After a lengthy illness, British director and two-time Oscar nominee Alan Parker passed away on July 31 at the age of 76. At the time of his death, Parker hadn't made a film since 2003's The Life of David Gale, which isn't exactly the fondest of cinematic farewells. But he could always be counted on to get critics talking. In 1982, a reviewer called his latest work “perhaps the most revealing American movie of the era.” In, 1987, a reviewer wrote, “Alan Parker has technique to burn … and that's what he should do with it.” And it was the same reviewer.

If you've got a few hours to spare, you can do a deep dive into all of the contenders at the Emmy Awards' official Web site. But if you're looking for something shorter, less comprehensive, and certainly less authoritative considering just how much TV I don't see on a yearly basis, here are a dozen personal, arguably meaningless takeaways from yesterday's announcement.

As we continue to cross fingers that something – anything – will soon be playing at a theater near us, let's take a look at five direct sequels from 1980 to 1993 that, for me, are all significant improvements on the blockbusters that preceded them.

Here's a salute to wonderful performances – all of them filmed before the actors turned 13 – available as home-viewing entertainment: a dozen 1973-to-1999 movie portrayals (five of them Oscar-nominated or -winning) that strongly suggest that acting gifts have precious little to do with age.

As we continue to wait for large, semi-large, and even intimate public-entertainment venues to safely open again, here are a few more home-viewing favorites from my nostalgia cabinet: five – well, make that six – excellent works from 1979 to 1992 all focused on the business of show, with different titles for different nostalgic moods.

As we celebrate 2020 being half-finished at long long last, let's take a look at 20 actors – all of them Golden Globe and/or Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominees – who have somehow been denied Oscar recognition despite healthy, sometimes legendary big-screen résumés.

If you've been finding yourself starved for getaways but don't necessarily want to get away far, or if you're feeling itchy as a result of your daily commute not taking longer than the length of time it takes to get from your bed to your PC, consider these five vacation-based home-viewing options from 1978 to 1995. They're not quite trips to Hawaii, but unlike Walley World, you can at least visit any time you want.

Here, with only side mention of the lesser films they inspired, are five more home-viewing options in lieu of open cineplexes: iconic, terrifically enjoyable '80s flicks that all produced remakes that you've probably, understandably forgotten about, if you even knew about them in the first place.

While we continue to hope that current plans remain in place and summer theatre might actually resume by mid-August (fingers crossed!), here are some home-viewing options: five of my favorite stage-musical adaptations from the personally formative years of 1978 to 1986. Don't judge me for the first inclusion. I used to hate it, too.

As a getting-to-know-you exercise, I thought it was high time to share my Desert Island movies: the five titles that, if stranded alone with no other forms of cinematic entertainment, I could happily watch over and over until I eventually perished – or at least until the WiFi disappeared.

Pages