John Carpenter has read the works of H.P. Lovecraft. That point is abundantly clear when you watch his loving homage to the works of Lovecraft, In the Mouth of Madness. Starring Sam Neill as a private investigator, the movie opens…
Category: Neglected Cinema
Movies, Neglected Cinema
The Ninth Configuration is a movie well worth seeking out
Wiilliam Peter Blatty is best known for writing The Exorcist, one of my personal favorite films… and one I was tempted to pull from the shelf and rewatch this weekend. It is October, after all… the time you get ready…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is Bond at his most underrated
Tomorrow October 5th is “James Bond Day”, a new international holiday that also happens to occur just before the release of the new Bond film Skyfall (wow, what a coincidence). To celebrate Bond day I rewatched one of my favorite…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
The Ruling Class is a dark, overlooked classic
As I sat down to rewatch The Ruling Class, the 1972 British black comedy, I remembered the first time I watched it. It was at the suggestion of a good friend, who said to my 19-year-old self, “If you consider…
Movies, Neglected Cinema, Trek
Never give up, never surrender: Galaxy Quest is one of the best Star Trek movies ever made
Next week I will be flying to Las Vegas to join some friends for the official Star Trek convention. I plan on meeting some celebrities, having some great conversations, and generally having a good time (no, I won’t be in…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
The Passenger features Jack Nicholson at his peak
You would think that a movie starring Jack Nicholson, made at the peak of his acting powers in 1975, and directed by noted auteur Michaelangelo Antonoini… well, that would be a movie film lovers around the world would know and…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
FM is a snapshot of when radio ruled
“Nobody walks into this booth when I’m making my art!” They had me in the first five minutes. As Steely Dan’s classic title song blared over the opening titles, I knew I would find a lot to enjoy in FM,…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
The President’s Analyst is crazy good
Wow, James Coburn was SO good. He’s stars as Sydney Schaefer, the title character in The President’s Analyst, a wild 1967 pastiche of comedy, drama, thriller and spy film… a movie that is as absurd as it is entertaining. A…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
The Kentucky Fried Movie was a funny kick-off for several careers
Not for the easily offended, 1977’s The Kentucky Fried Movie was the first cinematic outing from the writers who brought us Airplane!, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker. Composed of a series of vignettes that take on, well, almost…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Psycho IV: The Beginning is a fitting end to the story of Norman Bates
I remember when I first read they were making a sequel to Psycho, I shook my head at how wrong-headed the idea was. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was an amazing, ground-breaking film that started the entire slasher genre. The fact that…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
The Two Jakes tries… but forget it, Jake, it’s no Chinatown
I hate narration in movies. It’s usually completely unnecessary, and in those rare occassions when it works… well, that these occassions are rare is proof enough. The Two Jakes, the 1990 sequel to the film noir classic Chinatown, starts out…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Love and Death is early Woody Allen at his best
Russian gentleman: So who is to say what is moral? Sonja: Morality is subjective. Russian gentleman: Subjectivity is objective. Sonja: Moral notions imply attributes to substances which exist only in relational duality. Russian gentleman: Not as an essential extension of…
Neglected Cinema
Cold Turkey is a dark comedy, but a failure as a good movie
Norman Lear had a great run on television in the 1970s. He created one of the decade’s most popular shows, All in the Family, and also benefited from spinoffs such as Good Times and Maude. But before that, in 1969,…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
Prince of Darkness is a John Carpenter gem
I have two John Carpenter movies on my Neglected Cinema’s list. Why two Carpenter movies? Primarily because I am a fan of his work, but also because if there is any list of the great modern-era directors that is underrated…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
The Monkee’s movie HEAD was ahead of its time
“Pleasure – the inevitable byproduct of our civilization… The tragedy of our time, my young friends, is you may get exactly what you want.” When I was pulling together a list of movies to view or revisit as part of…
Movies, Neglected Cinema
New regular series: Neglected Cinema
I love movies, and I’ve always had a specific affinity for movies that aren’t incredibly popular or well known. There’s something about seeing and enjoying an obscure film that makes me happy. It’s like finding a rare gem in a…