Category Archives: Movie Flashback

‘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!”

‘Cobra’ Has Bite To Slithering Story

From his start as a struggling actor in Roger Corman-produced cheap exploitation movies to an Oscar winning movie in a matter of a few years is the type of Cinderella story that most actors dream of.   Yet, the problem with Sylvester Stallone has always been his inflated ego. Many times in his career spanning back to the late 1960s when he appeared as extrasContinue reading “‘Cobra’ Has Bite To Slithering Story”

‘The Hateful Eight’ 10 Years Later

Quentin Tarantino has been making a lot of news lately with what some could consider “Yelling at the clouds” moments. His lasted “Get off my lawn!” rants have been directed toward actor Paul Dano. I’ll admit, he does kind of suck in a lot of roles. Some actors just can’t hack it in versatile roles. HeContinue reading “‘The Hateful Eight’ 10 Years Later”

Udo Kier Sunk His Teeth, Making Bones Into Andy Warhol’s Horror Flicks

With his piercing blue eyes and his jet black hair, German actor Udo Kier was poised to be a movie actor who played eccentric or deviant characters.   According to imdb.com, he had over 280 credits as an actor of film and TV. However, he would remain mostly unknown to American actors until the 1990s after two decades of working inContinue reading “Udo Kier Sunk His Teeth, Making Bones Into Andy Warhol’s Horror Flicks”

‘Return To Oz’ Presented A Wickedly Different View 40 Years Ago

By the mid-1980s, top brass at Disney was faced with a dilemma. Do they continue to make just family movies or do they branch out and do what all the other movie studios have done and embraced the change that has been happening since the late 1960s? It didn’t help matters that many of their top animators left with Don Bluth who went on toContinue reading “‘Return To Oz’ Presented A Wickedly Different View 40 Years Ago”

‘Wild At Heart’ A Love Story Set On A Hellish Journey Into Darkness

When Diane Ladd was approached by David Lynch to play Marietta, an antagonistic character in the 1990 movie Wild at Heart, she said Lynch wanted her to be a hot momma. Ladd was in her mid-50s at the time and women that age and at that time weren’t considered “hot.”   Yet, it became one of the three roles LaddContinue reading “‘Wild At Heart’ A Love Story Set On A Hellish Journey Into Darkness”