1944’s The Climax was Boris Karloff first movie in color, specifically Technicolor.  I think it is more accurate to say, “well, technically, in colors, mostly peachy-beige and a kind of dark teal”  Mostly, elements have a weird kind of pallor to them.  While I might be on the fence about the extent to which it […]

In space, nobody can you scream, but they might smell you shitting your pants if you’re on the International Space Station.  I’ve heard that place already smells pretty rank, what with all the odors trapped in such a relatively small space.  There is a cast of only six people in 2023 sci-fi thriller I.S.S, which […]

If there is one thing I intended to do with my life, it was to not have children.  I have been successful in that goal, though many might think that was a dubious achievement. By withholding my genes from the pool, it’s like I committed a genocide of one. For better or worse, it puts […]

I wasn’t familiar with actor Lee Tracy before seeing 1947’s High Tide, but an extra on the blu-ray has noir expert Imogen Sara Smith talking about his lengthy career.  At the time this film was made, that career had been derailed when he caused a scandal in Mexico which required him to be snuck out […]

Sometimes, it is impossible to watch a movie and not see it exactly for what it is, instead of losing oneself in the world it tries to establish.  Such a film is 1987’s Robot Holocaust.  If you are aware of this title, it is very likely you watched it as an episode of Mystery Science […]

Towards the end of 1955’s Track the Man Down, almost all the main characters are in a boathouse, either dozing or simply bored out of their minds.  I can identify with them, as I had long since checked out while watching this. One major problem is there are too many of those characters and each […]

Except in brief flashbacks, 1947’s Brute Force takes place entirely within an intimidating fortress of a prison.  Like some medieval castle, there’s even a drawbridge at the entrance, which is described by one inmate as, “I was once married to a dame like that bridge.  Wonderful structure, but up in the air most of the […]

I wonder why it is that, in gothic horror, the brother and sister who occupy the ancient castle or mansion often have a relationship that would scan as husband and wife if one didn’t know otherwise.  Such is the case with 1961’s The Pit and the Pendulum. Vincent Price and Luana Anders are the siblings […]

Say any two or more words together enough times and they mutate into something else.  Just try this with the title of 1937’s Night Key, which inevitably, and quickly, becomes “Nike”.  That’s what all the characters seem to be saying in the film, and it never stopped amusing me.  And this is a quirky film.  […]

I am intrigued by star power, that strange and innate aspect which makes one person on the screen more interesting than another.  I wonder if the opposite of that effect has a name and, if so, what that is called.  Whatever it is, Don Castle has the misfortune to possess this impairment.  As he plays […]

1938’s Angels with Dirty Faces performs a weird bait-and-switch.  With James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart among the leads, one would expect an incredibly tough gangster picture like Cagney’s The Public Enemy or White Heat.  Instead, you get second-billed Pat O’Brien as a priest who is impossibly pure of heart. You also get the Dead End […]

Roger Corman was an interesting and complex person.  He was known primarily for his low-budget quickies, especially the early works made for American International where he often made two films almost simultaneously, using the same sets and actors.  But he also kept abreast of what was happening with foreign films, and so would be familiar […]

It seems I have been unintentionally compiling a list of attributes which should alert one to a person’s mental condition.  If there’s one thing I learned from 1975’s The Premonition, it is to never trust somebody prone to wearing a large cameo. That is part of Ellen Barber’s ensemble for most of the time she’s […]

Many female-centric films that were originally critically panned have undergone a critical reassessment in recent years.  I have always liked Jennifer’s Body, so I’m glad the consensus on that has swung towards the positive.  The opinion on Jawbreaker also seems to be gradually undergoing a revision, though I’m not on board with that.  I’m curious […]

I have never been on a cruise and I doubt I will ever have the desire to go on one.  I’m hoping we’re past the worst of the COVID years, but I still dread the idea of being stuck on one of those ships during an outbreak.  Slightly less appealing than that possibility is being […]