Back when Stephen King wrote The Running Man, it might have seemed like a nice short novel about a dystopia world. Published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, it was the second novel he had published under the name set in a Fascist cruel world. Yet the bleakness of 1970s paranoia gave us numerous sci-fi movies with dark and depressing tones, so itContinue reading “‘The Running Man’ Stumbles Too Much Through Tired Dystopia Cliches”
Tag Archives: film
‘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 Rip’ Is One Of Those Movie That Is For Guys That Like Movies
Some filmmakers get stuck in their formative years and it becomes a reflection on their work no matter how long they live. Quentin Tarantino seems to be stuck in the 1970s. Floyd Mutrux wrote, produced and directed movies that were mostly set in the 1950s and early 1960s. It happens. Your late teens and early 20s are usually those moments when you feel like you’re goingContinue reading “‘The Rip’ Is One Of Those Movie That Is For Guys That Like Movies”
‘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”
Oscar Nominations Have Been Announced, So Who Gets The Gold?
As someone who’s been watching the Oscars since the late 1980s, I wasn’t surprised by the latest nominations, even though I did think it’s odd Wicked For Good was snubbed. It happens sometimes. Look at The French Connection II, Babe: Pig in the City, and just about every Rocky sequel. Ok, the second and third Rocky were good but not Oscar worthy. And you feel the Academy nominated The Godfather Part III just out ofContinue reading “Oscar Nominations Have Been Announced, So Who Gets The Gold?”
‘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”
‘Spinal Tap II’ Feels Like A Tribute Band That Can’t Hit The Same Notes
When This is Spinal Tap opened in 1984, it had such a tongue-in-cheek feel mixed with a fly on the wall observation to it that a lot of people believed it was about a real band. Rob Reiner said he was approached by people who told him he should’ve focused on a more well-known band. It was the first movie to be directed by Reiner. I wasContinue reading “‘Spinal Tap II’ Feels Like A Tribute Band That Can’t Hit The Same Notes”
‘Life Of Chuck’ Is Amazing Despite Some Problematic Scenes
I wanted to like The Life of Chuck a lot more than I did. Flannagan has emerged as one of the most impressive horror/thriller filmmakers and quite possibly one of the rarest to make a good adaptation of a Stephen King story. That’s what makes Chuck so odd because it works on one level and it fails on another. The story, which could be considered a novella was included inContinue reading “‘Life Of Chuck’ Is Amazing Despite Some Problematic Scenes”
A 2nd Look At ‘The 6th Day’
Some of the biggest criticisms of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movies is that they’re mindless action. Granted by the 1980s, most filmmakers of action movies realized they didn’t need a complex story to go along with the action. People would watch it mostly anyway. Yet, by the time the 1990s came on, Schwarzenegger had two of his best movies Total Recall and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. They were very well made moviesContinue reading “A 2nd Look At ‘The 6th Day’”
Zane Says 