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…
Category: Neglected Cinema
Movies, Neglected Cinema
You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant… except a good movie
Thanksgiving time. It’s about families, food, and football. And for me, it’s also about movies. It’s a great time to take a day off and fest on some films, either blu-rays from my “view” pile or releases that I have…
Neglected Cinema
Remembering Hal Needham and his (not-so-finest film) Megaforce
When Hal Needham passed away last week, I was saddened, but not surprised. Needham, when he was given an honorary Oscar last year, said “I’m the luckiest man alive, and lucky to BE alive.” As a stuntman, he broke more…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
The movie Rollercoaster brings terrorism to America’s theme parks
I love theme parks… but I don’t ride rollercoasters. There’s a lot of reasons… I don’t like heights, I’m not a thrill-seeker… but one of the main reasons is because, at the age of 10 years old, I watched the…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
They Might be Giants is an underrated gem (and not just the name of a band)
I’m an unabashed fan of the work of Arthur Conan Doyle and his most famous creation, Sherlock Holmes. I think Holmes is one of the most exceptional characters in all fiction, and the fact that Holmes has been reinterpreted and…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
The Car is an unlikely (and failed) Jaws ripoff
When Jaws exploded in theaters in 1975, it started the summer blockbuster – for better or worse. It also spurred the creation of a series of ripoff films, to try and take advantage of Jaws’ success: The Deep, Orca, Barracuda,…
Geek, Movies, Neglected Cinema
Starcrash is cheesy sci-fi that is far from intellectual stimulation
Marjoe Gortner! Caroline Munro! David Hasselhoff! It’s a cavalcade of stars! OK, so it’s not an academy award-winning cast… or even close. These… exceptional performers are the featured players in Starcrash, a 1978 sci-fi film produced in Italy. Clearly intended…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
“if….” introduces the world to the brilliant Malcolm McDowell
In the mood for a dark meditation on the class system in 1960s English boarding schools? Then I’ve got the film for you! “if….” is the name of the 1968 film that introduced the world to the actor Malcolm McDowell.…
Geek, Movies, Neglected Cinema
Rainn Wilson is impressive in Super, an eccentric take on the superhero film
James Gunn is one messed-up dude. If you didn’t know that already, based on his previous body of work (Slither, The Specials), you need to watch the brilliant and disturbing film Super, starring Rainn Wilson. It is… dark. Very dark.…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Colossus: The Forbin Project is Mad Men for technophobes
I remember first watching Colossus: The Forbin Project during the formative phase of my early geek years. Back then, I looked for every and all sci-fi TV show and movie to watch. Space: 1999, Silent Running, Planet of the Apes……
Neglected Cinema
OSS 117: Lost in Rio is just the cure for bad news
Jean Duardin is a genius. If you only know him from his award-winning turn in The Artist, then you don’t know the half of it. Before that film propelled him into international stardom, he was doing quite well for himself…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Battle Beyond the Stars is a Star Wars knock-off that’s hardly worth revisiting
I was playing with a new outdoor projector setup and was looking through Netflix to test it out. What movie could I use to run it through its paces? What film had a great variety in shot selection that would…
Geek, Movies, Neglected Cinema
Outland is a western in space that surprises and entertains
One of the things I dislike about recent movies has been the rise of the “High Concept” film, movies that with a simple one-sentence premise that appeal to the lowest common denominator. You get generic movies that doesn’t surprise or…
Geek, Movies, Neglected Cinema
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century tried to be James Bond in space… and failed
When I was a wee lad, I obsessively consumed any sci-fi movies and TV shows I could find and watch. The 70s and 80s was a great time for genre television, with lots of different shows: Wonder Woman, Six Million…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Helvetica is a celebration of typography and design
Everything is designed. Everything we engage with and use, everything we read and drive and throw away… it was designed. Someone at some point sat down and created those multitude of things that surrounds all of us, and there is…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Celebrating Roger Ebert
I have to add my thoughts to the many many voices who have expressed grief about the passing of writer and film critic Roger Ebert. These few words are just a few drops of the oceans of “ink” that have…