I have seen many comedies where I found myself unable to laugh because the characters are too stupid to be believable.  I realize people in comedies rarely act like real human beings—that is part of the reason why those are comedies.  But the premise of a picture, and the world it builds, sets the bounds […]

Now here’s a strange animal—in a way, two of them, in fact.  1967’s King Kong Escapes pits the titular ape against a robotic version of himself.  And it takes its sweet time getting to that matchup, filling the runtime up with things that aren’t very interesting, because the audience is desperately waiting for King Kong […]

Truly, the strangest thing that has ever crossed my mind while watching a film occurred at one point in 2012’s The Pirates: Band of Misfits!  One of the best characters is a monkey Charles Darwin (David Tennant) has employed as a butler, and all I could think about is a bonus track on a reissue […]

I recently read an article saying studios don’t intend to make any more G-rated films, and that PG is the regarded as the new G.  In found this interesting, especially given how PG was a different animal in the 70’s.  I never stop being surprised when I see another such film of that rating and […]

It appears my approach to watching movies is “better late than never”.  God only knows how I managed to avoid 1987’s Innerspace for so long.  I was at the right age for such a sci-fi adventure comedy in its original theatrical run.  Although I didn’t know it back then, it was directed by Joe Dante, […]

It is weird to see certain movies that are new to me but which have been so famous for so long.  And yet, here I am in the ass half of middle age watching 1965’s The Sound of Music for the first time.  Is there any way I can judge it fairly, given my disdain […]

The early 90’s were a frustrating time to be in your late teens.  As if the 80’s weren’t oversexed enough with all those horny comedies, you had the 90’s ramping things up to a fever pitch with the epidemic of erotic thrillers that were the rage at the time. The genre was ripe for the […]

Pamela Anderson hasn’t ever piqued my interest.  I never felt an active dislike towards her, per se—I simply never found her attractive or interesting.  Still, I was strangely pleased when she recently made news for choosing to no longer wear make-up, which I found admirable.  I also respect her commitment to animal rights.  What I […]

No offense to Indonesians, but I feel we have reached some sort of plateau with movie technology when a horror film from there is indistinguishable in that regard from similar fare produced by one of the larger independent studios in the US, UK or anywhere else that seems to dominate the movie market.  Such is […]

Ricardo Montalban is likely best remembered for starring on TV’s Fantasy Island, so it is odd to see him a couple of decades younger than he was on that show, and in a serious role.  He is the lead in 1949’s Border Incident, a noir about an illegal immigrant smuggling operation.  Alas, when we first […]

I asked for water and they gave me rosé wine a horse that knows arithmetic and a dog that tells your fortune -Elvis Costello, “Uncomplicated” There isn’t much I was asking for from 1990’s Bright Angel.  The description on Kino Lorber’s site made this sound like a neo-noir.  I knew it was set in Montana […]

The 70’s disaster movie is a curious genre but, at least, the vast majority of those pictures are complete works of fiction.  What makes 1975’s The Hindenburg difficult is it is based on the near meltdown at nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island.  Fine–you got me–it’s about the blimp disaster in 1937.  You know what […]

I don’t have the best memory for faces, but I like to think I’d remember that of somebody whose chest I had helped to drive a spike through.  But not Frieda Inescort.  Even if it had been two decades since she and Gilbert Emery did this to a vampire played by Bela Lugosi in the […]

For anybody who thinks my taste is movies is too high-falootin’, and skewed to disproportionately favor older cinema, I present to you my feelings concerning 1955’s Mister Roberts.  This film was nominated for Best Picture, and has four screen legends top-billed: Henry Fonda, James Cagney, Wiliam Powell and Jack Lemmon, the last of whom won […]

I have already written about a couple of movies written and directed by Bill Forsyth, a Scotsman with a unique filmmaking sensibility.  The more of his work I see, the more I am reminded of the work of Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki.  Each has a distinctive style, and I like how both have a deep […]