026 | Theater and play reviews
a really good story…
Movie review:
The Fugitive
The fugitive is Dr. Richard Kimble (vigorously played by Harrison Ford), unjustly accused of murdering his wife and on the run from the police while he searches for the one-armed man who actually did the deed.
The Fugitive (1993, rated PG-13, 130 minutes) is a rip-roaring story with what I dare to claim is the most thrilling, scary, truly realistic train wreck sequence ever brought to the silver screen.
The Fugitive is a two-man show: an all-American guy aiming to prove his innocence and a passion-less cop who’s trying to track him down.
During the film, U.S. Deputy Marshall Sam Gerard (played by Tommy Lee Jones, he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) transforms himself from a relentlessly heartless good-guy to a good good-guy.
Perhaps you remember the top-rated mostly B&W television series “The Fugitive” (1963-1967) starring David Janssen. The 1993 movie is great proof that you can tell a really good story in less than 120 episodes.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: Mila 18
horrific truth by Leon Uris
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many waters: more poems with 53 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Mar 7, 2026 | Theater and play reviews
they go it alone…
Movie review:
Thelma and Louise
Louise (Susan Sarandon) and Thelma (Geena Davis) can’t escape from almost every conceivable way of living on the edge. They keep ending up in situations they have never in their lives imagined. They keep grabbing for the ring.
Ultimately, Thelma and Louise (1991, rated R, 130 minutes) is about lonely ladies who want some kind of zest in their lives, and find it on their road to glory.
You keep rooting for Thelma and Louise because so many strange people do them wrong, and a man they trust isn’t much help, and another man who wants to help can’t make it happen.
You come to understand that Thelma and Louise only have each other to root for, and they end up going it alone in the only high style they can think of.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
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In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Feb 15, 2026 | Book reviews, Books, Theater and play reviews
a paucity of drama
Book review:
The Birthday Party and The Room:
Two Plays by Harold Pinter
by Harold Pinter (1930-2008)
New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1959, 1960
118 pages
It is possible that a talented cast could breathe some life into Pinter’s words on stage.
It is possible that stage design could invest some reality into Pinter’s words.
Maybe you have to be in a narrow frame of mind to experience some drama and some human wisdom when you read a Pinter play.
If you can ignore the tiresome repetition, and the not-so-pregnant pauses, and the paucity of drama in the dialogues, then maybe you can enjoy reading a Pinter play.
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Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: The Bartender’s Tale
Ivan Doig’s story, I mostly loved it…
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many waters: more poems with 53 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Feb 7, 2026 | Human Nature, Theater and play reviews
not so very far…
Movie review:
Mr. Holmes
It’s hard to get past the sterling ability of Ian McKellen to create spectacular life in any character, and the Sherlock Holmes character is fertile ground for McKellen’s superlative histrionics.
Mr. Holmes (2015, rated PG, 104 minutes) is worth your time on several levels, starting with the talented Mr. McKellen and Laura Linney (playing his housekeeper, Mrs. Munro).
There’s a mystery (of course!) and Holmes’ almost pathetic attempts to solve the cold case that ended his career are good drama.
The dramatic crux of the movie is a brief scene with his client of yore, Ann Kelmot, (played by Hattie Morahan), who made him an offer he shouldn’t have refused. Holmes comes to understand the full measure of his regret as he remembers more details of their final interview.
The pathos is overwhelming:
(Ann Kelmot) “The dead are not so very far away. They’re just on the other side of the wall.
It’s us on this side who are all of us so…”
(Sherlock Holmes) “…alone.”
You have time to watch this one.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Poets talk about poetry
…a red hot bucket of love…
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Above all: Poems of dawn and more with 74 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Jan 10, 2026 | Theater and play reviews
unique intensity…
Movie review:
The Guns of Navarone
The Guns of Navarone (1961, not rated, 158 minutes) was made more than 60 years ago and it got 7 Academy Award nominations. It’s obvious that Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn had a good time.
The actors and actresses act, they tell a credible story, you feel your heart beating more than once, there’s not too much blood—that’s how they made good war movies in 1961.
The thing that becomes obvious after several viewings is that there is a unique intensity in each character, many axes to grind, many personal burdens to bear. Each character is fighting his or her own war. The story is rich.
And you know how it ends.
You won’t be surprised to learn that there’s one German officer who’s more or less a good guy. Thanks, Hollywood.
It’s a gritty war movie without too much gore (nearly everybody dies after getting shot once).
The Guns of Navarone satisfies, it piques, it gets personal, it has abundant highs and lows, and the good guys win.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: Shakespeare’s Wife
Germaine Greer went overboard a bit…
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many waters: more poems with 53 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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