‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ Is A Bizarro Scooby-Doo Thriller

I don’t blame the late Lois Duncan for being upset over how her novel was changed from a young adult thriller into a slasher movie. But she still cashed the checks. When the movie opened in the Fall of 1997, people in my dorm at Georgia Southern University thought it was a direct sequel toContinue reading “‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ Is A Bizarro Scooby-Doo Thriller”

‘The Amateur’ Is The ‘Cannonball Run’ Of Spy Espionage Thrillers

The Amateur is one of those movies that is so dull and boring you realize most people in the cast probably did it for a nice paycheck. The budget is $60 million but the action sequences are sloppy and forgettable. The director, James Hawes, has been directing mostly TV shows and TV movies, which explainsContinue reading “‘The Amateur’ Is The ‘Cannonball Run’ Of Spy Espionage Thrillers”

‘Sinners’ Is A Jim Crow Southern Gothic Version Of ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’

Every now and again, a movie like Sinners comes around. Everyone seems to rave about it but I don’t see it. I don’t know why it’s been so hard for filmmakers in the last 10-15 to make good vampire movies. Maybe the Twilight franchise and True Blood series ruined it all. The last good vampireContinue reading “‘Sinners’ Is A Jim Crow Southern Gothic Version Of ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’”

‘Uncle Sam’ Is A Film Flam

A movie like Uncle Sam resides during that strange period in the 1990s where slasher flicks were relocated from independent movie theaters to a certain section of the video rental shops and aired on Showtime while the network was still trying to find its footing as the next HBO but couldn’t break away from theContinue reading “‘Uncle Sam’ Is A Film Flam”

‘FUBAR’ Keeps Fudging Up

FUBAR is the type of series an actor makes after a rough patch and has lost their standing many years earlier. One month away from his 78th birthday, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a testament to his catchphrase “I’ll be back.” When Last Action Hero bombed, he did True Lies and got a temporary career resurgence.Continue reading “‘FUBAR’ Keeps Fudging Up”

‘Deathtrap’ Falls Into Own Trap Unable To Break Out Of Stage Style

Movies that are based on plays are often a tough sale. A Few Good Men and Steel Magnolias were able to expand past the dimensions of a stage play yet still tell the same story. Then, you have movies like Brighton Beach Memoirs or even Fences which you could tell were trying too hard toContinue reading “‘Deathtrap’ Falls Into Own Trap Unable To Break Out Of Stage Style”

RIP Gailard Sartain

With a name like Gailard Sartain, you’re either going to be a southern lawyer/politician or an actor. Good thing for Sartain, he took the latter. A native of Tulsa, he started out working for the local TV station KOTV and then along with an unknown Gary Busey, they began to develop programs. This was makeContinue reading “RIP Gailard Sartain”

‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Turns 50

Earlier this year, A Minecraft Movie made a lot of noise because people are getting “too rowdy” during a scene where the audience sings along and throws popcorn at the screen. It makes me wonder what the whole purpose of the movie-going experience is supposed to be. As someone who grew up on Mystery ScienceContinue reading “‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Turns 50”

‘What Keeps You Alive’ Has A Plot That Is Dead On Arrival

I’ve often thought horror/thriller movies have the best poster art. At one time people used to use originality in all poster art. Look at The Exorcist, Jaws, Back to the Future, or Platoon to name a few. Now it’s just a collection of the big names who are in the cast with the position andContinue reading “‘What Keeps You Alive’ Has A Plot That Is Dead On Arrival”

‘Twin Peaks: The Return’ A Fitting Resolution Or Uneven Continuation?

In the movie Clueless, Alicia Silverstone’s character says, “Searching for a boy in high school is about as useless as finding meaning in a Pauly Shore movie.” David Lynch passed away in January at the age of 78. And it’s almost fitting his swan song was Twin Peaks: The Return. But sometimes it’s useless toContinue reading “‘Twin Peaks: The Return’ A Fitting Resolution Or Uneven Continuation?”