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 […]

Have you ever noticed how most of the crime movies of the Coen brothers are either straight-up drama or black comedies?  Take Raising Arizona and No Country for Old Men, for example.  It’s hard to believe such drastically different works could have been the product of the same minds. But only a fool would try […]

Jordan Peele has made three fascinating features to date, though I admit I was reluctant to see the latest, 2022’s Nope.  For one thing, I thought his previous film, Us, had a great deal of potential that went largely unrealized.  Also, the media was quick to label this latest work as his “alien” film.  I […]

I’m depressed to learn about the recent demise of UK media distributor Network.  It seems we’re losing producers of physical media at a greater rate than new ones are forming.  Now that Network has ceased operations, I doubt anybody will pick up titles of theirs like 1942’s The Night Has Eyes.  This picture is simply […]

Do hetero women ever look at pornographic photos while hanging out together?  Does a woman of that orientation ever show nude photos of herself to another woman?  I doubt this, but this is portrayed as a completely natural activity in the 1970 giallo The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion.  Then again, this is […]

The opening credits of 1953’s A Lion Is in the Streets play out on top of footage of a lion in front of the Lincoln Memorial.  It walks back and forth in front of it, occasionally stretching up towards it and roaring.  Though I’m sure this was done a set, I wondered how they got […]

1996’s Joe’s Apartment had CGI cockroaches that sang and danced in extensively choreographed numbers.  And yet I was more surprised when the things spell out the last name of Bradford Dillman’s character in 1975 horror film Bug.  I hate to inform the filmmakers, but it had the exact opposite effect of what they intended.  I […]