Movie: Alone in the Dark (1982)

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 […]

Movie: The Night Runner (1957)

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 […]

Movie: We Joined the Navy (1962)

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 […]

Movie: Nope (2022)

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 […]

Movie: The Night Has Eyes (1942)

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 […]

Movie: Bug (1975)

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 […]

Movie: Rio (1939)

1939’s Rio has five or six songs in it.  I lost count after a while, so I’m not sure.  I only know each song is more terrible than the one that preceded it.  The strangest thing is this isn’t technically a musical. The movie begins in England, where a group of excitable businessmen are waiting […]

Movie: Catch Us If You Can (1965)

“It’s completely deserted.  It smells of dead holidays.”  This isn’t the kind of dialog I expected in 1965’s Catch Us If You Can.  By all logic, this should have been a retread of A Hard Day’s Night, except starring The Dave Clark Five.  Mind you, the movie starts out in the vein of that film, […]

Movie: Blind Date (1987)

I’ve never stopped to think about it, but I never understood what the big deal was supposed to be about Kim Basinger in her heyday.  Having finally watched 1987’s Blind Date, I realize I hadn’t seen her in a genre she truly excels in, and that is screwball comedy. While filled with touches that firmly […]

Movie: Spy Hunt (1950)

The opening credits of 1950’s Spy Hunt say it was based on the novel Panther’s Moon.  I was willing to bet good money that title wouldn’t make any sense in regard to the movie it was adapted into. I would have lost that bet.  This quirky noir centers around two black panthers loose in the […]