When you’re about 6-foot-5, actors like Tom Noonan’s imposing size were mostly cast as villains and antagonists. Yet his dual role in Last Action Hero both as The Ripper and himself showed that deep down he was just a regular person who got the acting bug and went with it. His brother, John Ford Noonan, was an actor and playwright himself. And hisContinue reading “‘The Pledge’ Showcases Tom Noonan’s Talents Alongside Jack Nicholson”
Category Archives: Flashback Friday Frights
‘Jason Takes Manhattan’ Only Briefly In Lackluster ‘Friday the 13th’ Entry
Before Kangaroo Jack deceived a whole generation into believing that the premise of a movie was different than how it was advertised, there was Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. You could also say the same thing about The Full Monty by the way. By 1989, horror movies were scrapping the bottom of the barrel of filmmaking. Critics detested them. Audiences were staying away.Continue reading “‘Jason Takes Manhattan’ Only Briefly In Lackluster ‘Friday the 13th’ Entry”
‘Outland’ Bends Genres For A Gritty Sci-Fi Neo-Western Crime Thriller
I was a young kid one night when I was channel surfing back when there weren’t that many channels and I found Outland on the late show. Just for FYI, that was back when TV stations ran movies in the wee hours instead of shutting off their broadcast signal. All I remember from the movie was an actor who I didn’t realize was Sean ConneryContinue reading “‘Outland’ Bends Genres For A Gritty Sci-Fi Neo-Western Crime Thriller”
‘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”
‘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”
‘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”
‘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”
Zane Says 