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The Year That Was: 1976
People love demarcation points, a specific time or place they can point to and say, “Here! This is where it changed.” It’s important to have markers if only to help organize that which is,...
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Klaatu barada nikto! Or, the Shopping Adventures of a Morlock
The holidays are over and like many folks I did a lot of shopping in the last few months but I didn’t frequent many shopping malls or major retail outlets. I spent most of my time and hard earned...
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You must remember this
Given the subject of this recent Johnnie To movie, it’s fitting that I barely remember what happened in the last Johnnie To movie I saw. ELECTION (2005) was a solid triad drama that reunited the Hong...
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The persistence of persistence of vision
Last week, we paid tribute to the origin of movies. It’s put me in a frame of mind I can’t quite shake–so I’m going to linger in these early days of cinema, in the nineteenth century, for a while...
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Jack Webb, Drill Instructor
“I AM NOT YOUR MOTHER!” – Sergeant Jim Moore One of the most popular releases in the Warner Archives series, THE D.I. (1957) remains a consistent bestseller on the Turner Classic Movies web site,...
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Not an Actor But a Movie Star
I am a sucker for old-school show-biz—vaudeville, follies-style Broadway revues, radio drama, television variety series. Tomorrow evening (Tuesday, January 10), one of my favorite movies airs on TCM....
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2012: New Movies to See Before the Apocalypse
I always work better with a deadline. Since the world is ending on December 21st, 2012, I expect to have the most productive movie-going year of my young, super-handsome life. In preparation for these...
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Disrespecting the Winner’s Circle
Last week I was watching the excellent documentary, These Amazing Shadows: The Movies that Make America. It’s about the National Film Registry, how it came about and how films are selected for...
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Spy Games: James Bond at 50
2012 marks the 50th anniversary of Sean Connery’s debut as James Bond in Terence Young’s DR. NO (1962). In honor of the event Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios along with Twentieth Century Fox Home...
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Extreme Hording or Dead of Nuit
Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher’s LA HORDE (THE HORDE, 2009) restages George Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) in a Paris slum, in the manner of a site-specific adaptation of a Shakespeare...
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Louis LePrince Takes a Fall
The inventor steps aboard the train, and loads the packing crates that contain his most wondrous device. It will revolutionize the world. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is the very...
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The Spring Lineup
Before delving into some highlights for my upcoming calendar film program, which has everything from singing cannibals and Robby the Robot to sex addicts and Pam Grier (in-person!)… I’d like to...
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A Movie Lover’s Dream: The Palm Springs International Film Festival
The 23rd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) concluded today with its Best of the Fest—the movies voted as audience favorites. After attending for the second year in a row, I have...
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Warner Archive Roundup: Smilin’ Through (1941) and Welcome to Hard Times (1967)
The Warner Archive continues to summon the ghosts of Hollywood past onto DVD, a bit of studio witchery we should all get behind. One of their most intriguing recent séance jobs is Frank Borzage’s...
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When RomComs Roamed the Oscars
Since the beginning of the movies, romance has played a central role. Going back to 1896 and The Kiss, two people expressing their love on camera was something the movies exploited and well (the...
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“Ski Buffs and Ski Babes on the Go-Go in the Snow-Snow!”
By the early 1960s American International Pictures (AIP) had established itself as a purveyor of popular teen films. From rock and roll dramas to hot rod thrillers and teenage monster movies, AIP made...
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Monsters Among Us!
This week, two screenwriter friends of mine were retained to write monster movies for a new production company called The Monster Machine. David Rosiak and Matthew Chernov have already written the...
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The Human Splice
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been exploring competing claims on the creation of movies. The Lumière brothers hold a sizeable claim, for having pioneered the exhibition model that became the norm–and...
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Jailbirds of a Different Feather
MILLIONAIRES IN PRISON. Great title and the sort of news headline I’d like to see in an era where Wall Street robber barons and corporate raiders are creating a new society of haves and have-nots....
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The Best of My Palm Springs Adventure
Last week I offered an overview of the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) as a sort-of “taste of the fest.” This week, I will tout the three films that I enjoyed the most so that our...
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