A movie like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest could’ve been a disaster. It spent years in development hell with Kirk Douglas originally wanting to play the main role before realizing he was too old. Other actors, such as Burt Reynolds, were considered before Jack Nicholson was hired. He, himself, had almost given up totallyContinue reading “‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ Is When The Oscars Got It Right”
Category Archives: Movie Flashback
‘Reversal Of Fortune’ Is Jeremy Irons’ Masterpiece Of Acting
If you ever want to be an actor, my advice is to get a copy (digital or physical) of Reversal of Fortune and study it. Jeremy Irons was only in his early 40s when he played Claus von Bulow (who was about 15 years older) but you wouldn’t have guessed it. With a little bitContinue reading “‘Reversal Of Fortune’ Is Jeremy Irons’ Masterpiece Of Acting”
‘Cursed’ Is Just That
In theatre, it’s considered bad luck to say the name of the play MacBeth. I also think it’s bad luck to use certain words or phrases in a movie or TV show. Rumor has it that the filmmakers behind In the Line of Fire tried to turn “That’s not gonna happen” spoken by Clint Eastwood’sContinue reading “‘Cursed’ Is Just That”
Richard Lewis: Dark Prince Of Comedy
There’s a saying that’s it better to laugh than it is to cry. Richard Lewis lived a life where he turned his own personal pain and neurosis into comedy. Just like another famous comic named Richard (as in Richard Pryor), we laughed because he made us want to laugh. To call Lewis neurotic with hisContinue reading “Richard Lewis: Dark Prince Of Comedy”
How Spike Lee’s ‘Bamboozled’ Is His Bravest Movie With Social Commentary
Spike Lee is one of those filmmakers who isn’t afraid to make audiences mad. And that’s part of the reason I don’t like some of his movies. He seems to be too busy on his soapbox without being a storyteller. When his movies like Summer of Sam, Oldboy and Inside Man don’t focus much onContinue reading “How Spike Lee’s ‘Bamboozled’ Is His Bravest Movie With Social Commentary”
‘Glory’ A Bit Flawed 35 Years Later But Still Moving And Important
Growing up in the South, there was so much Civil War Lost Cause foolishness pushed on us that nowadays, many parents would be opposed to their kids taking a field trip to a war memorial. The Reconstruction Era has been horribly retold to others as a period of failure when instead it was actually aContinue reading “‘Glory’ A Bit Flawed 35 Years Later But Still Moving And Important”
‘Blue Velvet’ Is Chilling Look At Horrors Of Small-Town America We Ignore
With the second part of Dune scheduled for theaters on March 1, it’s hard to believe that someone thought an avant-garde director like David Lynch could make a worthy movie that would appeal to the masses and loyal fans. Denis Villeneuve has more of the abilities to do this. The failure of the movie promptedContinue reading “‘Blue Velvet’ Is Chilling Look At Horrors Of Small-Town America We Ignore”
‘Office Space’ At 25: It’s Done More Than Just The Bare Minimum
Office Space is one of those movies whose target audience was a bit too young to fully understand or appreciate the context. Most Gen Xers and Millennials were still in school or college. There might have been some older Gen Xers in the early stages of office work. But the late 1990s weren’t no whereContinue reading “‘Office Space’ At 25: It’s Done More Than Just The Bare Minimum”
‘Footloose’ At 40: Still Too Outrageous To Be Enjoyed
Footloose was released 40 years ago today. And I have never been able to sit through it. I remember my mom rented it for us to watch one evening and then we all got bored during the chicken race scene with the tractors. I was more fascinated by how Kevin Bacon’s Ren McCormack had theContinue reading “‘Footloose’ At 40: Still Too Outrageous To Be Enjoyed”
‘Tremors’ Shakes Up Horror Genre
A movie like Tremors shouldn’t be as good as it is. Released during the winter of 1990, it was typically reserved for the bottom of the barrel of movies. Tremors boasted a nice cast of Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Reba McEntire and Michael Gross. It had also been scheduled to be released during the FallContinue reading “‘Tremors’ Shakes Up Horror Genre”
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