In Hollywood, most filmmakers only have enough clout based on their previous movie to do their next thing. For their first movie Blood Simple., Joel and Ethan Coen spent about a year or so traveling around and meeting with potential investors by showing them a promo trailer. They only had $1.5 million which was stillContinue reading “‘Raising Arizona’ Brings The Coens Brothers Their First Mainstream Hit”
Category Archives: Movie Flashback
Why ‘Scream 3’ Deserves A Second Chance
Scream VI premieres this weekend in theaters. After the surprisingly well made fifth movie, it seemed that no one but Wes Craven could helm the franchise that rejuvenated the slasher genre in the mid-1990s for better or for worse. And early reviews for the sixth one are very favorable. Craven, along with screenwriter Kevin Williamson,Continue reading “Why ‘Scream 3’ Deserves A Second Chance”
‘The Big Lebowski’ At 25: A Cinema Icon, A Religion And Lifestyle (But That’s Just Like My Opinion, Man)
At 73, Jeff Bridges has been acting most of his life. Despite an uncredited role when he was a child in 1951, his life as an actor mainly started in 1970 and he’s in the sixth decade of his profession. While it looked like cancer would sideline his career, he recovered and appeared in Hulu’sContinue reading “‘The Big Lebowski’ At 25: A Cinema Icon, A Religion And Lifestyle (But That’s Just Like My Opinion, Man)”
‘Innocent Blood’ French Vampire Hunting Mafia Goons? Fuggetaboutit!
Some directors have one movie that they can’t seem to break free of. When he was planning to do a music video for “Thriller,” Michael Jackson seeked out John Landis following the success of An American Werewolf in London. Jackson hadn’t seen The Blues Brothers, National Lampoon’s Animal House or Kentucky Fried Movie, his previousContinue reading “‘Innocent Blood’ French Vampire Hunting Mafia Goons? Fuggetaboutit!”
‘Blazing Saddles’ Would Still Work Today If Done The Right Way
Those who always want to blame “wokeness” and “cancel culture” for not being able to tell racist, sexist, bigoted, homophobic or just tasteless jokes don’t realize that the people around them probably weren’t laughing much to begin with. It’s easy to feign a laugh in a crowded room when you don’t want to be theContinue reading “‘Blazing Saddles’ Would Still Work Today If Done The Right Way”
How ‘The Silence Of The Lambs’ Saved Horror And Shook Up The Oscars
By the time The Silence of the Lambs hit theaters in mid-February of 1991, horror movies had pretty much been reduced to the bottom of the barrel. Thanks to the, for lack of a better word, overkill of slasher movies in the 1980s, it seemed most horror movies were just pure schlock. They would featureContinue reading “How ‘The Silence Of The Lambs’ Saved Horror And Shook Up The Oscars”
How ‘Amadeus’ Turned A Risky Gamble Into An Oscar-Winning Blockbuster
By 1984, pop culture had exploded in ways that had never been seen before. John Hughes had made Sixteen Candles, a very dated but breakthrough comedy that would represent a generation. MTV was three years old and as popular as ever. Saturday morning cartoons were competing for young minds. And Madison Avenue was selling everythingContinue reading “How ‘Amadeus’ Turned A Risky Gamble Into An Oscar-Winning Blockbuster”
‘Caligula’ A Pornographic Biopic Of Epic Awfulness, Filth And Horror
Caligula is a horror movie. It’s a lot of things, but good is not one of them. It’s pornography and by that I mean, it’s the textbook definition. I’m not talking about all the scenes of nudity or unsimulated sexual scenes are meant to be arousing. It’s the definition of pornography as having no artisticContinue reading “‘Caligula’ A Pornographic Biopic Of Epic Awfulness, Filth And Horror”
‘History Of The World Part 1’ Has Divided Fans Of Mel Brooks For Decades
In just under four years in the mid 1970s, Mel Brooks directed four comedies that received great reviews and performed well at the box office. Even though Silent Movie and High Anxiety didn’t earn as much at the box office as Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein, they were still modest success. So, the big questionContinue reading “‘History Of The World Part 1’ Has Divided Fans Of Mel Brooks For Decades”
‘My Bloody Valentine’ Original Is For Those Who Have A Love For Slashers
The original 1981 My Bloody Valentine is a slasher that is so notorious for pushing the envelope, rumors have persisted for decades that some original footage that had to cut is lost forever. To capitalize on the slasher craze as movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th had become popular, Canadian movie producers scooped upContinue reading “‘My Bloody Valentine’ Original Is For Those Who Have A Love For Slashers”
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