I meant to get around to rewatching Theatre of Blood before Halloween, but business travel and other priorities got in the way of that revisit. A recent international trip gave me ample opportunity to catch up on some things, and…
Category: Movies
Geek, Movies
Video: Kings and Desperate Men, starring Patrick McGoohan
Here’s a treat for fans of Patrick McGoohan (like me): The movie Kings and Desperate Men is available in full on YouTube. Written and directed by McGoohan friend Alexis Kanner, the film features McGoohan in a hostage tale that is similar to the later film Die Hard (Kanner thought it was TOO similar, and sued – he lost).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Vamdc_dKM
Geek, Movies, TV
Some Halloween videos for you…
First, Elvira and Vincent Price guesting on The Tonight Show… Vincent in a dramatic reading of Poe’s The Raven… A documentary on the making of the movie Halloween… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGeGU2tbdck And here’s a full Vincent Price movie, Madhouse! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61Aoh_W6EdI
Geek, Geek Ephemera, Movies
Famous Monsters of Filmland, Issue 1
Since Halloween is coming up, I thought it was appropriate to post this for everyone’s enjoyment – a downloadable PDF of Famous Monsters of Filmland’s first issue. Famous Monsters magazine influenced hundreds of filmmakers, from Joe Dante to Steven Spielberg,…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Psych-Out features Jack Nicholson, Susan Strasburg & Dean Stockwell on a really bad trip
Ah, 1968. The year where every movie studio decided they simply must put out a movie about peace, love, drugs and the counter-culture. Some, like Skidoo, are confusing and completely wrong-headed. Others, like Easy Rider, are acclaimed as classics (it was filmed in…
Geek, Movies, Neglected Cinema
Son of Dracula has great Nilsson songs, bad Nilsson acting
Some obscure films need to remain obscure. I’m a huge Harry Nilsson fan. HUGE. And when I found out many years ago that he starred in a movie called Son of Dracula, with Ringo Starr… well, I had to see…
Geek, Geek Ephemera, Movies
Go Ape! With Planet of the Apes belt buckles!
God, I loved the seventies. Only in that mixed-up decade would this product idea exist in real life. Ladies and gentlemen… Planet of the Apes belt buckles, with matching belts! And matching western tie!!
Geek, Geek Ephemera, Movies, TV
Celebrating Pizzazz magazine
Anybody remember Pizzazz Magazine? It was an attempt by Marvel Comics to enter the teen magazine market in the late seventies, and I was a subscriber. I LOVED Pizzazz, because it was a lot more geeky than other magazines (it had a…
Geek, Geek Ephemera, Movies
Science Fiction’s greatest moments are yours! In 8mm!
CINEMARAMA! Yes, you too can relive your favorite sci-fi moments through the magic of your 8mm film projector!!! These days, we are SOOO spoiled. You can see a movie in theaters, and four months later you can get a blu-ray that…
Geek, Movies
Happy 50th Anniversary Goldfinger!
Fifty years ago today, the third James Bond film – Goldfinger – was released to the world. It was a smash hit, and while recognized by many as the “best” Bond film… it actually made less money than the follow-up Thunderball made a year later. I’ve written about Goldfinger before – here’s my critical appraisal – and so I won’t add too many words on top of that, except to say that I can’t believe it’s been half a century since it came out. Wow.
Here’s the title sequence, and the amazing Shirley Bassey belting out that classic theme song:
And here’s a great documentary on the making of the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvWHehyNBag
Geek, Movies
My contributions to the awesome #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly hashtag
Twitter exploded with lots of witty tweets using the #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly this weekend and I had to join in. Here’s my favorite: https://twitter.com/StarWarsReact/status/508179293722386432 Here are my contributions… https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508293480796262401 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508293277594816512 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508292804708036608 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508291790810525697 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508291127787524096 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508290649557200896 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508290346606800896 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508289934331883520 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508289307375718400 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508287995640700928 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508286458105307137 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508285376264298496 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508284027246108672 https://twitter.com/JosephDickerson/status/508283624190255105…
Geek, Movies, Neglected Cinema
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is a fantastic funny film
Thank you, Mark Frost. Mark Frost, the co-creator of Twin Peaks, introduced me to the world of Steve Coogan’s Alan Patrtridge character a little more than three years ago. I had seen some clips before that conversation, but when Mark…
Geek, Movies, Trek
Why should people watch Star Trek?
There’s a lot of stuff to watch out there. And when I state a “lot”, I mean a LOT. If you look at the Entertainment section that is in your typical Target or Wal-Mart, there are tens of thousands of…
Geek, Movies, Neglected Cinema, Trek
Pretty Maids All in A Row goes where Gene Roddenberry often went before
As a Star Trek fan, I have read a lot of articles and books about Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry, who (as most know)created the show, is often portrayed as a saintly figure… a visionary and brilliant storyteller with great optimism and…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Xanadu is an underrated delight, disco skating and all
“Oh, for a muse of fire… to ascend the brightest heavens… of invention.” I’ve been chasing a muse for years. And I blame Olivia Newton John. When I was 11 years old, I saw Xanadu. And it was a revelation,…
Geek, Movies
Happy anniversary to Jaws and Chinatown!
I found out, to my amazement, that two of my favorite movies were released on the same date, one year apart (in 1974 and 1975). That date is today, June 20th. Chinatown was, and is, a seminal work rich with…