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 […]

Most people don’t make it a goal in their lives, but I knew from an early age that, if there was one thing I was going to make sure didn’t happen to me, it was to have children.  I won’t go into all of my reasons here, but one of them is so I wouldn’t […]

We all have thoughts that terrify us, things that make us go, “Why did I think that?” and then we try to move on.  Some artists embrace such horrific thoughts and this inspires art which makes most of us uncomfortable.  H.R. Giger specialized in gazing into the abyss and putting onto canvas what he saw […]

Since its inception, Hollywood has always loved making movies about itself.  That these pictures usually take pot-shots at the industry doesn’t discount the arrogance behind the endeavors.  Still, there have been many memorable movies in this mold, and I can now count 1937’s Stand-In among them.  At a time when most studio fare was light-hearted […]

1946’s The Razor’s Edge has a central conceit which I was dumbfounded to encounter in a major studio film of that vintage.  Tyrone Power plays a man disillusioned by war, who sets out to wander the world looking for answers.  He doesn’t even have questions, exactly.  “Since the war, I’ve been searching—searching for something I […]

I think there should be a genre of movies where the leading actress is some sort of professional, yet feels she has to bury her feelings in order to succeed.  You know, the whole “why can’t I be a [insert profession here] and a woman, too?” thing. In the case of 1963’s The Wheelers Dealers, […]

I never understood how Starship Troopers is supposed to be an anti-fascist film.  The whole thing seems pretty rah rah rah USA USA USA to me.  Maybe the message is clearer in Heinlein’s original novel, but I haven’t read it. 1998’s Soldier came out only a year later and I feel it had a similar […]

There are many people who seen vastly more film noir that I have, but I don’t know any of them personally.  And I have been slow to see some of the most legendary titles of this genre, as I simply wander through my stacks of blu-ray discs and get to the landmarks as they happen […]

One of my favorite short stories is The Jane Fonda Room by Jonathan Carroll.  In that story, the newest resident of hell selects from a list of possible punishments “The Movie Room”.  Jane Fonda is his favorite actress and so he will be shown her entire filmography.  And then the entire series of movies again.  […]

Waxwork surprised me by being better than I anticipated, so I was curious why it only has one sequel.  After all, many deeply terrible horror movies have spawned seemingly endless progeny.  I don’t feel I need to see Witchcraft to tell you it isn’t worthy of the sixteen installments that series has to date. 1992’s […]

William Castle is largely remembered for the horror movies he directed in the 1950’s.  To be more accurate, he’s legendary for the gimmicks he employed in select theatres for some of his features.  Things like the buzzers under the seats for The Tingler, or a skeleton on a wire flying over viewers’ heads at a […]

One of the weirdest movies I love is 1977’s House, a Japanese movie that I can’t describe any better than Criterion’s assessment of “like Scooby Doo by way of Mario Bava.”  I have seen some other deeply bizarre cinema from Japan (I’m looking at you, Tetsuo: The Iron Man), but I never thought I would […]

Man, I am getting tired of movies subverting my expectations.  I keeping throwing in a movie I think will be awesome and it sucks.  Get myself ready to laugh at a film that looks to be hilariously bad, and it will end up actually being good. Such is the case with 1974’s Who?  I mean, […]

I can never figure which one is the parent company and which is the child, but Powerhouse and Indicator put out some amazing blu-ray releases.  Their sets are often in solid, chipboard boxes, with thick perfect-bound books full of essays.  The special features on the discs themselves are usually an embarrassment of riches. All this […]

As soon as I saw the title card for 1947’s Singapore, I had the same-titled opening track from the Tom Waits album Raindogs in my head.  I’ve always hoped I will someday see a noir with a vibe like that astounding track, but I only see ones that have traces of its greatness.  Unfortunately, what […]