“My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done, such as drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs!” – Goldfinger My second favorite:…
Category: Movies
Movies, My Quora answers
“My kids have never watched a James Bond movie. What one should we start with?”
Great question. I’d start with the movie that (I think) is the most accessible movie to kids: The Spy Who Loved Me. It has a very simple plot, has some great BIG “Bond moments”, it doesn’t have many really “scary”…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Bubba Ho Tep showcases an “Elvis” we’ve never seen
You had me at “Bruce Campbell plays Elvis in a retirement home.” Based on the short story by Joe Lansdale, Bubba Ho Tep stars Campbell as Elvis… or is he a senile Elvis Impersonator who just THINKS he’s the King?…
Movies, My Quora answers
Why didn’t Stanley Kubrick ever win a Best Director Oscar?
I can think of three reasons: First, he didn’t make a lot of films. He only directed 13 movies, and two of those were low-budget “B” movies that were… well, not great. So, when you do 11 films over 43…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Where the Buffalo Roams is Hunter S. Thompson as cartoon character
I love Hunter S. Thompson. And I know I shouldn’t. He was a dysfunctional drug addict, a man who destroyed both his body and his mind. He was cruel to many. He smoked, he drank, he cursed like a sailor…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Skidoo is a cult film… and a mess
I’m a reasonably smart person. I graduated college, I have a job that requires decision making and creative thought. I have, as Liam Neeson famously said, a particular set of skills. And yet… I have no idea what is going…
Geek, Movies, TV
Nostalgia is a tender trap
I’m a pop culture whore. There’s so much that our industrial entertainment complex has come up with that I enjoy – Star Trek, Doctor Who, Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Prisoner, Breaking Bad… dozens and dozens of great shows and films…
Geek, Movies, Trek
Is Star Trek 3… even going to happen?
I was chatting with a friend the other day and we started talking about the next Star Trek movie. “Well, they HAVE to release a Star Trek movie in 2016, it’s the 50th anniversary!” my friend said, as if it…
Movies
Watch: The Ninth Configuration
One of my favorite underrated films is The Ninth Configuration, directed and written by William Peter Blatty. It starred Stacy Leach and Scott (The Walking Dead) Wilson, and I previously wrote about it for my Neglected Cinema series. Someone has uploaded the whole movie to YouTube, and its a great way to spend an hour and a half.
Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZCcjzOeXlM
Geek, Movies, TV
Remembering Peter Pan’s “Power Records”
I know it might seem strange to some of the young whipper snappers who occasionally read this blog, but when I was growing up we listed to music on these things called records. They had grooves that a needle read…
Geek, Movies
VIDEO: Vintage Kenner Star Wars toy commercials
I’m being especially nostalgic today, and stumbled upon this compilation of classic commercials for Kenner’s Star Wars toys. Ah, memories. I had a lot of the toys featured in these ads, but lost most of them when my mom cleaned out my closet without asking (I still remind her of this occasionally). I played the living heck out of the Droid Factory. Never had the Death Star Playset, remote controlled Sandcrawler, or Troop Transport, though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwbh_Webeb4
Geek, Movies, TV
Photos from The Safe House, Milwaukee’s spy-themed restaurant
Movies, My Quora answers, Orson Welles
How was Orson Welles able to make Citizen Kane at such a young age?
Because he didn’t know any better. I’ve read quite a few articles about Kane, as well as numerous interviews with Orson, and my view is that he was able to make Citizen Kane the masterpiece it was (and is) because…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Creator gave Peter O’Toole yet another chance to shine
“Words can be wonderful things.” The death of Peter O’Toole this month is still something I haven’t been able to fully process. Peter O’Toole was so ALIVE in his performances… The idea of such a vibrant presence being gone from…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Marnie is a dark reflection of how Hitchcock viewed women
Marnie is one of Hitchcock’s “neglected” films… it has gotten some critical attention but not nearly as much as more popular films such as Psycho or North by Northwest. That’s why I revisited it for this column, and as I…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
The Stunt Man showcases the brilliant Peter O’Toole
Legends aren’t supposed to die. Legends should fade away, but always be there… a constant shadow you can always count on, comforted in the knowledge they are there. But they do die, because time is a hungry beast that devours…