Archive | August 2013
You are browsing the site archives by date.
Flashback: on 1965’s “The Gorgon”
Often, I tell friends and colleagues that I “cut my teeth” on horror films. Long unfairly considered to be an undistinguished and low-rent genre, it’s where I first discovered my movie love. When I was a young boy, horror films ran on broadcast television constantly. And not only on Friday and Saturday nights, but weekend […]
Twixt
Most of you probably aren’t even aware that the renowned Francis Ford Coppola is still making new films, and I couldn’t really blame you. After helming 1997’s “The Rainmaker”(based on the John Grisham novel of the same name), FFC vanished for a decade. He finally returned in 2007 with the dense, meditative puzzle “Youth Without […]
Julie Harris dies at 87…a Broadway and silver screen legend
She remains the only Broadway performer to win five Tony Awards in the lead category(both Angela Lansbury and Audra McDonald have garnered five, but with some of the victories being in the Featured Actress category). All of Julie’s wins were accomplished before I turned twelve years old, so unfortunately I never got to experience one of her […]
Hiatus Hits
Rarely do I allow a full 10 days go by without publishing new material. I believe the last time was around ten months ago, when Superstorm Sandy knocked out power on my block for about a week and a half. This latest sojourn was for a much more pleasant reason…sunning away on beautiful Block Island […]
The Cronenberg Chronicle-Phase Seventeen: Rabid (1977)
Just last week, on the “Byzantium” comment board, I found myself defending the modern “vampire” film and its endless variations. Ironically enough, right around that time, I was re-watching David Cronenberg’s “Rabid” in preparation for the penultimate entry in the monthly Cronenberg Chronicle. And as the initiated already know, the 1977 release is often dubbed […]
Bullet to the Head
Right in Walter Hill’s wheelhouse, and it’s nice to have him back. A little over a decade ago Hill directed a nifty little boxing gem called “Undisputed”, that was loosely based on Mike Tyson. It was gritty and tough, like most of Walter’s work, and it featured terrific perfs from Wesley Snipes, Ving Rhames and […]
Mud
It’s tremendous. And if the stars don’t align for Matthew McConaughey getting some kind of Oscar nomination this year(between this and the upcoming “The Wolf of Wall Street”)than there must be something out of whack in the universe. Talk about a mid-career resurgence after toiling in crap like “Failure to Launch” and “Fool’s Gold” just […]
R.I.P. Rayette…a tribute to Karen Black
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Jack Nicholson, and I have often cited “Five Easy Pieces” as my personal favorite of his films. And the main love interest, of Jack’s Bobby Dupea character in that 1970 Bob Rafelson classic, is a girl named Rayette Dipesto as played by Karen Black. It’s a […]
Byzantium
What’s this? A gorgeous, lyrical vampire film shot by a renowned, Oscar-nominated director, and I can watch it in the comfort of my own home while it plays a limited run in select theaters? I love you VOD! “Byzantium”, an exquisite thriller from Neil Jordan, opened on just 6 screens in late June before expanding to […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 