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.”
Tag Archives: movies
How ‘Beetlejuice’ Made Horror Comedies More Mainstream
Horror comedies have been around for years before Beetlejuice. Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein was one. Then, you had Young Frankenstein. But actually mixing gruesome horror elements with comedy was still new. George A. Romero had added it as satire to Dawn of the Dead showing zombies lurching around a mall and looking amazed atContinue reading “How ‘Beetlejuice’ Made Horror Comedies More Mainstream”
‘Wonka’ Lacks Pure Imagination
Wonka is one of those movies that thinks its existence is enough to satisfy an audience for two hours. The director, Paul King, made the two Paddington movies. Yet, the charm and wit of those movies is lost here. This is the result of a movie director getting too comfortable with the source material thatContinue reading “‘Wonka’ Lacks Pure Imagination”
‘The Breakfast Club’ Still Leaves A Bad Taste After Nearly 40 Years
I almost didn’t want to do this post. But I noticed that today is March 24, 2024. The Breakfast Club, a cornerstone movie in both teen angst, coming-of-age comedy/drama as well as showcasing The Brat Pack, is set on March 24, 1984 at the fictional Shermer High School in a suburb of Chicago. Five studentsContinue reading “‘The Breakfast Club’ Still Leaves A Bad Taste After Nearly 40 Years”
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”
RIP M. Emmet Walsh, The Character Actor Who Was In That Movie You Saw
At one point, Roger Ebert had said that he had never seen a bad movie with M. Emmet Walsh. The character had over 230 acting credits to his name according to imdb.com. However, his manager said he was actually in 119 feature films and about 250 TV productions. He did comedies, dramas, horror, fantasy, sci-fiContinue reading “RIP M. Emmet Walsh, The Character Actor Who Was In That Movie You Saw”
‘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”
‘Aquaman’ 2 Sleeps With The Fishes
Without a doubt, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was doomed almost from the start. It didn’t help matters that just about everything was keeping this movie from being made. The first Aquaman was a refreshing beam of light that the DCEU might actually be as successful as the MCU. It grossed about $1.5 billion worldwideContinue reading “‘Aquaman’ 2 Sleeps With The Fishes”
Oscar’s Most Cringeworthy Moments
As glamourous and star-studded the Academy Awards can be, it doesn’t mean every year, things go off without a hitch. Part of the problem is that a producer has a radical idea that backfires in the worse way. Famed producer Allan Carr basically sunk his career 35 years ago when he opened with an actressContinue reading “Oscar’s Most Cringeworthy Moments”
‘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”