Train stations make for great locations in noir pictures, and I love to see real locations used in such films.  In a way, these films serve as a time capsule of an era not long before rail stopped being the primary mode of long-distance travel in the US. 1950’s Union Station takes place largely in […]

Ingmar Bergman had Liv Ullman.  Aki Kaurismaki had Kati Outinen.  Luciano Ercoli had Nieves Navarro.  1972’s Death Walks at Midnight is one of three movies I recently saw by Ercoli starring Navarro.  All three were on Arrow Video’s Giallo Essentials (Blue) blu-ray box set.  I was under the misunderstanding Giallo always meant horror films, but […]

It will be difficult to write about 1985’s After Hours without spoiling anything.  By that, I don’t just mean ruining the ending for those who haven’t seen it yet.  I mean any of the surprises in it, while are plentiful and begin almost immediately. The safest summary I can provide is Griffin Dunne plays an […]

I went into 1974’s Night of the Sorcerers completely blind.  Given how bad this film is, it is obvious I need to start doing some research before watching just any old thing. There’s a company logo at the start of the picture I haven’t seen before, and that was for Victory Films. I assume the […]

Most people don’t realize how much brighter the full moon used to be.  Fortunately, we have so many movies from earlier eras (especially the 1970’s) where we can see how often night looks like full daylight, only with the camera irised down.  Sure, there’s cars with their headlights on, but we can just barely see […]

If 1958’s Step Down to Terror seems familiar, it’s because it is supposedly a remake of Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt.  That didn’t occur to me while I was watching it, but I was nagged by the feeling I had seen something very similar before. Charles Drake plays a man on the run who seeks […]

It is given that possession movies will be 1) about possession by a demon and 2) centered around the Catholic concepts of such.  There will usually be an exorcism, or at least an attempt at one.  So I was surprised to discover a movie that not only was released a year before The Exorcist, but […]

Funny how I remember dragging my mom to take me to see Spies Like Us in its first run in 1985.  I’m not sure why I was so dead-set on seeing it.  If I had taken any time to think about the movie in the nearly four decades since then, I doubt I would have […]

I’m amazed by how much goodwill I feel towards every person who appeared in the Pee Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special.  I have always respected Grace Jones, but I definitely became more aware of her from her bizarre appearance there.  And you can’t have Jones in something without capitalizing on the weirdness she exudes.  1986’s Vamp […]

I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about 2010’s The Town while watching 1955 noir Six Bridges to Cross.  I think it is largely because both are crime pictures set in Boston and both use as a plot point the sudden closure of the city’s many bridges immediately after a heist. Aside from that development, the […]

You’re wondering how they eat and breathe and other science facts Then repeat to yourself, “It’s just a show. I should probably relax.” That is sage advice I tried to keep in mind while watching 1982’s Alone in the Dark, but I simply couldn’t turn off my brain for a film I can’t believe I […]

John Carpenter and his most of his fans seem to be in agreement that 1992’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man is the worst film of his prime era.  Most people seem to define that era as ending with In the Mouth of Madness two years later.  I recently rewatched Memoirs and, while it is far […]

I was previously resistant to the allure of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, whether the TV show or the 1992 film.  I only finally rolled the dice on the movie because I needed a third, similarly-priced titled for a Target “buy 2 get 3” sale.  I’m glad I did, because I found the movie to be […]

It’s odd film noir rarely addressed mental illness, as it feels like perfect fodder for the genre.  1957’s The Night Runner is an odd film concerning a recently released patient with a violent past.  At first, I thought the film would take a sympathetic approach to such people.  In the end, it instead suggests people […]

I have never seen The Wackiest Ship in the Army, but I was thinking about the title of that movie before I started playing the disc for the 1962 feature We Joined the Navy.  This ended up being a light-hearted romp, but fairly intelligent for the first two acts, when I was thinking, “OK, not […]