When the film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension came out in 1984 I bought into the crazy world that director WD Richter and writer Earl Mac Rauch created hook, line, and sinker. The idea of a…
Category: Neglected Cinema
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…
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?…
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, Neglected Cinema
1970’s Scrooge is a magical take on the classic Dickens tale
We all rewatch movies. Why? To relive that initial experience? To analyze the acting, directing, or screenplay? Or are we simply creatures of habit, replaying on a favorite film like one would slip on a pair of comfortable slippers? The…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Penn and Teller Get Killed is an odd look into the minds of the master magicians
“Don’t pout! I’ve got a goddamn knife in my stomach!” I love Penn and Teller. They are incredibly talented, witty and brilliant entertainers. That their socioeconomic and political views align almost 100% with mine makes me appreciate them all the…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Memoirs of an Invisble Man should disappear completely
Chevy Chase, what did you have against John Carpenter, anyway? I mean, he had to have done SOMETHING to tick you off. Why else would you, through your production company, hired him to direct the movie Memoirs of an Invisible…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Halloween III: Season of the Witch was the night HE (didn’t) come home…
“Happy Happy Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! SILVER SHAMROCK!” If when reading the above you heard the accompanying music in your head, my apologizes. Planting that particular “earworm” was a test, to identify fellow travelers. Yes, if you heard John Carpenter and…