It’s that time of year, the time where we cast off the shackles of the previous year and look forward to the opportunities that the new one will present. I decided to take one more look back, though, to contemplate…
Category: Movies
Movies
RIP Burt Reynolds
This is one of the tough ones. Celebrity deaths happen all the time – and so many celebrities of my youth have already passed. And yet… sometimes, sometimes the passing of one particular celebrity means more. A lot more. For…
Geek, Movies
Happy 50th Anniversary to the Planet of the Apes!
I have to formally acknowledge the 50th Anniversary of the original and classic film, that wonderful movie that introduced us to a world where APES can talk and humans are mute: Planet of the Apes. I’m an apeophile from WAY…
Disney, Movies, TV
Disney buying 20th Century Fox? The potential impacts to pop culture
A month ago there was a very interesting report that The Walt Disney Company had been in discussions to buy 20th Century Fox’s entertainment assets… But that the talks had ended with no deal. This week, news is breaking that…
Geek, Movies
Love 007? Become a James Bond expert by watching these videos
I’ve been a Bond fan since the first time I saw Goldfinger, on the ABC Sunday Night Movie with my dad, at the age of six. In the four decades since, I have watched every film multiple times, read all…
Geek, Movies
Why the “Halloween trilogy” is one of my guilty pleasures
I’m not ready for Halloween to be over. It’s not that I dislike Thanksgiving or Christmas… I just love the feel of the Halloween season. It’s not the candy, the costumes, or the foliage… It’s all of the above, and…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Goodnight, Nutty Professor: Jerry Lewis, RIP
I was driving home form a visit with my Mom when I saw an alert on my phone. Thinking it was a text message or a traffic bulletin, I glance down. And froze. I knew he was old. The last…
Geek, Movies, My Quora answers
How would you rank all the James Bond movies?
I’d rank them based on six criteria: Plot – Does it make sense in the context of the world of James Bond? Or does random weird stuff just happen? Action – Are the action sequences impressive, even after repeated viewings?…
Geek, Movies
War for the Planet of the Apes a great finale to the prequel series
A quick mini-review noting that as an apeophile (that is, a fan of the Planet of the Apes series) I am incredibly pleased with the newest and final film in the prequel trilogy. If you had told me in 2010…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Remembering Robocop 3, a middling finale to a series that should have had no sequels
It’s hard to believe that the original Robocop came out thirty years ago this month. For young me, that film was a revelation. It was one of the first movies I saw in the theatre that completely blew me away…
Geek, Movies
Becoming Bond is an entertaining look at the forgotten 007
George Lazenby was a good Bond. That is not a popular opinion, and his one-and-done turn as 007 in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is a semi-obscure pop culture punch line for the “worst career decision ever”. The full story…
Disney, Featured Articles, Geek, Movies
Star Wars at 40
40 years ago today, a little movie called Star Wars was released. I hear it was pretty good and was fairly well received. In all seriousness, and with no interest in blasphemy, our pop culture should be split into two…
Movies
RIP Roger Moore
When you think of our culture, there are very few things that people ages 8 to 80 have in common. McDonalds, Superman, Coca Cola. And 007. When I heard of the passing of Roger Moore this morning, it was on…
Movies, My Quora answers
Why do movies made by Orson Welles struggle to make money in the box office despite many of them being considered masterpieces?
Several reasons. First off, he was doing independent films for a significant chunk of his career. Because of that he did not have the studio system to promote and distribute his films, so he was facing significant headwinds even getting…
Geek, Movies, TV
Close Channel D… Robert Vaughn is gone
I would be delinquent in my duties as an obsessive Man from U.N.C.L.E. fanboy if I did not note with great sadness the passing of the amazing actor Robert Vaughn. Vaughn played Napoleon Solo in the original series and had…
Movies
I am Big Bird is a moving look at the man behind the Muppet
Carroll Spinney is a very kind man. That is the best way I can describe the core point conveyed in the absolutely wonderful documentary I am Big Bird. Released in 2014, I am Big Bird is a surprisingly moving look…