There can be little doubt that Jack Nicholson is one of the greatest movie stars in the history of the medium. He's had more Oscar nominations (twelve) and wins (three) than any other actor and has been an A-list star for over forty years now, remaining a legitimate box office draw in films like "Something's Gotta Give" and "The Departed" even in his seventh decade. He's worked with everyone from Antonioni to Scorsese, and given some of the most iconic screen performances ever, from "Easy Rider" to "The Shining."

Indeed, ask a cinephile for their favorite Nicholson performance, and the same few films are likely to come up: "Easy Rider," "Five Easy Pieces," "Carnal Knowledge," "The Last Detail," "Chinatown," "The Passenger" (an amazing, nearly back-to-back six-year-run), "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," "The Shining." But this means that some of the actor's equally strong performances never quite made it into the canon,...

The Film

Before beginning this review of Bob Rafelson's The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), let me start with an apology. Chronologically, the film is the last entry in the Criterion Collection's "America Lost and Found: The Bbs Story" box set. While it wasn't the last film that Bbs produced (the Vietnam documentary Hearts and Minds takes that honor---a film that also was given the Criterion treatment a number of years back), it marks the set's opposite bookend to Rafelson's debut film, Head (1968). Thus, while I'm going out of chronological order, there is a certain symmetry to this decision. Head helped usher in the New Hollywood Era with Bbs while Marvin Gardens was the middle-of-the-end.

The film stars Bruce Dern (Family Plot, Coming Home) and Bbs regular Jack Nicholson (fresh off the success of Rafelson's previous film, the seminal Five Easy Pieces) as a pair of estranged brothers. Dern's character,...

Carly Simon Doyenne of song Carly Simon is one the most prolific and masterful American singer/songwriters of the 20th century. Her sense of melody and lyric is always an odyssey encased in a thumbprint voice so perfect it even makes tears think twice. Simon's catalog is extraordinary and towering, with over twenty albums and countless soundtracks to her credit. Accolades include a 1989 Academy Award, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe for the title "Let the River Run" and a Best New Artist Grammy in 1971. Collaborations include Mike Nichols, Marvin Hamlisch, Jimmy Webb, Michael McDonald, Jacob Brackman, Arif Mardin, and Frank Filipetti. The title "Forever My Love," from her 1974 album Hotcakes, produced by Richard Perry, weaves a spell that will forever enchant. Buy: iTunes Genre: Pop Artist: Carly Simon Song: Forever My Love Album: Hotcakes Latin Playboys David Hidalgo and Louis P...