Category Archives: Movie Flashback

‘After Hours’ Showcases Catherine O’Hara’s Great Talents

Born and raised in the Toronto area in an Irish Catholic household, Catherine O’Hara was on SCTV with other greats like John Candy, Rick Moranis, and Eugene Levy. She famously went on to Saturday Night Live in the infamous sixth season which would see Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo among others like Gilbert Gottfried and Charles Rocket.   She reportedly spent one week working at SNL before leavingContinue reading “‘After Hours’ Showcases Catherine O’Hara’s Great Talents”

‘The Hidden’ Needs To Be Seen

During the 1980s, filmmakers managed to make some of the best sci-fi movies without having much special effects. Look at the first Back to the Future or the first Terminator.   Even then, we knew that a lot of special effects are just eye candy if the story isn’t well made. There are a number of campy and crappy sci-fi movies that were released during thisContinue reading “‘The Hidden’ Needs To Be Seen”

Oscar Nominations Have Been Announced, So Who Gets The Gold?

As someone who’s been watching the Oscars since the late 1980s, I wasn’t surprised by the latest nominations, even though I did think it’s odd Wicked For Good was snubbed.   It happens sometimes. Look at The French Connection II, Babe: Pig in the City, and just about every Rocky sequel. Ok, the second and third Rocky were good but not Oscar worthy. And you feel the Academy nominated The Godfather Part III just out ofContinue reading “Oscar Nominations Have Been Announced, So Who Gets The Gold?”

‘Return Of The Living Dead Part II’ Never Does Work As Well

By the winter of 1988, zombie movies were dead…for lack of a better word. Horror movies in general were in rare supply by then. Parental groups and an almost universal distaste for the genre by the most famous and professional critics meant most of the horror flicks were the bottom of the barrel, about a small rung upContinue reading “‘Return Of The Living Dead Part II’ Never Does Work As Well”

A 2nd Look At ‘The 6th Day’

Some of the biggest criticisms of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movies is that they’re mindless action. Granted by the 1980s, most filmmakers of action movies realized they didn’t need a complex story to go along with the action. People would watch it mostly anyway.   Yet, by the time the 1990s came on, Schwarzenegger had two of his best movies Total Recall and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. They were very well made moviesContinue reading “A 2nd Look At ‘The 6th Day’”

‘Holidays’ A Potluck That Offers Few Goodies And The Rest Can Be Avoided

A movie like Holidays is like a potluck dinner at a family get-together. You don’t really know what you should eat but you’re sure you’re not going to like most of what you choose.   Anthologies are like that. They usually have a few good segments, a few not so good and a few you can totally avoid. I wouldn’t say they’re bad, but the filmmakers are usually restrained by a time frame that hurts the story telling.   It’s no surprise that theContinue reading “‘Holidays’ A Potluck That Offers Few Goodies And The Rest Can Be Avoided”

‘Misery’ Showed That Rob Reiner Could Still Scare Us Silly 35 Years Later

I was watching the sequel to This is Spinal Tap when I read the news that Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle Singer, were fatally stabbed allegedly by their son, Nick.   It’s horrible and Reiner was a major pioneer in both TV and movies, making mockumentaries so popular that they’re everywhere now. He had been mostly known for comedies. But in 1990,Continue reading “‘Misery’ Showed That Rob Reiner Could Still Scare Us Silly 35 Years Later”

‘Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2’ Is The Christmas Ham For Acquired Tastes

A movie like Silent Night, Deady Night Part 2 had spent years banished into the ether of forgotten low budget movies sitting around in the horror section of some dive video rental place where they still used pinewood shelves and the clerks dressed like they were going to a Grateful Dead concert instead of forced to wear khakis and a pull-over collaredContinue reading “‘Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2’ Is The Christmas Ham For Acquired Tastes”

Happy 100 Birthday Dick Van Dyke!

I find it fascinating that today Dick Van Dyke celebrates his 100th birthday with none other than Taylor Swift. While it is common for celebrities to have the same birthday, both Van Dyke and Swift have done so much for their respective mediums.   Van Dyke was already a legend back in 1989 when Swift was born, evenContinue reading “Happy 100 Birthday Dick Van Dyke!”