A Few Faves From the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series

Immortal gems of the cinema help us define a classic

"...What makes a film a classic? What irrepressible spark illuminates a flick past those first..."

May 24, 2019 Screens Feature by The Screens Staff

Cue the Underdog QB Fantasy

Texas State finds reality in season-ending loss

"...up on. He’s the wild buddy from Dan Jenkins’ classic football satire Semi-Tough (the book, not the tepid, new-agey..."

Dec. 2, 2013 Sports Post by Joe O'Connell

Your Fantasy House

Where reader types would own a vacation home if it could be anywhere in literature

"...For my fantasy second home, I'd build a tree house in the..."

June 17, 2016 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Instant Classic

Paramount Theatre's Summer 2000 Series

"...dreams -- a one-screen, velvet-curtained, marquee-blinking cavern of film fantasy where, as a wee child, I first saw the..."

May 19, 2000 Screens Feature by Kate X Messer

Austin Studio's VR Mini-Golf Game Gets New Course Based on Jim Henson’s Labyrinth

Mighty Coconut goes golfing in the beloved puppet classic

"...its Walkabout Mini Golf VR game based on the classic fantasy film, Jim Henson's Labyrinth...."

July 29, 2022 Screens Feature by Richard Whittaker

Mary and the Witch's Flower

Studio Ghibli alums stick to the formula for magical tale.

"...Where would Japanese animation be without British literary fantasy to adapt? Doing quite fine, of course, but it's..."

Feb. 16, 2018 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

The Women on the 6th Floor

This light comedy from France is pure bourgeois fantasy, but it's a genial fantasy nevertheless.

"...is a light French comedy that is pure bourgeois fantasy, but a genial fantasy nevertheless. Charming performances and the..."

Dec. 2, 2011 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Legend of Zipang

"...one-syllable word: Fun. Yes indeed, this 1990 Japanese swordplay fantasy is a real blast, a wild, exciting, and hilarious..."

Sept. 15, 1995 Movie Review by Joey O'Bryan

Bamboozled

"...imagery. The story of Bamboozled is designed as a fantasy of what might happen when a TV creative executive,..."

Nov. 10, 2000 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Chris the Conqueror

Chris Roberson takes on Superman, Elric, Captain Kirk, and Cinderella – and wins

"...mastermind Stan Lee on the sci-fi-tinged Starborn; and runs fantasy publishing company MonkeyBrain Books with his wife, Allison Baker...."

July 29, 2011 Arts Feature by Richard Whittaker

The Lovers

"...of his, which is an elegant retelling of the classic Chinese tale Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. This story..."

June 30, 1995 Movie Review by Joey O'Bryan

The Pagemaster

"...three animated genres of literature “personified” by Adventure (Stewart), Fantasy (Goldberg), and Horror (Welker). These three “voice talents” provide..."

Nov. 25, 1994 Movie Review by Alison Macor

The Secret Garden

Neither talking down to children nor pandering to their parents, The Secret Garden functions something like a fairy tale in which the primordial and psychosexual concerns are made palpable and socially acceptable.

"...of Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved novel -- a childhood classic -- has a broad appeal. Neither talking down to..."

Aug. 20, 1993 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Pete's Dragon

Old Disney musical is remade as a new children's classic

"...head up the remake of the studio’s 1977 children’s fantasy Pete’s Dragon, they chose the right guy, even though..."

Aug. 12, 2016 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Fantastic Fest Review: Mary and the Witch's Flower

Ghibli alums stick to the formula for magical tale

"...Where would Japanese animation be without British literary fantasy to adapt? Doing quite fine, of course, but Mary..."

Sept. 30, 2017 Screens Post by Richard Whittaker

The LEGO Movie

Let's face it: We're putty in these things' hands.

"...20 years ago. Smart and savvy, it takes the classic dilemma of every Lego owner – to follow the..."

Feb. 7, 2014 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Frequency

"...Braugher, Elizabeth Mitchell and Shawn Doyle. Frequency reconfirms the classic Hollywood axiom that the dumbness of sci-fi/fantasy movies increases..."

April 28, 2000 Movie Review by Russell Smith

The Ghosts of Dickens' Past

"...Christopher Heyerdahl. Not reviewed at press time. This family drama/fantasy film is a co-production of Canada's CINAR television production..."

Feb. 19, 1999 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Braveheart

Gibson directs and stars in this rousing 13th century epic about the Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace.

"...a deliberate heroic myth-making tale that combines history with fantasy. Gibson, who starred, produced and directed, audaciously presents this..."

May 26, 1995 Movie Review by Louis Black

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker

"...years ago, The Nutcracker has remained an enduring Yuletide classic. Despite the countless live performances and television productions of..."

Nov. 26, 1993 Movie Review by Pamela Bruce

Hook

Spielberg's Hook breaks the cardinal rule of J.M. Barrie's timeless fantasy – it grows up.

"...Hook breaks the cardinal rule of J.M. Barrie's timeless fantasy -- it grows up. The movie casts Williams in..."

Dec. 13, 1991 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Wonder Park

PG-theme park adventure we're all tall enough to ride

"...One of the oldest fantasy standards is the magical kingdom waiting for the one..."

March 22, 2019 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Grimm Guignol

Ryan Gosling's directorial debut melds fantasy and realism

"...a new mythology, rewriting modern America as a post-industrial fantasy land. For his debut feature as writer and director,..."

April 10, 2015 Screens Feature by Richard Whittaker

Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2014: Animation

Five works of superior, ambitious animation.

"...by Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares, is a futuristic fantasy about a genial robotic world where inhabitants, houses, and..."

Feb. 7, 2014 Movie Review by Louis Black

The Importance of Being Earnest

For better or worse, Oliver Parker's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's comedy of mistaken identities liberates the play from its drawing-room trappings.

"...much an issue of purism: Filmmakers have often reimagined classic texts for the silver screen, sometimes to great success...."

May 31, 2002 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Metropolis

"...Froelich and Rudolf Klein-Rogge. One of the great silent classics, Metropolis is a futuristic fantasy about the mechanization of..."

May 13, 2002 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Bridget Jones's Diary

romantic fantasy as it is social satire.

"...risky; this Bridget Jones's Diary is as much romantic fantasy as it is social satire, but more to the..."

April 13, 2001 Movie Review by Sarah Hepola

The Portrait of a Lady

Jane Campion brings her modern sensibilities to this story of Henry James’ 1870s heroine Isabel Archer, a young, sharp-minded, American woman abroad who inherits unexpected wealth and uses it to live as she likes, traveling and rejecting numerous suitors until she falls into an unwise marriage that nearly becomes her ruination.

"...opening credits, Campion signals her intention to recontextualize this classic novel for modern times and feminist analysis. The sound..."

Jan. 17, 1997 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Sniper

"...merely his reputation as an Olympic marksman. They're the classic, mismatched Odd Couple thrown together in the Panamanian jungle..."

Feb. 5, 1993 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

A thrilling and touching version of the children's classic from the master fabulist

"...some star to bring his version of the Italian fantasy tale The Adventures of Pinocchio to life. The popular..."

Nov. 18, 2022 Movie Review by Steve Davis

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