In my increasing efforts to have a website that covers fankind’s every interest, I have created Star Wars Weekly… a new site that covers the latest news and developments in that galaxy far far away. Powered by the Paper.li platform,…
Category: Movies
Geek, Movies
Photos from March 24th live The Hobbit web event
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Thanks to “Weird Al”, you can get it all on UHF
Sometimes, I ignore the obvious choice. I mean, seriously… I’ve been doing this semi-weekly column about Neglected Cinema for over a year now, and I haven’t rewatched UHF? It took the random shuffle to the music player that played a…
Geek, Movies, My Quora answers
How many times would James Bond have died if he had not been incredibly lucky?
LOTS of times. A sample (incomplete) list: From Russia With Love: Red Grant was watching Bond at the gypsy compound and Bond would have been stabbed in the back during the fight if Grant hadn't shot the anonymous attacker. Goldfinger:…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Andy Griffith is far from a kindly sheriff in A Face in the Crowd
Many fans of the late Andy Griffith, including myself, were upset by last night’s Oscars ceremony. No, Seth McFarlane didn’t do any offensive joke at Griffith’s expense, we were mad because this year’s In Memorium segment failed to include him.…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
A look at some Neglected Directors
I’ve written about some underrated and/or neglected movie directors like John Carpenter, Bob Fosse and Orson Welles before, but when I put my latest Neglected Cinema column to bed, I realized that there were many other directors who haven’t gotten…
Movies, Neglected Cinema, Orson Welles
F For Fake is Orson Welles’ forgotten masterpiece
I love Orson Welles. He is one of the most amazing people of the 20th Century, a larger-than-life figure who’s had a dozen books written about him (I’ve read quite a few of them). His life could be accurately described…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Night of the Comet is full of cheesy goodness
“This is no time for an attitude problem.” So, I’m looking through my Neglected Cinema list on a Saturday night, wondering what movie I could check out for this week’s installment. What was I in the mood for? A drama?…
Geek, Movies, Photos
Photos: 50th Anniversary James Bond Exhibit at the International Spy Museum
Movies, Neglected Cinema
My Favorite Year is one of My Favorite Movies
Imagine you are a young Mel Brooks, writer on one of the hottest shows on television: Your Show of Shows. Then imagine your job this week is to babysit guest star Errol Flynn, to make sure his womanizing and heavy…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Speed Racer brings a cartoon to vivid life in a surprisingly divisive way
One of the first movies I purchased on Blu-Ray was Speed Racer. Not because I was a fan – I hadn’t seen it before I bought it – but because it was on sale for less than $10. I was…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Targets mixes cinematic and real-life horror with impressive results
When you look at the news events of the 2012, the mass-shootings in Sandy Hook and Aurora were two of the biggest and saddest. We have witnessed too many events such as these, and smarter people than I am are…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
All That Jazz faces death with a smile and a dance number
I had a debate with some people on Twitter this week when I noted the next movie in my Neglected Cinema series would be All That Jazz. “You have a different definition of neglected than I do,” one person commented.…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Real Life is a brilliant prescient satire of reality TV
Albert Brooks is psychic. I mean, how else can your explain his first feature film, Real Life? The movie that predicted reality TV in such a biting way that you would think it was made today instead of thirty-plus years…
Geek, Movies, Neglected Cinema, TV, Twin Peaks
It’s not Twin Peaks, but Storyville is a remarkable underrated film
“The past isn’t dead.” Revisiting well-remembered films in this Neglected Cinema series is like a crapshoot. Sometimes movies I loved on first viewing I find merely likeable, and other times I discover old favorites are, with the passage of time,…
Movies, My Quora answers, Technology
What are good tips on how to shoot a short film with a smartphone camera?
The main thing is, start with a good simple but solid story, and plan out as much as you possibly can. Do shot lists, number your scenes, draw storyboards… basically, create your movie on paper before you shoot it. A…