A Voice in the Night 12/28

For some reason, most of the film’s being released this holiday season are dour. From SON OF SAUL, which plunges the viewer into the horror and madness of Auschwitz at the end of World War II, to THE REVENANT, which features Leonardo DiCaprio being mauled by a bear for 15 minutes,  it’s a grim time at the movies. When I joined the divine Maureen Langan on her KGO-AM radio show, Hangin’ With Langan, we had a discussion about just who the audience for films like these are — stunning but harrowing — as well as why Alfred Hitchcock’s VERTIGO is the perfect film to see on New Year’s Day in San Francisco, the gift of Gene Kelly’s tight pants in SINGING IN THE RAIN, and why STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS makes up for those awful prequels.