It is often difficult for audiences who came of age after a period to be able to properly appreciate a work in its historical context.  The sci-fi movie genre was in a sad state in the period between 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars (don’t even think of correcting me by saying its name […]

In 1974, Steven Spielberg graduated from TV work to direct his first theatrical film, Sugarland Express.  I’ll admit I didn’t know much about it prior to my first time seeing it recently. It opens with a disclaimer saying what we are to see if based on real events that happened in Texas in 1969.  I […]

Film noir tends to be populated with characters who are dirt poor.  1950’s Try and Get Me stays truer to those characters than most films of the era—Frank Lovejoy and his family actually have a dirt yard around their crappy house. This movie was originally released as The Sound of Fury, and those who are […]

I keep making this stupid wisecrack about trying to seek diplomatic immunity at an International House of Pancakes.  But the characters in 1976’s weird grindhouse heist picture Blind Rage spend so much time in one that I suspect they really think this is some sort of neutral territory akin to international waters. A climatic fight […]

I neither liked nor disliked Matthew McConaughey prior to seeing the first season of True Detective.  Like seemingly 95% of the population, I definitely started paying attention to him starting with that series.  His Rust Cohle was a deeply intriguing character with hints of darkness near the surface of a calm, controlled exterior. His murderer-for-hire […]

I can’t believe anybody in this age could still be superstitious about black cats.  As somebody who has lived with four of them so far in the course of my life, I have experienced first-hand how loving and beautiful they can be.  Also, regarding my convoluted writing in that previous sentence: you can’t own a […]

Is something messing with you in your sleep?  Are there weird noises around your house at night?  Are there sudden, unexplained foul odors at times? My first question would be, “Are you sure you don’t have a cat?”  But of course, such phenomena could only mean something EEEEVIL! in a movie like 2013’s The Conjuring. […]

I suspect some people believe I am too hard on most of the movies I write about here.  From my perspective, I think I am more lenient on some pictures than the majority of critics.  At least, I try to find something, anything I can say I liked in each film I see. 1955’s The […]

The “pre-code” era of cinema began roughly with the advent of talkies.  It is more certain when it ended, as that was the introduction of the Hayes Code in 1934 (read the excellent and concise background of that era here).  I have not seen many of the key films of that period, but I occasionally […]

How is it I became a teenager in the middle of the 80’s, yet I have never seen so many movies of the era?  These are movies that were fairly popular at the time, at least as rentals.  One such example is 1989’s Weekend at Bernie’s.  Unfortunately, I recently decided to rectify this. All I […]

My brother-in-law and I like so many of the same movie genres that I’m often surprised by how often our opinions differ on most films.  To use his terminology, he’s a fan of movies heavy on “cheese”, where many “random” things happen, and there’s “fun gore”.  Not being a fan of gore, period, I don’t […]

At the time of this writing, the last movie Martin Brest has directed is Gigli, a movie justifiably reviled as one of the worst features ever released by a major studio.  When I saw that movie (in a theatre, no less), I was especially appalled by moments that, if they weren’t wholly improvised, had to […]

I wonder how Audrey Hepburn would fare as a star today.  In addition to being beautiful and having considerable talent, she has a certain goofy charm.  And there’s something about a gorgeous woman who can break out into a huge, silly grin.  The closest modern-day equivalent I can think of is Zooey Deschanel, even if […]

I’m not sure how 2002’s Treasure Planet started creeping onto my radar over the past year or so.  I was only vaguely aware of it during its theatrical run, and that was only because of how much money it lost.  And though I am a fan of animation, I don’t usually seek out Disney’s works, […]

So many British movie producers in the 60’s and 70’s tried to emulate the output of Hammer Studios and that’s not a bad goal to have in mind.  Unfortunately, too many of such movies failed to capture that undefinable magic that elevated the best work of the legendary studio above that of their peers. Such […]