Roger Corman Was The John The Baptist Of American Cinema

In the mid-1970s, Ron Howard was attempting to make a name for himself as a movie director after he had grown up over the years as a child actor. For a man who had appeared on two popular TV shows, been in the Oscar-nominated American Graffiti and even co-starred alongside The Duke himself John WayneContinue reading “Roger Corman Was The John The Baptist Of American Cinema”

‘Dawn’ Good Remake Of Dead Horror Classic Released 20 Years Ago

Twenty years ago when I first saw the commercials for the Dawn of the Dead remake, I groaned. The original by George A. Romero isn’t perfect but its few flaws are easy to dismiss for how great it’s made. Set mostly at a shopping mall in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, it was social commentary onContinue reading “‘Dawn’ Good Remake Of Dead Horror Classic Released 20 Years Ago”

‘Miller’s Girl’ Is About As Erotic As Marjorie Taylor Greene Naked On A Cold Day

There’s been so much talk in the media about Miller’s Girl that I was expecting something more. For the most part, it plays like a Red Shoe Diaries episode that has been stretched out to an hour and a half and there’s no sex. Sorry. If you don’t want to read this blog any further,Continue reading “‘Miller’s Girl’ Is About As Erotic As Marjorie Taylor Greene Naked On A Cold Day”

‘Joy Ride’ Is One Helluva Trip

Back in 1971, a young up-and-coming TV director named Steven Spielberg was given the opportunity to direct a TV movie in which Dennis Weaver played a businessman harassed by the driver of a tanker semi on desolate Southwestern highways. The movie was called Duel. There was such critical acclaim for it that the movie thatContinue reading “‘Joy Ride’ Is One Helluva Trip”

‘The Matrix’ At 25: How It Changed Sci-Fi And Action Movies

T.S. Elliott famously stated “Good writers borrow; great writers steal.” And Aaron Sorkin also updated this by stating “Good writers borrow from other writers. Great writers steal from them outright.” The first I ever heard of The Matrix was during the 1999 Super Bowl where the images of Keanu Reeves bending over backwards as bulletsContinue reading “‘The Matrix’ At 25: How It Changed Sci-Fi And Action Movies”

Rest In Peace, Joe Flaherty, A Great Comic And Scene Stealer

Joe Flaherty was one of those comics and actors who didn’t look like he should be a comic or actor. He had originally served in the United States Air Force before focuses on dramatic theatre. Maybe that was why he was so easy to be cast in numerous movies of versatility. He could flash thatContinue reading “Rest In Peace, Joe Flaherty, A Great Comic And Scene Stealer”

Rest In Peace, Louis Gossett Jr.

Louis Gossett Jr. had already won an Emmy for his role in Roots when he appeared as Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley, a strict Marine drill instructor at a Naval Aviation School in Washington State in An Officer and a Gentleman. While Richard Gere plays the title role and romantic hero, it was Gossett who seemsContinue reading “Rest In Peace, Louis Gossett Jr.”

The 23rd Spring Since ‘Jeepers Creepers’ Has Arrived

I almost didn’t want to do a blog about Jeepers Creepers. Victor Salva, the writer/director is an convicted child molester. Then, again so is Roman Polanski. I’m not too keen on his works either. But I decided to do it anyway mainly because it’s the 23rd Spring since the movie came out in 2001. TheContinue reading “The 23rd Spring Since ‘Jeepers Creepers’ Has Arrived”

‘Suburban Screams’ Provides Little True-Crime Terror

When John Carpenter made Halloween almost 50 years ago, he and Debra Hill were tapping into the myth of the safety of suburbia. Originally titled The Babysitter Murders, it was an exploitation movie that they filmed fast and cheap, sometimes even filming without permits and everyone including Jamie Lee Curtis had more than one jobContinue reading “‘Suburban Screams’ Provides Little True-Crime Terror”

‘Oppenheimer’ To Win Big, I Predict

With the Oscars being held on Sunday, March 10, I predict Oppenheimer to be the big movie to win. I’ve been watching the Oscars since the late 1980s and you begin to notice a few things. A lot of times, it’s a combination of excellence, critical favorites, popularity, a touch of how movies performed atContinue reading “‘Oppenheimer’ To Win Big, I Predict”