Staff

Welcome! Meet the Movie Geeks…

​Michelle McCue – Managing Editor/News Director

Favorite Films: JAWS, Terminator, T2, Alien, Aliens, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Matrix, Planet of the Apes, The Right Stuff, 12 Monkeys, 2001, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Pulp Fiction, Gladiator, 28 Days Later, Superman (1978), Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Goodfellas, Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water, The Happening, Point Break.

Favorite Directors: Ridley Scott, M. Night Shyamalan, Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, James Cameron, Michael Bay, J.J. Abrams, David Lean, Stanley Donen, Blake Edwards, Peter Jackson, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese.

Huge passion for film scores – I have a plethora of soundtracks. Live for the Academy Awards – my High Holy Day! Love movie trailers. I hail from Connecticut and still root for East Coast sports teams… Huge UCONN hoops, Red Sox and New England Patriots fan… In another life, I was a Newscast Director for a CBS affiliate. Proud member of The Alliance of Women Film Journalists, Inc. (AWFJ)

 

 

Jim Batts – Contributing Writer

I’ve been mesmerized by the movie ever since my Mom took me to see GOODBYE CHARLIE (look it up, I’m that old). Soon I was walking on my own to the Capitol Theatre for their Saturday matinee. I’d run home from grade school to catch the afternoon movie on TV. The older the movie the better. I got movie toys every Christmas, from the Give-A-Show projector to a Super 8 sound camera and projector. I collected 8 MM films and subscribed to the Home Movie Library (a different book every month from Classics of the Silent Screen to Tarzan of the Movies). During college I studied animation and later worked at several film production houses. In 2009 I was finally able to put my movie knowledge to the test by appearing on TV as a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’s Million Dollar Movie Week. I’ve been a member of the St. Louis Film Critics Association since 2013

Favorite filmmakers, stars, and films: Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers, Boris Karloff, Errol Flynn, THE WIZARD OF OZ, Looney Tunes, CASABLANCA, Hammer Studios, Sean Connery as 007, SINGING IN THE RAIN, Ray Harryhausen, the original STAR WARS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, PINOCCHIO, Alfred Hitchcock, THE IRON GIANT, ANIMAL HOUSE, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN,SPIDER-MAN 2, and the Pixar Studio.

 

Cate Marquis – Contributing Writer

My life-long fascination with movies and film history began when my father Paul Marquis, a St. Louis-based artist, two-time director of the St. Louis Artists Guild and big movie fan, introduced me to classic films and silent comedy as a young kid. I began writing film reviews for my college newspaper when I was in graduate school studying genetics and molecular biology, and also taking journalism courses. I still like both movies and science, and journalism.I am a Tomatometer-approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes, and a member of the Alliance of Film Journalists (AWFJ), where I am one of the contributors to their Movie of the Week feature. I also review films for the St. Louis Jewish Light and my own blog MarqueeByMarquis.com. I am a member of St. Louis Film Critics Association (SLFC), as well as its past president and a co-founder. Besides writing film reviews, I have given talks on film history to various group.

My taste in films is pretty eclectic, ranging from classics and international films, from epics to small dramas, from art house to blockbusters. I have a special interest in silent comedy, classic films of the 1930s and 1940s (particularly monster movies, film noir, and gangster thrillers), and international films (particularly French thrillers).

Some favorite directors, movies, and stars (in random order) include:

Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, The Marx Brothers, Akira Kurosawa, Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson, Ingmar Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, THE GENERAL (the Keaton one, of course), IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, THE MALTESE FALCON, CASABLANCA, DR. STRANGELOVE, DUCK SOUP, RASHOMON, SEVEN SAMURAI, THE KID, THE GOLD RUSH, SHERLOCK JR., THE THIRD MAN, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, METROPOLIS, M, PSYCHO, SEVENTH SEAL, …and many, many others.

Mark Glass – Contributing Writer

I primarily rate films and TV fare on how successfully they deliver what they’re aiming for, rather than adherence to anyone’s abstract definition of “art”. Thus a Spaghetti Western that hits all the right notes for its genre deservedly outranks a lavish historical drama that takes itself too seriously. My goal in coverage is to give readers just enough information to decide whether to invest their time and money. That often requires mention of which demographic groups might prefer the product, or not, while avoiding the spoiler of divulging too much plot. I remain grateful to Dale Fanetti and her St. Louis Bugle for giving me the chance in 1986 to branch out from my career as a lawyer into this enduring avocation, which has extended to judging at several local film festivals and co-founding the St. Louis Film Critics Association.

In no particular order, the following films are among my favorites for their influence on my tastes and sensibilities, their lasting entertainment value upon multiple viewings, or both:

The Americanization of Emily, Dr. Strangelove, Wag the Dog, Inherit the Wind, Singin’ in the Rain, The Producers (original), Bananas, Blazing Saddles, Pat and Mike, The Thin Man series, Day at the Races, Night at the Opera, Duck Soup, Bringing Up Baby, The Trouble with Harry, The Castle (Australia, 1997); Yankee Doodle Dandy; The Princess Bride; Animal House; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; The Magnificent Seven (original), Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction, Silverado, Rumble in the Bronx, El Mariachi, Machete, Deadpool, Hot Fuzz.