In 1997, Curtis Hanson turned James Ellroy’s gritty crime novel L.A. Confidential into a universally praised Oscar-winning movie. If it didn’t have the misfortune of going up against Titanic, it probably would’ve won Best Picture and Best Director. So, when people wondered what would be Hanson’s follow-up, they might have been surprised he was goingContinue reading “‘Wonder Boys’ 25 Years Later”
Tag Archives: horror
The Curious Case Of ‘So I Married An Axe Murderer’
In Hollywood, you’re only as hot as your last movie. Very few actors and filmmakers have the clout to bounce back from a disaster of movie so easily in the grand scheme of things. After the surprise hit Wayne’s World released during February of 1992, Mike Myers was a hot commodity. So, it was noContinue reading “The Curious Case Of ‘So I Married An Axe Murderer’”
‘Pale Rider’ Is Eastwood’s Supernatural Western Masterpiece
Clint Eastwood has never done a real straight horror movie. His first movie as a lab tech in one single scene Return of the Creature was more of a monster movie. Play Misty for Me and Tightrope are more erotic psychological thrillers. And even the Dirty Harry movies are more focused on action thrills thanContinue reading “‘Pale Rider’ Is Eastwood’s Supernatural Western Masterpiece”
‘Fallen’ Is A B-Movie With A-List Cast That Has Risen To Cult Classic Status
Sometimes, a movie like Fallen comes along that has an impressive cast with an fascinating premise, you just wonder what the hell went wrong. Well, if you look at the time frame in which the movie was release, that can answer a lot of the questions. It was released in the middle of January 1998Continue reading “‘Fallen’ Is A B-Movie With A-List Cast That Has Risen To Cult Classic Status”
‘In A Violent Nature’ Is A Polished Turd
Former President Barack Obama once said, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” Despite criticism that he was mocking former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin who was John McCain’s running mate in 2008, it’s actually a version of an idiom coined in the 20th Century. A similar idiom is “You can’tContinue reading “‘In A Violent Nature’ Is A Polished Turd”
‘Ravenous’ Has A Huge Bite
A movie like Ravenous takes a very tender subject and turns it on its side. Cannibalism has always kind of been one of those odd topics for horror. The eating of human flesh is still a cliched trope but reports are coming out that it’s quite possible in the respective colonial and antebellum days ofContinue reading “‘Ravenous’ Has A Huge Bite”
‘Subservience’ Slouches Silly Sex Suspense/Science-Fiction Substance
Note: I’m still trying to recover from some things but I felt this was at least appropriate for this week. A movie like Subservience is basically The Hand That Rocks the Cradle meets Westworld with every Lifetime Movie Network thriller sprinkled all over it. The main question I have is why do they make theContinue reading “‘Subservience’ Slouches Silly Sex Suspense/Science-Fiction Substance”
‘Longlegs’ Feels Like An Overlong ‘X-Files’ Episode
Longlegs is from Osgood Perkins, who is writer/director. He’s the son of Anthony Perkins and those are some big shoes to fill especially in the horror genre where the elder Perkins first found himself trapped and then embraced during his latter years. Perkins might easily be remembered as “Dorky David” from Legally Blonde. Set duringContinue reading “‘Longlegs’ Feels Like An Overlong ‘X-Files’ Episode”
‘End Of Days’ 25 Years Later No So Bad In Retrospect
Beginning with his role Hercules in New York, Arnold Schwarzenegger had appeared in comedies, action movies, neo-noir, westerns, science-fiction and fantasy. Yet, he had never really done straight horror. James Cameron had said The Terminator was supposed to be a variation on the slasher genre but the science-fiction elements led to people thinking it wasContinue reading “‘End Of Days’ 25 Years Later No So Bad In Retrospect”
Merry Xmas, Motherf@$#ers! ‘Long Kiss Goodnight’ Explodes With A $h!tload Of Holiday Cheer
A movie like The Long Kiss Goodnight completes the unofficial decade-long trilogy of Christmas Action Thrillers that began with Lethal Weapon, unseasonably released in the spring of 1987 and continued with Die Hard in the summer of 1988. (Yeah, I know Die Hard 2 takes place on Christmas Eve too, but this is a farContinue reading “Merry Xmas, Motherf@$#ers! ‘Long Kiss Goodnight’ Explodes With A $h!tload Of Holiday Cheer”
Zane Says 